Phsant

Phsant was a city in Thesk in the Unapproachable East. It was well known as the site of the defeat of the Tuigan Horde and for its large orc population, once part of the army that defeated the Horde.

Geography
Lying in central Thesk, between the Forest of Lethyr and the Thesk Mountains, Phsant sat on the Golden Way between Phent and Tammar. A trail ran south to Blackhill at the foot of the mountains.

Government
Phsant was governed by the Merchants' Council, a oligarchic group of wealthy merchants.

Although Thesk had no overall government or capital city, the leaders of its cities formed the Council of Thesk to discuss issues and work together. Phsant was commonly chosen as the site of their meetings.

Defenses
Like the bigger Theskan cities, Phsant maintained a small army of professional soldiers, supported by tidy and disciplined mercenaries as needed. It had a defensive alliance with the other cities.

History
Phsant was founded in.

In the, the advancing Tuigan Horde laid siege to Phsant and swiftly conquered it on Kythorn 20, and the Tuigan sacked Phsant. Finally, in a valley a few miles west of Phsant, the Tuigan Horde and the Army of the Alliance fought the First Battle of the Golden Way on Flamerule 3 and in the Second Battle of the Golden Way on Flamerule 5, the Alliance was victorious.

In the immediate aftermath, nearly 900 Zhentish orc soldiers—part of the Army of the Alliance under Commander Vrakk—remained behind in Thesk, ostensibly under orders from Zhentil Keep to establish an outpost. Before King Azoun IV informed Theskan authorities, he warned Vrakk the orcs would be treated as trespassers, but Vrakk teased they'd survive by raiding and thieving. But the outcome would be very different. At first the Theskans were fearful, with some even seeing the orcs as demons having not known them for centuries. The Shadowmasters bribed and pressured them to settle someplace well away from Telflamm. The druids of the Forest of Lethyr refused them. Ultimately, the orcs went back to Phsant and settled there without issue. In time, the locals accepted them, remembering their role in defeating the Tuigan that had once conquered their city.

However, some Tuigan had also remained behind and turned to banditry, even seizing Tammar in the, and harassing merchants on the Golden Way for months. In the, Phsant's Merchant's Council sent 100 of the most capable orc warriors to Tammar, and they hunted them down and wiped them out.

A Thayan enclave was opened by Red Wizards in Phsant in the. It was immediately popular with merchants travelling the Golden War.

Inhabitants
The orc soldiers who'd settled in and around Phsant adjusted surprisingly well and were accepted members of the populace. By 1372 DR, orcs had taken a variety of jobs, not just as guards and mercenaries, but also as laborers, miners, and farmworkers, and some had even bought their own small farms in the area. The many orc miners went south to the Thesk Mountains to work the small iron mines, but regularly returned to their tribemates in Phsant to relax when they'd earned enough coin and time.

Some local human women married immigrant orcs, but there was still a sizeable remainder of orc men in search of wives. This high population of orc bachelors attracted half-orc women who sought sturdy husbands with a more civilized mentality than available in a traditional orc tribe.

As of 1479 DR, it was a city of 30,000 inhabitants.

Organizations
The Nine Golden Swords criminal society, which tried to control the Shou people of Thesk, was based in Phsant's Shou quarter. Supposedly, they could call on hundreds of people for a battle if needed.

However, the Shadowmasters already had a thieves' guilt in Phsant, as everywhere in Thesk. There would naturally be a gang war between them.