Once a sprawling port town, Laysh largely fell to ruin after the Third Blight but not, as one might suppose, due to darkspawn attacks. The entire purpose of Laysh was to receive ships from the Volca Sea, odd-looking cargo vessels that would arrive laden with wares and spices of a like never seen in Thedas. The trade was lucrative enough to justify Laysh's existence even in such harsh terrain, at least until the traders stopped coming in the early Black Age. According to Ander legend, these traders were called Voshai. They were also said to be hostile to the people of Laysh, completely uninterested in learning the King's Tongue for anything more than barter, and almost obsessively interested in acquiring lyrium. Notably, the captains of every Voshai ship were said to be dwarves who were treated with such deference that it implied dwarves held a place of profound power in their society—or, at the very least, among the seafarers of their culture. In contrast, there have never been reports of elves on these Voshai ships.
Hardly a port of sufficient size to build sturdy ships, it is said that several Tevinter merchant houses banded together to mount a western expedition departing from Laysh in the hopes of reaching the lands of the Voshai. The expedition did not return. In recent years, however, the Voshai have resumed trade with Laysh albeit carrying with them tales of a "massive cataclysm" in their homeland.
Potential Plot: The Voshai