One of my players had a backstory where they where seeking the mythical city of Galdranaak. I decided to write in universe history books for D&D. The campaign setting was my Broken Lands setting, which is my next Blog project so stick around for it. His character name was Edward Elrich, so of course I called his father Hohenhiem. Out of this backstory I wrote three excerpts from history books his character was trying to hunt down. This was a ton of fun to write, and I’d figure I’d share them.
The First is written by a Dwarven Scholar with am interest in ancient cities and architecture. The second was written by a xenophobic elf, and the third by a friendly Tiefling the players encountered later in the campaign. I also added a not so sneaky critical role reference non of my players got.
The Cities of the Dragonborn and their Customs.
Written by Gord BattleBorn
Chapter XV
The lost city of Galdranak is a truly great and strange mystery. It is held in the customs of the surviving Dragonborn that the city existed and still exists. No one has seen it for around 1,000 years as far as I can tell. The only description that exists is an oral one spread down from generation to generation. The purpose of this chapter is to record as many of those accounts as I could find.
With grass as green as emeralds
And tress as tall as castles
When you first see it you will tremble
At the city filling its vessel
A hill that sits softly on the ground
Looming over the land as a sign
A sign that this place will never be downed
To stand forever as a shrine
To what our race was, and to what it could be
We will reclaim our homeland and all will flee
This was relayed to me by an elder Dragonborn who bore the name Elrich. He would not tell me his first name but swore his family ruled the city. He showed me a crest that was a piece of round metal engraved with dragon wings stretching behind a dragonborn breathing fire. I was told this was a key to the mystery, but I suggest any who seek this place take it with a grain of salt.
The only other item of interest was a location, a large mountain that you could view the city from. It stood within five miles of Galdranaak. The name has been lost and the land sundered since then but to you brave adventurers reading this it is a clue.
Now supposedly the Dragonborn laws where made from a courthouse in this city….
A Study on Ancient Myths and Legends
By Namor Threefinger
Chapter XX Mythical Cities
All races have myths surrounding specific places and cities. The Dwarves have there ancient city of Tar-Gorath, the Tieflings have Val’Karin and the humans have their City of Gods. But the one that interests me the most is the ancient Legend of Galdranak, which many of the clans swear existed.
Now I have sacrificed and talked to many of the despicable and barbaric Dragonborn to get information on this myth. They have a strong oral history but oddly enough write little of it down, or at least didn’t show me any of their texts. Although I doubt such barbaric creatures could even write down such things. They claimed the city was on a plains and the castle on the one hill within miles.
It was easy enough to get the elders to talk they liked sharing many of their customs to someone who would listen. Of course I cared not of these things and only copied what was relevant to my search. They believe that they ruled over the great city, personally I think they conquered it from another more advanced race. The city was apparently located north of what now exists as the Remnant, so most likely it was lost to the Red Channel during the mythical battle of the Thousand Needles.
Before the Sundering they claimed it spanned miles. Which would not make any sense as they can barely maintain a small village. Most likely it was a small castle that they exaggerated to make there race seem better. The only piece of information I could gather that seemed new was their was apparently a lake called Lake Tal-Dorei on the northern side of the city.
A Tieflings Perspective on Races
By Rytris Angald
Chapter IV A recount of my days living with the Dragonborn.
I stayed with the Dragonborn for close to three years, and they where some of the best and worst days of my life. At first I was treated as an outsider, but once I showed that I actually respected the race they began to slowly warm up to me. There was one, a Hohenheim Elric who was a warrior of the tribe that was rather abrasive. Over time however the two of us became friends.
We would spend many days sparring, and let me tell you a Dragonborn has an interesting outlook on life. They see humans as their greatest enemy as it was there gods that took their ancestral lands from them. Hohenheim especially would talk my ears of for hours of the city he lived in as a boy, he would tell me of the great lake of the north, the mountain Dragons Tooth to the south. The walls of the castle where lined with gold even.
His family was a big deal in the city and he missed it a lot. He said that since he had left it he had went back once or twice to look at it and saw that the city was not there. It wasn’t even within sight of where he remembered it being. The whole land had changed and he couldn’t find his way back. Although that never seemed to discourage him. He left twice more while I was staying there, to look for the city again, I went with him the first time and we journeyed north…
Chapter V
We kept on checking a metal crest that he told me was his family crest. He used it like a compass whenever he became unsure, and that happened a lot on our journey. We ended up chartering a ship, but we couldn’t find any remnants in the Red Channel. After a few more weeks of wandering Verte we went home.
In the next year Hohenheim married and had two boys, to carry on the bloodline he told me. When I was about to leave he came to me and asked me to stay another few months while he went out for one more journey. I of course accepted. The two boys where amazing really, young Dragonborn are just as innocent as any children. Edward and Alfonse where their names, and they were beautiful boys. The thing that struck me as odd was that Edward had his father’s family crest. I thought Hohenheim would have used that for navigation again.
After waiting a year for Hohenheim to return, I was forced to move on. His wife still believed he would return, but I was not as hopeful. Most likely some humans saw through his disguise and the Knights of Pelor killed him. But I will be the first to say I hope he made it home safe, and I plan to journey back there in a few years and check on his family. And if you are reading this my friend, then I hope you got home safe.
Try It
I will do my best to touch on some simple guides on doing things like this, but it is always a fun experiment to write in universe lore for your players to find! It makes you a better writer, and shows your players you care. So try it, have fun and maybe look at other posts on this site. If this inspires you to write your own setting, this video is how my Broken Lands setting started.
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