Darandal

Iporis

This content refers to phenomenon on the continent of Iporis.

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Darandal in the east of the country and of the Nekronian Empire. It's located northeast on the mainland of the continent just along the sea. It's connected by a road to Actran in the Albatross Assembly by Chunathan Bay to the west, to Northrun if the left fork on the road is taken from Darandal, and then down south to Vassav in Warbler's Hills if the right fork is taken on the right and then down to Vasek outside of the Nekronian Empire on the coast if the fork on the road isn't taken.

## Description

Population Demographic: 19% tieflings, 17% dragonborn, 13% orcs, 10% kobolds, 7% goblinoids, 5% triton, 5% halflings, 4% dwarves, 4% humans, 3% half-orcs, 3% half-elves, 2% gnomes, 2% giant-kin, 2% gnolls, 1% minotaurs, 1% elves, 1% aasimar.

Population size: 17,308 people.

Darandal is a communal port city. It was founded near the beginning of Iporis, and thus, many of the buildings are very old-fashioned and old-styled. Many of the streets are cobblestone, but some of the newer streets in the **Heather Valley District** are paved over with much more modern style houses and shops. Being a port city, the docks are always filled with ships and boats for fishers and traders that take a stop here. Surrounding the city are rich farmlands and sparse grasslands to the south and deciduous forests to the west. Despite being a very old city, technological advancements have started to make its way into such things as machinery and architecture and even vehicles are beginning to be tested and developed here.

## Government

When Darandal was first founded, it was governed by its monarchy. However, with the fading of the **Irwell** family, and the election of a mayor, the city has been governed by an elected mayor to this day. Its current mayor is **Aaryiphir**, a firbolg woman known for her work in agriculture and her history in **Goldenrock**. Generally speaking, however, public motives promote peace and mutual cultural exchange through commerce. Private motives are more or less the same, but also rather self-serving and don't actively seek to contribute much to everyone else if it doesn't also benefit themselves. Overseas, Darandal holds many important assets and are the capital when it comes to naval matters. Leadership style rewards competence over loyalty.

## Culture and Lifestyle

Darandal is a very communal city. Everything from child care to education to housing is very much based in helping one another. In the case of raising children, children live with their parents, but the townsfolk all look after each other's children at any given opportunity. It's a city that literally thrives off of the "it takes a village to raise a child" mentality. People from everywhere come to Darandal, thus the city is very densely populated with all kinds of people from all around the country from different walks of life of different races. So long as they don't actively try and disrupt people, people tend not to ask many questions or bother outsiders much. If someone isn't making themselves to be a threat to the city, they're welcome. But they're really only accepted truly once they start helping communally and assisting in building and integrating into the communities they've settled in. So long as someone contributes consistently, the townsfolk leave them alone. All the businesses are locally owned and many of them mobile.

## History

Darandal was one of the earliest cities of the Nekronian Empire. **Queen Irwell** was one of the travelers that accompanied **Alyssandra Devonmere**. Darandal was founded in 48 P.A. before the Nekronian Empire was officially united. Devonmere and Queen Irwell parted ways and Queen Irwell founded Darandal and built her city. Ten years later, when the empire was founded, Queen Irwell was glad to join it and serve her old friend. Queen Irwell's family lasted for about 200 years until the family eventually faded into obscurity and the town's government became democratic rather than autocratic. Shortly after the town's first elected mayor, a goliath named **Yarrguk "Shepherder" Ghilighianil**. The town began being divided into districts and in 276 P.A. the Heather Valley District was beginning to be established. Darandal was the capital of the Nekronian Empire until 283 P.A. when Peyden was made the capital instead.

## Notable Figures

### Historical Figures

#### Queen Irwell

The first queen of Darandal. She was a human who traveled with Alyssandra Devonmere when the Nekronian Empire was first being settled and then founded. After parting with the dwarven woman, Queen Irwell founded Darandal in 48 P.A. and had only one daughter, **Queen Branwen**. The throne would be passed onto her after Queen Irwell's death in 62 P.A. and eventually the Irwell family soon died out, and the town was governed by an electorate rather than a monarchy. The last member of the family to die was **Prince Midas III**.

#### Mayor Yarrguk "Shepherder" Ghilighianil

The first mayor of Darandal, a goliath famous for protecting the town from the threats that encroached on it during the harsh winters. Yarrguk was elected by the people in 232 A.P. and was known famously for his approach to protecting the city inside and out. He was the one who founded the **Shepherd's Templar** as security to protect the city as well as welcome minotaurs and gnolls into their society as members of the templar in exchange for food and shelter.

