City of Lyte... City of Light

Lyte is likely the most well-known city in all of Riiga. It is situated in North Tasif, divided into two halves by the Lytian Bridge. The east half is in Middle Tasif and the west half is in West Tasif. The water that runs under the bridge is known as the Vastin Channel, and it opens up to the north into Lake Vastin. The river itself is very wide, and as a consequence, the great bridge is used non-stop throughout the day by people going from one half to the other.

First Lyte 13,021BD - 8111BD

Lyte is officially the oldest human place of residency, as it was begun by Lord Renin back in 13,021BD. Lyte was and always has been the capital city for the humans of Central since the beginning. The White Order was founded soon after Lyte was finished and they were trying to establish a governing system as Nikina had instructed them to do. Like all cities, it started small, but a great tent surrounded by a settlement turned into a tower surrounded by a village, and this turned into a keep surrounded by a town. Eventually, it was transformed into a castle surrounded by a city thanks to the hard work of the ever-growing Lytian population. Lyte was "the place to live": Renin was in the castle overlooking the people, there were fields to the east for many crops, the water was clean, the weather was perfect, and there were ample resources.

The birth of Votorimin was one of Garukavar's most catastrophic attacks against humans. Had Votorimin not been born so soon after the first humans, mankind would be a far better race, for his deceiving ways quickly turned the blood of many humans impure, and they became jealous of Renin and their superiors. Though small bands of traitors to the lordship of Lyte did exist, they never began battles or wars -- they always kept their moves hidden. This version of Lyte did not have the great bridge; the peninsula to the west was just a faraway piece of land that they didn't need.

Renin and Karomaroc

When Lyte was in its infancy and its defences were very small, great beasts threatened the people. The Enemy had unleashed a determined band of Giakdon which were thought to reside deep in caves at the southern point of the mountains of Nor Vastin. These Giakdon were unlike any other; their raids are coordinated and they seek to kill as many people in a short amount of time without suffering too much damage at the hands of the defending Hireos humans. These raids went on for an uncomfortable number of years until Renin obtained a white gem encased in a golden brooch. Immeditely he recognised that the gem amplified and attracted light energy, so with the help of Lyte's best blacksmiths he took out the gem and had a sword made where the blade's metal was combined with the molten gem. Upon cooling, the sword shone with great brilliance and indeed the Giakdon cowered from this weapon which Renin called Evamahti. He slayed one Giakdon and they retreated with cautious bravery.

The Giakdon had a weapon of their own. At their next raid, they were accompanied by a Giakdon mightier than the rest. This one that towered above the buildings and had a black axe in each hand. Such was his fearsome mane that it was mistaken for a tail, and his helmet was scarred and burned and seemed as old as the soil. Renin called him Karomaroc and they fought one another. Karomaroc did not cower from Evamahti but it was his own undoing as Renin cut off three the mighty giant's fingers of his left hand. Karomaroc quickly drew back with his Giakdon. Renin gathered any brave men and they chased the Giakdon to the caves. The giants retaliated with great fury -- such fury that it's said they covered the sky with black clouds and pulled rain from the heavens. Even from within the caves, where the fighting unfolded, there was a deep rumbling. In another epic battle, Renin struck his blade through the eye hole of Karomaroc's helmet, but the blade snapped from the handle and Karomaroc tumbled backwards into an abyss. The remaining Giakdon were either slain there and then by Renin's stunted weapon or were hunted later by replenished and well-equipped soldiers. After Karomaroc was defeated, Renin tossed his broken weapon into the abyss. Their victory was celebrated in 8550BD.

It wasn't until an earthquake struck in 8111BD and the castle collapsed that the people of Lyte considered expanding. As it was the first earthquake that had experienced in so many thousands of years, they did not change the position of the city. Instead, they built a great bridge to the other side of the river and began to repair the city as they expanded the city on the west side. Though it was officially Nikina's instruction to expand across the river and take both banks, some people in the city thought it was just Renin's idea, and that they should stay ont he west bank. These people, however, kept quiet about their concerns. Because Lyte was begun on the east side, the most important building has always been on the east side. In First Lyte, it was the castle, but in Second Lyte, it was far grander...

