Talvel's Point
The City of Legends and Kings
Talvel's Point is the second of the nine major cities in Frostern I come to and both capital settlement of Frostern Hold and the Kingdom of Frostern for as long as anyone can recall. The city is known to attract several legendary figures and adventurers due to the Temple of Thodir and Guild Hall of the Champions of Thodir both being held within the strong timber walls which surround it. I approach the city still on the famed Great Imperial Road which cuts through Talvel's Point from the north, over the Bekkar River, and out the south-west. Attractions to this beautiful city obviously includes the only Temple dedicated to Thodir (local God of brawls, drinking and adventure for any foreign readers), the mythical Stone of Dathran used in the coronation rituals of the High King, and in my humble opinion, the best damned inn you could hope for in all Frostern (don't tell my grandmother of the Running Stag Inn) The Bloody Sword.
Demographics
Approximately 11,500 peasantry, with 1,386 of that number being Guardsmen or other members of the Warrior Class; Approximately 2,805 nobility, comprising 18 Noble Houses (14 Knightly Houses, 3 Noble Houses, 1 True-Noble House), and 28 of that number being various Lawmen; 825 Merchants and Artisans are registered in the City; 495 Clergymen of both the Elder Faith and the Order of Saint Vortarius, with 10 of that number being Priests of their respective religion. An unknown number of Clerics of War, with no Order Paladins ever permanently stationed in the city.
As a major city in the Great Western Empire, Talvel's Point does have a small community of Dagor Humans, with the city having a small "Dagor Town" where the generations have congregated. There is some culture clashes between the Dagor minority and Frosian majority, as open courtship is frowned upon in "Dagor Town" but highly encouraged in the rest of the settlement.
Government
Ran by House Talvelson, who are under House Wintersblood of Dun Gemrad. They rule from Thodirhall and a total of 17 other Houses reside within the city.
Upholding Imperial and Korg laws is the local council of 28 Imperial Lawmen drawn from various noble families. The Bailiff, Roggvar Talvelson, is an accomplished soldier in his own right. He works solely on the ambition to bring evil to justice wherever he can and wields a Bailiff's Mace with a carved ivory hilt and heavily ornamented head. He wears a coat of plates emblazoned in the iconography of his status as Bailiff and of the GWE, a blue chaperon, a chequered blue-white hood covering his shoulders, and a tight grey hose.
The governing and upholding of Imperial Law does not occur in Thodirhall but instead in a dedicated City Hall close by.
Laws
A unique law inside the walls of Talvel's Point is the restrictions of wine to the lower populace. Wine was once heavily tariffed and so was usually only consumed by the nobility. When prices lowered, wine was being distributed to the vast majority of peoples and less was open to be sold to the upper classes. To keep the wines for themselves, House Talvelson of Talvel's Son enacted a law where wine could not be bought without a permit which could only be acquired with the education the upper classes gain.
Defences
Huge stone-granite walls surround the city. It is a truly formidable barrier, with extremely strong towers, battlements and gatehouses, magnificent enough to awe the peasantry that work beneath them and allow those that live behind them to feel safe against the horrors of the wilderness. Atop the walls are various ballista towers that defends the city with iron bolts against would-be attackers.
During the time of the Civil War, a Company of 1,386 guardsmen upheld law in the city, led by a veteran Captain. The guardsmen are clad in gambeson armour and light blue cloth all marked with the sigil of the Emperor. They are armed with halberds and crossbows. During the Imperial era, little crime occurred in Talvel's Point due to the guards' reputation of brutality. Because of the extremely high religious tensions running through the city, causing the Earl to enact high taxes which the local peasantry struggle to pay off, the majority of the City Watch are disgruntled peasants of one religious affiliation or another, forced to submit to guard duty to survive.
The Captain was a highly skilled ex-imperial soldier who almost hanged for treason. Pleading for his life, his officer decided it would be a waste of a good soldier and sent him off to the back end of the Empire to be the Captain of a Guard. The 1,386 guardsmen under him are cautious and uncertain of their Captain,
with rumours going round he is associated with the dark cult hiding in the shadows from House Talvelson law.
The City Watch are based at a fortified militia drill square and a centre for pursuits worthy of true soldiers, a place for exercises, drill and weapons practice. Those who would style themselves gentlemen can train here without loss of social status. The lower citizens can be taught the rudiments of drill too, and given better weapons from the attached armoury.
Talvel's Point is also militarily defended by the 18 Houses which inhabit the city. Each House by Imperial Law must provide one Knight to the Imperial Legions for 40 days a year as well as a third of the levy they are expected to raise during war-time. There are 14 Knightly Houses that produce 1 Knight and a handful of loyal lowborn, 3 Noble Houses that produce 1-3 Knights, dozens of Personal Guard and a levy of around 112 lowborn, and 1 True-Noble House that produce up to a dozen Knights, hundreds of trained militia and a levy of around 1200 lowborn. This provides 29-35 heavy mounted knights to the defence of Talvel's Point during siege. An unknown number of the 495 Elder Faith Clergymen in Talvel's Point are also Clerics of Thodir, the God of War, and will defend their Temple to the last soul.
