Ironspike is a huge Kendari fortress and mile-long barrier wall that guards the entrance to the southern foothills of the Hellfire Mountains.
Ironspike's one-hundred-foot-tall granite walls and triple steel gates bar any invaders from the Sanjaara Jungle from gaining access to the famed Sky-Valley of Kendar.
Castle Ironspike is also the terminus of the Malachite Road, running southwest to the human settlements of Kingfisher Hollow and Caldera.
HISTORY
Castle Ironspike has a long and storied history. When Kendar was founded in the year AR -64 it was a small colony. Soon after, the Kendari people, led by Prince Kendros Sanborn, began expanding thru the Sky-Valley, defeating large tribes of Gnolls and Tasloi in the region.
To protect their newfound gains, the southern entrance to the sky-valley had to be protected. Near the end of his life, Lord Kendros ordered construction of iron gates and a wooden wall across the valley.
This first wall was supplanted about a century later with a much taller stone wall, augmented with magic and the powerful resources of Kendar's mother-Kingdom of Ralas. It was completed none too soon.
When the Eloysian Empire demanded the surrender of the Kendari, they promptly refused, which incurred the wrath of several Eloysian Emperors. Over the next three centuries, there were five major attacks on Castle Ironspike's massive battlements, All of which failed.
During the reign of Emperor Damodar, the Fortress was besieged for ten years. The attacks failed.
During the reign of Emperor Al'Dur II, the Fortress was besieged for five years. The attacks failed.
During the reign of Emperor Ra'jir, the Fortress was besieged for three years. The attacks failed, and Emperor Ra'jir was killed in one of the final assaults.
During the reign of Emperor Etros III, the Fortress was besieged for eight years. The attacks failed.
During the reign of Emperor Hamid, the Fortress was besieged for ten years. The attacks failed; then finally in the year AR 435, a treaty was reached between Kendar and the Eloysian Emperor Hamid Kharata. The fortress and wall have endured since as testament to Ralani strength and ingenuity.
