Exploring Tyr

Tyr hunkers within high walls in the middle of the fertile Tyr Valley, which lies in the foothills of the Ringing Mountains. From miles away, a traveler can make out the massive spires of the Golden Tower rising over the city-state's walls. Not far from the tower, a brick step-pyramid soars above the walls: the Ziggurat of Kalak. multicolored and resplendent under the desert sun. The city walls are parched sandstone, smoothed by time and centuries of con­ tinual repair. Beyond Tyr loom the ramparts of the Ringing Mountains, whose topmost peaks glint with a dusting of snow during the months of Sun Descending.

Most traffic enters the city-state through the eastern Caravan Gate. This structure consists of two marble valves, each 20 feet high and nearly as wide, which are banded and hinged in precious iron. Inside, the thoroughfare known as Caravan Way leads through the Caravan District toward the heart of the city, where the Merchant District is nestled at the base of the towering Ziggurat of Kalak. The spa­cious stone residences that make up the twin wards of the Noble District lie north and south of the Caravan District, easily differentiated from the press of adobe buildings in the surrounding neighborhoods.

Commoners and freed slaves live cheek by jowl in the Warrens, a medley of unplanned structures that sprawls away north of the Ziggurat. Criminal gangs roam the Warrens, preying on the weak. Temporary shelters built by recently freed slaves have sprung up in the Artisan District on the ziggurat's north side. Although shelter and access to water is less certain in the Artisan District, fewer bodies turn up here each morning than in the Warrens. This district also now doubles as a training area for gladiators who choose to fight in the Stadium of Tyr during the infrequent games held there.
The stadium separates the Ziggurat of Kalak from the Golden Tower.

Under the new regime, the sound of spectators screaming for their favorites is heard on just ten days of every month. The rest of the time, the stadium serves as an overflow market ofdisorganized stalls, tents, and blankets where misfit traders offer a multitude of goods and services. Tyr has always been two cities in one: the greater city, which is composed of commoners, slaves (now freed), and nobles, and the smaller Golden City, which is dominated by the Golden Tower and is the home ofthe resplendent King's Gardens. Many civic structures surround the tower, along with giant warehouses that hold precious reserves ofgrain, iron ingots, water, and weaponry. In addition, the Golden City houses upper-class functionaries and templars.

The Golden Tower, Tyr's most majestic piece of architecture , is constructed of rare golden granite and contains dozens of chambers linked by wind­ing passages. A separate observation spire stands nearby, a smaller version of the main tower; a soar­ing bridge connects the two structures. According to rumor, defiling magic binds ancient elementals to the Golden Tower, creatures that remain vigilant against potential attackers. Since King Kalak fell, all attempts at entering the tower have failed.


Finally, beneath the city lies Under-Tyr, catacombs that represent the leavings of more than two thou­sand years of urban construction on the same site. Buried streets, cracked courtyards, and crumbling ruins abound in the darkness beneath Tyr. Secret cellars in surface buildings offer access into this dan­ gerous realm ofsubterranean passages and forgotten neighborhoods.