Harbor of Dulnar

The rocky and treacherous harbor of Oð is named for the Roðàri Vældyrim, Edye Dulnar, who jumped to her death from its high cliffs when she was no longer able to shoulder her divine burden.

The harbor is a large navigable inlet that is accessed through a ragged break (i.e., The Gullet) in the natural sea wall. Many forces and events have contributed to the harbor’s formation. Foremost among these is convergence of two rivers: Run Dul, Run Mèrdus. The harbor’s current shape was established during earthquakes in 198 AR, 244 HK, and again in 221 DR. The Earthquake of 244 HK in particular caused a large section of the interior “sea caves” to collapse, forming the islands of Zyan and Dragul.

The walls of the Kre Dùlnar are comprised of natural stone and artificial buttressing. A layer of natural stone rises 20-30 feet from the interior beaches. Both the Run Dul and the Run Mèrdus fall into the harbor from atop this layer. When the sands shift and the tide goes out, this layer sometimes reveals natural “sea caves”. Above this strata the harbor walls extend another 50-60 feet. This layer is a mix of brickwork, masonry, concrete, timber, and iron breastworks. The upper harbor walls were constructed to give support to the layered city beyond them, and to prevent access (and egress) from the buried layers of the City’s bowels.

Features

• Dragul Island. The largest island within the Kre Dùlnar, Dragul Island was once a peninsula of the Kyard district. The isle is dominated by a large tower that was erected to commemorate the spot where Ragyrfarfyrdragulth of Oð landed and bowed before the first King of Oð, Salágus I. Like other islands within the harbor, the base of Dragul Island is a maze of flooded caves. Today, the island’s surface is a tangle of briar-choked ruins and weeds, all that remain of its ancient gardens. At the garden’s center stands a stained and worn statue of a headless woman with amputated arms reaching toward the swirling black sky. This image of Amra was offered as a gift to the Queen of Oð, Valanya III from the High Priestess of Taldàna, Rayne I in 1022 HK. An old arched stone bridge still extends from Kryr Shùrulm to the island, but many of its stones have fallen into the harbor.
• The Gullet.
• Orvud College
• Zyan Island. A large rocky island that rises 40 feet above the waves of the Kre Dùlnar, Zyan Island is named for the first House to wear the Iron Crown since before the Occupation of the 1st century DR. The bottom of the island is still honeycombed with “sea caves” similar to those that once wound throughout the area. Older maps list the isle as Orvud Isle, after the college that sits atop its cliffs. The island was once part of the Kyard district of the City of Oð, before an earthquake separated the main landmass in 244 HK. Access to the island today is limited to rowboats that cross from docks at the foot of the Ilàylin Stairs.