Tymon
Famed for its prestigious gladiators and sensational arena battles, the city-state of Tymon makes its living selling spectacle and pride. Influential citizens from other River Kingdoms often visit Tymon in order to cheer on their favored warriors. These charismatic gladiators can inspire such devotion that political feuds, murders, and even petty wars have occurred due to disagreements between their fans.
History
When visitors enter the city-state of Tymon, they more than likely hear the roar of the crowd coming from its famous gladiatorial arena as its eager fans cheer their favorite gladiator on to victory. The city’s gladiatorial college churns out some of the best fighters in Avistan and they test their mettle on the arena’s floor for money, honor, and fame. But with the country of Razmiran at its doorstep, and the faithful of the Living God constantly harassing Tymon’s borders, there is an uneasy tension floating beneath the blood sport that has made this town famous. The arena draws crowds and coin, but also creates heroes to defend Tymon’s borders.
The city-state of Tymon was founded by the famous Taldan gladiator Maldar Tymon in 2021. Maldar was the star of the Oppara Arena, but felt the need to test his skills further. Along with his squad of gladiators, Maldar joined the Taldan Fifth Army of Exploration and helped to conquer and map out the lands that would become the River Kingdoms. In return for his heroism, Maldar was given a piece of land that included much of the Exalted Wood and the mandate to rule this land for Taldor. He set about building the town of Tymon and many of his fellow soldiers stayed on to tame the wilderness. Maldar’s intent was to create a beacon for gladiators everywhere to come to Tymon, hone their skills, and achieve fame and fortune. However, before he could see his dream come true, his body failed him and he found himself dying of old age. Never willing to give in to insurmountable odds, Maldar sought a way to cheat death. He found an unusual ally in the druids of Sevenarches. In exchange for promises to protect Sevenarches, the Oakstewards reincarnated Maldar as an elf after he died, thus allowing him to extend mortal life and continue his vision for Tymon.
Maldar knew that the knowledge of his “immortality” could never be made public, so to address this, he established the Law of Succession, which would allow him to unseat his former identity and thereby allow him to continue his rule indefinitely. Entrusting only his most loyal confidants with his plan, Maldar was able to successfully create a ruse that allowed his newly reincarnated elven form (using the name Karth Valknar) to defeat and kill a warrior disguised to look like his old human body. In this same way, Maldar has been able to live for over 2,700 years, going from reincarnated body to reincarnated body.
However, the Oakstewards have become more critical of Maldar’s methods and have recently told him that his continued flaunting of the natural birth and death cycle is an anathema to them, and they have withdrawn their support for his plans, despite his promises of tribute and aid. Now living as the half-orc Ullorth Ungin, he seeks an alliance with a new druid capable of continuing his “immortality” scheme.