Hardstone

Hardstone is a fortified city on the edge of the Border Mountains, heavily influenced by Andari culture.

Overview
Hardstone was originally founded by Brician Settlers before the Golden Crusade. They intended to cross the mountains and find safer lands in the west, but stopped because winter was upon them and they didn't want to try the passes during the cold. This turned out to be the right decision, because not too far away one of the Bricians caught wind of a bit of silver and they realized they stumbled upon a decent mine.

Whenever someone finds a something like gold or silver, it invariably attracts other interested parties. It wasn't long before the nascent Arthandor found they were lacking funding. They came with soldiers and bags of gold. If the gold didn't persuade the locals to join Arthandor, then the soldiers definitely would. As insurance, the soldiers remained behind to ensure that the silver continued to flow.Since then, Hardstone has become a highly fortified city designed to control the trade routes through the Border Mountains northern passes. The widest pass is just west of the city, near to where the silver was discovered. Silver Mountain, as it is now called, still produces a steady if fair amount of silver every year. Coupled with the other gems that come from the mine has proven very lucrative for the noble class of Hardstone, descendants of the Bricians who initially settled here. They consider themselves to be fully Andari, however, and scoff at the idea of being anything but.

The locals are mostly of Andari peasant stock, who migrated here in search of a better life. Work in the mine forms the basis of the economy, though the region also has many sheep for wool production, sufficient soil for a steady supply of grains, and ample lumber for construction and fuel.

It was through Hardstone that the Andari land forces traveled on their way to Ashport. It was here that the head of Drokk was placed on a pike just outside the walls. Hardstone is now the heart of the Andari operations in the land. It is from here that the army is supplied and maintained.

The city is ruled by Duke Lavath Davonian, a slightly distant cousin of King Uthair III. Lavath is a dedicated military man, having studied war since he was a youth. He is the nominal head of all Andari forces in the Crucible, despite his territory formally being part of Arthandor proper and not the new province.