Despia
Government
This is the capital of Brillia, and so it is officially directly ruled by the emperor and the council.
But they choose someone to act as mayor.
Defences
The hill Despia sits on is surrounded by water on all sides, and the only ways in are raised bridges.
History
When Juan I led his forces west to expand his territory, he was inspired by the site of a big hill that sat at the intersection of two rivers, and decided to use this site once he had control over the area.
After he had conquered the kingdom that controlled the area, he set his eyes to that hill.
After having the shrine that existed there torn down, he has ordered the construction of a grand palace at the top of the hill.
The construction of the palace, required many workers, who settled slightly west of the palace (the initial settlement from which Despia grew). After the palace was constructed, other projects were undertaken over the years, such as:
the digging of the southern canal and the digging of the palace's moat.
This caused the early version of the city to be established.
Two raised bridges were established at two points west of there, over the northern river and the southern canal.
The raised bridges descend from a stone section that protrudes from the hill on which Despia is located, and can only be operated from the "inner" side.
Next, a huge fortress, next to the bridges, was built. Of course many workers were required, and the work took years. And so, more people became residents of the growing town.
After the fortress, which became the headquarters of the Brillian army, was finished, residencies for the families of soldiers who manned the fort were required. That was another incentive for the development of the city. The army command sat in a section near the palace and built walls around it. The workers were pushed away from where the original workers settled near the palace, downhill, closer to the fort and the bridges. This was not the last time people would be moved downhill.
Outside of the sectioned off part where the command settled, a city of workers and soldiers began to rise.
It wasn't long before merchants, and blacksmiths, began to come, bringing food, goods, and merchandise.
Once Despia has officially become the capital of Brillia, nobility from all across the emerging empire raced to establish a foothold in the new capital. There noble families pushed out all but the highest ranked commanders. That led to more people having to move downhill.
Eventually, the city became divided into parts that became poorer and poorer the further away you descended from the palace.
Geography
Despia is sitting on a big hill surrounded by two rivers on the east and the north and an artificial canal connecting then from northwest to southeast.
