Overview
Pyrenis is the volcanic, fire-aligned city and surrounding region of Thalassai, ruled by Ignaros, the archon of fire. Pyrenis City is the urban core of the Pyrenis region.
City and Region
Pyrenis stands among volcanoes, blackened cliffs, lava rivers, and coastal waters. Its cityscape uses volcanic stone, bronze, crimson, and gold, with the Palace of Fire, the Grand Colosseum, forges, docks, windweaver activity, and roads and waterways linking it with Chronasis and Thalmyris.
The region's heat favors fire mages. Ice mages make the city livable by cooling interiors, water, goods, and the air itself. Pyrenis has forges, docks, windweaver traffic, legion training, culinary tools, fishing and port trade, and Ignaros's volcanic ice cream.
Palace of Fire
The Palace of Fire is Ignaros's palace in Pyrenis. Ignaros trains fire mages there, and the palace contains kitchens used for cooking practice and volcanic ice cream. It stands inside the volcanic city.
Jin studies fire magic there under Ignaros. Kaelion later trains in the palace with Ignaros and Hadrian. Kaelion also uses the palace kitchens for cooking practice, sun-magic control, and Ignaros's volcanic ice cream. During the Internal Thalassai War, Helena lands before the Palace of Fire in Chronasis robes and falsely blames Terranova for attacking Chronasis.
Grand Colosseum
The Grand Colosseum is Pyrenis's volcanic-stone combat venue. It stands near the routes to the Palace of Fire and has volcanic-stone arcs, golden embellishments, stone seating, and a large arena floor where ash gathers during fire and earth magic duels.
Hadrian uses it as Kaelion's training site. Kaelion later duels Calythos there before Ignaros and Hadrian. The colosseum also serves the Thalassai legions: during Virel's infiltration, Hadrian gathers ten centurions there for promotion testing to legati. Ignaros and Calythos later hold a friendly sparring match there before Hadrian, Virel, and several legati.
Government and Military
Ignaros rules Pyrenis as archon of fire. Hadrian is based there as a Thalassai imperator under Ignaros and commands within the Thalassai legions.
Under Ignaros and Hadrian, local soldiers, centurions, legati, guards, and windweavers defend the region. Jin studies fire magic and cooking there under Ignaros, and Kaelion trains there with Ignaros and Hadrian.
History
During Helena's early stay in Pyrenis, the city has no gates or walls and relies on its surrounding volcanoes for defense. She joins the local military under Decimus, studies the city's libraries, destroys Malverand records, disrupts Ozaith worship, and eventually burns the largest library.
Helena later spreads false propaganda across Thalassai, igniting the Internal Thalassai War, during which Pyrenis ships destroy Thalmyris's ports. In a later generation, a volcanic eruption near Pyrenis threatens to engulf the city; the former archon of fire and his wife save it by overloading their magic and die afterward, leaving Aelius orphaned.
In the current Thalassai order, Pyrenis has gates and coastal defenses around its civic district. Enemy forces target Pyrenis during the Thalassai invasion, and Zain later launches the Attack on Pyrenis after Thalassai takes Solvarria. Pyrenis City survives the Attack on Pyrenis. Qadir's essence detonation devastates the surrounding region with tsunami damage, fissures, earthquakes, lava flows, ruined villages, and heavy casualties.