====== Torm ======

|**Location**:| Dagger region, southeast coastline|
|**Rulership**:| elective princedom, plutocracy|
|**Symbol**:| A masted ship which rests in the watery foreground of a busy city harbor. At the edge of the water, towering over the city, is the majestic silhouette of a male statue. In his outstretched hand he holds a glowing orb leading the ship home to its harbor. Cast in the twilight sky is a crescent moon flanked by five glittering stars.|
|**Political ties:**| Following the loss of its strongest alliance upon Daggerdale's destruction, Torm has restored a degree of its alliance with the merchants now in charge of Shadow city, and maintains friendly relations with [[antioch|Antioch]]. It has recently gained a small number of trade agreements with [[kinaro|Kinaro]], following the migration of some of Daggerdale's merchants to within its gates. Its hostilities with [[tonovi|Tonovi]] have cooled, given so long since the war, but there are still no trade relations or other alliances.|
|**Religious ties:**| Gods and spirits that favor the seas are the most overwhelming and long-lived patrons of the port city, with prayers offered daily from both citizens and travelers alike. [[lysara|Lysara]] is also favored by many seafarers, and [[cevahir|Cevahir]], likewise, has become something of a patron deity of the city.|
|**Est. Pop.**| 250,000+|
|Tier: | [[rules:city_assault|Tier 1]] |

Torm is arguably matched with [[shadow|Shadow]] as a trade hub of the northern realms, having control of most sea trade. It has maintained a fairly neutral stance over the years - being a prime trading city, neutrality carries more benefits than alliances and hostilities. It has seen minimal trouble, short of the invasion of [[shadow|Shadow]] and [[tonovi|Tonovi]] several years previous, which was fortunately ended without great damage to the city itself.

The city itself was once ruled by a royal line, which was displaced following a sinister plot by the Vizier and his allies. Almost a century later, this was resolved by a group of adventurers, and the royal line was restored under the half-elf Liana. 

Torm has a history longer than most existing human settlements within Shadow. Arising originally as the [[aesatri|Aesatri]] coastal village of Thorm, it fell under the sway of [[zincharu|Zin'Charu]] rule until their disappearance in -549SG, after which it grew to become one of the two sister-cities of the coastline, twin to southern Asgard. Withstanding the upheaval of the Godswar and the separation from [[asgard|Asgard]] until the late 500's SG, it became a prosperous sea-port and the capital of the Thorm Kingdom that stretched the entire [[yniam_plains|Yniam Plain]] and [[kilkaen_forest|Kilkaen Forest]]. The royal line, of direct Aesatri lineage, has faded over the years and in the last half-century has seemed beset by a curse that has left it without an apparent heir.

The Vizier Umzuzalil once served as the king's advisor and confident. Using his telepathy powers, he subtly placed himself to help the king and Torm, but in reality he starts to twist the life of the king. First is the betrayal and death of the Queen, after she was found to be in a torrid affair that broke the King's heart. The Queen was actually being controlled by the Vizier to do these things, after which he saw to her death.

Then there was what seemed like the drowning of the crown princess on a return voyage from Torm's sister-city Asgard. The Royal Princess was travelling as a diplomatic envoy, working on a trade agreement with the King of Asgard. Her fleet of ships were lost at sea due to a freakish storm.

With all these losses, the Vizier started to unravel the mind of the king. With no heirs, and no one left in line for the throne when the King's mind finally did snap years later, it seemed natural that the Vizier would take over.

For the most part, a high percentage of Torm's citizens have had no reason to mistrust or be suspicious of the Vizier. With the events in Daggerdale as they happened, there have been a few questions asked. Though those people tend to go missing or quickly change their tune.

==== Fall of the kingdom of Torm ====

In the early years of the mad King Erik's rule, it was deemed by the faith that the royal line of Thorm had become too much of a hindrance to the church efforts among the merchants of Thorm city, and were too controlled by their elven allies in Akh'ketonn to the north. Umzuzalil, a promising young psion raised from childhood by the faith, was tasked with gaining the king's confidence and, with help, was after several years raised into a prime position as the King's second-most trusted advisor.

