Argengrast is a Tirionite colony on the western coast of the Chaska Sea. The breadbasket of Tirione, the colonial situation in Argengrast has been complicated by unrest - simmering tensions have recently given way to outright rebellion.
Geography, flora, and fauna
Located on the southwestern coast of the Chaska Sea, the climate and ecology of Argengrast is heavily driven by the sea. Like most other regions around the Chaska, Argengrast sees quite mild weather - warm summers and mild winters are characteristic of most years.
Most of Argengrast was originally covered by grasslands and plains, and much still is. Dotted by groves of trees, and more substantial forests in some places, these grasslands are habitats to animals both large and small. A significant proportion of these plains have since been converted to farm- or pasture-land.
One major river runs through Argengrast, the Tupavo River. Tributaries of the Tupavo run across the region, eventually flowing out into the Chaska Sea.
Farther inland, Argengrast includes the northern-most extent of the Sagaritian Uplands. Home to a number of unfriendly giants and dangerous creatures, the colonists have generally considered expanding into the hills to be not worth the risks.
The two-headed amphisbaena is an unfortunately common threat within Argengrast - some communities have skilled snake-catchers that have honed their skills in hunting these creatures.
In some stretches of the Tupavo River and its tributaries, travelers are advised to be watchful for carnivorous beavers. Similar in appearance to normal beavers, these black-pelted creatures prefer to build their dams not out of wood but rather out of the bones of their prey. These beavers are will eagerly attack any creature they think they can bring down, whether that be wild animal, domesticated livestock, or people. Whenever their dams are spotted, groups are quickly organized to eliminate them before they can spread disease and filth downriver.
History
Early history
The town of Kition was the first modern settlement in what is now Argengrast. Founded by settlers from southern Hellea, Kition and its outlying region grew slowly over the centuries.
Beginning of colonization
By Y6600, Tirione began to take an active interest in the area. By providing large amounts of raw material, the colonial efforts in Nionegrast had proven successful in reviving faltering Tirionite industry. Next, Tirionite leaders wished to reduce their reliance on food imported from Khapesh or Ashurayu. To do so, the colony of Argengrast was established in the fertile lands of the western coast of the Chaska Sea. Like in Briathone and Nionegrast, existing inhabitants of the region were included in the colony whether they wanted it or not.
The Long Ten Years
Though Argengrast has been greatly beneficial for Tirione for almost four centuries, willful mismanagement and a lack of concern for the population has frayed the once good relations between the governing conglomerates and the ordinary people. Unlike in Briathone or Nionegrast, the companies and colonial administration long maintained policies of listening to and addressing the concerns of their workers and citizens. When a drought from Y6951 to Y6961 rendered Tirionite farmers completely unable to support the cities of the nation, however, Argengrast was forced into providing almost all the food to ensure the metropole did not starve. Tirione has recovered in the years since, but the actions of the colony remain fresh in the minds of Argenites.
During the Long Ten Years, as it is known to the people of Argengrast, the agricultural output shipped from the colony to Tirione well outstripped what was actually capable of being provided. The people of the colony were left with little food of their own - the lucky ones scraped by through foraging and hunting, and the unlucky ones starved. Mass death was avoided through the services of a great number of sympathetic clerics, but Argengrast suffered greatly nonetheless.
Unrest and the Lamplighter Rebellion
As a result of the Long Ten Years, the social and political situation in Argengrast has deteriorated greatly. Various dissident groups formed in the years since. Many have close ties to the clergy of a number of deities, though the largest and most influential, the Lamplighters, are officially secular. While some of these organizations prefer political solutions, others are not afraid to shy away from violence. All have one shared goal - the dissolution of the colony and independence for Argengrast. This new period in Argengrast's history is commonly referred to as the Lamplighter Rebellion.
The rebellion has been low in intensity and scale so far. The town of Soluntum quickly fell to an alliance between the Lamplighters and the local centaurs, almost without a conflict. In most of Argengrast, the rebellion is more of an insurgency, with underground groups sabotaging the forces of the colony. Some of the religiously-affiliated organizations keep a more public profile - temple grounds are de facto neutral territory, something the rebels use well to their advantage.
Demographics
The inhabitants of Argengrast include individuals of many ancestries, though with a human plurality. Halflings, aasimar, half-elves, half-orcs, gnomes, oreads, and others accord for much of the rest of the population.
Within inland Argengrast, near Soluntum, live one of the only remaining groups of centaurs outside Hellea. Though isolationist and suspicious of the colonists for much of Argengrast's history, their assistance during the Long Ten Years built much closer ties between the centaurs and the Argenites.
Culture
TBD
Government
Similar to other Tirionite colonies, in Argengrast various companies are granted charters over the land and all resource found within. Though there are others, the major conglomerates in Argengrast are the Balanos Consortium, Macaria Colonial Concerns, and Trade Winds Shipping. This triad exercises political authority in the colony, effectively governing it themselves - like in Briathone, Tirionite administrators can override the companies but rarely do so.
Economy
Unlike the situation in other colonies of Tirione, Argengrast's economy is not primarily oriented around resource extraction. Rather, the conglomerates that manage Argengrast focus on the food production, the vast majority of which is then shipped to metropole on the eastern coast of the Chaska Sea.
Though there are currently few in number, some mines in the Kheldezir Hills produce iron pure enough for easy refinement into cold iron. Some within the colonial administration believe this resource to be a significant source of untapped wealth for Argengrast.Template:CitiesArgengrast