Vinguard

"Vinguard after dark is about as rowdy a place as one could find in Astora. Once the soliders and students get a few drinks in em, no telling what the night will bring." - Gareth Maze, Barkeep at the The Long Road Inn
Vinguard is one of Astora's major cities and serves as the country's military hub. Vinguard sits on the edge of the Ironwood Forest, with the south edge of the city crossing into the woodland. The Vinguard Academy is located here, a large school with a keen focus on military aspects such as combat, intelligence and medicine. It is in Vinguard that the current General of the Astoran Military, Findril Haasthal, keeps his post.

Geography

The Edge of Iron

Vinguard sits precariously close to the Ironwood Forest, so close that parts of the southern walls penetrate into the trees. Each year the Ironwood continues to grow into the city, slowly overtaking the wood and stone barriers. Though city infrastructure is ensured to remain intact, officials are forbidden from cutting back any of the major tree growth. This is a gesture of good faith from Vinguard and the Astoran military; a promise that none from the city will cut or burn the Ironwood again, as recompense for the events of Operation Torchwood.
Vinguard, along with Marklund, is one of Astora's central-most cities. It is the first major settlement on the Astoran Road west of Vinheim and because of this, Vinguard see's an overwhelming amount of travellers, caravans and visitors, perhaps more than any other settlement in the country.

Government

Military Hub

As with all of Astora's cities and settlements, Vinguard is overseen by The Council of Nine, a group of elected officials based out of The Pale Palace in Vinheim. However, the Council will often assing a town-master or other local form of leadership. In Vinguard's case, this responsibility falls to the Astoran Military, and ultimately Findril Haasthal, General of the Astoran Army.
Though he ultimately assumes control over Vinguard, Findril often delegates most of the city running to his subordinates. In fact, due to the Vinguard Academy's importance in the city, it's Dean, Headmaster Bell, holds great sway over larger city issues.

Laws & Punishments

Vinguard is unique among Astoran cities, in that crimes committed by soldiers and other agents of the military, are tried in-city, before a jury of the military's own choosing. Usually, for high crimes, suspects would be transported to Vinheim for trial. This is still the case for civilians in Vinguard, but for military members, everything is dealt with "in-house". This extends to petty crimes as well, which in most cases, the local Town-master would offer the punishment.
Of course, extremely high profile cases would still be reviewed by the Council of Nine. Crimes such as treason against Astora would be examples of this, especially if the perpetrator was also an Astoran official.

Crime

Vinguard is not known for a shady underground or thieves guild, though certainly The Silver Fox Guild has a presence in the city. Rather, most of Vinguard's crimes come down to drunken brawls in the streets or other disorderly night-time conduct. Vinguard is quite famous for it's nightlife, likely due to the relatively young demographic of those attending Vinguard Academy.
Though it's certainly far from rampant, Vinguard does posses an illegal fighting-ring. Whether events are held as street fights, or more dangerous weapon duels, Vinguard looks to crackdown on these activities. Ironically, the Vinguard Academy grounds includes a fighting pit, where students and soldiers can legally test their mettle against each-other in a variety of events. Onlookers can also bet on these fights, though Vinguard does take a portion of the winnings as a tax. Many believe that the outlawing of underground fights has little to do with the violence of the matter, and rather has to do with the fact that the city cannot take a cut of these events.

Commerce

Nature's Bounty

As Astora's military hub, Vinguard's strength certainly lies in the quality of solider it produces through training and schooling. As for produced resources, Vinguard does not possess a particularly impressive list of exports. Most products shipped from Vinguard originate from the Ironwood Forest, resources such as furs and timber, excluding the protected Ironwood trees. Other than forest goods, Vinguard is home to many talented blacksmiths, most of which forge arms for the military, though occasionally will sell and ship surplus stock.

Tavern Business

Vinguard, as one of Astora's busiest settlements, is a barkeep's dream location. Combined with the constant flow of travellers and alcohol-inclined Academy students, Vinguard's taverns and inns are often full and occasionally overflowing. The city has dozen's of smaller drinking holes, and several larger establishments, the most famous of which include; The Long Road Inn, Black Boar Tavern, and the Academy Ale House, otherwise known as "The House".

