Kingdom of Phyrozes
Phyrozes lies at the heart of Ederav, occupying a wind-carved valley bordered by multiple kingdoms; it is enclosed to the west by Zi’fen, to the north by the crescent landmass of Thospeiros, and to the northeast by Aschatava across open waters. To the east, Phyrozes borders Venefigus, with major river systems flowing outward toward Venefian lands, while its southern edge meets the colder highlands of Ulfdinhar. It is the home of the Traxei and was known simply as the valley prior to Varkrys’ colonization era. During the colonial times, the Sethri managed the resources of Phyrozes, leaving farms, man-made lakes, and structures. After the Traxei were liberated by Emperor Auxarros Alzari, the Traxei moved back to the valley, led by Derin the Liberator, and formed the valley into a kingdom named Phyrozes under Eran I Arderinei.
As of the Age of Empire, Phyrozes became one of the six kingdoms within the Empire of Ederav. It adapted the heraldry and monarchy system of Thospeiros, and many of its noble houses descended from Traxei bed slaves kept by the Varkrys during colonial times. Phyrozes is the biggest exporter of fertilizer, dyes, and trade services. Rugha soar the skies as far as the eye can see, and the whole kingdom is bordered by Rughavar, a gargantuan building encircling the valley, with the structure made by utilizing old Traxei pens and cages from Thospeiros.
History
The Paleolithic Valley
The valley originally served as the homeland of the Traxei, who hunted local game, fished with their rugha, and gathered a variety of plants, including fruits, root vegetables, and vines. The Traxei lived in communal groups, residing in huts constructed from straw, root vegetables, and vines. Archaeological evidence indicates that they practised a semi-nomadic lifestyle, travelling with their rugha to visit and trade with other groups. This mobility often led to the exchange of group members, whether through individuals joining new families or by integrating younglings from other communities. Paleolithic Traxei were patriarchal.
At this point, in contrast to the Varkrys, the Venefian, and the Sethri, who had established centralised institutions, maintained records, and developed hierarchical systems of lords and vassals, the Traxei lived according to the simpler rhythms of the valley. Precious metals were not available for mining in the valley, and the Traxei used locally available materials, such as polished bone necklaces, riverstone beads, and bone-and-stone arrows and spears.
Food was plentiful, and their only peril was the cold winter, which made the Traxei’s civilization advancement considerably slower than other races, not to mention they were nowhere as ancient as the Varkrys or the Venefian, as the holy scripture and archaeological findings proved that they were created roughly in 20,000-18,000 BE, around the same time the Ulfhar emerged.
The Smithery Alliance and its effects
In 3,819 BE, the Varkrys and the Sethri forged the Smithery Alliance, uniting their strength and kingdoms to claim the valley. The Traxei, despite their rugha, were no match for the Varkrys’s ruthless battle strategy and the Sethri’s weaponry. For two years, the valley endured siege and assault before it eventually collapsed.
Afterwards, the Varkrys took the surviving Traxei and their rugha from the valley, relocating them to Thospeiros, where they became mine workers and were subjected to rough labour. Meanwhile, the Sethri claimed the land itself. Through controlled burning and ingenious volcanic stone masonry, they transformed the soil, fashioning hardened ground and stone-like terraces suitable for large-scale building. They introduced new plant species brought from Venefigus and cultivated vegetables to thrive in the altered terrain they created as their new food source.
The Sethri worked and shaped the valley for nearly a thousand years, but as the soil’s fertility depleted, their efforts slowed and eventually ceased when trade with Venefigus and Ulfdinhar made it easier and cheaper to acquire food than to tend the land from planting to harvest. Three hundred eleven years afterwards, the Sethri abandoned the valley altogether.
in the year 2,510 BE, King Deirros Alzari of Thospeiros formally purchased Phyrozes from the Sethri at the price of exclusive trade rights, two granaries, and a marriage between any of Deirros’s daughters and King Lerekei Atirei. When Deirros stated that the dowry would be the weight of his chosen daughter in gold, Lerekei chose Deirros’ fattest daughter to wed him. Lerekei, knowing that the strength of the Varkrys lies in their knowledge, also inquired of King Deirros Alzari to send a hundred of his best scholars and funded the building of academies in all the cities of Zi’fen as an additional price to purchase the valley. King Deirros Alzari obliged.
