Cyre

Cyre was a human kingdom in the southeast of the continent of Khorvaire, and formerly one of the Five Nations of the kingdom of Galifar. Once, it was described as the brightest and most beautiful of the Five Nations and called Beautiful Cyre, Wondrous Cyre, the Jewel of Galifar, and even the Purple Jewel of Galifar's Crown. But it suffered and was dragged low during the Last War, before the entire realm was destroyed by a cataclysmic event known as the Mourning. Now, it is known as the Mournland. At its height, Cyre once included parts of what are now Valenar and Darguun. It is the homeland of the now-displaced Cyran peoples.

Before the War, Cyre was renowned for its cultural achievements in artifice, artistry, jewelry, music, philosophy, and oratory, and for representing the best of Galifar. It was a relatively peaceful realm, even a paradise to kine in the Kingdom of Galifar, described as a place where arcane dreams were made manifest. However, its detractors decried it as a realm of arrogance and decadence, and the Brelish never tired of pointing out their racial blindspots. Either way, it was considered the most beautiful and culturally dominant of any of the Five Nations, known for its artistic traditions, elegance, and style and as a monument to the magical and artistic accomplishments of the Kingdom of Galifar. It had great centers of learning and state-of-the-art development in the fields of magic, artifice, and architecture.

Population
According to the census of 992 YK, Cyre had a population of 1,500,000 people. The majority of Cyrans were humans, half-elves, and halflings, with some elves and lizardfolk also represented.

Cyran humans are generally gracile, with slender builds and long limbs. They are known for an innate and easy grace, as well as a poise and elegance that humans of other nations admire. Most have wavy dark hair, though a few are born with pure white hair, which is traditionally linked to magic. Customarily, white-haired young Cyrans are encouraged to practice magic, and many seem to have a knack for it. Cyrans favor hair cut to a medium length and left loose to shift freely as the move.

The warforged were first created in Cyre.

Culture
Cyran culture values diversity, flexibility, and versatility in all areas of life, from skills to mindsets. Cyrans consider themselves to incorporate elements of culture from all over Khorvaire. The Cyrans prefer to enjoy life and the fruits of their work, and even after the obliteration of their nation, Cyrans avoid melancholy and hold faith in an eventual restoration of their forward-thinking and unique culture.

The "Cyran appreciation" is central to Cyran culture and outlook. This is a philosophy, even a lifestyle, centered around appreciating beauty and magic and encouraging innovative and unconventional practices, not just in art but in life as a whole. Once, this was a virtue, impressive and wondrous to all the Five Nations, but during the War propaganda and nasty rumor painted it as indulgence and excess. In turn, under the darkness of war, some Cyran nobles engaged in darker pursuits, leading to the reputation for decadence, even immorality, and vile habits. After the War, the survivors struggle to keep up the Cyran appreciation, and it leads to misunderstandings among their host nations.

The Cyrans have a tradition of artisanry that dates back centuries; thanks to this, Cyre had a reputation for fine arts and crafts and for quality manufactured items among the kine of Galifar. Rich folk across the Five Nations pride themselves in owning pieces by Cyran master artists. Cyre was the cultural center of the Five Nations, being the perennial birthplace of new trends and styles that spread across the continent, in the fields of art, music, fashion, though after the Mourning the artistic output among the Cyran refugee community has understandably become appreciably darker. Just about every Cyran noble knows a form of artistic expression: drawing, painting, singing, sculpting, or magic—it does not matter which. More broadly, every Cyran regardless of class knows how to dance the tago (a form of ballroom dance), learning it when young and becoming adept at it in social occasions over the course of their lives. It is considered the birthright of every Cyran.

