Vargus Archive

Nelesh

Overview

A coastal kingdom, Nelesh is considered to be among the best places to live in Vargus. Because the other kingdoms store their excess wealth within Nelesh's underground vaults, they have managed to remain largely neutral in conflicts and do their best to maintain peace.

Only once in known history has another kingdom tried to invade Nelesh, and that attempted invasion triggered the fall of the Orelian Empire a few centuries prior to present. Ruled by General Argax, a devil who usurped the throne from a tyrant king during the height of the Orelian Empire and has been ruling with fairness ever since.

The Vaults and the Thief King

The other kingdoms store their wealth in Nelesh's underground Vaults. The Vaults were built in a small section of Abyss that remained mostly intact after its collapse. The space was reinforced and converted into a storage place for riches.

The Vaults are tightly secured; thieves all across history have tried to breach the Vaults' defenses, but only one has ever succeeded. Centuries ago, a lone thief broke into the Vaults through means no one can quite determine. He stole only a single item: a relatively mundane bronze figurine. It is said that this thief broke in merely to prove that he could and never meant to make a profit. Whether that is true or not, he is now referred to as the Thief King and has become a legendary figure.

While the Thief King died centuries prior to the present, his legacy lives on in the form of the Thieves' Guild, a group of thieves known for robbing the rich and corrupt for ultimately benevolent purposes. The bronze figurine stolen by the Thief King is currently on display at a museum in Osrith.

General Argax

Previously the General of the Mistress of Greed, Argax was among the first devils to defect from Hell. After living in Nelesh for a while, he grew very fond of the kingdom and its people for their kindness and acceptance. So, when a tyrant king rose to power, Argax became enraged by the way the new king was treating the people and decided that Nelesh deserved better than that.

Argax, having the power of a demigod, decided to take matters into his own hand and usurped the throne from the tyrant king by force. When the tyrant king was removed, the people rejoiced and Argax established himself as the new ruler, keeping the title of 'General' that he possessed in Hell.

He is well liked by his people for his fairness, openness, cheerful demeanor, and capacity to keep his kingdom out of conflict. Among his most notable acts as ruler was triggering the fall of the Orelian Empire when he made good on his threat to drain the Empire's funds to zero if they ever tried to invade.