Orland City, Orland
Table of Contents
Areas of Interest
General Information
Important Dates
Areas of Interest
1 Palace of the Lord of Envy
2 Barracks of the Curfew Enforcers (Oluk Orcs)
3 Great Mercano Market
4 Hound (Slave Hunter) Compound
5 Nocala, the great temple of Vornoth (formerly the Temple of Neltak)
6 Northern Docks
7 The Alleys, the lawless quarter
8 Mansion of Houndmaster Visandus
9 Dalado (Mansion) Row
10 Wizard's Coven Compound
General Information About the City (Large City)
Money Limit: 25,000
Who Rules: Garlgax, the drow Lord of Envy.
Other Power Centers: Koorlsh is Garlgax's chancellor. This hideous squid-headed abomination serves Envy faithfully, but many say he plots against him as well.
Visandus the Houndmaster, also called Vazorg, is a force in the city. His Hounds, ranger slave hunters, do the bidding of Garlgax, but he is not above machinating for his own personal profit.
The Wizard's coven, five powerful battlemages, stand against Visandus. Led by the orc mage Lord Gorg, they tend to resist most of the Houndmaster's ideas. Some say Koorlsh has played the two groups against each other.
Population: About 30,000. The population is three quarters human, with the rest consisting of orcs, half-orcs, and goblins. Many of the humans in the city are bondsmen or slaves.
Major Products: Orland City's major exports are fish, metal goods, and slaves. It is also known for breeding fighting pit-dogs. The city is a major trading port and market for goods coming from Zeland to the North and the exotic city of Budum-ishi to the south.
Armed Forces: A moderate-sized force of shock troops, orcs and goblins, is constantly garrisoned on the Sol Island. The Lord of Envy has taken to employing powerful mercenaries as a personal guard after visiting the Far City and observing Wrath's Crimson Lion Guard. The Hounds, a force of some thirty to forty dark folk rangers, also calls the city their base of operations. Finally, the city is heavily patrolled by the Curfew Enforcers, Oluk orc bullies whose job it is to enforce Envy's arbitrary and punitive restrictions.
The City: The ancient community of Orland City, also called Or City and the City of Or, is the the capital of its namesake kingdom since its conception. It is built on three islands that are interconnected with wooden bridges which can be broken in times of military crisis. The northernmost island, called the Ancho Island, houses the famous markets of Orland City, now called the Night Markets. Here most of the trade goods that come through the city are bought and sold. Anything from slaves to gold statuary to spices to fighting dogs can be had on Ancho Island for a price. The markets are fed by the Northern Docks, the ports from which Orland's ancient tall ships would set forth. Much of the Ancho District houses those city dwellers who own shops and wish to dwell near them, and those residents who are well-off artisans and craftsmen. During the Dark Occupation, much of this District has been overrun with dark folk, who typically gravitate to, and defile, the nicer parts of that which they have seized.
The center isle, Roynant Island, is dominated by the palace of the kings, now the palace of the Lord of Envy. A huge, well-defended building, it was once surrounded by verdant gardens, now lying wasted and fallow. The remainder of Roynant Island consists of the grandest temples in the city, now devoted one and all to Vornoth the Walker-in-Darkness. Finally, the mansions of the rich dot the Roynant District. Ironically, many of these were gifted to orcs and dark folk during the initial occupation and have lain in ruins for centuries, the result of the tell-tale Orcish penchant to despoil even their own dwellings.
Sol Island, the southernmost isle, is a place of extreme poverty. In the center of the Sol District lies The Alleys, a warren of lanes and roads, many of them unpaved; this is called the Lawless Quarter, for thieves, cut-throats, and criminals of all sorts make this their home. In the far west of the Sol District lies the barracks of the Orc Shock Battalion, led by the powerful Hobgoblin Weapon Expert Tok-Glabon. They do little, however, to enforce laws in this area, except the selective orders that the Lord of Envy gives them. The agents of the Mindspy Koorlsh are known to prowl this area, and a denizen of the Sol District never knows if the person with whom he is conversing is a spy.
The great misery of the citizens of Orland City is the Curfew. Out of spite, Envy has decreed that none except the Curfew Enforcers may walk the streets between the hours of dawn and dusk (hence the nickname of the metropolis: the Night City). This has crushed the spirits of the human populace, inflicting them with a high rate of disease and mortality. Their one saving grace, however, has been the ancient architectural style of the city-many of the houses contain internal courtyards where a hapless resident might catch a few minutes of sunlight during the day.