Traditional Cyran fashion is similar to Aundairian fashion, but focuses more on the bright colors and less on flamboyance in hats and ruffles. Glamerweave is especially favored. It varies widely in cut and style, yet often features long flowing parts, typically wide sleeves and short cloaks; Cyrans enjoy attire that billows and ripples with the slightest breeze. However, the most common and obvious attire is gloves. Almost every Cyran owns and wears a pair of gloves, whether short and sturdy for work and combat or longer, finely made and decorated for formal occasions. Cyrans rarely revealed their hands; a handshake from an ungloved Cyran hand is a show of great trust. Cyrans also enjoy jewelry to a degree many think is vulgar; they acquire whatever pieces they can afford, preferably loose dangling bracelets, earrings, and necklaces, and especially with small bells or colorful feathers. The grandest items are the complex headdresses that extend from the brow and across the head and down to the shoulders and even far down the back. In fact, Cyrans are so well dressed that formal occasions are not discernible by clothing but by greater use of jewelry, as well as masks. Costumes were the rule at balls and festivals. After the War, while some Cyran refugees have held on to their old fashions, others have learned to adopt the attire of their new homes to make do or blend in. Nevertheless, their fashions are chic and daring still. The latest, common among the young, is "mourningwear" or "Mourning wear", which is dark or black but flamboyant in the standard Cyran cut and intended to remember a country they barely knew.

However, the Last War saw the once beautiful Cyre become a battlefield as it faced enemies on all sides. Its people and culture suffered and many of its great works were lost, even before the Mourning destroyed them utterly. As Cyre shrank, its outer settlements were often left razed while the cities were populated with refugees and poor and homeless folk, leading to countless events of looting and destruction. Arguably, Cyre suffered the greatest of all the Five Nations.

Like most of Khorvaire, worship of the Sovereign Host was the majority religion in Cyre, although a significant minority followed the Silver Flame. However, the Cyrans were not especially religious and were typically infrequent worshipers of the Host. After the Mourning, many are struggling with their faith or have abandoned it entirely, while others hold even more closely to it through their ordeals

Every Cyran remembers where they were on the Day of Mourning and how they survived; it is etched into their memory. And every Cyran knows what caused it; this is more than a theory, it is a certain belief, even if every Cyran has a different explanation for it. Each year on 20 Olarune, Cyrans everywhere come together to remember their lost homeland, by telling tales of the fallen, teaching their history to their children, and performing traditional songs and dances of Cyre, though a few recall only the Last War and curse the remaining four nations.

Alone and isolated, the Cyran refugees look after themselves and their closest friends and families and try to cling onto their culture and appreciation. Some endeavor to preserve Cyran culture and speak of its wonders, and they seek a new homeland for their people. However, many still harbor grudges, even burning hatred, against all the other Five Nations over the Last War and their treatment following the Day of Mourning. The most extreme and vindictive become Mordant Avengers, who seek to get to the truth of the Mourning and get justice or revenge for Cyre, and to protect those who survived, with or without evidence.

Royalty & Nobility
Under Galifar's system of succession, Cyre was ruled by one of the children of the current king. Over the centuries, a tradition formed that the governor-prince of Cyre was the child that would become the next king or queen of Galifar.

After being governor-prince of the state of Cyre in 858 YK, Mishann ir'Wynarn declared herself Queen at the outbreak of the Last War in 894 YK, but maintained her claim to Galifar. She reigned until 908 YK.

She was succeeded by Brusst ir'Wynarn, who reigned from 908 YK to 913 YK.

Brusst was succeeded by Connos ir'Wynarn, who reigned from 914 YK to 942 YK.

Connos was succeeded by Queen Dannel ir'Wynarn, who reigned from 943 YK. She was the last ruler of Cyre and was slain in the Mourning in 994 YK.

The only surviving scion of Cyre's monarchy is her son, Prince Darcey ir'Wynarn, who was ambassador to Breland at the time of the Mourning. By default, he is now the king-in-exile, though the kingdom is no more, and governs the survivors at New Cyre.

Little of the Cyran nobility survived the Mourning, and with little wealth, resources, influence, or power left, their status is in question. Those in the remaining embassies work to justify themselves to their hosts. But some of the more prideful don't want to live on charity or memories; instead, they plot to seize land for a New Cyre, and seek a means to do so, however reckless.

Age of Monsters
Like much of southwestern Khorvaire, Cyre holds a number of ruins dating back to the Dhakaani Empire. These were extensively excavated by scholars prior to the Mourning.

Pre-Galifar
Circa −2,500, the first settlements that would grow into the Five Nations were made in central Khorvaire. Around this time, the Mark of Making first manifested in the humans of the land that would become Cyre, among the artisans and itinerant tinkers. The dragonmarked Clan Cannith emerged here, growing into House Cannith.

