Karthwasten

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Karthwasten

Karthwasten (literally Karth-Spring in older Breto-Nordic dialects) is a major trade city and the seat of County Karthwasten. It is the largest city in the Reach, and one of the larger cities in all of Skyrim. Karthwasten is built upon the southern end of a mesa outcrop in the Lorchwuir Heath, between the eastern and western forks of the Karth River and the Vorndgad Forest to the north.

Officially, Karthwasten is ruled by Jarl Jona the Ansei-Ender, but the city is currently governed in the name of King Barda by Thane Fomir the Voiceful in her absence.

History

First Era

Long before the Direnni, Redguards, or Nords ruled the Lorchwuir Heath, the area around Karthwasten was inhabited by Nedic peoples. Eventually, a Nordic frontier kingdom called Jallenheim established itself in the area, before being driven out at the end of the First Empire. The Direnni Hegemony extended its borders east, establishing the citadel of Tarnwasel on Karthwasten's current location sometime around 1E 460. With the final collapse of Direnni power in the region around two hundred years later, Tarnwasel became the seat of one of the stronger Reachmen successor kingdoms, Amhra.

The first king of Amhra, named Braon, continued to rule from Tarnwasel, as did his successors. Amhra warred with its neighbors for the next several hundred years, until the Alessian Empire conquered the Ten Kingdoms - by then reduced to five - at the beginning of the second millennium of the First Era. Tarnwasel gradually fell into ruin, and the plateau citadel was eventually buried by the accumulated detritus of centuries.

Second Era

The Reach experienced something of a cultural revival during the Interregnum, as the long-suppressed peoples of the region began to re-asset their independence. Durcorach, a powerful Reachman warlord, rapidly united the Reach and pressed south into Cyrodiil, conquering large swathes of Colovia and upper Nibenay. In 533, Durcorach seized the Imperial City itself.

While the Longhouse Emperors did not long rule the Heartlands, their influence was felt for generations in the Reach. Durcorach's successor, Emperor Moricar, seeking to consolidate his hold over the region, raised his younger brother Caddach to the status of "King of Amhra". The original Amhra (by now long extinct) had ruled only the upper forks of the Karth, but this new incarnation was granted suzerainty over all the Reach. Caddach established his capital on the ruins of Tarnwasel, dubbing the settlement "Karthwasten".

This second Amhra proved far more resilient than the Longhouse Emperors, surviving for many centuries past the defeat of Emperor Leovic in 2E 577. Like its counterpart of old, Amhra often warred with the Nords and Redguards for control over the Reach, though Karthwasten also established itself as a major center of trade largely through commerce with these rival powers.

Amhra remained powerful into the ninth century of the Second Era, but proved unable to withstand the armies of Cuhlecain, King of Falkreath. Led by General Talos, the forces of Amhra were routed at the Battle of Old Hrol'dan, and the kingdom was absorbed into Falkreath's budding empire. The formation of the Third Empire saw Karthwasten integrated into Skyrim Province and the Nordic Kingdom of the Reach.

Third Era

The kings of Markarth Side continued to rule Karthwasten until 3E 127. During the War of the Red Diamond, the Reach sided with Queen Potema of Haafingar in her bid to place Uriel III on the Ruby Throne. The war went poorly for the Reach, and the Lorchwuir Heath was overrun by Redguard forces loyal to Empress Kintyra. The aftermath of the war saw the Reach punished for its treason, with Karthwasten and its surroundings legally ceded to Hammerfell Province. The Redguard Crowns soon became the dominant political force in Karthwasten, establishing their northernmost princely seat at the Red Palace. The Karth River's eastern fork thus became the southwest border of the Reach for the next two hundred years. Trade and Redguard culture flourished during this period, as Dragonstar's Ra-habi Company and many independent merchants found the city to be a profitable crossroads.

Karthwasten remained in Redguard hands until the War of the Bend'r-mahk during the Imperial Simulacrum. In 3E 397, Nord warbands poured across the river and once more seized Karthwasten for Skyrim. With the signing of the Treaty of Chorrol in 399, "County Karthwasten" was ceded back to the Kings of the Reach. Following the war, Karthwasten was granted to Jarl Jona the Ansei-Ender, the vicious chieftain of the Fire-Hand Clan, who had also seized the eastern half of Dragonstar during the bloody final weeks of the Simulacrum. Plagued by insurgencies and assassinations by rebels of the Sogat Dur-Gada, Jarl Jona moved her court to Dragonstar East in 424 in order to crush the Redguard rebels. The revolt, however, only increased in ferocity. After Jona's husband was poisoned by a Sogat agent, Jona ordered a brutal march through the Druadach Highlands, sacking the town of Haimtir for the second time in thirty years. Intending to burn Karthwasten to the ground in retaliation for the rebellion, Jona was instead blocked at the gates by her own Thane, Fomir, who refused to allow her forces to pass the gates. Faced with an impasse, Jarl Jona began a siege of her own throne-city. Luckily for the residents of Karthwasten, the levies of Markarth Side and Beorinhal arrived before the walls could be breached, and Jona was driven back to the safety of Castle Dragonstar, where she remains today.

Today, a portion of Karthwasten's taxes still go to Jona, but neither Fire-Hand forces nor the soldiers of the Reach have been permitted inside the city since 424. For all intents and purposes, Fomir rules the wealthy city alone, a Thane more powerful than many Jarls.

Locations and services

Palace District The eastern side of Karthwasten is known as the Palace District, and is dominated by the estate of the eponymous Red Palace. Lining the Palace walls are a mix of smaller manors, commoner homes, and guard quarters. The seedy Dancing Sabre Tavern and Iancus Vancor's armor and weapons shop. A second gate lies at the southeastern end of the district, allowing access to the mesa outside the walls, including the home of Dunwora, a local healer.

Market District Centered on Karthwasten's main road, the Market District stretches from the city's north gates to the walled-off Southgate District. The Karthwasten Bazaar hosts a number of traders offering fine goods from around the Reach. The Karthwasten guildhalls of the Guild of Fighters and the Guild of Mages. An enchanter, a pawnbroker, an alchemist, a smith, and bakery can also be found here, as can another general merchant. A chapel of the Imperial Cult lies near the north gate, next to the Guard Barracks (Karthwasten). The high-end Ruby Drake Inn can be found on the southern end of the district. Many commoners live in the Market District, alongside a few minor nobles.

Southgate District The Southgate District is walled-off compound containing to several manors. Merchant-princes and Nordic noble families make their homes in this heavily patrolled district. There are no services in the Southgate District.

Outskirts The Outskirts are the poorest part of Karthwasten, found through an alley northwest of the rest of the city. Small farmhouses with subsistence plots make up the bulk of this district, which is home to many impoverished Reachmen and Khajiit. The Outskirts run south behind the Market District, and a significant part of it is reserved for farms, windmills, and granaries. The only services of note can be found at the lower-class tavern The Droopy Mare.

Surroundings Karthwasten's stables sit just north of the north gates. Carriages here offer transport to Beorinhal, Dragonstar East, and Markarth Side. Further north up the road sit the Karthwasten Docks, the southernmost port on the Karth River system. From here, boat transport is available to Karthgad and Markarth Side.

Northeast of Karthwasten lies the Boar-Snout Clanhall, while the Gilded-Shield Manor can be found to the east.

People

Quests related to Karthwasten