Kormor Kirak

What the sources establishEstablished

• Kormor Kirak is a walled city in a remote valley beneath craggy mountains, built in the style of Dubrovnik and Nordlingen, with cobblestone streets, peaked-roof buildings, and a fairytale castle that dominates the skyline. pilot p. 1
• The city is a tiny territory in the centre of the Videk mountain range, with Albion on one side and Terrassia on the other; the natural barrier of the Videks and the constant storms along the border make it easy to secure. pilot p. 15
• Kormor Kirak is neutral ground, described by Barron as a place for commonality, not conflict, and Albion and Terrassia both maintain consulates there. pilot pp. 1, 16, 29; Campaign World Guide, 'Kormor Kirak: City Overview'
• A single mountain road, choked with caravan traffic in both directions, is the only approach to the city, and the Southern Gate is manned by Red Guards who must be haggled with for entry. pilot p. 22; Campaign World Guide, 'The Videk Mountains'
• The Videk storms are notorious and would rip an airship apart, so travellers from Albion fly most of the way and finish the journey overland by carriage. pilot p. 20
• Red-suited Red Guards police the city; they roust residents from their homes at night on royal business and hold no jurisdiction inside the Albion Consulate, which counts as Albion territory. pilot pp. 16, 25
• Symbols painted on walls and doors throughout the city are wards of defence against the attacks of evil spirits. pilot p. 23
• The Kereskedo Market is the oldest building in the city, a hub for commercial trade in the manner of a caravanserai, bazaar, or souk; its resident fixer Rozito Vallikozo holds an official royal appointment to run it. pilot pp. 16, 51
• The Bastion Inn is a two-story hostel owned by Eppy Flinder, with a bar, a dining hall, a dance floor, monster paintings on the walls, and a trompe-l'oeil ceiling of unfamiliar constellations and a falling comet. pilot pp. 27-28
• The Hallaset Fields, on the plateau edge outside the city, are a sky-burial cemetery of head-high reed grass, raised plinths where the dead are left to carrion birds, and drifting mist; the Gillikoi Woods and Erdo Pools are nearby leisure spots. pilot p. 42
• Queen Kiraline opened the city's gates to foreigners, reasoning that the humans would otherwise break them down and that inside her walls they would be vulnerable to her influence. pilot p. 38
• The Theater of Everlasting Peace, under construction for the royal wedding and thirty percent complete, was burned to the ground by Feeney with Molotov cocktails; its charred ruins stand off Queen's Road. pilot pp. 1, 24, 46
• Locals hold that nothing has changed in Kormor Kirak since the comet fell from the sky, and that the queen's favour can be bought. pilot p. 28
• The city's marketplace is divided into an Albion Quarter, a Terrassian Quarter, and Neutral Stalls, with a Grand Square at its heart. City Locations Guide, 'The Kormor Kirak Marketplace'
• In-world publications call the city's silver coin the Krone, its copper the Groat, and the hundred-year Albion-Terrassia conflict the Century War. EC_GROUNDING_SHEET.md, section 6

Said, believed, or contradicted between sourcesRumored or disputed

• The Campaign World Guide calls Kiraline 'Queen Kiraline Veresz Eroszakos of Terrassia' and says she rules portions of Terrassia; the pilot treats Kormor Kirak as a neutral territory distinct from Terrassia, which keeps its own consulate in the city. Campaign World Guide, 'City Overview'; Style & Tone Guide; pilot pp. 15-16
• Nero says the nights of Kormor Kirak are filled with threats outsiders cannot imagine, and his crews will not work nights unprotected. pilot pp. 39-40
• Later in-world publications describe a Marrow District, a Terra Sotto undercity, a Northern Causeway, and a tower rising on the castle's eastern shoulder; none of these appear in the pilot. EC_GROUNDING_SHEET.md; courant_desk/issues/no01_the_tower_rises.md

What no source settlesUnestablished

• The population of Kormor Kirak is not established in any source.
• How long Kiraline has ruled the city, and when she opened its gates, is not established in any source; the Castle Guide says the Veresz dynasty has held Torony Piros for nearly four centuries but does not date the opening of the gates.
• Whether the city has a governing body beyond the Queen, the Red Guard, and royal appointees is not established in the pilot.

Reign of Blood, ICM first draft, 2022Scenes set here

1. Aerial establishing shot of the walled city and castle at night (p. 1).
2. Arson at the Theater of Everlasting Peace and the chase to the Albion Consulate (pp. 1-2).
3. Red Guards roust High Street; Szeret gallops out of the castle gate (p. 16).
4. Szeret and Rozito at the Kereskedo Market dressmaker (pp. 17-19).
5. Arrival at the Southern Gate; the castle straddles the wall (p. 22).
6. Carriage ride up Queen's Road; wards on the doors; the ambush foiled from the rooftops (pp. 22-25).
7. The Bastion Inn: cocktails, cards, and dancing (pp. 27-33).
8. The Hallaset Fields: the Necrotic Bulk and Szeret's transformation (pp. 42-50).

Who and what this record touchesConnections

Every story, issue and quest where the name appearsAppearances

• BloodletterTHE DEAD PLEDGEBLACK MARKET ALLEY
• BloodletterTHE EIGHTY-EIGHTH JOINTTHEATER OF EVERLASTING PEACE
• BloodletterTHE SWEEPINGSTHE PITS
• BloodletterTHE SECOND BIRDALBION QUARTER
• BloodletterTHE LIVE SACKTERRA SOTTO
• BloodletterTHE QUIET SISTERGRAND SQUARE
• BloodletterTHE BLANK LETTERTHE NIGHT MARKET
• BloodletterWHAT THE WATER KEEPSERDO POOLS
• BloodletterTHE FULL CUPTHE GRAND BALLROOM
• BloodletterTHE DARK WINDOWSMARROW DISTRICT
• BloodletterTHE COUNTING OF WOUNDSHALLASET FIELDS
• CourantTHE MARROW IS CLEAREDThe 15th of May, 1793
• CourantTHE ETERNAL REIGNThe 8th of May, 1793
• CourantTHE FESTIVAL BEGINSThe 1st of May, 1793
• CourantTHE CONVERGENCE PROCLAIMEDThe 24th of April, 1793
• CourantTHE TOWER RISESThe 17th of April, 1793
• Quest BoardTHE OCHRE DOORALBION QUARTER

Canon, in priority orderSources

1. The pilot script: Reign of Blood, ICM first draft 2022, pp. 1-2, 15-16, 20, 22-29, 38-42, 46, 51
2. Campaign World Guide, 'The Videk Mountains', 'The Century War', 'Kormor Kirak: City Overview'
3. City Locations Guide, 'The Kormor Kirak Marketplace'
4. World Style & Tone Guide, 'What Kind of World Is This'
5. _publications/EC_GROUNDING_SHEET.md, sections 1 and 6

Notes. The pilot's slug lines use 'Kormor City' while dialogue uses 'Kormor Kirak'; the world guides use Kormor Kirak throughout. The grounding sheet gives the pronunciation KOR-mor KEER-ack.