City of Raging Waters

Ruler: Queen Zehanni Mendarin

Crossmire sits to the west, spanning the Shallorn river. The city found its start as a collection of tents on either side of a particularly high bridge constructed by the Dwarves during the second great war. As the bridge was widened, the tents spread around it and eventually, onto it. Crossmire is now essentially a city that exists over one of Ianis’s mightiest rivers. It is difficult at this point to distinguish where the bridge and city starts and finishes – so integrated is the city into the bridge.

Crossmire enjoys a great deal of protection from any invaders thanks not only to the Shallorn river, but to the gates of Crossmire, constructed (apparently) by Korthar himself before he departed Ianis. The Gates of Crossmire are a famous landmark on Ianis and are regarded as perhaps one of the most impenetrable structures on Ianis. It is difficult to say what it is about the gates that makes them so difficult to conquer, especially considering they’re hardly the highest or widest gates in the world. But despite many attempts by Orcs to the east, goblins to the west and even occasional bands of lizard-folk, the gates have never fallen.

The city is a fairly prosperous one thanks in part to its position over the river. There are, within the city, multiple locations where one may take a lift, or staircase to underneath the bridge. Suspended from the bottom of the bridge is almost another city, metal gangplanks extending in a maze across the bottom. The roar of the river below echoes all around, and fisherman work tirelessly, capturing the bounty of the Shallorn river. Fish, fresh or otherwise, from the Shallorn river are regarded as some the highest quality in all of Ianis. So highly regarded is this quality, that there is in fact a black market for Shallorian fish and from time to time fakes will appear.

Stamping out these fakes and ruling Crossmire with an iron, if somewhat loving, fist is Queen Zehanni Mendarin. Queen Zehanni was particularly ruthless in wiping away any record of her past and indeed the official narrative is that Queen Zehanni has always ruled Crossmire, born from the Shallorn itself. Whether this is actually true or not is a topic of some debate. Indeed Queen Zehanni has ruled for many, many years, somehow enjoying a lifespan multiple times longer than any other human. Over the years she has proven herself to be an incredibly capable ruler, guiding Crossmire through multiple crises. Queen Zehanni is known throughout the Lord-doms for her almost motherly protection of Crossmire and its people, and her ruthless disregard for people outside its borders. While Queen Zehanni is by no means cruel or evil, she has little interest in other kingdoms and will use all her charm and guile (of which she has an abundance) to do the best for Crossmire.

A thorough investigation into Queen Zehanni’s lifespan has never taken place due to Crossmire’s other source of prosperity. The Silver Hands – the most official unofficial thieves guild in Ianis – is ruled over officially unofficially by Queen Zehanni. With operations throughout the Lord-doms and beyond, Queen Zehanni unofficially has the longest reach of any of the lords. As a result of the Silver Hands, Crossmire enjoys a large amount of unofficial ill-gotten prosperity, having become an unofficial hub for all things legally ambiguous in the Lord-doms. For some reason Queen Zehanni and the Silver Hands have never been investigated fully, with evidence constantly catching fire, reports catching fire, magically captured images catching fire and investigators meeting horrible accidents involving fire and occasionally thumbscrews.

Despite the officially unofficial presence of The Silver Hands, Crossmire is still a safe place to be for almost all races. Enjoying a close border with the Elven tribes and being the most reliable way to cross the river, Crossmire is something of a melting pot. Tieflings however are not permitted within the cities walls with Queen Zehanni not yet fully convinced they mean no harm to Ianis. Tieflings wishing to cross the bridge are welcome to make their way across one of the external gangways hanging off the side of the city. This is a journey that is not always survived, a fact that Queen Zehanni loses no sleep over.

Art by Jon Pintar
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