In his campaign to conquer the Five Nations circa −2,000, Karrn the Conqueror drove the defeated goblinoids out of Karrnath into the wild south, but his true purpose was to invade the land that would be Cyre. Surprising the Cyrans, Karnn quickly sacked the capitol and added it to his empire.

Under Galifar
At this time, the land was a realm of its own, known as Metrol, and one of the Five Nations, when King Galifar I and his sons and daughters came and united the Five Nations by conquest to form the Kingdom of Galifar in the year 1 YK. In recognition of their services, the sons and daughters of Galifar were each granted control of one of the Five Nations as governor-princes; the youngest son Cyre took Metrol and the southeast. Cyre and the other nations existed in close alliance under Galifar.

In 32 YK, the Five Nations were renamed for their rulers; Cyre's domain of Metrol became Cyre. In 40 YK, Cyre succeeded his father as king of Galifar.

In 858 YK, Mishann ir'Wynarn, eldest scion of King Jarot ir'Wynarn, became the governor-prince of Cyre. She succeeded her uncle, Jarot's brother, after learning the skills of the position from him.

The Last War
After King Jarot's death in 894 YK, Mishann should have, by all rights and traditions, assumed the throne, but she was prevented from doing so by her ambitious siblings. When they met at Thronehold for the funeral and intended coronation, Thalin of Thrane rejected Mishann's claim and the whole concept of primogeniture, as did Kaius ir'Wynarn I of Karrnath and Wroann ir'Wyrnarn of Breland. Furthermore, Thalin and Wroann each declared they should rule and marshalled their vassals. Mishann was initially supported by her brother Wrogar ir'Wyrnarn of Aundair, but this was not enough to decide the issue, and the scions departed Thronehold. Within the year, this conflict over who should inherit the throne of Galifar ignited the Last War, with Cyre and Aundair facing off against Breland, Karrnath and Thrane, before even these alliances collapsed. That year, Mishann declared Cyre a sovereign nation, as did the other four.

Over the next century, alliances would be made and broken and betrayed by all of the Five Nations, though Aundair would support Cyre more often than not. But sitting at the heart of Khorvaire, Cyre was surrounded by foes, fighting battles on every front at various times and ended up as the main battleground of the Last War. Cyre faced the armies of Breland, Karrnath and Thrane, as well as Lhazaar pirates and Talenta tribes, and later Darguun and Valenar. Battles between Cyran warforged armies and Karrnath zombie shock troopers seemed the bloodiest of the War.

As Cyre's fortunes ran out late in the War, it struggled to sustain its war efforts and was beset on all sides by warring nations. Cyre was pressed hard, with battlefields across the north and west and the enemy advancing ever closer to Metrol and the largely untouched south. Queen Dannel's leadership kept Cyran spirits and morale high nonetheless, but nearly a century of irregular warfare had taken its toll among the land and the people in equal measure. The situation was looking desparate.

At the beginning of 994 YK, House Cannith unveiled the warforged colossus the biggest and mightiest warforged yet. The colossi were first deployed in 994 YK, without delay the first was sent north to defend Metrol from the Karrnathi. They left a path of destruction behind them, but laid waste to armies before them. However, the Mourning would occur before they could be used to their full potential.

The Day of Mourning
On 20 Olarune in 994 YK, Karrnathi forces seized Cyran land in the north, preparing to use it as staging ground for an invasion of Breland. That same day, the last full-scale battle of the Last War, though it was not known at the time, was fought in southwestern Cyre. Cyre's Western Army fought the allied forces of Breland (Zilargo had been granted its de jure indepdence, although it remained de facto under the control of the Brelish throne) and humans led by the warforged Bastion, who arrived weeks earlier and Thrane, together with mercenaries of Darguun (fighting in the area for the last year) and Valenar, and Zilargo, with tens of thousands of soldiers in all, in a massive and messy pitched running battle along the Saerun Road in the kingdom's southwest.

Without warning, the entire nation of Cyre was wiped out in a magical catastrophe known only as the Mourning. The causes of this event are unknown, whether accidental or deliberate, whether an enemy assault or a Cyran project gone awry, and accounts of what actually happened that day vary. But it is known that a cataclysmic blast of magical energy engulfed the whole kingdom with a rolling wall of mist and anything caught within it was killed or transformed, while the very land or Cyre was reshaped into strange new forms behind it. By the end of what was later dubbed the Day of Mourning, Cyre as a nation was gone. All that was left was the Mournland. The final battle was left eerily preserved in the Field of Ruins, while the great Glowing Chasm opened up in the north and the enormous Glass Plateau rose in the south.

