The City of Kracken’s Fall:
Kracken’s Fall one of the great wonders of Tarsonis, Kracken’s Fall one of the most ancient bastions of civilisations, Kracken’s Fall a great port and trade centre of the world, Kracken’s Fall home to one of the oldest and most respected dynasties, Kracken’s Fall a crowded cesspool of poverty and crime, Kracken’s Fall ruled over by despotic demonic warlords since its founding.
Much of the founding of Kracken’s Fall is unknown because of its age, most of what is known is due to the legends past down by ruling nobles but it can be argued that such tales only seek to serve the idea that those same nobles have a Divine Right to rule these lands and with so much time past it is impossible to know the truth of the matter.
The tale told by the ruling Kings (and later Dukes once the Minbari Empire took over) was that sometime between AA:400 to AA:500 the Drazi Demon King known only as The Blackhand defeated a titanic beast known as the Kracken in a battle so fierce that those who witness it were blinded by the magical energy released. That when the best fell it created a crater that protects the city from storms that are common to the area and that The Blackhand decreed that a great city be constructed to honour of his fallen companions who died fighting the Kracken, though no record of who or what these companions were.
Kracken’s Fall is both the most populated city in Tarsonis and has the highest population density, even peasants live in towering houses reaching up to the sky. It is said that The Blackhand made deals with giants to build his city for the scale of construction found in Kracken’s Fall is unique in all Tarsonis. Normally buildings that reach three or four stories into the sky are reserved lords, churches or particularly wealthy merchants are everywhere within Kracken’s Fall. But these towering grey buildings are often packed with a dozen family’s or more and the population of the city far exceeds the designed capacity for the city itself sits upon an island in the middle of a great river which flows around and often floods the land surrounding Kracken’s Fall quickly destroying any settlements that form on across the river. Another notable feature of Kracken’s Fall is the rain, now all of Drazi is prone to long rainy seasons but Kracken’s fall suffers from storms blown in from the sea yet the city was built to withstand any storm and its massive sewer system drains away the excess rainwater and waste from the city. These sewers often seem an attractive prospect to criminals and evil creatures who wish to remain hidden from the world above but they are well maintained and patrolled by The Royal Guild of Subterranean Cleansers, these days just referred to as Rat Catchers who fight a constant war under the streets of Kracken’s Fall against incursions of Goblins, nests of Giant Rats and Spiders, the occasional demon worshiping cult.
For many generations the Blackhands ruled as Kings over the city of Kracken’s Fall as it grew in population and wealth. Rebellions and invasions failed to topple the Rule of the Blackhands often they claimed to be divinely ordained to rule the city and prepare for the day when a great evil, possibly another Kracken, would immerge from the depths to devastate the world. These claims mostly stopped after the Drazi Kingdoms bowed down before the Minbari Empire and the Blackhands became Dukes of a greater Empire. It is true that the Duke’s of Drazi and many members of their households possess powers greater than that of the common folk but such powers are hardly unique to the nobility of Drazi.
AA:2258 has seen an end to the dynastic rule of the Blackhands with the death of Regulus Blackhand the King of Drazi decreed that rulership would not pass to Regulus’ last living child or another close family member but instead the King appointed a Governor and while this has been met with hostility by loyalists to the ancient dynasty many citizens have welcomed the change in leadership due to the promises of a more represented form of government in the form of elections for key positions within the Governors new formed “Council of Citizens”
This change in government would never have been possible a generation ago, in fact even a few decades ago any dissent towards the rule of the Blackhands put down with brutal efficiency. But with the loss of his sons Jared and Dean Blackhand at the disastrous battle of Whispering Crag where the Kracken’s Fall army was almost totally annihilated and almost every person in Kracken’s Fall lost a friend of family member only a few short years ago left a great anger towards Regulus Blackhand and his inaction during the Plague of Living death in the spring left many openly questioning his leadership just a few short months before his assassination.
His Daughter Elenna had been missing since before the plague, some say kidnapped by the court bard others say they were lovers who ran away together, was nowhere to be found when her father was assassinated and one of Duke Blackhand’s most loyal supporters and closest confidant, Baron Montoya took power claiming his actions were designed to stop a power struggle that risked armed conflict between the nobles of Kracken’s Fall. The King later ratified his position by appointing him Drazi’s first Governor and declaring him ruler over Kracken’s Fall due to his reputation as a fair and strong ruler and his experience both in battle and politics. Loyalists to the Blackhands have not accepted this appointment and there has been unrest, assassinations carried out on officials working for the Governor as well attacks on guard posts and now raids upon the governors tax collectors in an effort to starve the new government of funds. They say that Elenna Blackhand herself is behind these rebellious acts but there are many rumours that it is outside forces trying to weaken an already wounded city.
