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City of Tharis
| Location: | southeast region of the main Shadow continent |
| Rulership: | Direct theocracy under Lord Shadow. Currently managed by Lord Balur Black. |
| Political ties: | Tharis holds its strongest ties with Tonovi due to the slave trade and its shared hostility to elven invaders, though its sway has been limited more recently with Shadovhar occupation. It has neutral trade agreements with Shadow and Tabor. It holds a hostile attitude to the Tsarven Empire, with whom it shares both moral disagreements and borderland disputes. |
| Religious ties: | Tharis used to be known as “city of thieves” as gods of thievery and shadows were its patrons. Since Lord Shadow established unilateral control over the city, the shades are the true rulers, representing a direct theocracy in its true meaning. |
| Tier: | Tier 1 |
History
Historically, Tharis arose as a logging settlement, long-contested with the wood elves of the region. The human faction maintained its hold and then exceeded its strength by taking the elven citizens as slaves and/or second-rate citizens. The ruling humans took on titles of nobility and appointed a duke as their leader.
The elves were divided into two distinct groups: those who remained in the forests and followed the old ways, fighting the human incursions, and those who took up a tenuous existence within their walls, subject to their rule. The elven slums arose from those who stayed behind, guarding lands and hidden secrets that they still claimed to be theirs: The remains of Daoine'yndaar which are shifted out of the prime material plane but still cause wellsprings of power in the area.
In 714, Tharis saw the rise of the drow house Rilynath in support of the urban wood elves, resulting in an uprising and a previously unknown state of strength for these elves. The wood elves of the city openly embraced their drow cousins and adjusted to their new existence as full-fledged citizens and rulers of Tharis.
Following the rebellion, distrust began to grow between forest wood elves and the urban ones, given the actions of the latter in the uprising and their support of the drow. The human factions of the city began to rebuild and maintained a defensive stance within the city and a tenuous truce with the elves and drow.
In 726 SG, a large floating city emerged above Tharis, pulled from the plane of shadows in a ritual of mythical proportions. The city presented itself as Tenebrosa, capital of the Shadovhar, and their ruler, Lord Shadow, claimed dominion over Tharis. The divided factions of the city were easily defeated, and most of the wood elves and drow finally gave up and retreated to the woods and surrounding mountains. Thus began the rule of the Shades, as made evident by the still floating city of Tenebrosa that casts Tharis in eternal shadow. The old human nobility reclaimed some of their dignity when the elves left, and the most prominent among them were chosen as proxies of the shade authorities. The various factions of the city scraped by as they attempted to rebuild some of their former glory.
In 737 SG, Lord Shadow rose to godhood after the fall of his previous goddess Shar. His descendants, known as the Seven Princes of Tenebrosa, now rule both Tharis and the Tenebrosa, under Lord Shadow's guidance: A true theocracy has been established.
Following the rise of Ashra in 751 SG, direct leadership of Tharis has been granted to one of the shades responsible for the Primordial's ascension: Lord Balur Black, Herald of Nightmares. Under his leadership, the city has prospered. Many improvements have been made in sectors such as infrastructure, security, and entertainment, to satiate the locals and invite travelers to the fine city. The city has opened its doors to civilized monsters of all races, possibly to the dismay of pro-human factions.