Barn

Barn, also known as Tal'ar Barn, the City of Stones. One of the oldest, if not the oldest, cities in the realm and birthplace of many promiment figures in history.

History
Nobody knows for certain when the city of Barn was constructed, but it is agreed to it is one of the oldest cities in the realm. The oldest chronicles, dated way before the construction of Eresath and the event of Sha's Gift, describe Barn as the strongest and mightiest city in the realm when there were no strong kingdoms and wars raged on continuously.

Somewhere between 1500 and 1000 B.G. (Before the Gift) several prominent leaders who lived in and around Barn united together and started working together to form their own kingdom. One by one, other cities joined them or were conquered and the kingdom of Acir began to take shape. Tal-Acir was eventually chosen as the capital due to its strategically better location and the city expanded in no time. Soon, it overtook Barn and many other cities in size and power as the Acir kingdom began to take shape.

Barn remained an important city, but its power decreased nonetheless. Where it had once been the center of a growing kingdom, it was now a city that mainly trades in wood and ores found in the Mistdall Mountains.

In the year 0 E.G., Kyra Adung and Eathan Connau, both members of The Seven were born in Barn.

In 82 E.G., the first ever Testing is held in Barn as well in Tal-Acir, Setha, Idaphin and Pyk.

In 168 E.G., after the events of the 'First Traitor's Uprising', a Healer Hall is constructed in Barn.

About the city
In the Forgotten Tongue, Barn was called Tal'ar Barn meaning the City of Stones. There are a lot of theories about what these stones refer to, but the most accepted theory is that it simply refers to the many ore veins that can be found in the mountains north of the city. Not all scholars agree on this though.

The city is built around the river Ilsas that finds it origin up in the Mistdall Mountains. There are three gates that grant access to the city. The northern gate is called the Stone Gate and opens up to the mountain passes and the mining outposts. The southwestern gate is called the Wood Gate and going through it will take you through Ilsas' Forest and eventually Aldar. The southeastern gate is the Sun Gate and leads to Beastpass and Aldar, depending on which road you take when exiting. Each gate has a district next to it outside the city. These are Crogark Town in the North, Grasmere in the southwest and Stathmore in the southeast.

In the city, three bridges allow passage over the river Ilsas. From east to west, these bridges are Connau Bridge, Main Bridge and West Bridge. Directly south of Main Bridge is the governor's palace, which used to be the king's palace many years ago.

In general, the buildings in Barn are several stories high, allowing for a large amount of people living there. The only expection to that is the Raik district in the western part of the city. The buildings there often go deeper underground than they go upwards and it is a place mostly avoided by the rest of Barn's citizens. Even the guards rarely patrol the Raik.

The fields around Barn are not that suitable for farming with the ground being as rocky as it is. The bigger part of the grassland surrounding the city are inhabitated by cows and sheep, making wool and leather one of Barn's main products.