Qohor

Qohor is the easternmost of the Free Cities, and considered by many to have the most exotic and ill-mannered residents of the nine cities. As such, many compare it to Asshai-by-the-Shadow, in the far east.

## Location

Standing on the banks of the river Qhoyne, a tributary of the Rhoyne, on the western edge of the Forest of Qohor, the city is seen as a gateway to the east. Qohor is surrounded by strong stone walls.

Northwest of Qohor is Norvos and to the south Volantis. The Qohorik rule the Qhoyne north of the ruins of Ar Noy and the eastern bank of the Darkwash, although that river's western bank is within the domains of Norvos, but following recent events, the land is largely shared between the two.

## Layout

The city initially started as a lumber camp upon the major trading route between Andalos and the Dothraki Sea and Bone Mountains, and much of the city still reflects this origin. Foresters and hunters remain two of the most popular occupations within the Free City, but a great wealth of other talents, skills and past-times have been brought with the wealth of the peoples passing through. The other art that has made the Qohorik famous across the Known World is their skills with hammer and anvil, as products of the forges of Qohor are considered to be rivaled only by the surviving artefacts from Valyria.

* The Forest Palace - Home of the Eranel Family, the greatest and most prosperous of all the families made rich by the wealth of woods within the Forest of Qohor, the Forest Palace is a sprawling construction of wood and pale stone. Surrounded by walls populated with towers shaped to resemble Sentinel trees, the residency houses all the members of the Eranel family, as well as their servants, soldiers and lumberworkers. Also contained within the walls are the barracks of the guardsmen that patrol the Palace, and just to the north the largest timberyard in the Known World can be found. Members of the Eranel Family title themselves 'The First Woodsmen of Qohor.'
* The Steel Hold - Home of the Mott Family, the most famed and skilled of all the families that heat and shape steel and other metals into keen blades, steadfast shields and a myriad of other items, the Steel Hold is a colossal monolith of dark stone and metal. It is protected by two concentric rings of high walls upon which guardsmen in fanciful armour patrol. It is said that the very dirt around the Steel Hold is warm to touch from the never-ceasing forges found at the heart of the construction. Members of the Mott Family title themselves 'The Master Forgelords of Qohor.'
* The Iron Street - Sitting between the Steel Hold and the third gate of the city, near the tall stone walls, sits the Iron Street. The street is littered with blacksmiths and minor Forgelords, from back-alley smiths to large businesses, the Iron Street has them all. At the mouth of the street sits a large gate of black steel and iron, forged in intricate ruins. Leading in is the massive Forge of Yarn, the largest of the smithies in the Iron Street. Along the street is the Fiery Tavern, a place where customers, workers and smith-owners alike come together for food and drink. The further one goes along the Iron Street, the cheaper the products get, although as the coin demanded drops, so does the quality. Many of the disgraced or small smiths are consigned to working down the street, having to be content with the down-flow of coin coming from the bigger sellers.