Over a million Cyrans were instantly slain, the majority of the population and nearly all those in central Cyre, while hundreds of thousands tried to flee the destruction. Queen Dannel herself was lost and presumed dead. Some who lived close to the western border managed to flee in time and escaped into neighboring lands ahead of the dead-gray mist, such as farmers and merchants. Other survivors were those outside of Cyre's borders, such as soldiers in other lands and people abroad for business, or those able to flee Cyre quickly through mundane or magical means. In Seaside, Cyre's southern port on Kraken Bay, hundreds crowded the long docks and watched as the wall of mist stopped at the shoreline, a few feet from them; they survived, but those who ventured back in on the first day died. Neither of the new nations of Darguun and Valenar were affected by the Mourning, which has led to suspicion among the Cyran refugees ever since.

A small number of Cyran refugees made it to the border with Aundair, but the Aundairians refused them entry and turned them back. Fearful that the Mourning might repeat, and not wanting the social problem, the Aundairian authorities wanted nothing to do with Cyre. This was seen as a serious betrayal; after all, Aundair had historically supported or stayed neutral in regards to Cyre during the War. Cruelest of all, the elves of Valenar massacred many thousands of refugees who fled from Cyre's southeast, and the goblins of Darguun enslaved those who escaped into their lands, both alleging them to be "invaders".

The dragonmarked houses were also impacted. House Cannith lost its ancestral estates and its patriarch, leaving it disorganized and divided. By a stroke of fortune, while House Phiarlan lost its headquarters in Cyre, all the house leaders were out of the country on the Day of Mourning, prompting rumors they had foreknowledge of the catastrophe.

Known Locations
Cyre was once renowned for its beautiful and magnificent cities, described as glittering and graceful and filled with light. The greatest of these was the capital, Metrol. All are now left in ruins in the Mournland or are possessions of Valenar and Darguun.

Mournland

 * Cities: Eston • Kalazart • Making • Metrol • Tronish
 * Towns: Eastwood Springs • Seaside
 * Fortifications: Barren Keep • Fort Bright
 * Villages: Totens
 * Others: Arjon Ford • Broken Tower • Dollen on the River • Greenland • Jarp • Lorn • Shaelas Tiraleth • Swoz
 * Dragonmarked House Facilities: Clifftop • Whitehearth
 * Roads & Lightning Rails: Mile-Mark Station • Saerun Road

Geography
At its height, Cyre was a prosperous land with fertile farmlands and flourishing cities. By 992 YK, the land of Cyre covered some 1,020,000 square miles (2,640,000 square kilometers). It had a temperate climate. Apart from Eston, all the major cities and towns stood beside bodies of water.

In the southwest of central Cyre were once rolling plains. This area is now just the Field of Ruins. Through here runs the Saerun Road, or what's left of it. In the southeast near Kraken Bay are lush hills, now claimed to be permanently stained red with blood from the slaughtered refugees.

The hills around Eston held rich mines that produced iron and adamantine used in the manufacture of warforged.

The land that is now Darguun was once Cyre's southwestern borderlands, specifically Darguun's northern plains. The goblinoids dwelling in the lowlands have occupied, rebuilt, and renamed former Cyran towns; the capital, Rhukaan Draal, is based around the ruins of a Cyran frontier market town. Most former settlements, however, remain razed and abandoned.

The land that is now Valenar, meanwhile, was once Cyre's southeast, though Cyre never maintained a significant presence there. It was a sparsely populated land of intermittent human villages, wandering halfling tribes, and hidden hobgoblin clans. Many former Cyran cities remain here, and are often the target of archaeological expeditions.

The Cyre River marked the northern border with Karrnath. The Last War saw fighting up and down and on both sides of the Cyre River and in trenches across the north.

The Talenta Plains were held to be part of Cyre when the kingdom of Galifar still stood. During the War, Cyre claimed parts of the Talenta Plains, though the halfling tribes held back invaders and avoided them entirely when the Five Nations fought there.

