Orias Vual

Orias Vual was founded by the demons of a legendary regiment named Vauquix. During the Demon Spawn War, this military unit became stranded on Bal-Kriav. They went into hiding and were never found by their angelic adversaries. When the gods and angels left this world for the mortals, they stationed angels about the lands to watch for the re-emergence of the Vauquix. After more than two thousand years, the angels assumed that the demons killed each other or were wiped out by creatures of the land. When the angels left, the demons re-appeared, coming up from the deeps of the Underdark and building Orias Vual on the plateau overlooking Malephar. The settlement became the capital of the Varelay. The demons of Varelay were as brutal and domineering as their brethren in the Abyss. They turned the country-side into a volatile landscape with all their mining and wanton destruction. This volatile period of history became known as the Varelay Upheaval (2608 LE - 16 HE).

After the fall of Varelay, the city fell into ruins. The few demons that were left established petty holdings that fell as quickly as they rose. After a while, the hundred or so demons went elsewhere in the world and the ruins were left to the wild. Orias Vual became the abode of monsters and bands of firenewts. Late in the Horgon Era, Malephar's firenewts rebuilt a few areas of the vast ruined city.

In 799, the red dragon Hellbleaker and a band of fire giants attacked the city and subjugated a population of firenewts numbering in the tens of thousands. Orias Vual was then expanded to support the giants and their new lord.

In 832, upon the founding of Goth-Dyvermoir, Orias Vual became the empire's capital.

In 1456, Orias Vual was captured by an army led by the Asvard Fjoll. The army ousted the empire's dragon dictator and established a theocracy in its place. Orias Vual becomes the heart of religious worship in Goth-Dyvermoir, pledging itself to the will of Surtur.

In 1462, in a lighting fast war called the Retribution Campaign, Raxcvillibus captured the city and killed Emperor Gorthundor. In what is thought to have been collusion on the part of Gorthundor's daughter, Raxcvillibus does not stake claim to the city. He takes 500,000 in gold from the city's treasury, 40 fire giants, and 5,000 firenewts as spoils of war. Rule of the city is left to the Vinjof Sillodis and their new leader Oni'tira.

Orias Vual is a very old and very large city. It is built along and in the cliffs overlooking Malephar. Lava canals snake through the city, cascading over the cliffs as either lava falls or down great steps cut into the cliffs. The architecture of the city is grandiose with 300' spires of lava stone, mammoth arches and bridges, and huge domed buildings. It is a mix of demon, dragon, and fire giant architecture. The city is a smoky, hot, and dry place. The Vinjof Sillodis has their government offices in the massive palace that once served as the seat of power for Hellbleaker and the demon masters of Varelay.

The city has many passages leading into Dhark Bolg. Those leading in the direction of Sephu'phis bristle with fortifications.