Amarkisk

Amarkisk is famous for the great siege that took place outside its walls that ended on 22nd Land's Awakening (23rd Unlocking) in 227 AC.

Canon
Little is known of Amarkisk from canonical sources save the brief mention in the Tenth Anniversary Yearbook about the date when the Siege of Amarkisk ended in 227 AC.

Non-canon
Due to its cryptic reference in the Tenth Anniversary Yearbook, there has been much speculation as to the location of Amarkisk. One theory places it at the mouth of a mountain pass known as Anvil Pass] in the [[Mountains of the Giants in Khul. The story surrounding this is as follows:

Built after the Great War against Chaos just to the north of Anvil Pass. Amarkisk is a great fortress built with the purpose of monitoring the Pass for any potential invasion. The fortifications that were there prior to the Great War were swept away. Due to their complete failure in preventing an assault on Klarash, Amarkisk was built with walls three times as thick and manned with five times as many men. The fortress was built with both the skill of the Dwarves of the Copper Mountains and the men of the northern Mountains of the Giants. However, the fortress was not really tested for over 200 years and many within Klarash and then the Ximoran Protectorate deemed its building as an overly expensive example of bolting the stable door after the proverbial horse had bolted. The Orc and Goblin hordes had been crushed already and there would be little threat from a now destroyed Kabesh looking to extend lands. In fact it was from the south that the first test came against Klarash, when Xakhaz led his Zagoulan hordes northward. Amarkisk was all but emptied as its first commander, Skarlos marched south to meet the horde at the Swordflow River where the Old North Way crossed the mighty water way. Skarlos and his north men and women stayed constructed Neuburg at this site and set up the southern garrison there. Amarkisk was not deserted, but the Council of Seven advised the King that there was little point in re-manning it with so many men. Thus a token force was sent to man the great fortress and guard the Anvil Pass. Apart from the odd skirmish on routine patrols, little happened, until 225AC. In that year, the young King of Buruna, Lowa Ashfell visited Amarkisk. The pretence was to honour the dead of Buruna who had died at Anvil Pass in the Great War over 200 years before. He arrived with a large retinue of guards and paid his respects at the pass. However, long had Lowa planned to re-establish Buruna led Klarashian Empire. Deeming that he could not accomplish this politically nor through immediate war with any of the established cities, he saw Amarkisk as a major opportunity. The greatest fortress of the Ximoran Protectorate sat with a skeleton guard only a few leagues shy of the King's Highway. If he could take Amarkisk with little bloodshed he would hold a fortress to the east of Ximoran, and a well fortified city to the west, thereby setting up a clamp around Ximoran which he intended to gradually tighten. However, no other city within the Protectorate would support Lowa, for they all valued their independence too much and the other six members of the Council of Seven worked quickly. Kelther, upon whose royal house Lowa had counted, washed their hands of the King of Buruna. Lowa's only ally, Kalima, denied all knowledge of the affair when pressed by Ximoran. Anghelm and Kelther sent mighty fleets to blockade Buruna itself, where the King Lowa's brother, Dran, publicly disassociated his House and Buruna from Lowa's actions. Thus the King was cut off completely. Lowa himself made initial forays towards Ximoran and was largely successful, pushing all the way to the King's Highway. However, Ximoran and Neuberg worked together to hem him back into Amarkisk. Lowa was not without military skill, however, and had been tutored well in the art of war. He held the siege for almost two years. However, in 227 AC, 22nd Land's Awakening (23rd Unlocking), the Siege of Amarkisk ended. Amarkisk was afterward manned more fully by Ximoran and still stands guard ominously over the Anvil Pass.