The highest mountain in Cyre was Kenn Peak, with a height of 7,576 feet (2,309 meters)

Geographical Locations

 * Bodies of Water: Kraken Bay • Lake Arul • Lake Cyre • Cyre River • Brey River • Emerald Gleam River
 * Mountains: Kenn Peak

Cyran Diaspora
"Kind of moot, isn't it? I heard the Cyrans who survived are all Brelish now. I don't know whether it was their own fault or someone else's, and to be honest, I don't care. We survived the war, they didn't, and that's what's important."

It's estimated that only around 20,000 Cyrans survived the Day of Mourning. They are a dispossessed people, exiles of a nation that no longer exists. They can be found living across Khorvaire, mainly among their former enemies in Aundair, eastern Breland, Karrnath, and Thrane, as well as in Q'barra, either in small communities of their own people or among others. Survivors have dispersed across Khorvaire, with some traveling as far as Stormreach in Xen'drik.

But these nations aren't always welcoming. As much sympathy as the Aundairians profess, they don't want many, or even any, Cyrans to actually settle among them. While Aundair publically supports the creation of a new Cyran state, it requires that it be nowhere near Aundair. Queen Aurala ignores both representatives of Cyran refugees and the Cyran ambassador, who waits with her family in Passage's House Cannith enclave while trying to find a surviving Cyran noble who can reauthorize her diplomatic mission. A number of other countries have even expelled their Cyran ambassadors, seeing them as pointless with no nation to represent. Similarly to Aundair, Karrnath ostensibly supports a reverse of the Cyran diaspora, with resettlement in Q'barra or elsewhere, but King Kaius III personally would prefer a new Karrnath-friendly homeland carved out of Breland as a way to weaken the Brelish.

Thus, Aundairians, Karrns, and Thranes have little sympathy or liking toward the Cyrans. Cyran refugees may be feared, suspected, or shunned for the belief that they carry the curse of the Mourning with them or simply in lingering animosity over the War. Where they do settle, they are impoverish and unemployed. Cyran nobles in particular desperately try to reclaim all that they have lost.

"King Boranel has extended the hand of friendship to these poor souls, so who am I to disagree with the king. Still, you have to wonder what they're doing out there. They even named their settlement New Cyre. Is that sad or what? And a little disturbing, if you ask me. This is Breland, after all, not Cyre reborn."

However, Breland willingly received a great many Cyran refugees, with an official policy to give them welcome, food, and shelter, and even grant them land to settle. In Breland, the Cyrans have founded the town of New Cyre, while others formed or expanded communities in Ardev, Wroat, Shavalant, and especially Sharn, in prescribed ghettoes. In the City of Towers, the existing Cyran population in Smoky Towers in Middle Menthis has rapidly swelled, and the High Walls district in Lower Tavick's Landingwas converted to house Cyran refugees and other displaced people. But while most Brelish are tolerant and feel obligated to provide aid, a few factions maintain the antagonism of the War, have no liking or pity for the refugees, see the Mourning as punishment, or even want to complete the genocide. In the Brelish countryside, agitators and extremists occasionally attack the peaceful Cyrans. Either way, many see the Cyrans as an unwanted burden and second-class citizens. The Cyran embassy in Sharn's Ambassador Towers was established before the War, has been permitted to remain open, and now represents New Cyre. Led by Lord Jurgen ir'Tain, the embassy staff mostly manage Cyran refugees in Lower Tavick's Landing, recording their names and skills and finding them jobs, and recruiting Cyran adventurers to carry out special tasks for New Cyre (often recovering things from the Mournland, investigating the Mourning, or else helping those who can help Cyrans).

In Breland, New Cyre serves as a gathering place and beacon to all the dispossessed Cyrans. Prince Darcy, son of Queen Dannel, rules New Cyre, home to the largest concentration of Cyran refugees. New Cyre is a beacon to all the dispossessed Cyrans and joyous reunions of separated families are said to happen there every day.

Cyran refugees also live in Q'barra, with large influxes into former colonial settlements Hope and New Galifar, in the greatest number outside Breland. However, their arrival has triggered tensions with the various groups of lizardfolk who live in the region, although this pressure was relieved slightly thanks to an agreement struck between the Cyran refugees and the Twilight Walkers.

Meanwhile, those who can't, or won't, settle continue wandering, living itinerant or adventuring lives.