Lore · Cities & Peoples
Kael Drakkel & the Kromzek
Kael was the city you either worked for or raided, and almost nothing in between. Its makers described it as a monument to war.
Children of Zek
The 2002 Game Master’s Guide calls Kael Drakkel the last known mortal stronghold of Rallos Zek’s true children. Its Kromzek storm giants and their Kromrif frost giant cousins somehow escaped the curse of the Rathe that made fools of most of Norrath’s giants. Both serve King Tormax and share a hatred of the Coldain and of the dragons of Skyshrine.
Sacrilege in the Scar
The city lies at the eastern edge of the Great Scar. The dragons hold the Scars of Veeshan as their holiest ground and see the giants there as the worst sacrilege, so for centuries the two have fought without either gaining ground. Kael’s buildings bear the marks of dragon attacks from the air.
A city of war
Every road in Kael is made from the crushed bones of the storm giants’ enemies; the rest of the bodies are thrown into a pit in the town square. Three temples honour the Zek gods. Its arena honours Porlos, who killed Hsagra, mate of the dragon lord Yelinak, and his victory is embossed on the floor with her head in his hand. Tormax sits on a throne carved from a fallen dragon’s skull, which Yelinak calls a disgrace to all Veeshan’s children.
Sources: Library of Erudin: Kael Drakkel (Maps of Myrist; KaelQuick; Lord Yelinak dialogue)
The jungle at the gate
To the west lie the Wakening Lands, the only lush land on Velious. The official description says the jungle presses against Kael’s walls as if it were alive and the city a parasite it wanted to be rid of, and Tormax keeps his most seasoned troops on that side.
Where the sources disagree
- The Maps of Myrist place Kael at the eastern edge of the Great Scar; the RPG calls it a passage under the Great Divide. Official texts spell it both Kael Drakkel and Kael Drakkal.
- The RPG says the Kromzek escaped the Rathe’s curse “somehow.” We found no source that explains how.
Keep reading
Retold in our own words from the sources linked under each chapter; short quotes are marked and sourced. The illustration is an original AI-generated painting made for this page alone, not from the game.