Ghoresh¶
Ghoresh is a small mountain kingdom of the Age of Magic that belongs to its assassins. "Over a hundred years ago, they overthrew the nobility of a small kingdom in the mountains just west of Dunmir. They inserted themselves into the power structure there, and have ruled the area ever since. The majority of the population are regular people, leading the normal lives of farmers, blacksmiths, ranchers, etc. However, the guild of assassins controls the area at all levels via proxies. They use the towns as a base from which they carry out their work across Numenia" (S548). By the Fifth Age its name survives as a region of rovers and a cliff city "scattered with Hollows, Bandits, Witches and Monsters" (S133).
Also called: the Kingdom of Ghoresh; the Hills of Ghorresh (S326, see below).
The Brotherhood's rule¶
The Assassins of Ghoresh, the Brotherhood of the Black Hand, "has been a significant regional organization for at least 150 years. It's exact origins are unknown, but by all accounts its influence over the Kingdom of Ghoresh became absolute almost 100 years ago" (S545). The gazetteers call the organization "ancient" (S548). Its structure, the Hand, the Four Fists, Gloves, Fingers and Rings, is the Factions page's matter. "At the height of its power, the assassins of Ghoresh were actually led by an Augur, which used his auguries to further his own power and determine the best way to carry out impossible-seeming assassinations" (S536; see Augurs).
Dunmir, to the east, "has attempted to eliminate the assassins on a few occasions, and has had some short-lived success at conquering the old kingdom of Ghoresh. However, holding the area has proven to be very difficult, and several Dunmiri kings have been assassinated shortly after successful invasions" (S548).
The Old Cliff City¶
The Sancturi campaign's plot outline knows "The Legacy of Ghoresh": "The Old Cliff City of Ghoresh is a dangerous place, scattered with Hollows, Bandits, Witches and Monsters" (S133). It is the only settlement of Ghoresh any source names.
Ghoresh in the Fifth Age¶
By 704 SM Ghoresh is no longer a kingdom. The survey of the Riven Kingdoms records that Rovers, the migratory clans who travel the wilds and "rely on heavily on witches to deal with Hollowing," are "fairly common in the lands which were once northern Dalmar, Faragond and Ghoresh (these lands are now commonly referred to as Rovarion)" (S319). That places Ghoresh beside Dalmar and Faragond in the Fifth Age's West.
The Sanctuary Age Timeline records a "Hills of Ghorresh Campaign (Nightshade Legions 690 SM - 698 SM): Mostly a land grab and infrastructure campaign, there was little real fighting other than minor skirmishes with natives and Hollows" (S326).
Gap
No source says in so many words that the Hills of Ghorresh of the Sancturi campaign are the mountain kingdom of Ghoresh, nor what became of the Brotherhood between the Age of Magic and 704 SM. The kingdom's size, capital (other than the Old Cliff City) and the nobility the assassins overthrew are unrecorded.
Earlier accounts¶
The 2014 gazetteer (S548), its 2015 copy (S499) and the compendium (S372, S384) give the same account of the assassins' seizure of the kingdom. The Brotherhood's own article (S545) dates its rise more exactly, "at least 150 years" of activity and "almost 100 years" of absolute control.