Surlee

Historical Overview

Founding

The Vinelands were granted to House Salis by Vestria at the Founders' Eyration. Once House Salis was established at Nocboro, they began distributing land within the Vinelands to their most trusted allies. Laurent of the Hedge was given dominion over the western quarter of the region, the Blossom Fields, and granted the right to establish a minor house, House Braelea.
According to the story of Laurent and Mirielle, the founding myth of House Braelea, Laurent had been wandering across the Blossom Fields for some time. A Bard, and the inspiration for the Vinelands tradition, Laurent had a reputation as a bit of a rapscallion in his time. He promised to only settle his seat wherever he found the most beautiful woman of the region, and after assorted adventures eventually came to the mouth of a small inlet along the coast of the Bay de Noc.
The inlet was at the foot of a series of hills, covered in hedges and flowers being carefully tended by a young lady named Mirielle. Unbeknownst to Laurent, she was smiled upon by Vestria, who observed his attempts to court her. Eventually wooing her through song, Vestria blessed their union and bestowed a number of gifts upon Laurent, promising his family will forever command the loyalty of their subjects, if they stay true to the people of the Blossom Fields.

Flower of the Blossom Fields

Inspired by Vestria, Laurent and Mirielle Braelea were said to have constructed Terracetop with their own hands. Regardless of the truth of the matter, the first foundations of what would become Surlee were now laid. Atop the largest hill, adjacent to what was then a larger inlet than remains today, was constructed a stone castle. Squat and practical, the early castle of Terracetop was the administrative and military center of House Braelea, far from the palace of later centuries. What is now Oldvine Yard was at that time part of the complex of hedges, survived by its northern half, Lovers' Steps, which doubles as both a scenic garden and defensive structure.
At the base of this defensive complex was what is now the Grant, but at the time was the entirety of the town of Surlee. By the mid-Age of Rule, around 300AR, the city acquired walls, which brought the Grant and Newgate into what could now be called a proper city. While the Blossom Fields were highly decentralized around this time, and is still one of the regions of Anhara most populated with minor houses, Braelea had established their signature style of rule then.

"The Patriarch sits not just at the head of the noble family, but as a father to all his people. In return for his protection and guiding hand, his children owe him assistance until his dying day, and their utmost love and loyalty." - Tenets of the Familial Movement

The Lords Braelea are seen, philosophically, as adherents to the Familial Movement of House Thewisy. Taking Vestria's prophecy to heart, they sought to rule over their many minor houses as if a large family. The Braeleas maintained their power by making Surlee the prime exporter of Blossom Fields' products. Wines, ciders, and fruits are the major exports of the region and all flowed through Surlee. House Braelea took a hands-on approach to their region's business, and actively visited the towns of the Fields to both attend the innumerable festivals and to stay abreast of issues within their supply chain. In doing so they built generational relationships throughout their vassals' settlements.

Fall of House Braelea

While Braelea was popular amongst all their minor houses, thanks to their hard work and leadership style, the one exception was House Semillon. Winemakers from Caer Semillon, just down the road south of Surlee, the Semillon family was focused on becoming self-sufficient. This meant getting around the export laws which had been so beneficial to the growth of Surlee.
While House Semillon were known for their winemaking, so too were many Vinelands houses. What truly differentiated them from their neighbors was The Free Company, the Semillon army which they would rent out to minor houses across the Vinelands to settle disputes without involving House Salis. This made House Semillon both very wealthy and one of the few groups with a standing army in Anhara's early history.

"The banner of my family came tumbling down last week, says messengers who have began trickling south. I am to be the last of our line, as my kin were butchered by those who's oaths our lords once held, the detestable purveyors of sellswords, lowly hawkers of coin, those ill-bred Semillons." - Guy d'Aimonne, Chronicles of Guy d'Aimonne

Around 450AR, House Braelea had incorporated the Spill into the city proper, marking a dramatic increase in the efficiency of the city's shipping industry. This would be their final expansion to the city, as in 459AR, House Semillon marched up what would become the Raymontale Road to begin the Fall of House Braelea, the usurpation war for the Blossom Fields.

