Ellyrion heraldy
Tor Elyr is the capital of Ellyrion, a city built on a series of island castles linked by a web of silver bridges. Each castle is a palace, sculpted from the living rock of a peaked island, decked with statues of Ellyrian princes and their steeds. Beneath Tor Elyr, the waters of the Sea of Dusk churn wrathfully, their foam-flecked tips dashing against the city's alabaster walls. Ellyrians believe that the spirits of their fallen steeds dwell within those waves, and indeed horse-shaped figures rise from the white crests every dawn. Should Tor Elyr ever fall, they say, the spirits of the waves will rise up one last, terrible time to drown the city and all within.[1a]
The current Lord of Tor Elyr is Arandir Swiftwing. His foremost general is Galadrien Stormweaver.[3a]
The City[]
Tor Elyr is located in the western interior of Ulthuan.
Nestled atop the shores of the Sea of Dusk within a placid bay of mirror-smooth water, the glittering castles of silver that make up Tor Elyr rise from forested islands of smooth marble, each like sheer pinnacles of ice crafted by a master sculptor. Tapered domes of azure and gold cap these towers, and finials bearing pennants of emerald and ruby snap in the wind blowing off the sea.[3c]
A web of crystal bridges link the hundreds of island castles, grown from the living rock by spellsingers of old, and a handful of crimson-sailed ships ply the waters beneath them. Tendrils of mist coil around the base of each island, and during times of war, faint songs of lament echo from the peaked castles as the mothers and wives of Tor Elyr sing to the gods to watch over those who rode to war.[3c]
Tor Elyr is noted for having exquisite eating houses, with the highest spire in the city having a crystal-walled dining room atop its summit.[2a]
Castle Ellyrus[]
The gateway for Tor Elyr.[3c]
Castle of Arandir Swiftwing[]
The castle at the heart of Tor Elyr had been built by the first horsemasters of Ellyrion, and was the ancestral dwelling place of the city's master. Such was its age that no difference can be seen in the stone of its walls and the rock upon which it was built. As though its alabaster walls had grown from the island, the castle soars gracefully from the water like a linked series of stalagmites carved in glistening marble and polished quartz. Its many towers are studded with windows and roofed in gold, but it was in the chamber at the castle's heart where Lord Swiftwing gathers his most trusted warriors for councils of war.[3c]
Known as the Reaver Hall, its walls were fashioned from cream marble threaded with gold veins, and its icy rafters were hung with ancient and colourful banners depicting galloping horses, proud manes and crossed lances. Many of these were from the time of Caledor the Conqueror, and one was even said to have been borne alongside Caradryel as he ordered the last retreat from the Old World.[3c]
It never fails to move Lord Swiftwing whenever he comes here, for it was a potent reminder of the long and faithful service of Ellyrion to the Phoenix Throne. His own banner bears the image of a rearing silver horse upon a crimson field. That banner still has pride of place above his starwood throne, which sits at the head of a long oval table that fills the bulk of the chamber, atop a wooden floor.[3c]
Aerie's Path[]
To the west of Tor Elyr lies a crossroads converging from the corners of Ellyrion. All roads are visible as pale lines in the landscape, for nothing so crude or mannish as stone form the roads of Ulthuan. Yet at this crossroads, a waystone carved with interlocking circles and images of rearing horses rises from the confluence like an obsidian fang, and the air around it shimmers when troubled. Indeed, emotions are amplified by the waystone's magic. Yet, from here, the glittering spires of Tor Elyr are visible as a shimmer of gold and silver against the brilliant blue of the bay in which is sits. A mist from the waters rolls out over the fields and outposts before the city, whilst to the south, a pall of dark cloud hangs low over the landscape. Dancing lights shimmer on the northern horizon, like the glow that smeared the sky when the magic contained within the Annulii surges with vitality. The eastern road is known as the Aerie's Path, and between Tor Elyr and Eagle Pass lies a forest of mountain firs.[3b]
Citizens[]
The citizen soldiers who garrison Tor Elyr carry spears and longbows crafted from nightelm wood, an enchanted timber that can protect its wielder from the darkest of sorceries. Alas, during the Great Incursion, Malekith ordered the nightelm woods of Ellyrion set ablaze, so now the weapons of Tor Elyr are likely to be the very last of their kind.[4a]