Lux Tenebris: Dryspire

The Dryspire

Dryspire is a hole in the wall town on the eastern frontier.  It lies at the foot of the Tallshield Mountains. On the other side of the Tallshields is the desolate expanse of the Braerosan Wastes and beyond the Wastes is the Draconic Empire.
 Dryspire was founded ninety years ago by miners working the Tallshields. Located at Noosha’s Pass, the only pass between the Tallshields, the town also became a popular rest stop for caravans traveling to and from the Draconic Empire.  Eventually the mines gave out and closed down. Dryspire might have become just another frontier ghost town if not for the caravans. They kept the town alive, even if it didn’t exactly thrive.
Dryspire was one of the first communities to fall under the control of the Draconic Empire when they began their invasion of the East.  The Imperial Legions quickly seized control of the town, executing anyone who offered resistance.  Seizing Dryspire allowed the Draconic Empire to move their legions through Noosha’s Pass without any of the western nations learning about the invasion until it was too late.

A small garrison of Imperial soldiers was left in Dryspire to secure the town. They soon learned that although most of the residents seemed cowed, there were those who actively fought the invasion. The mercenaries known as the Company of the Claw proved particularly effective at disrupting supply lines.

Noosha

As the war stalled in the west, Dryspire was freed of Draconic control by an unlikely group, a coven of hags known as the Circle of the Bleeding Moon. They sought to invoke an ancient power resting beneath the Tallshields. Knowing that the Draconic soldiers would have stopped them, the hags allied with the Company of the Claw to destroy the imperial garrison securing Dryspire.
The Bleeding Moon went on to perform their ritual, rousing an ancient hag called Noosha from her
centuries-long rest beneath the mountains.  Noosha was not pleased at being woken and destroyed the Bleeding Moon before returning to her place beneath the Tallshields.
Since the war’s end, Dryspire has returned to something akin to normal. Realizing the strategic value of the area, various local powers have united to establish a military garrison to secure Noosha’s Pass. This has brought some new life to the town, which was faltering due to the closing of trade routes between the Draconic Empire and the western nations.