Irthorn Okaaz Spiir

Okaaz Spiir, Draconic for Sea Spray, is sited on the rim of the towering cliffs of Hokzii Rotmindol. In 980 HE, the Zeymah'kein built a coastal watch tower overlooking the bay Nahkropiik Vaal to the south and north the Gorahrigir Hills. Anchored on the edge of a fjord, Zeymah'kein never intended this area to become a great port. They were not a naval power, their concern was the lawlessness lands of lake Suf Qahlon. Okaaz Spiir tasked with watching for raiding parties, was one in a series of signal towers ringing a growing empire. An unexpected twist in the settlement's history is that it became a trading post for raider plunder. You could buy it from the raiders, mark it up to real costs in Zeymah'kein's northern cities, making 100 to 200% profit. These markets led to others, with goblin and hill giant sea fishers and craft workers out of Gorahrigir known for their remarkable skill in leather working and wood carvings.

In Zeymah'kein's final months, Okaaz Spiir fell to Gorahrigir's raiders. The concerted attacks came from the north by those seeking to put the city under new management. Led by hill giants, these raids spewed out of the hills and warrens of Gorahrigir. This entire area, laced with goblin tunnels and old mines, hill giant stockades, had plagued Okaaz Spiir since its founding. The raider's claim to Okaaz Spiir, what they were now calling Irthorn, was soon contested. Mir'piamauza, victor of the Last Burn (1577 HE - 1600 HE), lay claim to all of Akhosia's former lands, holds, and peoples; for the conquerors, Okaaz Spiir was needed to supply garrisons in captured holds like Gaard Goraag and Suf Sungaar. Instead of all-out war against a place that had resisted numerous attacks, "the Aerie's Heel", they took the approach of destabilizing the city's command structure and creating dissension between its hill giants and goblins; peoples that found it hard to get along in the expanse of Gorahrigir were now in the confines of a great city turning it into camps.

Mir'piamauza's goal of bringing this city into their empire did not succeed. The Mir'piamauza Civil War (1608 HE - 1612 HE) led to Irthorn and many other Mir'piamauza and Zeymah'kein holds becoming independent.

By 1700 HE, Irthorn was a shell of its former greatness. Most of its buildings were burned out, wild beasts and marauders roamed freely through streets clogged with debris and vegetation. For the next two hundred years, it was a ruin, refuge for various giant hunting parties, bandits, and other things foul.

Around the Year 100, hill giants started rebuilding. They secured the area, driving off the bandits and monsters that once roamed freely. With security, the old markets were reopened, brining in people to reoccupy buildings long abandoned. Kriistvrii, many with lineage tracing back to families that once lived here, returned, adding their laws and customs which more than another other, created law and order, spurring civilization and the rise of Irthorn as a great market and anchorage.

By the Year 900, Irthorn had become a powerful city-state with three great harbors, one south of the city facing the bay, and two north facing into the fjords. These harbors came as a result of the growing commercial rivalry between Irthorn and their kinsmen at Thithak. They competed for trade with Sourm-Gar and other Tragaran holds on the southern side of the Sea of Mourning. There is a lot of debate on who has the better harbors, something that has led to many fights in the harbor's rowdy mead halls. It is generally said that Irthorn has the better protected harbors where a pilot is needed to port in the fjord, while those of Thithank are easier to navigate and with cheaper docking fees.

Irthorn's harbors are home ports for many giant-sized ships. The most well-known are the Grimsuvelth Trawlers. Travel up the fjords to others smaller settlements is often done on great ferries. Those abandoned from wear, often become homes, or are turned into camps for the city's poor. These river homes stretch for many miles along the fjord; and every year at least a dozen are lost in cooking fires.

In 1472, Irthorn became the capital of the newly established Kingdom of Oathundor.

The southwestern coasts of the Aerie of Dragons, where Irthorn is perched, has some of the best all-around temperatures and weather conditions of all of Brucrumus. As a result, the city is home to many Tragarans and other "smaller than giant" humanoids. Irthorn lower areas are frequently blanketed with fogs rolling in from Nahkropiik Vaal. On windy days, the upper levels of the city often have to cope with the odors of the Fiit Storn. For many this is the only bad thing they have to say about living here.

The giants of Irthorn, those of Oathundor, are not the type that come down out of the mountains to steal your grain and livestock, or plunder your villages and towns, no they are just as civilized as we goblins that have taken to Irthorn's mercantile fervor. There is something about this place, you get caught up in making deals. One of the market's wise-men, an old grizzled half-devil, claims that it is the work of Primus, he pointed to the merchant stalls and their shrewd dealers and buyers, they all follow his creed - "Keep busy, trade fair and often, think of your next enterprise, keep your mind clear of Chaos's tendrils."

- Snakeye, from his book A Goblin in Irthorn - "Always Trading"