Arathoxia
| Arathoxia | |
|---|---|
| 'Thoxia | |
 Arathoxia after its fall | |
| Information | |
| Plane | Dominaria |
| Part of | Stonehaven, Corondor |
| Status | Ruined |
| Formerly part of | Iron Kingdom |
Arathoxia (air-uh-thoks-EE-uh[a]), sometimes called 'Thoxia, was a city-state of Dominarian Corondor at the delta of the Tenamis River on the southwestern coast of the land of Stonehaven.
Description
Arathoxia used to be the world's richest city-state, reigned by the Grand Sultan of Arathoxia. Its ruins lie two hundred miles south of Ephren and due southwest of the forest of Krysalthus. Built on the delta on the mouth of the Tenamis River at the southwestern plateau of the continent, the port city was once Corondor’s gateway to the east.[1] Arathoxia lay west of the Nyx swamp and the treacherous cliffs of Cape Casindral.[2] The city was a hub of civilization, complete with open-air markets, temples, and fortifications. The city’s populace was made up of traders and merchants, thieves and viziers, priests and wizards — all thriving in the shadows of Arathoxia’s towers. The city’s spires overlooked the five House palaces, which were the seats of power for Stonehaven’s highest spheres of influence.[1]
The five houses were:
- House Bikov (or House Sapphire). Ruled from the docks district by Marshall Bikov of Lighthouse Island.[3]
- House Kavrel (or House Pearl). Ruled from the Ivory Watchtower by Tobias Kavrel of the Stonehaven Plains.[3]
- House Khone (or House Jet). Ruled from the Black Fortress by the Lord of House Khone of the land of Khone.[3]
- House Scarlet (or House Ruby) Ruled from the Scarlet Estate by Lord Adam Carthalion and the Scarlet Vizier. House Carthalion was based in Castle Melmereth on the plains of Ephren.
- House Verdenth (or House Emerald). Ruled from the House of Verdenth by Lady Verdenth of Krysalthus Forest.[3]
History
Arathoxia was built with the aid of Liana of Minorad and the Scarlet Vizier. This happened after the Gathering of the Sages of Minorad, when Liana was put into the vizier's servitude.[4]
Arathoxia was the city where Jared Carthalion grew up with his father's spellsquire, Ezer. In the year 4195 AR, Ravidel ravaged the city using the Chaos Orb, causing the Fall of Arathoxia.[5]
Even after its fall, amidst broken columns and shattered lives, there was both hope and resistance to the Battlemage. General Yorgo, a one-time companion to Jared Carthalion, desperately defended the city and its residents from the worst of the Planeswalker War.
Inspiration
Arathoxia is based on the ancient Byzantine city of Constantinople, a fantastically prosperous center of commerce for hundreds of years — until its corrupt or just inept politicians (much like ’Thoxia’s Sultan and Scarlet Vizier) made it vulnerable to invasion. There were indeed underground baths in Constantinople, although the Goth Gang in the Passages of the Dead beneath Arathoxia owes its inspiration more to the punk scene of the late 19705.[6]
Notes
- ↑ Transcribed from the original "a-ra-thoks-EE-a" to conform with Wikipedia's pronunciation respelling standards.[1]
References
- ↑ a b c Volume 2: Desolate Angel. The Shadow Mage. (1995) Armada.
- ↑ April King (March 29, 2018). "The Locales of BattleMage". Pokeinthe.io.
- ↑ a b c d Volume 3: War Child. The Shadow Mage. (1995) Armada.
- ↑ WotC (1996). "The Story of the Battlemage Ravidel"
- ↑ Jeff Gomez (1995). "'Wayfarer". Armada.
- ↑ Jerry Prosser, Rags Morales, and Barbara Kaalberg (June 1996) Dakkon Blackblade. Armada.