﻿#title:Lorath
#author:Anario
#types:essos
#

Lorath is one of the Free Cities located to the east of Westeros. It is located on an island just off the northern coast of Essos, east and slightly south of Braavos. The Shivering Sea lies to its north and an inlet of water known as Lorath Bay lies to the south. Lorath is the least-known of the Free Cities, due to its isolated location and the lack of any notable ports further east. The people of Lorath are known as Lorathi.

In the centuries that followed, Lorath was inhabited by a race of fisherfolk who bore many similarities to the present-day Ibbenese. They were later displaced by the Andals, who invaded from the mainland which lies to the south. These new arrivals set up a slew of small kingdoms and spent much time warring and quarreling amongst themselves. When the Andals launched an attack on the Valyrian colony of Norvos, located to the southeast, the Freehold sent a force of one hundred dragons and beat the invaders back. The "Scouring of Lorath" that followed razed the Andal kingdoms to the ground and left no survivors.

Afterwards, Lorath remained uninhabited for many years, until religious dissidents from Valyria arrived. These were the followers of Boash, also known as the Blind God. The Boash'i practiced an austere lifestyle of extreme self-abnegation, even more than the Bearded Priests of Norvos (they did not consume flesh or drink wine). The faith of Boash believed that all humans are equal: male or female, rich or poor, free or slave. Therefore, slavery was not practiced in Lorath, and it became a favored destination for runaway slaves fleeing from Valyria itself. The result is that Lorath has a very diverse ethnic composition, due to much of its population being descended from slaves the Valyrians took from across the world.

The Boash'i continued to dominate Lorath for several centuries, but the number of the Blind God's devotees gradually dwindled, both due to new settlers moving into the city from Andalos and Ib, and descendants of the original settlers simply losing interest in it. Their priests became corrupt and more concerned with collecting wealth than observing the faith. At some point before the Century of Blood (roughly four hundred years prior to the War of the Five Kings), the last of the old priests of Boash were wiped out and Lorath became a Freehold, like Valyria before it. In the present day, Lorath is nominally ruled by a triad of elected Princes, though a council of magisters wields the true power. Lorath is now predominantly a fishing port - as the surrounding waters of the Shivering Sea are plentiful - and conducts small-scale trade in items such as salt cod, walrus tusks, sealskins, and whale oil. These resources have not made Lorath wealthy, though it is reasonably prosperous. Overall, Lorath is considered to be the least of the Free Cities in wealth, population, and influence. It is also the most isolated, rarely trading far beyond its borders, instead preferring to trade with its immediate neighbors of Braavos, Norvos, and Ib. Lorath rarely gets involved in wars with the other Free Cities.