Yltedene

Yltedene is the secret refuge-and-forge of the Dradrien Alon master smiths whom Minalan's coalition freed from Korbal's host-body slavery at the Battle of Olum Seheri. The Dradrien were used by Korbal as forge-slaves in the production of his ankotrum host-body frames; their liberation in the Olum Seheri raid was one of the central operational outcomes of the campaign.

Founding

The freed master smiths refused both repatriation to their pre-slavery homes (which had largely fallen) and assimilation into the Karshak Alon, with whom Dradrien have a complicated relationship. Instead they negotiated the establishment of a refuge of their own under Minalan's patronage. The Yltedene refuge is intentionally hidden — its precise location is known only to the Spellmonger and his closest confidants — and operates as an independent metallurgical and enchantment workshop in deliberate isolation from the Five Duchies' political life.

Output

Yltedene produces the highest-grade enchantment-bearing weapons and armour available in the modern era. The Dradrien-Yltedene process holds enchantments at higher density and over longer service-lives than anything Master Cormaran's Tudry forge can manage. Notable products:

• Twilight — Minalan's primary late-saga mageblade with integrated snowstone resistance-breaker.
• Yltedene-steel blades and armour for the Magelaw Knights Magi and senior Horkan Order commanders.
• Specialty enchantment substrates for the Arcane Orders' research projects.

Politics

Yltedene is sovereign in its own affairs but maintains a tight working relationship with the Magelaw. The Dradrien master smiths refuse direct fealty to any humani crown but accept Minalan as a patron and friend; the political-legal status is roughly that of a recognised foreign power with a guest-right at Vanador. The Karshak under Master Guri tolerate but do not approve of the arrangement; the Avalanti and Versaroti Alka Alon have never been told the location.