Entry from Kilkarak’s Expedition Journal: Day 8

We are in Histra. Dashyl and I are sequestered in our room at the Vaygr’s Breath Inn while Jarax is out procuring supplies. He is also on the lookout for those who might help us leave Histra undetected. We timed our entrance into town when the streets would be bustling, the markets active and the inns busy.  Once within the city’s walls, we tried to lose ourselves in the crowded streets and ducked into a different inn. There we donned disguises and made our way in shadows and through back alleys to our true destination.

The Vaygr’s Breath occupies a little corner of the city that is secluded from the main thoroughfares, but is still near the gates where we will make our exit.  We will most likely leave at night. Jarax has hatched a plan, but we need the help of another young boy. He is gathering the supplies I would normally stock up on before heading into the Tanglefern Thicket. I hope he is successful finding everything and everyone we need so we may leave as soon as possible.

In the meantime, Jarax, knowing I would be bored stuck in this room all day, brought me a book on the history of Histra. Some of its history I could discern before even entering its gates. The walls of this city were not designed or built in any style you would find in a sarion-built city. Most notably absent are the tall pillars and arches the Legion architects are so fond of utilizing. Once inside the walls, one notices the architecture to be more brutish and blocky than anything else in the Legion lands. The foundations and many of the buildings are much older than anything I’ve seen before, too.

The reason for this, as recorded by Hornblath Capspenduer, official Legion historian for Histra at some point, is that Histra was originally a sidrani city. But the Legion have conquered and destroyed sidrani cities in the past, why is this different, you may ask. Because, Histra fell to the Legion, not through warfare, but by economics. As the Legion expanded its reach into the southeast of Veratar, they discovered Histra was run by sidrani merchants who built the city to fortify their markets when this area was a wild, untamed land before the sarion settlement. Sarion merchants moved in and proved to have a better business acumen than their sidrani competitors and soon controlled the markets, therefore taking control of the city without any bloodshed. Since these sarion merchants were not officially representing or affiliated with the Legion government, Histra has since stayed independent of the Legion, profiting from the relaxed rules and regulations that sarion could enjoy here instead of more restrictive ones in other Legion cities. To this day, the fringes of Legion society find a home in Histra. Dark Traders often make their way up to Histra from Trader’s Haunt, selling their rare goods that they would not be allowed to sell in anywhere else in the Legion lands.

Interestingly, beer has an important place in the lore of Histra. Before arriving in Histra, the sarion did not have any knowledge of brewing beer. The sidrani, however, had been brewing for generations and had advanced the craft to a form of art. The first sarion merchants to settle in Histra were drawn to this art form that was unfamiliar to them, but produced such tantalizing liquids. Beuiw Feuiw was the first sarion ever to be named a brewmaster after rising through the ranks at the Histran Brewery. Instead of staying in the city, Feuiw took his knowledge and talents to as many cities in the Legion lands that he could, spreading the art of brewing and gifting the enjoyment of beer to practically every sarion in Veratar.

I, myself, have never had a beer. Maybe I should since I am here in the birthplace of sarion brewing mastery. Slipping down to the tavern couldn’t hurt. Dashyl and I could wear our disguises, have one beer each, and we’re back before Jarax even notices we’re gone.