Districts

Vinguard, while still a large city, did not present an advanced overlay of city-planning and districts, at least not in the same sense as you would see in Vinheim. Instead, Vinguard was split into three distinct areas, as follows;

Academy Grounds

A very large portion of Vinguard is designated as Vinguard Academy grounds. As the largest in-city institute in Astora, the military academy needs ample space to accommodate the sheer number of students, housing, teaching and training facilities, and of course, extra-curricular establishments.

Martial District

Making up the Vinguard's largest area was the Marital District. It's here the Astoran Military HQ sits, along with the Astoran Ministry buildings. Surrounding this district is an additional perimeter wall and defences. Locals have nicknamed this area as "The Clouded Keep", likely because the entire area is always enveloped in a light haze, leftover smoke from the many military forges that sit in the district. Additionally, the Martial District contains Vinguard's garrison buildings, as well as housing for the families of soldiers. Ironically, Vinguard's Martial District also functions as the city's largest residential area.

Traveller's Ward

The Traveller's Ward is Vinguard's central most district. It sits within the heart of the city, with taverns, shops, stables and other services lining the streets. Because of it's position on the Astoran Road, Traveller's Ward is filled with just that, travellers. This district is likely Vinguard's busiest, and is the home of The Long Road Inn, the city's most expansive tavern.

Defenses

A City of Soldiers

Vinguard, as Astora's military city, naturally has a massive garrison at all times. Additionally, many soldiers call this city home, even when not on active duty. Astora's shifting settlement garrisons are overseen from Vinguard, meaning that the military is in constant communication with their deployed units. Additionally, military communications are also conveyed by magical means when possible, making Astora's network of defence extremely reactive to situations that may require military presence.

Two Walls

Vinguard, as a holdover from it's earlier days, displays a lower perimeter wall of wood, surrounding it's higher stone fortifications. These wooden barricades were instrumental during the The Ironwood War as the only line of defence for the city. Though they are still lightly manned, the wooden barricade serves primarily as a sentimental item for those remembering the warriors that gave their lives to the defence of the city in The Battle of Vinguard.

Dwarven Tech

Vinguard, even more-so than Vinheim, possesses specially made dwarven siege weapons, specifically ballista and varied types of catapults. These types of weapons are not only made by dwarves, though the ones that are, perform supremely well in battle. So well-made are Vinguard's siege weapons, most of them are still hold-overs from The Ironwood War and continue to operate at peak efficiency.

History

A Second City

Vinguard was established as Astora's second major settlement in AoR 285. It's position directly on the border of the Ironwood Forest was seen as one of the first instances of rising tensions between the young country and the Ironwood Kingdom. Though it was not intended to be a military outpost, the consistently rising tensions between human and elf pushed Astora to begin mobilizing forces in earnest. Vinguard's central location in Astora made it the obvious choice for a military hub. Around the the same time, the Vinguard Academy would be established, as Astora looked to build up on armed forces.

The Battle of Vinguard

In AoR 418, with the Ironwood War well underway, Vinguard was the site of a massive battle. In what would later be known as the largest and bloodiest melee of the entire war, the Ironwood Kingdom attacked Vinguard with a massive force. Not able to securely hold Vinguard's wooden walls, Astora's forces left the city and met the elves in open battle. The battle would soon turn against the humans, unable to match the ferocity and experience of the Eldar Folk. Astora's forces would fall back inside the walls, and hold out for reinforcements. Vinguard sat upon the verge of destruction, before a battalion of dwarves from Marklund relived and saved the city.

Operation Torchwood

Vinguard would play a very large role in the last years of the Ironwood War. For in the years between AoR 438 and 448, Vinguard was the site in which Operation Torchwood would be drafted and approved. In AoR 448, the operation launched from Vinguard, as a massive force of the Astoran military entered the Ironwood Forest with the intention to hack and burn their way toward Arnad-Ang. Three weeks later, the operation would end in success, and the Ironwood War would come to a swift end.