#### General Melelus Yurrjaxath

**General Melelus** was the most influential general in Darandal's history. This triton did not win victories merely in battle, but in alliances and negotiations. His strategy was not merely to conquer, but to build. He worked mostly to build a naval fleet to prepare should war break out and the Nekronian Empire wouldn't be left defenseless at sea. He worked closely with **Donyella Timbers** until his death in 372 A.P.

#### Donyella "Gearlock" Timbers

The most famous inventor of Darandal, she was the head of all technological innovation in Darandal, especially concerning vehicles and the invention of submarines and naval steam engines. She's still alive to this day, but the gnome's passed her torch down to her daughter, **Taimi**, and lives on the **Twilight Docks**. Many of her original works are currently displayed in the **Nekronian Museum of Artificers and Engineering**. Her designs for airships and zeppelins in particular took off and spread to the larger cities of the empire.

### Current Figures of Darandal

#### Mayor Aaryiphir

The current mayor of Darandal. She's grown up as a farmhand in Goldenrock and was an active part of Darandal's community and is known for her work with agriculture and managing the district. She's made a name for herself during the **Goldenrock Famine of 438 P.A**. when the crops yields were failing more and more and she worked tirelessly to provide and ration whatever food they had and provide as much as she could with what little yields they had. Thanks to her management and commitment, the death toll was dropped significantly. What could've wiped out over half the population was reduced to less than a third thanks to Aaryiphir. Now as mayor, she continues to present this selflessness to her people and works tirelessly to make sure everyone's provided for, however she's come under intense scrutiny for her continuing failure to address the poverty crisis in **Blackridge**.

#### High Priestess Xereshca

The current high priestess of the **Church of Irwell**, and the rare case of a half-dragon. She's rather cold and blunt, but one cannot tell if it's genuine malice or simple social ineptitude, but she's earned her position for a reason. Only someone incredibly well-versed in the faiths of most of the city's peoples can take on this responsibility, and **Xereshca** wears her priestess robes with her head held high.

#### Insight

Current head curator of the Nekronian Museum of Artificers and Engineering. She's an artificer herself and is endlessly enthusiastic about the history of her city's machinery and idolizes the work of Donyella Timbers and is close friends with her daughter, Taimi. The tiefling never tires of her work and is most enthusiastic about the incorporation of machinery into fashion, though that's not exactly mainstream as of yet.

#### Taimi "Tinker" Timbers

Artificer who works down at Twilight Docks in her own workshop and is the daughter of Donyella "Gearlock" Timbers. She's always fiddling with something in her workshop and rarely sees the light of day, but the gnome is always happy to have company over to see what she's working on. She's carrying on her mother's gifts, but Gearlock seems to be a little confused by whatever project Tinker's working on as even she won't tell her specifically what she's doing.

#### Hibyik

Current park ranger of the Grove, **Hibyik** the kobold can often be found perching on trees and giving tours of the park. He's a friendly, if not slightly offputting face due to his intense fascination with the flora there. But while he's typically a young man of few words, once he starts talking about the wildlife, he can talk your ear off for hours.

#### Dagnyr

A friendly if not slightly intimidating gnoll that lives in the sewers of Blackridge and is close friends with Strum. His family do not particularly take kindly to upper class citizens or those that are particularly wealthy and won't hesitate to steal from them to get by. They have a particular distaste for the current mayor and look forward to seeing her lose the coming election and be replaced with someone who will hopefully solve the poverty and homelessness crisis in Blackridge.

### Other Figures

#### Angkhor "Strum" Delmirev

A dragonborn singer and an instrumentalist, he grew up in the city of Darandal with his mother. Seeing the minstrels and street performers that would pass by and would gladly give him lessons, delighting in his enthusiasm, he earned the name Strum and became a traveling entertainer in honour of the first instrument he learned to play, the ukulele, and is currently traveling with and is a member of the Scaled Bastards.

#### Bashmana Tyriel

A dragonborn and Strum's mother. A kindly and incredibly hospitable woman with a warm and pleasant demeanour, she's welcoming and inviting to all. She's always offering her help to anyone who needs it, whether they need a place to stay or a bite to eat. She cares very deeply about her son and about her city and is always out and about to talk it up with the townsfolk. Rumour has it she's taken interest in becoming the mayor of Darandal someday.

## Notable Locations

### Old Town District

The oldest part of the city where the settlers first built Darandal and the rest of the town grew from. Thus, on the east side of the town, the buildings are much older than the rest of Darandal. This is where the town hall, courthouse, parliament building, and **Queen's Plaza** are all located in.

#### Queen's Plaza

In the centre of the city is Queen's Plaza, the crown jewel of **Old Town**. It's where the highest traffic for travelers, events, and holidays is. Many people, townsfolk and otherwise, gather here to mingle and engage in the local cuisine and entertainment as well as that of which from out of town. Minstrels and performers come through the plaza to perform for the city and its people. A quintessential part of the city's culture is how music influences it.