Second Lyte 8111BD - 2582BD

After many years of working, by 8100BD, Lyte was well situated on both sides of the river, and the great Lytian Bridge was complete. The west side contained mostly homes and the east side contained larger and more important buildings, such as the library, the temple, the castle for the royalty and the White Order, and many markets and stores. Second Lyte was admittedly far larger than First Lyte and its authority was that much stronger. As, by this time, humans had also spread to Huirnon, Temanea, and South Tasif, and large cities such as Scarcus and Alacas had been running for quite some time.

Around 2700BD, humans in the west had begun construction on a magnificient palace on the side of a mountain called Silril Palace. Upon completion, the people in South Ideitess said they would break from the authority of the White Order and begin their own empire. Granted, the White Order wasn't terribly interested in western affairs, but this still troubled the Hireos at the time. As a show of standing authority, there was a serious amount of planning suddenly going into building a palace in Lyte.

Third Lyte 2582BD - 590AL

Not only did the people of Lyte built a grand palace on the west side, but they erected a large stone wall around both sides of the city, rebuilt many homes, constructed two large main gates -- one for each side -- expanded their docks to become the largest port in Riiga, and created rows of stores for people to buy and use to sell their products in a more official manner. This proved to be a huge boost to Central's power in many aspects. Trading between Central continents increased at least five-fold, the White Order grew -- consequentially, so too did the number of town guards and overall quality of resident protection, as the other large cities of Central built their own walls -- and the economy was at its best. Quickly, people forgot about the new western empire over the ocean and concentrated on the glory and success of Third Lyte and its many arms of power.

The tide turned when Renin and Ernamin were killed by Murluron during The Darkness in the year 0. Suddenly, Hireos royality became rare and the might of their blood plummuted. Erinduo was crowned the new lord. However, this didn't last long, as he was killed in the Battle at Etalz just 249 years later. The royal Hireos bloodline ended. Lyte became democratic and the Lytian Council was formed. Paladins suddenly became less popular and civilians began to take matters into their own hands. This era of democratic Lyte became known as the Late Third Lyte. People are divided as to which time was better: the Early Third Lyte or Late Third Lyte. Some used the power of the council wisely, and others wanted the royalty to do the ruling.

Fourth Lyte 590AL - present

The council only lasted until 590AL. Someone called Daedalus sailed in from the East. Daedalus was born in North Nidonn but when he was 32 he sailed westward to Central when he had received word that Lyte had become democratic and the order of the Paladins had stopped growing. Ahartui, Daedalus's father, was known as a wise prophet, sometimes called the ArchProphet, and he foretold that Daedalus would find a kingdom to rule elsewhere, as Erertoga would rule Phedailin and North Nidonn when Ahartui passed away. Sure enough, when Daedalus heard that Central had no leader, he sailed there and claimed that he was the grandchild of Lyte's previous lord. The council was not hesitant to hand the power of Central over to Daedalus, as it was indisputable that he was indeed a Hireos and quite powerful. There was proof of this when Bartyl and Pandora tried to do what Daedalus was trying to do. Daedalus defeated Pandora after she had transformed into the Black Dragon, and he had Bartyl sealed deep in an underground prison. The citizens wanted to be rid of the council, and there were almost no disputes against Daedalus ruling after his impressive show of strength. They had been hoping for another Lord Renin, and they believed Daedalus was the closest they could get. Aside from this, the laws clearly stated that Daedalus was supposed to rule because of his lineage.

However, once Daedalus began to earn the trust of his people, he made some changes. Because he was a neutral Hireos and thus didn't allow worship of Nikina, Paladins were depicted as weak by a new order called The Guards. A vast majority of people turned and joined The Guards, as they were convinced that there was no future in being a Paladin. As well as this, the Order of the White became completely replaced by The Guards. As soldiers would be protecting the same people, nobody saw a need to preserve the White Order. Somehow, The Enemy had made himself very discrete and the people had little to fear. Even the rest of Central rejoined North Tasif's dominant order and took on the new customs and systems.

In regards to the city itself, the palace was flattened and the HeadQuarters for The Guards was built in its place -- a massive, pale, flat-walled and undecorated mass of quarters and chambers. In an act of savage defiance against the deceased Hireos, Daedalus had all statues of royalty beheaded and tossed into the river like trash. Over time, almost every other main building in the city was either changed to fit the style of HQ (plain walls in some shade of grey with dark roofs and minimal decoration) or rebuilt entirely. The interior of the library is one of the few places in Lyte where one can view traces of the intricaty that the palace once proudly fashioned. The walls were left as they were.