Prior to that, Deirros had consulted the Venefian and sent botanists and gardenwardens of Venefigus to Eternal Mist and Night Call to devise a potent fertiliser using rugha dung mixed with composted matter, which greatly increased the valley’s fertility. Traxei workers returned to the valley each season to farm and harvest as part of the Deisegn, a program by King Deirros Alzari with the goal of enabling Thospeiros to independently source resources for their livelihood without trading with other kingdoms (though trading was still welcomed, just not necessary and more out of indulgence and simply because they were able to trade).
The Traxei, however, never settled in the valley during this time as they were called back by their Varkrys overlords to Thospeiros during the winter. While the Traxei finally reached their homeland once more, it became a land of labour to them—not a home. For another thousand years, it remained a land of labour to the Traxei.
The Valley after the formation of the Empire
Following the formation of the Empire, King Auxarros—who would later become the first Emperor of Ederav—restored the valley to the Traxei. Recognising the risk of land-related conflict, Auxarros convened the nobles of his kingdom to devise a fair division, ensuring that each Traxei group would have distinct territories and thus avoid future disputes. By this time, the Traxei were not only subjugated as mine labourers but had long been forced into sexual servitude as well, with many noble houses maintaining harem courts of Traxei, each pressing for their favoured concubines and their lineage from said concubines to be elevated as local rulers of the land on their behalf.
To resolve these competing claims, Auxarros established the valley as land governed by feudal lords and noble houses under a kingdom. The land itself was partitioned evenly among these houses, with each Traxei harem belonging to a Varkrys noble house granted noble status and the right to start their own household. Auxarros appointed Derin, the sex slave of his sister Helmeras, as leader of the Traxei. Derin led the Traxei out of Thospeiros to the valley with his rugha, Storm, and supervised the land partitions. However, he was unwilling to part from Helmeras and instead crowned his son, Eranarros Alzari, as the first king of Phyrozes.
Eranarros Alzari renamed himself Eran Arderinei, named the valley Phyrozes, and inaugurated the Arderinei dynasty. Other newly-formed houses of Phyrozes adopted similar naming conventions, reworking the name of the Varkrysathur houses to which they belonged and adding the ‘Ar’ prefix. By the order of Auxarros, the Traxei mine slaves and rough labourers were grouped together to be appointed to their own land and the right to start their noble house as well. They named themselves Ardeyi, from the word Deisegn, to commemorate their ancestors who died while working in mines and in the valley during the reign of Deirros Alzari.
Many Traxei—both those who had been kept as private properties of Varkrysathur noble houses and those managed directly by the kingdom—chose not to return to Phyrozes and remained in the cities where they lived. They were elevated to equal standing with the Varkrys and to prevent the formation of isolated Traxei enclaves within Thospeiros, Auxarros delegated the noble lords to arrange marriages between Traxei and lowborn Varkrys, offering land, vocations and careers, or dowries as incentives. Those Traxei who did not resettle in Phyrozes were quickly integrated into Varkrys society by two generations at most.
Civil War of Phyrozes
Geography and Environment
Phyrozes is a broad valley encircled by the mountain ridges of Zi’fen and Ulfdinhar to the west and south respectively, and by the forested highlands of Venefigus to the east. Along the cliffs and ridgelines separating the valley from these mountains nested the rugha, the native beasts of the Traxei, whose presence has long shaped settlement patterns and defensive strategy. After Rughavar was built, wild riderless rugha would nest at the very top of Rughavar, while kept rugha takes the stables one level lower.
For thousands of years, Phyrozes existed as a fertile grassland valley, crossed by river systems flowing from Venefigus toward Thospeiros and onward to Ulfdinhar and Zi’fen. The land is naturally rich in vines, wild grasses, flowering plants, and low shrubs, supporting both pastoral life and seasonal agriculture.
Following the Smithery Alliance, the Sethri assumed control of the valley. Through controlled burning and volcanic stone-carving techniques, they altered the soil, creating hardened ground and stone-like formations suitable for large-scale construction. During their stewardship, the Sethri introduced new plant species from Venefigus and cultivated vegetables adapted to the altered terrain.
They worked the land for nearly a thousand years and slowed down before they abandoned the lands altogether after they started trading with Venefigus and Ulfdinhar, as food costed cheaper through trades than by working the lands from sowing until farming. 311 years after the Sethri abandoned The Valley, King Deirros Alzari formally purchased Phyrozes from the Sethri and redirected its use toward Thosperios’ resource production.
