Varkhaz-Tur rises from the cracked red savannah atop a vast, flat-topped mesa whose sheer sandstone cliffs glow like embers at sunset. Founded generations ago by Tiefling exiles who embraced Dollaghoor’s creed of strength-through-honor, the village is both sanctuary and proving ground. Its people believe infernal blood is not a curse, but a mark of endurance beneath an unforgiving sun.
The mesa’s height offers natural defense, but Varkhaz-Tur is no passive refuge. The single ascent is a carved, exposed switchback path known as the Ashen Climb. Attackers are funnelled through its pallisade under constant watch from above, vulnerable to archers, rolling stone traps, and burning pitch which leads them to the ever-open @Varkhaz-Tur Gate guarded fiercely by fighters of Clan Kael'Zareth.
At the mesa’s edge lies @The Verge, a flat and simple circular dueling ground where Blood Games are fought against a backdrop of endless savannah. Victors earn scar-marks burned into their horns or skin; the defeated are cast down the cliff only if honor demands finality.
The village center holds a paved ring pathway, and the towering @Everburning Pyre of Varkhaz-Tur a War-Pyre used to signal neighboring clans. At night, its flames are visible for miles across the plateau lands. Merchants permitted entry to the village are allowed to set up small stalls to peddle their wares but must clear the area during mustering and village meetings.
Varkhaz-Tur is fiercely independent within the Dollaghoor Confederation. While loyal to the Rite of Togveen, its clan prides itself on discipline, controlled fury, and strategic warfare rather than reckless aggression.
Food served in Varkhaz-Tur is often wild game caught in the surrounding savannah, vegetables are a rare sight and usually only found when travelling merchants visit the town.
Beast hunts bring the clan together and make safe northern Dollaghoor from the threat of roaming bands of Gnolls and other beasts of the savannah.
Clan Kael’Zareth is the ruling Tiefling war-clan of Varkhaz-Tur, descended from infernal-blooded exiles who carved a fortress from red stone and wind. The clan name Kael’Zareth is both banner and bloodline—the inherited name of the reigning War-Mother, passed only through strength, discipline, and public victory at the Crimson Verge.
The Kael’Zareth do not worship their infernal heritage. They master it. To them, flame without control is weakness. Rage without purpose is disgrace. Strength must be directed, measured, and justified.
Leadership is earned through sanctioned Blood Games, but challenges must be rooted in failure or dishonor. Ambition alone is not enough. The clan believes power without legitimacy fractures unity.
Militarily, Clan Kael’Zareth favors disciplined shield formations, elevated archery lines along the mesa rim, and decisive, overwhelming engagements. They do not wage endless vendettas. When they strike, it is to end conflict swiftly.
Their internal code is absolute:
• Every child trains in weapon and survival.
• Every oath is witnessed and recorded.
• No defeated foe is slain without cause.
• No infernal pact is entered without full clan consent.
Though feared for their horns and ember-lit eyes, the Kael’Zareth reject demonic servitude. Their blood is inherited, not bargained. To kneel to a fiend would stain the clan name beyond redemption.
Within Dollaghoor, Clan Kael’Zareth is respected as disciplined tacticians and formidable high-ground defenders. Their war-pyre burns as both signal and warning: honor us, or burn beneath us.