Drakkengarde
Drakkengarde was a bustling port city on the southern coast of Orodeth, and the seat of power for the Mercantile Alliance. It was devastated during the Shattering of Orodeth, and largely abandoned thereafter by the few survivors. It subsequently came under the control of the Crimson Fleet, which now uses it as a base of operations in the region. Their primary focus is control over salvage operations for any surviving treasures beneath the sea. They also exact tribute from passing vessels. Recently they have begun extending their activity onto land. This has given them a complicated relationship with the locals; while the pirates frequently prey upon the citizens, they have also been acting against greater threats in the region, establishing a measure of stability and security to the devastated region.
What remains of Drakkengarde was once the eastern half of a city that spanned both sides of the Belsimar Strait. Then known locally as "Old Town," it dates back to the founding of Belsimar and is thus primarily of dwarven construction. Unlike the western half, it largely survived the shattering, though not without significant damage, and large portions of it are now partially submerged to varying degrees. The buildings in Old Town are largely drab and utilitarian on the outside, though the interiors are often more colorful (depending on the residents). Old Town also had a number of underground homes that appealed to Drakkengarde's dwarven and earth genasi citizens alike; though they remained generally intact, they are almost universally flooded. The city walls mostly remained standing; though they originally reached between 40 and 50 feet high, their height now varies considerably with the level of the ground they were built upon. They are 10 feet thick, with heavy ironbound gates hiding deep murder routes. Massive war enginers once sat atop towers or behind redoubts, though they have all since been dismantled for salvage. The surviving city now sits at an odd angle, with its western side several feet below its eastern side.
History
Drakkengarde was originally constructed by hill dwarves as a natural port for export of stone, metal and gem works; the buildings in Old Town are mostly constructed of granite, marble, and slate. Given the prevalence of orcs and giants, in addition to the very real threat of attacks from the Dragon Lands in the city's early days, the city was built to withstand assaults.
When the Champions of the Dawn established the kingdom of Orodeth in 2291, the merchants and nobles of Drakkengarde and Northeron anticipated a significant increase in trade. To take advantage of this, they formed a loose coalition in order to intercede with their new kings and ensure financially favorable policies. This coalition persisted even when the Champions' bickering led to the War of the Dawn, and when the war ended in 2318 with the mutual destruction of the last of the Champions of the Dawn and their armies, the Mercantile Alliance swiftly moved to take official control of the region. The citizens of Orodeth gladly accepted their rule, as the Alliance not only promised stability and prosperity after years of warfare but had proven their effectiveness during the war. It was decided that Northeron and Drakkengarde would serve as dual capitals, with official meetings moving between the two cities.
In 2964, the weather in Orodeth began to grow chaotic and unpredictable. Earthquakes became more frequent, as did attacks by monsters. An adventuring group known as Drake's Company determined that four elemental cults were behind these disturbances, and reported this to the leaders of Drakkengarde. Unfortunately, Drake's Company was stymied by local bureaucracy. In addition, many whom they spoke to were hesitant to put resources towards fighting what they saw as a minor threat--and one they saw little direct profit in--and trusted Drake's Company to do what needed to be done on their own. Less than a month later, the Cult of the Black Earth and the Cult of the Crushing Wave summoned the primordials Ogrémoch and Olhydra into the Material Plane. The clash between these two beings created a series of cataclysmic earthquakes that caused what would be known as the Shattering of Orodeth. The western half of Drakkengarde was utterly destroyed as the very land it was built upon crumbled beneath the waves. The eastern half fared little better, the ground dropping below sea level before tidal waves swept through the city. Though the sturdy, dwarven-made builings mostly survived, the vast majority if the city's inhabitants perished, including the entire ruling body of the Mercantile Alliance. Most of the survivors fled soon after.
Soon after the city's destruction, treasure hunters and salvage ships began weighing anchor as they searched for the city's riches that had been scattered beneath the sea. Conflict was common, and many ships were sunk when fighting broke out, adding to the illicit underwater bounty. Eventually, a group of pirates known as the Crimson Fleet arrived. Under the leadership of the Pirate Queen, they swiftly began imposing order, at the point of their swords. Laying claim to the much of the mouth of the Shattered Sea, any salvage ships must now pay for the privilege of searching, as well as a portion of their find. Recently, the Crimson Fleet has also begun exacting tribute from ships merely seeking to pass through their waters.
Drakkengarde before the Shattering
Prior to the Shattering Drakkengarde could actually be considered two cities, one on either side of the nearly three-mile-wide mouth of the Belsimar Strait. The western half was established after the War of the Dawn as the Mercantile Alliance expanded its reach. The buildings were primarily of human construction, and of varied and frequently modern styles. High levels of ornamentation were not uncommon. This half of the city was completely obliterated in the Shattering, though treasures and other artifacts from the doomed city can still be found by those willing and able to search the sea floor.
Drakkengarde was an important point of international trade, resulting in a cosmopolitan population that was a blend of different races, cultures, and nationalities. Major temples were built to Zilchus (in the western city) and Moradin (in the eastern city), though there were several smaller temples to other gods (such as Bahamut) throughout both sides of the city as well.
The city was governed entirely by the Mercantile Alliance, and served as their seat of governance for the entire realm of Orodeth. Representatives from all of Drakkengarde's major guilds (jewelers, smiths, shipwrights, masons, and textiles) were once active within the Mercantile Alliance, with a variety of more minor guilds having varying degrees of influence as well. While there were no export taxes, import taxes were high. Though the Mercantile Alliance made it a crime to bribe officials, they were not uncommon; one simply had to learn which officials could be bribed.
Drakkengarde also maintained an elite unit of griffon riders, whose mounts were descended from those the dwarven founders bred to fight off dragons. As attacks on the city were considerably more rare than they were in its earlier days, a larger portion of these riders were relegated to more bureaucratic tasks such as visiting ships to inspect cargo manifests and collecting import taxes.