Industry & Trade
Talvel's Point has always been an economic powerhouse due to being situated on both the Great Imperial Road and the Bekkar River but during the Civil-War, the economy started to slowly decline as the Rebels pushed forwards and started suffocating these trade routes. It's main economic base is smithing and the selling of weapons, as well as cattle. While there is a large Bekkar Marketplace, merchants also have their own walled Great Market where almost anything can be bought. The merchant class here deal in goods from all across the known world, lend money, cheat each other to gain any kind of profit, and is home to the Bailiff and his sub-taxmen so that House Talvelson can easily gain some of this profit.
As located on the Bekkar River, fish is easily accessible to Talvelmen and so is a major export as fish is something of a rare delicacy throughout Terralba due to the dangers of fishing caused by the Devils of the
Deep. Not only are they important for trade, the boatyards of Talvel's Point on the Bekkar River is where some of the grandest looking river craft and barges are crafted.
With the local economic base being smithing, there are various leather tanners, blacksmiths, armourers and heavy armourers producing all kinds of armour from leather to chainmail and steel plate. Woodworkers here also have the siege works capabilities to build ballistae, catapults and trebuchets given the resources and a need for them according to the local lords, House Talvelson.
Outside the walls are acres of farmland that support the population of Talvel's Point, Dun Gemrad, and much of the rest of the settlements in the Great Glen. There are approximately 25,300 livestock both within and without the city, with approximately 19,184 cattle and 6,116 goats.
Infrastructure
The most well-known business in the market district of Talvel's Point is the Zemtar's Meadery that distributes famous and popular alcoholic beverages across the entire Great Western Empire.
Assets
1 Bookseller, 2 Bookbinders, 2 Woodsellers, 3 Glovemakers, 3 Illuminators, 4 Apothecaries, 5 Cutlers, 5 Woodcarvers, 6 Inns, 6 Roofers, 6 Tanners, 7 Blacksmiths, 7 Painters, 8 Copyists, 8 Fishmongers, 8 Greengrocers, 8 Ropemakers, 9 Bathers, 9 Bleachers, 9 Sculptors, 10 Beef-sellers, 10 Haymerchants, 11 Harness-makers, 11 Locksmiths, 11 Plasterers, 12 Rugmakers, 12 Spice Merchants, 13 Hatmakers, 14 Carpenters, 15 Buckle-makers, 16 Saddlers, 18 Bakers, 18 Mercers, 19 Wine-sellers, 20 Butchers, 22 Barber-Surgeons, 22 Chandlers, 22 Coopers, 22 Jewelers, 22 Scabbardmakers, 23 Pursemakers, 25 Taverns, 34 Weavers, 35 Maidservants, 35 Tailors, 38 Pastrycooks, 44 Masons, 77 Shoemakers, 78 Furriers
Guilds and Factions
Due to the Temple of Thodir, a cathedral-level temple designed to display the magnificence of Thodir. Talvel's Point is the site of the Guildhall for the Champions of Thodir, a mercenary and fighters guild active throughout the region. At this Temple, Clerics of War chosen by Thodir congregate to be given their Crusade.
However, since the Order of Saint Vortarius won in a religious war against the Survivor God Diamen Faith and became the official religion of the GWE, Talvel's Point has seen many missionaries enter it's walls in greater numbers with each passing year. A Church of Saint Bernulf was built on the opposite side of the city to the Temple of Thodir.
While there has always been little crime compared to other cities, there are contacts to the Thieves Guild and the Brotherhood of Kaer assassin's guild found in the underworld of the city. It is rumoured that the Headless Horseman Tavern is a front for both of these guilds. The Brotherhood of Kaer has a Master Guildhall in the city as well. It is an unremarkable structure, simply because inconspicuousness is a must in this particular guild’s trade. From the outside it appears as a merchant’s office, but it really serves as a meeting place, and as a training centre for assassins that emerge from this city. The presence of the guild house
helps keep streetwise commoners in line. On one hand there’s the disturbing sight of the advanced training facilities made available to assassins training here – a vast arsenal of weapons most sinister and painful adorn the racks. Then there’s the guild’s grim circle of masters, who arrange the grizzly tasks that lord and coin command done.
There is a dedicated: Master Masons' Guildhall in the city, a solidly constructed and not breathtaking stone building; Master Merchants' Guildhall, a home of the trade establishment and serves as a place to dictate the trade value of commodities for local trade, as well as to regulate all trade with merchants from abroad, checking weights so that all trade in the area is considered fair and just, even if it is under the guild’s thumb; Master Swordswiths' Guildhall, that offers a greater diversity of expertise than a standard guild house. As a major city, Talvel's Point also contains a Grand Imperial Guildhall that contains halls for 46 of the 65 guilded professions, representing the guilded professions in the city. These can be found listed in the sidebar.