## Timeline of Events

* 114BA - Aurion, survivor of the Doom, rallies nearly thirty thousand Qohorik colonists to his side, naming himself the first Emperor of Valyria. Marching with his host to the Valyrian peninsula, he and his men disappeared without a trace.
* 105BA - Volantis, still considering themselves the rightful successor of Valyria, wages war for control of the Rhoyne and the cities upon it. Qohor and Norvos only become truly involved once the Volantenes march and sail north of Dagger Lake, triggering two years of fighting between the cities remembered as the War of the Burning Rhoyne.
* 104BA - At the Battle for Ar Noy, a Qohorik army bolstered by sellswords from numerous companies is defeated by the Volantene general Tychor Galtigar. They are however flanked by a Norvoshi army, and forced into retreat to the wooden fortress constructed by the shore of Dagger Lake.
* 103BA - Having stalled the Volantene advance, a joint Norvoshi-Qohorik navy smashes a Volantene fleet at Dagger Lake, but cannot break the fortress built upon the southern shore. The High Priest of the Conclave of Bearded Priests in Great Norvos has a vision of a man that will guide them to victory against the Volantenes, and thus the search for the individual begins.
* 102BA - The prophesied individual of the High Priest of Norvos' vision turns out to be the Rhoynish pirate Garin Thrice-Drowned, who shows the Qohorik and Norvoshi a secret entrance into the fortress through a cave system unknown to the Volantenes. In payment for his role in pushing the Volantene forces south of the Soorows, he is granted land to the north of Dagger Lake, and a manse in both Norvos and Qohor.
* 95BA - The Pirate Lord Garin Thrice-Drowned, hero of the conflict half a decade prior between Norvos, Qohor and Volantis tries to claim control over the ruined city of Ar Noy, considering it his birth-right. He and his followers are slaughtered without mercy by the Qohorik when they begin to raid trade vessels from the Free City travelling along the Qhoyne.
* 60BA - The Battle of the Three Thousand of Qohor occurs, solidified the reputation of the Unsullied amongst the Free Cities. Khal Temmo is slain when his khalasar repeatedly fails to break the defence staged by the slave-warriors, and following their surrender, his khalasar throws their cut braids at the feet of the Unsullied.
* 57BA - A joint Sarnori-Qohorik army liberates the city of Essaria, but takes heavy casualties when they are set upon by the Khalasar of Khal Rhakharo. Working to fortify the damaged city, they manage to survive until support arrives and Khal Rhakharo is forced to ride east.
* 24BA - Following the Fall of Myr and Lys once again to the Volantenes, Qohor and Norvos sign a treaty of military alliance, agreeing to combine forces to dispel the Tiger fleet stationed at Dagger Lake. Both Free Cities begin stockpiling river galleys and weapons in preparation for the right time.
* 22BA - The Volantene fleet stationed at Dagger Lake on the Rhoyne is shattered by a joint Qohorik-Norvoshi attack. The northern Rhoyne is liberated of Volantene control.
* 153AA - The Seventh War of the Axe occurs when the High Priest of Norvos declares the people to be blaspemous in their culture and rallies the righteous of the city to expel them from the shores of the peninsula. After three years of conflict, raids upon Norvoshi and Ibbenese colonies alike, it comes to light that the reason for their supposed impious ways was the neglect of two Ibbenese merchants to shave their beards before they entered the High City, an action percieved as an affront to the Bearded Priests of the city.
* 156AA - End of the Seventh War of the Axe, marked by the expulsion of Ibbenese colonists from the fertile lands of the peninsula by a Norvoshi army reinforced by Qohorik cavalry.
* 273AA - The Marel Family of Essaria attempts to stage a coup, seizing control from King Alor Ajjara near-bloodlessly. Messengers are sent east to Qohor, asking for assistance from the Motts and Eranels in consolidating power in the city in name of Qohor, reflecting the Marels' origin in the Free City. The Qohorik army arrives at Essaria within a moon, nearly fifteen thousand strong, but is stopped in their path by a similarly-sized force lead by the King of Mardosh, Eno Omoi. Following numerous clashes, skirmishes and full blown battles, the Qohorik army is slowly forced back west, the campaign ending in the Forest of Qohor nearly ten moons later. In the meanwhile however, the Tiger Triarch Laerys Maegyr had rallied an army of his own, seeing his opportunity in the disorder caused by the existing conflict. In a bold action, he and his men sail up the Selhoru, then march past the source of the River Shakhe, before quickly and viciously taking the city of Essaria for themselves.
* 297AA - A party of ten maesters from the Citadel of Oldtown arrived at the gates of the Steel Hold of the Mott Family, requesting that the Master Forgelords share the secrets of the reforging Valyrian Steel. Despite the Westerosis insistence that the information would simply be documented and stored privately within the Citadel's vaults, the Motts refused, threatening the Archmaester Kromley first with whips, then a life in chains, and finally the point of a sword. When the group was caught attempting to break into the forges at the heart of the Steel Hold, the entire party was put to the sword, and their bodies, seemingly drained of their blood, sent to the Citadel in a crate hewn from Qohorik timber.
* 298AA - Conflict has long been brewing between the Kingdoms of Sarnor and the Free City of Qohor. Disputes started over a series of trade wars, mainly centred around the production of blades and armour. Whilst most still maintain that the Motts of Qohor create the finest steel in the Known World, barring that of the Valyrians, more and more markets are being dominated by Sarnori forged weapons, crafted in the cities of Hornoth and Rathylar and distributed through the Trader City of Kasath. Finding Sarnori weaponry to be an affordable and near analogous alternative, the demand for Qohorik steel has fallen in the last century.