Channel Fortresses

The Channel Lakes are protected by a series of military fortresses along their length. Located at key transition points, these fortresses claim to provide protection for ships traveling the channel — against wild animals or wandering tribes, one would suppose, but there are very few of the latter and the animals are unlikely to be a danger to ships. In truth, the soldiers stationed along the route are more to protect the channel from sabotage by keeping the ships moving and knowing where all the vessels in transit are located and when they should arrive at the next fortress. They also keep anyone from getting too close of a look at the workings of the locks. After all, Alcaldrich engineers learned about river locks by careful study of the Canal of the Pharaohs in Khemit; the government does not want other nations who might desire canals to have the advantage of stealing the Alcaldrich developments.
Each fortress has a stone wall surrounding a keep of at least two stories, as well as barracks, stables, and support buildings. They are armed with a mix of ballistae or catapults and keep plenty of ammunition on hand in case they need to deal with a recalcitrant ship. The soldiers are also well armed to deal with smaller threats such as wild animals or sailors getting drunk while waiting for their ship’s turn at a lock. The fortresses near the locks have larger contingents because they are responsible for providing the guard forces stationed at each lock. Every fortress has a handful of small, fast ships to carry messages and to do inspections of traversing ships if necessary. In addition, each location is well-supplied with horses, as those are easy to come by in this area. Independent farmers settled near some of the fortresses (especially those east of Lake Odraga), and the commanders do not discourage this, as it increases the resources available for the troops. The fortresses from west to east, as well as the names of their commanders, are:

Landmark

Channel Fortresses

Ruler

See below

Government

military commander, usually a teniente or capitán, but as high as a comandante at key locations

Population

30–100

Type

Fortress

Owning Organization

Channel Lakes