Solarias
Overview
Solarias, commonly called the Forge City, was one of the most significant urban centers of the ancient empire. According to A History of Rislandia, it was located in the volcanic desert regions near what would later become the borders of Nyanzi. With a population of approximately 300,000, Solarias ranked among the largest cities of its era. The city was built around active geothermal vents, which powered its legendary forges and gave the settlement its distinctive character: perpetual smoke hung over its skyline, and the sound and heat of industry never ceased.
Description
According to A History of Rislandia, Solarias functioned as "the empire's industrial heart, forges running day and night." The city was renowned for the production of weapons and armor, as well as the distinctive craft of molten glass art — an industry made possible by the ever-present heat of the geothermal vents beneath the city. The combination of volcanic geography and relentless industry made Solarias unlike any other settlement in the empire.
Solarias also served as the headquarters of the Pyrean Order, the organization most closely associated with the city's fiery character and industrial power.
History
The city's end came during the Night of Shattered Crystals, a catastrophic event that reshaped the political and religious landscape of the empire. According to A History of Rislandia, the Pyrean Order fractured during this crisis: half of its members joined Emperor Nerovan the Mad, while the other half fled into the desert. The city itself burned in the chaos of these events.
Among those who escaped the destruction was Wyranth Ashenblade, of whom A History of Rislandia records that he "escaped Solarias as the city burned."
Legacy
The fall of Solarias marked the end of the empire's greatest center of industry and the dispersal of the Pyrean Order. The fate of the city's population, its forges, and the faction of the Order that fled into the desert remained consequential to the history of the region that would eventually border Nyanzi. The ruins of Solarias stood as a testament to both the empire's industrial ambition and the violence of its collapse.