Rise of House Semillon

The initial years of Semillon rule dealt with the defense of their new claims. Raymon II Braelea had managed to escape the city with his family and a small troop, fleeing south to the Eastmarches. Married to Elise Thewisy, the continuation of the Braelea line was a major risk to Semillon's survival, especially when her son and heir was given sanctuary by his Thewisy relatives. This was reflected in the administration of their new capital itself, which saw a web of watchtowers and fortifications, such as Caskkeep, constructed in the surrounding farmland.
House Semillon also expanded the walls of the city to incorporate the suburban towns, bringing Windfall and the future Inkstain Hook and Aure Halls within control of the city. While this made sense defensively, it also allowed the Semillon rulers to more closely monitor the Braelea and Thewisy sympathizers, predominantly located in the surrounding hamlets and rural farms.

"From the coffers of the loyal minor House Semillon, by the pleasure of our mutual lord Salis, we extend to you, council of Reedbury, a loan at the amount requested above, to be repaid with an interest over the next two decades." - Text of a loan to Reedbury

While the city was expanding, House Semillon was working to guarantee their survival in the face of opposition from major houses. To do so, they sought to co-opt potential enemies into their coup through the establishment of the Bank of Anhara. Utilizing their significant savings from the Free Company, the plunder from House Braelea, increased tax, and newfound control over exports from the Blossom Fields, House Semillon became significant lenders starting in 476AR, but particularly taking off at the Crossing Over.
The income from the Bank of Anhara was supplemented by House Semillon's, perhaps ironic, increase in control over exports in the region. Using their military power to stamp down on smuggling, from which they profited during their time as a Braelea vassal, House Semillon was able to further increase the use of Surlee's markets and docks. The city expanded to include the Arm and the Buttery of Aimonne around this time, the early Age of Men, increasing Surlee's prominence as the major market west of the Cooper River.

Capital of the Vinelands

The early Age of Men was a period of upheaval and chaos in the wake of the gods' retreat from the world. House Salis had their hands busy fighting the Nemura's Cay Pirates, especially after the Desecration of Caerseat and House Caersea turning over their power to House Thewisy. In order to keep their back guarded, House Salis used their power within the Rostrum to grant the Bank of Anhara a monopoly over government-related lending. While this delayed the inevitable and greatly enriched House Semillon, in 55AM they launched their long-expected attack on House Salis.
The Fall of House Salis, or the 2nd Semillon Usurpation War, depending on the perspective, was a rapid affair. The Semillon army quickly secured the surrender of Reedbury, uninterested in risking their economic success, and of Whitebeame, the last major city on the way to the Salis capital of Nocboro. Nocboro put up a significant resistance, holding the bridge across the Sluicebrooke in a desperate last stand, but eventually yielding to Semillon and leaving the city open to plunder. Having learnt from their mistakes with House Braelea, only the Salis outside of the area survived.

"The Rostrum has today recognized what we have long known, Semillon is dominant in the Vinelands! Our Lord's well-deserved seat is granted to him." - The Violet Vellum

Despite the brutality of House Salis' fall, much of the next few centuries, and even to the present day, saw House Semillon in a battle against their own history. Gaining legitimacy as the major house in command of the Vinelands was difficult, and remains incomplete in many rural parts of the region, especially along the borders. The Cragtiere and the islands of the Bay de Noc have always been culturally distinct, and uninterested in acquiescing to a Vinelands-proper noble house. While Salis understood this, Semillon has attempted a more hands-on approach. The area around Lake Salis and the southern banks of The Timber and The Ciderwinde Strip remain loyal to various pretenders from Braelea, Salis, and Thewisy.

The Romance of Nobility

To help establish legitimacy, House Semillon sought to harken back to the traditions of the Age of Rule. The Vinelands have long had a romantic streak, and have viewed themselves as striving to return to a great picturesque past of gleaming white castles, beautiful gardens, and chivalrous knights. House Semillon sought to glom onto this trend, and create a deep and enticing romantic history for their house. House Braelea's founding tradition was co-opted to serve the Semillons, and the complex of defensive labyrinthine hedges around Terracetop were rebranded to their current name, the Lovers' Steps. Bards and writers were commissioned to create a new Romance of Nobility tradition focused around Surlee.

"Our exulted lady exercised, yesterday, truly divine judgement upon one of her handmaidens, who had, in the carelessness of youth, been woo'd by one of our Lord's gallant knights." - The Violet Vellum

The Romance of Nobility was a literary tradition popular in the mid-Age of Rule, focused around romantic tales of unrequited love between knights and maidens, quests themed around chivalrous ideals, and the occasional intervention of the gods or supernatural forces. While many ancient houses have a claim to this tradition, Semillon is not one of them, and exaggerated both their own history and the real aspects of the Romance of Nobility. While much of the tradition was written as metaphor, they created a Court of Love, ruled over by the Lady Semillon, to debate and judge issues of romance at court. The court of Semillon took on the appearance, to other nobles, of an acting troupe, playing out scenarios from literature or creating their own gaudy productions of chivalry.

