Traveler's Rest (Traveler's Rest)

Travelers Rest

History

It is not beyond reason to believe that Traveler's Rest is one of the longest points of continuous human habitation to exist on the continent of Arcadia. The city is truly ancient, or at least that is the commonly told story. There is no doubt that the first human settlers to reach Arcadia from the south would have HAD to travel through this area to get further north, and with ample supplies of fertile land and freshwater, it is hard to imagine a more perfect area of a settlement.
The name of the original settlement never survived the 300-year-long war with the local Elven population, if the town that would one day be called Traveler's Rest was the first human settlement, the siting of the second was what caused the utterly devastating Elven Wars.
The history of the city is surprisingly quiet after the cessation of hostilities. What cannot be denied is that, as the first town that Southern Tradesmen reach, and the last town of the Northern Merchants Journey south, the city grew fabulously rich. Before the continental wars that overthrew the old monarchy, Traveler's rest was widely agreed to be the wealthiest city of Arcadia, second only to the Capital.
The city was ruled by a council of merchants, the head of which, and de facto leader of the city, was called the Archon. Far from being interested only in amassing personal wealth, they appear to have been, without exception, only interested in increasing the quality of life and individual wealth of every single citizen of this city. The evidence of this is still present today.
If one can look beyond the war-scarred exterior of the city, and the miles-deep defenses built since the start (or end) of the last war, you would see a city built to the highest possible standards. Every single public building, not to mention the outdoor public spaces, are constructed of the finest white marble. Schools, Libraries, Meeting places, and Guild Halls. Civic centers, theaters, and Opera houses... and these are the facilities that have survived. The people of Traveler's Rest, despite their recent problems, still pride themselves on being the most educated and cultured of all the continent's cities.... and if that was true before the war, it certainly must be now.
The city's recent problems have, however, been extreme.
Records from Caer Wen were understandably cut off after to collapse of the Old stone bridge, and the record keepers of Traveler's Rest seem to have had more important things to think about in the decades since. But what is clear is that within a week of the collapse of the Caer Wen bridge, Travelers Rest was under siege by the Kroll's armies.
The wealth of the city had required a large, independent standing army to defend it... It must be important to note here that recent discoveries suggest that of all the armies sent north to fight for the King, on the army of Traveler's rest is thought to have made it home again in mostly one piece. With the pass running from Riverside towards the city being flanked by high mountains and impassable forests, the army of Travelers Rest was somehow able to succeed where few other cities did: they held back the tide of Kroll's advance.
They defended their city for over 57 years... almost three full generations of defenders fighting and dying on what became known as the walls of Traveler's Rest... despite the actual walls being several miles behind the front lines, and the lines themselves made up of smaller fortifications that could change hands multiple times in a single battle.

Association with Caer Wen.

The first contact between Traveler's Rest and Caer Wen came the day after the Dragon's army made landfall in the area around today's Reptilian Cave. Constructing the temporary Fort Axios to defend their beachhead, the Dragon's armies were quickly spotted by scouts of both Traveler's Rest and Kroll's army. The three scouts from Traveler's Rest were quickly captured while the men from Kroll's army made idle threats.
Seeing the military capabilities of the Caer Wen army, especially after the futile and suicidal attack by Kroll's forces, the scouts recommended the Dragon and his commanders visit the city to meet with the Archon and discuss a possible alliance. During the journey to the city, the Dragon was able to spot a massive attacking force traveling down the pass towards the city.
Traveler's Rest was led by the Archon, Thomas Daestorm. His house was the last remaining noble house of the city, all the others being wiped out over the course of the war, but he was an ailing, aged old man, mentally and physically exhausted after leading the city through a losing war for his entire adult life. With all of his own heirs killed, his line was at risk of dying with him.
The offer made to the Dragon was a simple one. The highest-ranked general of the Traveler's Rest military, General Arthuros, would maintain command of the Traveler's Rest military but would answer to the Dragon in the upcoming battle. If the defense of the city was successful, the Archon would keep ceremonial duties as leader of the city, but it would, in practical terms, pass into the control of Caer Wen, with the Archon's aim to adopt the Dragon into his family, to serve as his heir, to be discussed at a later date.
Through the surprise use of the Dragons, the trenches, and the rear attack by the Caer Wen army, the defense of Traveler's Rest was not only a success but one so complete that it allowed the combined forces of Traveler's Rest and Caer Wen to advance up the pass to finally set up holding positions at the windmill pass, more than 70 miles North of the city and the furthest from Traveler's Rest that any of their living soldiers had been since before the war. (see the Battle of Traveler's rest)
Traveler's Rest is still the only known city, aside from Caer Wen itself (whose own survival was thanks to the collapsing of the old stone bridge), that managed to resist the hostile forces that conquered the rest of the continent.
Since the relief of the lines, the city has continued to play a massive role in the advancement of Caer Wen. Being, by far, the most populous city in the realm, it has been a constant source of men and women joining the Dragon's armies, and with the main training boot camp located just outside the city, the residents don't have to travel far to get their military careers underway.
The home city of the Archon, General Arthuros and "Sarge", some of the most important personalities in Caer Wen call this city home.

Type

Large city