Editing Drakkengarde (section)

===Drakkengarde before the Shattering===
Prior to the Shattering Drakkengarde could actually be considered two cities, one on either side of the nearly three-mile-wide mouth of the Belsimar Strait.  The western half was established after the War of the Dawn as the Mercantile Alliance expanded its reach. The buildings were primarily of human construction, and of varied and frequently modern styles. High levels of ornamentation were not uncommon. This half of the city was completely obliterated in the Shattering, though treasures and other artifacts from the doomed city can still be found by those willing and able to search the sea floor. 

Drakkengarde was an important point of international trade, resulting in a cosmopolitan population that was a blend of different races, cultures, and nationalities. Major temples were built to [[Zilchus]] (in the western city) and [[Moradin]] (in the eastern city), though there were several smaller temples to other gods (such as [[Bahamut]]) throughout both sides of the city as well.

The city was governed entirely by the Mercantile Alliance, and served as their seat of governance for the entire realm of Orodeth. Representatives from all of Drakkengarde's major guilds (jewelers, smiths, shipwrights, masons, and textiles) were once active within the Mercantile Alliance, with a variety of more minor guilds having varying degrees of influence as well. While there were no export taxes, import taxes were high. Though the Mercantile Alliance made it a crime to bribe officials, they were not uncommon; one simply had to learn which officials could be bribed.

Drakkengarde also maintained an elite unit of griffon riders, whose mounts were descended from those the dwarven founders bred to fight off dragons. As attacks on the city were considerably more rare than they were in its earlier days, a larger portion of these riders were relegated to more bureaucratic tasks such as visiting ships to inspect cargo manifests and collecting import taxes.

[[Category:Orodeth]]
[[Category:Cities]]