"Guests arrived from some of the briefly recalcitrant noble houses of the Winerun region, to be held at Terracetop by the grace of our Lord, may their stay be long and loyal." - The Violet Vellum

This was reflected in the architecture of the city of Surlee as well. With Terracetop no longer of crucial defensive importance, given the many expansions of the city walls away from the center, it was whitewashed and galleted into a palace complex. Merging together centuries of structures into one ungainly mass, House Semillon imported architectural aspects from the Coquet Heights, and sought to turn their seat into an out-of-place copy of a city from the capital region. Folly towers cropped up along the skyline, raising the height of the city in a mirroring of the spires of the Coquet Heights, despite the general uninhabitability of these towers.

Gentrification

The neighborhoods of the city needed to match this new faux-ancient architectural style established by House Semillon. The Grant, earning its name, was levelled and rebuilt in a series of residential and merchant blocks for families of means loyal to House Semillon, paving over one of the city's oldest neighborhoods. The Aure Halls and Inkstain Hook, previously home to a sprawling neighborhood of peasants, incorporated into the city by the expansion of the walls decades before, was cleared by force to make way for the headquarters of the Bank of Anhara and the land necessary for its numerous dependents.

"The messenger told me much of the city's lower districts were damaged greatly in the siege, and I pray for those who remained loyal to our houses, and will surely now be deprived of their own by a new regime." - Guy d'Aimonne, Chronicles of Guy d'Aimonne

In the first few centuries of Semillon rule, this architectural and economic upheaval stopped at the northern half of the Spill, seemingly finding a natural split between wealthy and weak in the center of the city. However, in the last few decades House Semillon began a renewed push to adapt the image of their city from one that is split between a lost and genuine culture from the Braelea days and the gilded facades of the northern half of the city, to a consistent architectural masterpiece worthy to be the capital of a region. To do so, the city government has taken the torch to much of the southern half of the city, and has been locked in a battle with resisting residents throughout the Annexes.

City Administration

Braelea Government

House Braelea ruled through a relatively representative approach for the time. The day-to-day city administration was done by the city council, an eight man body. At the head of it was the city mayor, selected by the Lord Braelea as his representative. With the mayor as the leader of the council, the first among equals was the Tourer, deferred to on most issues having to do with the suburbs of the city. The Tourer was generally elected by the community leaders of the Horseshoe Vale, with input from areas such as Caskkeep. Serving with these two were six others, selected from amongst the established merchants of the various neighborhoods of the city, emphasizing the export-focused priorities of the Braelea-era government.

Semillon Government

House Semillon took the opposite approach to that of the Braeleas. Coming as conquerors, the Free Company was used to exert control over the much larger city of the early Semillon era. Lieutenants within the Free Company were divvied up amongst the neighborhoods as occupying forces, both enforcing martial law and keeping looting in check. From this evolved the current neighborhood governments, with each neighborhood under the control of a Lieutenant of House Semillon. While today they are far removed from actual military service, they are still part of the military hierarchy of the house.
These lieutenants, while not taking the field, command units of the Free Company to exert control over city neighborhoods. While Surlee is no longer under the strict military control that it was during the usurpation, districts south of the Spill are viewed as inherently hostile to the Semillon government and see increased troop presence. Lieutenants here are viewed as anywhere from generally distasteful figures to active occupiers who necessitate armed resistance. North of the Spill, the situation is quite different, and Lieutenants preside with varying levels of activity over councils made up of prominent business leaders.

Districts

Surlee, the Vinelands

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The Annexes

While the Annexes were the last of the neighborhoods added to the city, they are one of the oldest continuously inhabited parts of it. Some prominent families in the Annexes can trace themselves back to the winemakers who populated the vine-covered fields around the area in the early Age of Rule, and many of them are now prominent resistors against the Semillon lieutenants.