As with all cities, Talvel's Point contains membership-only Halls for Skaldic Bards and Wizard's Arcane Academy Alumni.
History
Originally when Talvel's Point was first settled in the First Era, it was an independent city-state called Votadis. The settlement started with tribes coming together under a figure known only as Talvyl to form a Dathranii Warband that would defend the Hawkii Tribes fleeing west from Beastbloods. When the Dalriadan and Frosian Korgs migrated south, the developing city-state of Votadis swapped hands between the two cultures until finally becoming the seat of what would become the Kingdom of Frostern (Frosian Korgs). Unclear records make it difficult to show when the name changed to Talvel's Point. The city grew and prospered due to it's proximity to Dun Gemrad, the holiness of the site of the Stone of Dathran, and the important trade routes the Bekkar River offers.
Religious Temperament of the Third Age
As Order Missionaries streamed into another Imperial capital city with the full legitimacy of the Imperial Throne, a cult to the worship of the One True God was quickly established and the native Korg, Saint Bernulf became the spiritual figurehead of the church. However, the majority of the locals still revered the Survivor Gods and their own Elder Faith, who had all been officially rejected by the Emperor of the time when the Great Schism concluded, opposed the decree. As more households converted nearing the end of the Third Age, the Temple and the Church were fighting a new more underground mini-schism of their own in the streets of the city.
Architecture
As a Frosian Korg settlement, the architecture is very considerate of the environment and nature around it. However, as time went on, only the wealthiest houses could support this cultural tradition. If the site where a building was constructed had any natural features such as boulders or running water, it is incorporated into the design and structure of the architecture. The majority of houses in Talvel's Point are crowded and compact, more like a true Imperial city. Buildings are narrow and tall, and lean at dizzying angles over alleys that are more like darkened tunnels. Built from the dark wood of the Great Pine Forest of nearby Streamwood, Talvel’s Point's structures have a gloomy look that no amount of whitewash and coloured trim can dispel.
On average, there are between 5-7 denizens per house. So, within and surrounding the walls of the city, there are approximately 2,750 houses over the total 272 acres.
Geography
Talvel's Point grew up around the wide and manoeuvrable, freshwater Bekkar River inside the Great Glen, and extended up a small hill on one bank of the River where there was once a Druidic stone circle. The Circle has since disappeared except for one piece which was taken downhill to the centre of the city where it is now the Stone of Dathran. From the highest buildings and the outer walls, the famous view of the beautiful Great Glen can be seen.
Natural Resources
The land around Talvel's Point is very fertile which led to many farms being set up in the early stages of the city's history. The grass has been noted throughout history to be perfect for farming cattle. As located on the Bekkar River, fish is easily accessible to Talvelmen and so is a major export as well as a staple in the diet, something in which the rest of Terralba sees as a rare delicacy due to the dangers of fishing caused by the Devils of the Deep.
Location under
Included Locations
Owning Organization
- 63.15% / 10,420 Korgs
- 13.15% / 2,170 Dagor Humans
- 10.52% / 1,736 Mordwynnian Humans
- 5.26% / 868 Hellic Humans
- 3.94% / 653 Bludalfar
- 2.63% / 434 Losalfar
Talvel's Point's Guildhall contains;
- I Imperial Company of Drapers
- II Imperial Company of Fishmongers
- III Imperial Company of Innholders
- IV Imperial Company of Keepers
- V Imperial Company of Mercers
- VII Imperial Company of Peddlars
- XI Imperial Society of Apothecaries
- XII Imperial Company of Barbers
- XVI Imperial Brotherhood of Explorers
- XVII Imperial Company of Physicians
- XIX Imperial Company of Scriveners
- XX Imperial Society of Skalds
- XXI Imperial Company of Solicitors
- XXII Imperial Company of Surgeons
- XXIII Imperial Company of Wizards
- XXIV Imperial Company of Armoursmiths
- XXVI Imperial Company of Bakers
- XXIX Imperial Company of Brewsters
- XXX Imperial Company of Butchers
- XXXI Imperial Company of Carpenters
- XXXII Imperial Company of Chandlers
- XXXIV Imperial Company of Cobblers
- IXL Imperial Company of Leatherworkers
- XLI Imperial Company of Metalsmiths
- XLVI Imperial Company of Tailors
- XLVII Imperial Company of Toolmakers
- LII Imperial Company of Executioners
- LIII Imperial Company of Farmers
- LIV Imperial Company of Farriers
- LV Imperial Company of Skinners
- LVIII Imperial Company of Mourners
- LIX Imperial Company of Painters
- LX Imperial Company of Rivermen
- LXII Imperial Company of Tanners
- LXV Imperial Company of Woodcutters
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