Ashmerthoon

Category	Empires
World	Bal-Kriav
Region	Aerie of Dragons
Government	Dictatorship
Capital	Du'ul Hiim
Population	1,500,000+
Races	Kobold 75% Hobgoblin 10% Dark Woad 5% other 10%
Deities	Kurtulmak, Melrith
Enemies	Lum Trumgol Mir
Founder	Conermorn
Established	6 Lunar 81 HE
Map	Krein Jusk

The city of Ashmerthoon was founded in the earlier years of the Horgon Era by a kobold sorcerer named Conermorn. Through the use of force, she established a lineage of hereditary rulers that persisted for five centuries. By the latter stages of the Horgon Era, the empire had expanded from Sendaar Jusk to the icy wastelands of Sotiisk'lum. This territorial gain was achieved following a protracted five-year conflict that ultimately led to the downfall of the Galirkrad Empire.

The majority of Ashmerthoon's holdings are situated underground. Vaknor Gevild serves as the empire's trade hub, nestled within a canyon that converges with the waves of Morwuld Briin. This canyon and the city itself are dark, shadowy realms well-suited to the kobolds. Du'ul Hiim functions as the capital, much of its grandeur crafted during the thousand-year reign of the dragon Artang-Sund.

Ashmerthoon boasts an extensive network of interconnected mines spanning several hundred miles of tunnels. During their conflict with Galirkrad, these subterranean passages extended all the way to Sotiisk'lum, reaching deep into the Adunamar region. The most renowned of these underground thoroughfares is known as Lir Qethserigir.

In the final years of the empires Mir'piamauza and Zeymah'kein, the guild Tinvaakin Kurtulmak, serving Ashmerthoon, invoked a potent dragon ritual, initiating the Third Dragon Wake (1575 HE - 1576 HE). This had the lasting effect of making Ashmerthoon the dominant power in the region for many centuries.

Ashmerthoon's maritime commerce is predominantly facilitated through foreign enterprises. They extend a warm welcome to pirates seeking to offload their wares and provide them with safeguard. The epicenter of Ashmerthoon's surface trade is Vaknor Gevild. The empire's two principal thoroughfares are the Staal Strah and the subterranean route Lir Qethserigir.