Ghostbottle

The neighborhood of Ghostbottle was incorporated into the city out of necessity rather than desire. As an interruption to the path of House Semillon's wall expansion, this former suburb was cleaved through to facilitate an increased defense of the city around the time of the 2nd Semillon Usurpation War. Prior to this, Ghostbottle was simply another loose collection of markets, farms, and vineyards. This past informs much of the neighborhood's character, and it is the part of the city proper most "Eastern Anharan" in its culture. But, because much of the area's livelihood was demolished or cut off to make way for the walls, it is also the poorest.
Ghostbottle's name comes from the Lower Anharan word for a hangover, poirvestre, literally "ghost of a bottle." This harkens back to its reputation, even before the incorporation into the city, as where residents would head for a particularly raucous night of drinking. In the modern Surlee, it takes on an added meaning, as the neighborhood is viewed as full of hungover, drunk, and unconscious residents who spend much of their income on drink, by those north of the Spill.

"28 vagrants were arrested sleeping on the streets of Ghostbottle yesterday evening. All those looking for lost friends and family may retrieve them for the prescribed price from the Winerun Gate Gaol" - Posting at the Winerun Gate

While there is much truth to the reputation as a haven for drunks and vagabonds, the Ghostbottle is viewed in the Annexes as one of the most repressed neighborhoods in the city. It has seen the most continued military pressure from the Free Company, and House Semillon has long sought to demolish or reform the neighborhood. As home to the Veilgate and Winerun Gate, much of the traffic into the city from the Vinelands comes through this district. To help Surlee's reputation, House Semillon has sought to remove the eyesores of Ghostbottle from those coming to and from the city. They have succeeded along the two major roads, but faced intense resistance pushing further into the neighborhood.

"I'd rather be sent to the Winerun than do that." - a common refrain south of the Spill

The headquarters of the neighborhood's lieutenant is the Winerun Gate, more a castle than a gate. It governs the road by two actual gates, one for traffic coming in and the other heading out, and also hosts the local Free Company contingent and a prison. "Winerun" has become a colloquialism for oppression, and synonymous with the administration of territory south of the Spill. While the troops in the Winerun Gate have succeeded in forcing Ghostbottle back behind a largely empty façade of newer construction along the road, they have failed to break the resistance of the rest of the neighborhood.

Oldtowne

While Ghostbottle is one of the oldest continuously inhabited parts of the city, what is now Oldtowne sprung up around a market town as old as Surlee itself. In the early Age of Rule, Terracetop held the north of the Spill, and Oldtowne the south, being a town entirely separate from that founded by Laurent of the Hedge. Much of that past is reflected in the traditions and styles that have survived in Oldtowne. Here, festivals are held independent of those approved by the Semillon regime, much to their consternation. While most Oldtowne traditions are ignored, the occasional cycles of oppression see flare-ups and violence during particularly anti-Semillon festivals, such as Raymon's Rest.

"The Free Company of Oldtowne failed to discover the date of Raymon's Rest, the great movable feast of the year, and were taken entirely off-guard by yesterday evening's celebrations." - The Violet Velum

While Oldtowne had consistently been a hotbed of Braelea loyalists, particularly around the Raymontale Gate, guarding the road which the last Braelea had fled down, the neighborhood set much of its resistance aside for increased economic benefits from House Semillon following their 1st Usurpation War. Despite the benefits of House Semillon, tradition within the neighborhood holds that those of Oldtowne never ceased hoping for the return of the Braeleas, rather they displayed their loyalties in private.

"Those executed for their crimes within the Annexes will be retrieved from their state of display, after the period prescribed for said crime, from the Raymontale Gate. Displays of criminal bodies are prohibited at the Winerun or Veil Gates, nor other areas frequented by dignified travel." - Surlee City Ordinances, Section 4

Regardless of the continuity of the area's Braelea loyalism, they led the charge when it came to the resurgence of resistance to House Semillon after the 2nd Usurpation War. Following their ascension to major house status, the Braelea-devoted resistance throughout the Blossom Fields erupted once again in solidarity with House Salis. While House Semillon attributed this to agitators from the Salis-allied House Thewisy, it followed a long tradition of resistance by Oldtowne. Even without the Braelea loyalties in the neighborhood, much of the over-policing of Ghostbottle had spilled into Oldtowne, as all those south of the Spill began to be painted with the same brush of backwardness and disloyalty.

Buttery of Aimonne

The Buttery of Aimonne was, and remains, an island of ale in a sea of wine. While the Vinelands, and Surlee, are well known for their winemaking, the Buttery of Aimonne has long been renowned as a maker of some of the premier beer and ale in the entire region, popular even in the northern Eastmarches. The Buttery itself was an ancient fortified tower, in the manner of Caskkeep and the others dotted around Surlee's suburbs, used for protecting the market of Oldtowne. Goods that needed secure storage prior to being sold at the market were kept here under the protection of the Butler of Aimonne.

