Calostres

Calostres is a medium sized town in the north east of Valissa. It sits just north of the River Idagio. Originally, Calostres was a very small village in the Midari county with no more than a hundred or so people. After the civil war between Madari and Vigante, they accepted a large number of refugees and expanded Calostres to accommodate them.

Founded rather recently. Calostres makes for a rather special town.

Constructed on the border of two of Valissa counties - Madari and Vigante - it’s population is made up of refugees from either side of the county lines.

When civil war struck the area in 1013 AL, it wreaked havoc on many of the villages and small towns along the county lines. Having no home to go to after the civil war had ended and recognising the perils of fighting one enough for slight territorial gains, the people decided to step away from the same violence that had destroyed their homes and instead rebuild by coming together as a single community.

Davin Beckwith,
Scholar of the Moonglow Archivists

Founding Date

1032 AL

Type

Town

Population

Approx. 4300

Location under

Valissa

This expansion caused the village to grow into a town and across the county line into the Vigante county. Vigante’s council let the expansion continue due to two overwhelming factors: they couldn’t afford another war with Midari and they knew that a lot of refugees were their own people. This actually ended up leading to a unification of sorts between the two counties. They would begin to share their powers and resources, working together in order to create a better environment and community within each county.

Calostres’ Finest Resources

Having refugees from all over Vigante and Midari, Calostres ended up with a wide variety of craftsmen and traders. Out of all of their exports, the most popular ones are fine silk tailors and blacksmiths. Their finished products are unlike any others the world has seen.

When it comes to fine silks, the Kensley Brothers’ Royal Finery and the Castyllo Silk and Robe are the go to businesses. The Kensely brothers and Lady Castyllo are so popular amongst the people of Valissa that even the Empress of Valissa will buy stock from them. Though neither business believes themselves to be the best tailor out there - they believe that honour would go to the elusive ‘Cloak and Cut’ in Ca’astan.

As far as Calostres blacksmiths are concerned, they stand far above the rest - both in and out Valissa. The blacksmiths in Calostres’ formed a guild early on; a lot of the refugees were proficient in forging steel weapons, having done so a lot in the years plagued by the civil war to arm knights fighting along the border.

Their steel weapons and armour cannot be compared to the average, or even uncommon, sets of weapons and armour. It is sturdier and more durable. The armour and weapons they make requires far less time spent on maintenance and repairs. It is so good that outsiders believe the blacksmiths in Calostres use an unusually rare type of steel, which they have endearingly taken to calling ‘Calos Steel’.

In reality, ‘Calos Steel’ is just normal steel that has been strengthened using lifeblood magic. Where most lifeblood arcanists use their magic to mend wounds, these individuals have instead taken to perfecting wards. They apply a number of wards to each weapon or armour set they create. Rather unnatural for a lifeblood arcanist - typically, they are required to remain in close proximity to the warded object, but these arcanists have found a way around this catch.

Calos Steel is popular amongst Valissan guards. Most guards will be equipped with it as their superiors will gladly pay the extra fee to commission the Calostres blacksmiths. The guild in Calostres have previously tried to source their weapons and armour outside of Valissa as well, but the ruler back then - Emperor Enito - swiftly put a stop to these trades.

How is Calostres Governed?

Calostres is ruled by House Seteris. When Calostres was still a small village, the Seteris family was it’s richest occupants. They took advantage of the aftermath of the civil war and the influx of refugees to grow their financial and political power. When a young Emperor Enito acknowledged that Calostres had grown beyond a village in 1036 AL, the Seteris family applied for a lordship for when Calostres was officially made a town.

Their lordship went uncontested, if only because they kept the whole ordeal a secret from the population and most people were too busy rebuilding to notice what was happening. With the lordship came official titles - Mr and Mrs Seteris became Lord and Lady Seteris, much to their delight - and an increase in power within both the Vigante county and the Midari county.

Over time, House Seteris claimed more of the surrounding land. Farms, smaller villages, or those left to ruin after the civil war, all came under the jurisdiction of House Seteris. Though power hungry, the Seteris family did help to rebuild a number of the surrounding villages and they helped out many of the refugees they came across by providing them shelter (in some cases permanent), food, water and clothes, amongst other equipment that could be used for basic survival needs.