Important Dates for the City
5252-The two twin brothers Zel and Or found the kingdoms of Zeland and Orland.
5721-Farland invades Orland, but is repulsed at the battle of the Rill Downs.
5725-Farland invades and defeats Orland. Orland is annexed.
5739-Zeland rebels. Farland withdraws its troops from the Kingdom of Lorindon to squelch the threats of invasion plaguing it. The Coughing Plague breaks out again and causes widespread death and famine. Thousands die. Orland joins in the rebellion, which will rage beack and forth for the next twenty years.
5751-Zeland and Orland are defeated and the empire of Farland is reestablished.
5950-Lord Pastor of Orland starts a revolution against King Tomas II of Orland.
5952-Pastor, with help from Daven, secedes from Orland and founds the kingdom of Cairn Cadez in western Orland.
5975-Zeland and Orland rebel against Farland. Evil armies from the Wintervale besiege the Far City.
5979-Zeland and Orland secede from the empire.
6010-The First Holy Battles between the Church of Neltak and Kantor in Orland begin.
6397-Baron Jorland III of Cairn Cadez invades Daven on the secret prodding of Orland's King, Lestek I. He conquers the border town of Kestrel with monetary aid from Orland.
6485-Daven, allied with Kelerak, invade Cairn Cadez. Orland comes to the aid of Cairn Cadez. The Plains War begins.
6490-Orland refuses to aid Cairn Cadez at the Battle of Sunsets. The kingdom is defeated and annexed by Daven.
6494-Daven sells the land where Cairn Cadez was to Orland for a suspiciously cheap price.
6501-The second Holy Battles between the Church of Neltak and Kantor in Orland begin, ending years later with the Church of Neltak firmly in control.
6530-Because of Zeland's treacherous war against the Dwarfhold of Dorlhaud, the dwarven host of Wawmar takes on Zeland. The Battle of the Axe is fought on what is now the Battleplain. Zeland is defeated and Zel I falls when the sceptre of Dorlhaud fails him. Orland, Zeland's ally pays a ransom to Wawmar.
6617-Lunes, a priest of Neltak, becomes king of Orland, instituting the Theocratic Period.
6721-The Theocratic Period comes to an end with the death of the last priest-king. Still the Church of Neltak maintains much influence in Orland over the coming centuries.
6900-The combined kingdoms of Kale and Daven attack Orland, beginning the Decadion War.
6903-The king of Daven is assassinated by the Orlandish assassin Roche.
6906-The Rio Plano is poisoned by Raiders from Daven, killing much wildlife as well as people.
6981-Orland, with the help of Zeland and a legion from Farland, invades Daven. This league will come to be known as the Eastern Alliance.
6983-Daven falls to the combined might of the Eastern Alliance. It is annexed as Western Orland. The Eastern alliance foces Kelerak to cease trade with Kale; Kale suffers greatly.
7010-Abelard Von Basil, of the royal family of Daven, leads a successful revolt against the Orlandish invaders. With help from Kale and Kelerak, Orland is expelled and the Kingdom of Daven is refounded.
7029-Daven and Kelerak invade Orland but are repulsed with heavy losses at the Battle of Greenhill.
7039-Elves from the Summervale interfere in the Decadion War, and intercede with a powerful magic item, The Stone of Silence. Both sides make peace.
7168-Orland, as part of The Eastern alliance, led by Farland, sends troops into Kale.
7169-Kale expels the troops of the Eastern Alliance in the Battle of the Bend.
7305-The Coughing Plague, also known as the Coffin Plague, ravages the highlands of Zeland and Northern Orland.
7701-Ogres from the Saltcliffs attack Orland but are easily repulsed.
7796- A force of Drow and slaves attack the capital of Orland from an underground passage undercover of great magic. They sack Jorland's Run and move on to take Orland. Ogres from the Saltcliffs reinforce them.
7903-The Border Wars between Zeland and Orland are begun by the Lord of Envy's aggression.
8090-Envy visits Farland and begins to copy much of the Lord of Anger's policies out of jealousy.
8163-The Lord of Envy sends an occupying army into Daven, but finds that most of its citizens have fled West or North because of the undead plague infesting the kingdom. Envy withdraws his army. The land of Daven is quickly becoming deserted.
8170-The army of the Lord of Envy, led by The General, attacks Kelerak but is repulsed at the battle of King's Field.