Remnant Strike

In AoR 456, just days after the reveal of Gwent Ravan, Vinguard was secretly infiltrated by members of The Remnants, an illegal terrorist organization made up of elven rebels. While in the city, the Remnants would manage to kidnap One of the Council of Nine; Cassius Bell. They would manage an escape to the edge of the Ironwood Forest, and went ahead with an act that would live on in infamy. While still well within the sight of Vinguard, the Remnants tied Cassius to a post and set him on fire. Cassius' screams are said to have echoed across the entire city, awaking Vinguard and Astora to the existence and intentions of The Remnants.

Inhabitants

Guilds and Organizations

Order of the High Blue: Otherwise known as "The Thunderscales", this Dragonborn-only order of paladins calls Vinguard home. Here they gather together in a special branch of the The Emery Sanctum.
Vinguard Academy: Astora's largest educational institution, the Vinguard Academy is certainly known foremost as a military school. However, the academy offers a wide variety of learning opportunities, such as business, medical practice, and more. The Academy is overseen by Headmaster Bell, a stern woman with a hand in running the city itself, rather than just the school.
Astora High Command: The epicentre of Astora's military forces, Astoran High Command is located within Vinguard's Martial District. It includes several intelligence buildings, offices, as well as dwelling for some of Astora's top generals and warriors. General Haasthal himself operates from this post.

Solider's Rest

Vinguard is home to many of Astora's finest, with a very large garrison and housing district for soldiers and their families. Military service is certainly the most popular job within Vinguard, with soldiers rivalling academy students for the most populous demo-graph in the settlement.

Academy Students

Vinguard is full of students, some local to the area, and some not. Young adults from all over Astora, and occasionally even further, flock to the Vinguard Academy for it's world class education. The night-life in the city reflects this, as most taverns and inn are packed with rowdy students each night, especially those on Academy grounds.

Culture

Religion

Vinguard, with it's predominantly human population, does not see much variation in the worshipping of gods. Most of the attention is, of course, dedicated to the human god; Torm. With such a small population of non-humans, worship of gods like Armok and Eldath is minimal, though it is still present. However, Vinguard is quite unique in the fact that it is the only city to house dedicated temples to Bahamut and, with some controversy, Bekur; the God of War.
The Order of the High Blue count Bahamut as their patron, the legendary silver dragon that aided Torm during the Age of Fire. Their worship of him, while in partnership with the Order of the Loyal Fury continues a historic alliance between the God of Courage and his draconic ally.
Deep within the Martial District sits a small temple to Bekur, the only known shrine of it's kind in any Astoran city. It's a controversial choice, having a place of worship for the God of War active within a major city. Vinguard's reputation as a military settlement is likely the only reason it still officially operates. This is especially offensive to the elven inhabitants of Vinguard, as Bekur's very domain perpetuates the painful events of Torchwood.

Festivals and Holidays

Vinguard recognizes all Astoran and Naneth-wide festivals, though the city tends to place greater importance on two particular events, those being the Festival of Mending and the local Academy Convocation. The Festival of Mending in Vinguard is a particularly somber affair because of Vinguard's role in the past Ironwood War. The city often arranges for a day-long vigil north of the city at Gwent Ravan.
Each year on the 14th of Sune's Kiss, the streets of Vinguard are filled with celebration as the graduates from the academy flood the taverns and inns. This is known as Vinguard's Academy Convocation.

Basic Information

Alias/s: The City of Smoke, Fort Vinguard
Type: City
Region: Middle Astora
Population: 90,215 in AoR 607

Society

Demonym: Vinguardian
Races: Humans (64%), Dwarves (16%), Halflings (8%), Elves (6%), Others (6%)
Religions: Torm, Eldath, Silvanus, Bekur

Commerce

Imports: Livestock, Minerals, Weapons
Exports: Timber, Furs, Forest Resources

Politics

Ruling Type: Appointed Townmaster
Ruler: Findril Haasthal
Overruling Government: The Council of Nine