In the present day, Phyrozes remains a predominantly grassy valley, though its terrain reflects centuries of layered habitation. Cities are commonly established upon elevated, hill-like formations or upon towering, stalagmite-shaped stone structures first formed through Sethri engineering. The uppermost surfaces of these formations are reserved for fortresses, citadels, and castles, while their sides are functioned into terraced farms and rugha nesting sites, integrating agriculture, defense, and aerial life into a single vertical system.
Historically, Phyrozes was subject to powerful, uninterrupted winds that prevented the growth of large trees and stable ground settlements. The construction of Rughavar altered this dynamic by breaking and redirecting wind currents around the valley. Consequently, trees and smaller settlements have since taken root along the valley floor, while the elevated formations continue to function as fortified strongholds and aerial hubs.
Phyrozes’ climate is generally mild, growing colder toward the southern regions and warmer toward the west. Rain falls for roughly four months approaching the end of the year, while snowfall occurs during the final two months. The remaining months are distinguished by warmer temperatures and clear skies with white clouds.
Cities and Ruling Noble Houses
In the present time, Phyrozes is constituted of nine established cities, administered by eight noble houses exercising regional authority. Rughavar, which encircles the kingdom, remains the capital of Phyrozes and is governed directly by the crown and remains under the jurisdiction of the house of the reigning king. Said cities and noble houses are:
Rughavar: The Shield City
The fortress of Rughavar encircles the entirety of Phyrozes, establishing both a clearly defined border and a continuous defensive barrier around the kingdom. Construction of Rughavar commenced in 3 AE and finished in 56 AE, under the decree of King Eran I Arderinei. The project was overseen by House Ardeyi, whose lineage descended from mine laborers and whose expertise in large-scale construction and logistical management proved essential to the undertaking.
Rughavar rises to a height of approximately sixty meters and measures twenty meters in width. Its outer walls are reinforced and supported by dense, vine-bearing plants, which stabilizes the stonework while integrating the structure into the surrounding environment. The fortress is punctuated by thousands of large arched openings, allowing rugha to take off and land along the length of the wall with ease.
Governance within Rughavar is divided to half in accordance with its vast scale. The primary royal seat is located along the westernmost segment of the ring, bordering Zi’fen, from which the reigning king exercises authority over the kingdom. The eastern segment, facing Venefigus, is customarily managed by the designated heir, serving as a training domain in which future rulers gain experience in governance, defense, and administration.
Eran I Arderinei, whom governed Phyrozes from his land, Derin’s Blessed, moved to Rughavar after its completion and named it the capital of Phyrozes. House Arderinei ruled Rughavar from 56 AE to 132 AE where their rule effectively ended after the death of King Leren Arderinei. After his death, Rughavar fell to King Sohan I Ardeyi and to the House Ardeyi, who has been ruling the kingdom from Rughavar since 132 AE to the present time.
As for the present timeline, King Sohan II Ardeyi rules the western side of Rughavar, while his heir, Prince Rakai Ardeyi, rules the eastern side of Rughavar.
Derin’s Blessed: The Window to the Past
Derin’s Blessed is situated in the northern reaches of Phyrozes, twelve kilometers before Rughavar and lying south of the cavernous entrances leading into Fang’s Hold of Thospeiros. The city was founded by King Eran I Arderinei, who was deeply invested in historical preservation, upon sites rich with pre-colonial Traxei burial grounds and Sethri stone relics. Rather than relocating these remains, Eran I ordered these archaeological sites to be enclosed with accessible stone spires, which became the foundation of the city itself.
At the heart of Derin’s Blessed stand forty-seven stone spires, each constructed to house archaeological findings, funerary chambers, and inscribed Sethri tablets. Above these spires rises the royal keep, elevated deliberately so as not to disturb the relics below, symbolizing the continuity between past memory and present rule. Unfortunately, Leren Arderinei destroyed two out of the forty-seven spires to taunt his sister, Norvenna, during the War of the Skies in 131 AE.
The city spreads outward beneath the spires in terraced districts, its layout intentionally mirroring the organic growth of Ehan-Rhala. Agriculture in Derin’s Blessed is largely vertical. The sides of the stone spires are cultivated with climbing vine crops, tended by farmers who rely on rugha for access to higher elevations. Like all Traxei cities, rugha are integral to the city’s infrastructure, serving as the primary means of reaching the elevated keep and upper districts. Beyond the city proper, a marble wall encloses the lower settlements, demarcating Derin’s Blessed as both a protected archive and a living urban center.