### **The Five Great Free Cities**

**Par-Thalax**  
Perched on the edge of a deep ravine in the northeastern Reaches, Par-Thalax serves as a grim theocratic bastion watching the fortified Temerian city of Erogent across a hostile border. Governed by the Scaled Doctrine, its priestesses rule through silence, sacrifice, and unwavering spiritual discipline. The city's obsidian temples, sanctified catacombs, and masked inquisitors make it feared by friend and foe alike.

**Lysmar**  
Lysmar lies on the southern coast, near a wide bay where sea and river meet stone. Known as the Sapphire Gate, it is the maritime heart of the Reaches, famous for its blue-sailed fleets and ambitious merchant houses. Ruled by Matron-Lord Velira Anstrad, Lysmar thrives on diplomacy and trade, and serves as the cultural bridge between inland Reaches and the outer sea-routes.

**Drestal**  
Set inland among iron-rich hills in the south-central Reaches, Drestal is a city of forge smoke, stonework, and steel. Its skyline bristles with chimneys and iron towers, and its streets hum with the clang of smithies and the march of mercenaries. Ruled by Lord-Mayor Merkan Toll, Drestal is a hub of arms, armor, and ambition—respected for its discipline, feared for its ruthlessness.

**Varneth**  
Built along the southwest coast, far from the Taradas, Varneth is a sprawl of docks, canals, and shadowed alleys. Known for its river-guilds, assassins, and poets, the city pulses with wealth and violence in equal measure. Its fractious Council of Nine rules with silver tongues and daggers drawn. Beneath its flooded streets and crumbling bridges lie secrets that predate the Shattering.

**Karnost**  
Crouched atop black stone bluffs in the central Reaches near the Shatar footlands, Karnost is a grim fortress-city bracing against the restless mountain tribes to the west. Ruled by the reclusive Baron Drel Vask, it functions as a bulwark of stone, home to grim-faced soldiers and watchful silence. Here, every breath tastes of ash and readiness.

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### **The Six Lesser Towns**

**Revanport**  
A busy coastal trade port under Lysmar’s sway, Revanport thrives on seaborne commerce and foreign exchange. Its wharves host Lao-Shani, Kyourin, and Mentralian ships alike, making it a melting pot of accents, creeds, and ambitions. Its creole dialect and bustling black markets mark it as a city where anything can be bought—for a price.

**Osterglen**  
Situated just north of the Taradas River near the Mentralian border, Osterglen is a quiet market town feeding the cities with grain, cattle, and river-fish. Protected by Drestal’s militia, it offers a veneer of peace—though its watchmen keep one eye always turned southward for signs of Mentralian overreach or diplomatic games.

**Tharn’s Hollow**  
A mining settlement nestled into the lower cliffs under Karnost’s authority, Tharn’s Hollow digs deep into the bones of the earth. Life here is short and brutal; miners disappear often, and the air carries both iron and dread. The town runs on blood, ore, and whispered warnings not to dig too deep.

**Mereth’s Cross**  
A fortified river tollhold operated by Varneth, Mereth’s Cross sits at a critical convergence of trade routes. Caravans pay dearly to cross its bridges, and many merchants leave lighter than they arrived. Known for its corrupt tollmasters and smugglers’ tunnels, it is said every brick here was bought with a bribe.

**Brinnhollow**  
A fortified village near the eastern marches, Brinnhollow stands as a lonely post between civilization and the unknown. Its timber walls and stone watchtower face westward, where wild spirits and wandering clans test the resolve of its people. Traders, mercenaries, and outcasts pass through, but few stay.

**Sablemere**  
Nestled on the edge of the southern marshlands, Sablemere is governed by Par-Thalax and cloaked in eerie quiet. Ghostlights dance above the water, and locals speak only in hushed tones after sunset. It is a place of strange rites and stranger disappearances, where even the spirits seem cautious.