Fortress of Barthmont
"Barthmont is a sight to behold, it's many towers reach to the sky like a pair of hands ready to collect the stars as if they were jewels. The view from Cardwell Summit is breathtaking and lake Glasmer could easily be mistaken as the purest gemstone. It's easy to see why the Bralorians ceased eastward expansion at this citadel, but we will push further, the civil war changed Bralor and we will be the first to write the newest chapter of this kingdom." Julian Bathazaar, leader of the Eastbrook expedition.
Defences
The city is surrounded by massive walls and towers that were created by groups of mages raising the earth. None of the original defenses were made by nonmagical means.
History
As Bralor pushed back the Wildlands out of the Berkmark mountain range they saw in the distance a great fortress in the distance. This was a surprise, but General Barthmont decided it was worth investigating, thus the Army began to carve a path towards the fortress. As the Army approached the walls they searched high and low trying to find the way in, they spent months until some scouting teams found some tunnels a few miles away from the walls. Small groups were sent in to investigate, they soon realized just how massive the fortress was, after clearing out a small section the rest of the Army entered and prepared for a long stay. The above ground infrastructure was in varying states of disrepair, consistent with damage done by The Great Fire, the underground infrastructure was a different story. Large sections of mines and workshops were mostly undamaged and could easily be brought into service, the boon this was could not be understated, and workers were quickly called for. Restoring the fortress was no small task, beyond the occasional attack from the monstrous hordes of the Wildlands the first few years were relatively quiet.
In 1160 AGF working parties started to disappear in the tunnels, many assumed it was unfortunate accidents since new segments were being restored. The theory was disproven as the body count rose, security was increased in the tunnels and eventually it was discovered that monsters were finding undiscovered tunnel entrances from outside the Fortress. There were attempts to find and secure all the entrances but there proved to be too many so it was decided to seal off the used subterranean levels from the tunnel systems. The threat ceased and the restoration of the fortress continued, over the next several decades the fortress experienced a massive population boom. The terrain made for natural chokepoints which allowed for massive swaths of land to become useable, the lakes in the area made for easy irrigation and fishing and the Pregalon workshops proved to be superior to what Bralor was was working with. It would go on to rival Highsummit in almost every regard.
in 1817 AGF the Bralorian civil was underway and Barthmont became a competitor to Highsummit, all loyalists were killed, imprisoned, or convinced to support independence. The first two years favored Highsummit who had crushed almost all resistance, but when they arrived at Barthmont they knew it wouldn't fall as easily. The siege dragged on for four years, direct assaults failed, starvation failed, eventually they tried to reopen the tunnels. The accounts of this particular moment proved to be murkier, official transcripts point to some enclaves of monstrous hordes still in the tunnels that were unleashed. But firsthand accounts speak of digging fresh tunnels and discovering caverns that weren't known about before, also the tactics of this unknown foe and wounds didn't match up with monsters from the Wildlands. The two warring factions quickly came to a ceasefire and worked to close the tunnels once again. This paved the way for the The Barthmont Accords.
With peace restored Barthmont would continue to thrive.
In 1160 AGF working parties started to disappear in the tunnels, many assumed it was unfortunate accidents since new segments were being restored. The theory was disproven as the body count rose, security was increased in the tunnels and eventually it was discovered that monsters were finding undiscovered tunnel entrances from outside the Fortress. There were attempts to find and secure all the entrances but there proved to be too many so it was decided to seal off the used subterranean levels from the tunnel systems. The threat ceased and the restoration of the fortress continued, over the next several decades the fortress experienced a massive population boom. The terrain made for natural chokepoints which allowed for massive swaths of land to become useable, the lakes in the area made for easy irrigation and fishing and the Pregalon workshops proved to be superior to what Bralor was was working with. It would go on to rival Highsummit in almost every regard.
in 1817 AGF the Bralorian civil was underway and Barthmont became a competitor to Highsummit, all loyalists were killed, imprisoned, or convinced to support independence. The first two years favored Highsummit who had crushed almost all resistance, but when they arrived at Barthmont they knew it wouldn't fall as easily. The siege dragged on for four years, direct assaults failed, starvation failed, eventually they tried to reopen the tunnels. The accounts of this particular moment proved to be murkier, official transcripts point to some enclaves of monstrous hordes still in the tunnels that were unleashed. But firsthand accounts speak of digging fresh tunnels and discovering caverns that weren't known about before, also the tactics of this unknown foe and wounds didn't match up with monsters from the Wildlands. The two warring factions quickly came to a ceasefire and worked to close the tunnels once again. This paved the way for the The Barthmont Accords.
With peace restored Barthmont would continue to thrive.
Points of interest
The city is the last point between Eastbrook and the rest of the Kingdom of Bralor, it acted as a launch point for the Eastbrook Expedition, this would catapult Julian Bathazaar into the history books as the dragonborn who tamed the Eastbrook province and help usher in a new era for the reformed kingdom of Bralor.
Founding Date
original founding was before 0 AGF, occupied by Bralor was 1156 AGF
Type
Metropolis
Population
1 Million
Owning Organization
Comments