Kracken’s Fall one of the great wonders of Tarsonis, Kracken’s Fall one of the most ancient bastions of civilisations, Kracken’s Fall a great port and trade centre of the world, Kracken’s Fall home to one of the oldest and most respected dynasties, Kracken’s Fall a crowded cesspool of poverty and crime, Kracken’s Fall ruled over by despotic demonic warlords since its founding.
Much of the founding of Kracken’s Fall is unknown because of its age, most of what is known is due to the legends past down by ruling nobles but it can be argued that such tales only seek to serve the idea that those same nobles have a Divine Right to rule these lands and with so much time past it is impossible to know the truth of the matter.
The tale told by the ruling Kings (and later Dukes once the Minbari Empire took over) was that sometime between AA:400 to AA:500 the Drazi Demon King known only as The Blackhand defeated a titanic beast known as the Kracken in a battle so fierce that those who witness it were blinded by the magical energy released. That when the best fell it created a crater that protects the city from storms that are common to the area and that The Blackhand decreed that a great city be constructed to honour of his fallen companions who died fighting the Kracken, though no record of who or what these companions were.
Kracken’s Fall is both the most populated city in Tarsonis and has the highest population density, even peasants live in towering houses reaching up to the sky. It is said that The Blackhand made deals with giants to build his city for the scale of construction found in Kracken’s Fall is unique in all Tarsonis. Normally buildings that reach three or four stories into the sky are reserved lords, churches or particularly wealthy merchants are everywhere within Kracken’s Fall. But these towering grey buildings are often packed with a dozen family’s or more and the population of the city far exceeds the designed capacity for the city itself sits upon an island in the middle of a great river which flows around and often floods the land surrounding Kracken’s Fall quickly destroying any settlements that form on across the river. Another notable feature of Kracken’s Fall is the rain, now all of Drazi is prone to long rainy seasons but Kracken’s fall suffers from storms blown in from the sea yet the city was built to withstand any storm and its massive sewer system drains away the excess rainwater and waste from the city. These sewers often seem an attractive prospect to criminals and evil creatures who wish to remain hidden from the world above but they are well maintained and patrolled by The Royal Guild of Subterranean Cleansers, these days just referred to as Rat Catchers who fight a constant war under the streets of Kracken’s Fall against incursions of Goblins, nests of Giant Rats and Spiders, the occasional demon worshiping cult.
For many generations the Blackhands ruled as Kings over the city of Kracken’s Fall as it grew in population and wealth. Rebellions and invasions failed to topple the Rule of the Blackhands often they claimed to be divinely ordained to rule the city and prepare for the day when a great evil, possibly another Kracken, would immerge from the depths to devastate the world. These claims mostly stopped after the Drazi Kingdoms bowed down before the Minbari Empire and the Blackhands became Dukes of a greater Empire. It is true that the Duke’s of Drazi and many members of their households possess powers greater than that of the common folk but such powers are hardly unique to the nobility of Drazi.
AA:2258 has seen an end to the dynastic rule of the Blackhands with the death of Regulus Blackhand the King of Drazi decreed that rulership would not pass to Regulus’ last living child or another close family member but instead the King appointed a Governor and while this has been met with hostility by loyalists to the ancient dynasty many citizens have welcomed the change in leadership due to the promises of a more represented form of government in the form of elections for key positions within the Governors new formed “Council of Citizens”
This change in government would never have been possible a generation ago, in fact even a few decades ago any dissent towards the rule of the Blackhands put down with brutal efficiency. But with the loss of his sons Jared and Dean Blackhand at the disastrous battle of Whispering Crag where the Kracken’s Fall army was almost totally annihilated and almost every person in Kracken’s Fall lost a friend of family member only a few short years ago left a great anger towards Regulus Blackhand and his inaction during the Plague of Living death in the spring left many openly questioning his leadership just a few short months before his assassination.
His Daughter Elenna had been missing since before the plague, some say kidnapped by the court bard others say they were lovers who ran away together, was nowhere to be found when her father was assassinated and one of Duke Blackhand’s most loyal supporters and closest confidant, Baron Montoya took power claiming his actions were designed to stop a power struggle that risked armed conflict between the nobles of Kracken’s Fall. The King later ratified his position by appointing him Drazi’s first Governor and declaring him ruler over Kracken’s Fall due to his reputation as a fair and strong ruler and his experience both in battle and politics. Loyalists to the Blackhands have not accepted this appointment and there has been unrest, assassinations carried out on officials working for the Governor as well attacks on guard posts and now raids upon the governors tax collectors in an effort to starve the new government of funds. They say that Elenna Blackhand herself is behind these rebellious acts but there are many rumours that it is outside forces trying to weaken an already wounded city.