It was some years later that Queen Rosalind, after more than a decade of marriage, was found to be having an affair that, when made public, broke King Erik's heart. Unable to bear the dishonor, she was later found to have committed suicide. The same year, Erik's only daughter Eira was lost in a freak storm at sea, while returning from a diplomatic envoy to Asgard. Lost as well in the tragedy was the King's most trusted advisor, the elf Thaonllae, who had advised the king's father, and his before him.

The losses soon led to the King's mind unravelling, and in his slip to madness, Umzuzalil took gradual control of the kingdom's affairs. By 668SG Erik was declared unfit to rule, and with no successors to uphold the royal line, the city's merchant council unanimously declared Umzuzalil as Vizier and ruler. As a firm and fair ruler, however, the citizens were fond of their once-king and pitied his fall, and so Erik was left to wander the city's gardens in his madness.

The fall of the royal line, however, also served to fragment what remained of the Kingdom's outposts. In 670SG, the Dukedom of Tonovi separated from the kingdom, declaring its loyalty to the crown no longer valid with the royal line fallen. Allying with Shadow, it claimed illegitimate rule by the Vizier and lay siege to the city, ending in 671SG with a truce on both sides and heavy losses taken by Torm. Quiet hostilities held since, with Tonovi taking control of the major trade route and the tolls upon it.

After many years of unrest and upheaval, mostly at the hand of passing adventurers causing strife, Daggerdale fell under attack in 678SG by a horde of drow from the northern Dagger mountains. The city was summarily razed to the ground, its ruins left cursed and lorded over by Kiervalan, who had defected from leadership of Torm's army and taken a good piece of its following with him to be slain. As the last major loyal settlement to the Kingdom, most scholars declare this the final fall of the Kingdom itself, though the King still technically lives to this day.

==== Eira of Thorm ====

It is publically held that Eira Eriksdotter, only heir to the throne of Thorm, was lost at sea in 667SG during a political envoy to Asgard, along with her mentor and advisor to the king, Thaonllae of Akh'ketonn. The temple has reason to believe, however, that the elves of Akh'ketonn gained advance knowledge of the intended fall of the royal line, and had the child removed to a safe location before she could be dealt with as intended. No word has since come of her whereabouts, if indeed she still lives, and no attempt has been made by her or her elven allies to restore the throne of Thorm. This matter has been kept classified, to avoid any rebellion by the citizenry or attempts by 'goodly' folk to attempt to locate and restore the royal line.

Thaonllae, out of loyalty to the king and his line, has been protecting Eira and her half-elven daughter Liana ever since. A recent plot (update - 17 Plantingdays, 724SG) saw Umzuzalil overthrown and Liana placed upon the throne, hopefully to restore the once-glorious city of Torm.

=== The Rise of Cevahir in Torm ===

During the long night, in the wake of the rising of Ashra in 751 SG, a series of attacks took place on the city of Torm, from the sea, by hosts of undead pirates. One of these hosts was led by a powerful demon. It is here that we first hear the name Cevahir when a man named Tomas of Torm, known as the Singing Soldier, began to chant lines of the Prophecy of Night and Light which heralded her appearance in the world. The man's singing took on magical quality and emboldened those around him to fight harder. In the end, they were able to defeat this menace from the sea.

Late in 751 SG a Nightwalker from the necropolis of Nurval made its way towards Torm to lay waste to the city. This creature was held at bay by several intrepid heroes: The Archdruid Rheyn, Edryk the Deva, Xantheous, and the mysterious wizard Kail fought of wave after wave of the undead and eventually faced the Nightwalker itself, holding it back long enough for the citizens of Torm to safely escape into the city. The Nightwalker, and its horde turned towards an easier target in Tonovi.

Although many Torm citizens still worship Lysara, Cevahir has become something of a patron deity of the city. Many songs and poems have been written to her glory as she is now seen as a protector.

==== Rescue of the Queen ====

In 757 SG, an assassination attempt was made on Liana in her chambers by a close confidant, Archmage Lorian Gage. The Archmage turned out to be a demonic creature, built for assassination and subterfuge, disguised as her old friend. Her life was saved by the heroic deeds of a Kitsune named Amwuru and a Half-Elf named Uriah.