#### Castle Irwell

The castle where the first settlers of Darandal settled when it was considered the capital city before Peyden. **Castle Irwell** was called **Castle Darandal**, but was given the name Castle Irwell after Queen Irwell, the first queen of Darandal. But after hundreds of years, the royal family's lineage snuffed out and Castle Irwell was made into a tourist attraction rich with town history and is treated like a museum. Castle Irwell is considered part of Old Town but is its own district.

#### Blackridge

A lot of theft goes on there, but it's rich with culture. It was where many travelers stopped and ended up making homes for themselves. Their establishments are still standing in Blackridge to this day and are not found anywhere else on Iporis. But due to the poverty, some had to migrate to the streets on carts and it is the place for street markets and cuisine. Traveling shops frequent here more often than in Queen's Plaza and there's a great deal more variety and traffic in Blackridge. In fact, Blackridge is famous for its **Blackridge Guang-Bing**.

#### Twilight Docks

An integral part of Old Town, the Twilight Docks are where Darandal made itself a well-known port town. It's where Darandal began becoming and developing its navy, and even to this day, despite the capital moving to Peyden, Darandal remains the Nekronian Empire's naval base and the source of it's military naval power. What started as sailboats and great ships became where submarines were invented as well as large steamboats and other battleships.

#### Goldenrock

Another extremely important part of Old Town, Goldenrock is the farmlands of Darandal and where the city got all its produce and agriculture. The city was completely self-sufficient before the empire was founded, but now the farmlands are now used to produce and provide meat and plant products for the rest of the empire. It's where the oldest residents with the largest families live.

### Heather Valley District

The Heather Valley is the other major district that was made after the Old Town district. It was created as the population of the city grew, so housing expanded westward into the valley. A lot of the buildings have differing and clashing styles, but they have a great deal of character and are remarkably charming in their own unique way.

#### The Grove

While the Nekronian Empire gets a reputation for sacrificing its natural resources for the sake of technological advancements, the **Grove** is Darandal's honour to the natural world. It's a park that's maintained by the city to preserve its wildlife and there are guides there to take residents and tourists around it to educate them about the flora and fauna that are native to the Nekronian Empire and to Darandal. Many children play here and it's part of the Heather Valley district.

#### Yellowdocks

As the city expanded further, so did the docks. **Yellowdocks** are the addition attached to the integration of Heather Valley. However, Yellowdocks is not used for major naval operations. It's most'y for pick-ups, drop-offs, fishing and other small boats, and the occasional illegal happenings. Drug deals and other fishy happenings happen at Yellowdocks. But it's also said to be cursed to lure stragglers and loners to their deaths due to the reputation of disappearances being a frequent occurrence at the docks.

#### The Nekronian Museum of Artificers and Engineering

The Nekronian Empire is the centre of technological advancement. Darandal was where airships and complex machinery first took off in the empire. This museum is a major hot spot for tourism and artificers from all over the empire flock here to see the ships and the history behind them. It all started from the development of submarines and steamboats and now has led to airships such as zeppelins. It's located in the Heather Valley district.

#### The Church of Irwell

When the city was first founded, they didn't have an organized religion. They were bound to their queen, but the settlers all had their own faiths they've followed. Queen Irwell didn't want her people to be discouraged from practicing on their faiths, so she had the church built to be accommodating to her people. The church still stands by Castle Irwell to this day and is part of the Heather Valley district.

## Folklore

### The Twin-Tailed Devil

Also known as **The Scourge of Darandal** and **The Masked Ghost**, this local legend tells of a twin-tailed beast that plagues the town. They say that he wiped out an entire royal family all at once in the dead of winter up north in the empire. For the last 60 years, this legend has been plaguing the city, the creature being blamed for the deaths and disappearances during that time. While some deride it as nothing more than ghost stories and hearsay (some even going as far as to label it propaganda), many believe in the legend and fear the Twin-Tailed Devil.

### The Siren of Yellowdocks

Local folklore tells of a mysterious siren that lurks near the waters of Yellowdocks, due to the disappearances that take place there. While this is nothing more than hearsay, it does frighten most people away from it. What the siren exactly is is unknown. Some have described it as a literal siren. Some believe it's a triton. Others believe it's a tiefling or an aasimar. But what remains certain is that this figure is seen as a harbinger of the lost and the wandering if one were fortunate to walk the docks alone.

### The Hounds of Irwell

Some say that at night, if you listen carefully, you can hear the sounds of the queen's hounds howling at night from the church's graveyard. While none have confirmed the sighting of grim, even church grim, the ghostly howls can still be heard. Investigations have turned up nothing, either suspicious or mundane, to explain the phenomenon. But it's not wise to travel on the outskirts of the city alone at night.