"At the reception we were let into the city by a man of the Semillon court using the apparently ceremonial title Butler of Aimonne. I was as taken aback as you surely are reading this my dear, to learn our poor cousins' name is still in use by their killers." - Letter from Lord Thewisy home to his wife, on a trip to the New Wine Festival

As the Annexes became better integrated into Surlee, rather than a town of their own, the area around the Buttery of Aimonne played host to the market previously in Oldtowne. The Buttery proper, home of House Aimonne, was deputized by House Braelea to manage commerce having to do with agricultural business coming to the city, as opposed to the export-focused markets of the Arm. The Aimonne family were important lieutenants of the Braeleas, and thus following the Semillon usurpation, fared poorly when faced with the Free Company. No Aimonne survived the attack on the city, and were killed defending the Buttery.

"Word has come from Surlee Rock that House Braelea has fallen. I suspect I am the last Aimonne, and the order will send me into the Eastmarches for my own safety" - Guy d'Aimonne, Chronicles of Guy d'Aimonne

Under the Semillon administration the Butler of Aimonne became a patronage title, part of their attempt to fabricate a claim to an ancient history. The Butler of Aimonne was responsible for extracting taxes and tariffs from a recalcitrant population, though by the present day this has been delegated to a detested tax-collecting bureaucracy. The neighborhood of the Buttery of Aimonne remains a marketplace for the south of the Spill, as well as a hub for various craftsmen and the brewers who have persisted through the neighborhood's various changes of ownership.

The Arm

The Arm as a unified neighborhood is more an administrative idea than actual fact. It is divided between eastern and western halves by, in the Braelea era, tradition, and in the Semillon era, legality. This divide was first facilitated by the neighborhood's use as an export hub for wine, mandated to flow through Surlee by Braelea law. In its oldest incarnation, the Arm was a fishing village, located between the market town in what is now Oldtowne, and the castle of Terracetop. This halfway point between the two allowed it to serve as a dock for both, but while this brought early prosperity, it saw it subsumed into a growing Surlee.
With the Surlee of the Braelea era, the Arm was located outside of the walls, and served as the market for wine and speciality products, as opposed to the agriculture-focused market of Oldtowne. Here the Braeleas managed their strict control over the Blossom Field's exports, carefully calculating taxes, weights and measures, licenses, and the other trade-related paraphernalia necessary for a hub such as Surlee.

"The forces of the Semillon mercenary company breached the city defenses along the road running north into the Arm. The messenger told me this was aided by the residents of the neighborhood, but his distress must be affecting him as I cannot believe any besides smugglers would do such a thing." - Guy d'Aimonne, Chronicles of Guy d'Aimonne

The West Arm, in the Braelea days, was made up of manual laborers employed on the docks. However it also played host to many smugglers, particularly ones friendly to House Semillon, making up a fifth column used in the eventual usurpation of House Braelea. Many residents of the West Arm assisted in the Semillon march, however that goodwill did not last long past the end of House Braelea. Despite hosting many of the Free Company mercenaries, the West Arm was promptly cut off from economic growth in favor of the East.

"By order of the Lieutenant of the Arm, the southern gate into the neighborhood will be known only as the Bercergate, rather than any pejorative names concocted by local dissidents." - The Violet Velum

The East Arm had the opposite story. Already wealthy from Braelea policy, epitomized by the red roofs indicitive of Surlee's middle class, standing in stark contrast to the yellow thatch of the West, they preferred no change to the status quo. However, once House Semillon came to power, smuggling was greatly reduced and exports increased. To facilitate this, the Cothgate and Bercergate were constructed to seal off the Arm. The Cothgate was restricted to merchants, and the Bercergate, or Mercenary Gate to those in the neighborhood, for all other traffic. With these pro-business decisions by House Semillon, they gained the East Arm and lost the West.

Riverside

The middle class of Surlee, Riverside is epitomized by its ancient red-roofed blocks, overflowing greenery, and tidied streets. The skilled professional core of the city, Riverside is home to popular shopping districts, residential neighborhoods growing with Surlee's post-2nd Usurpation power, and the most authentic history of any Surlee neighborhood. However, not all is perfect, as the Grant has largely been lost to the gaudy, blue-roofed, expansions of a decadent and appearance-focused House Semillon.

The Spill

The Spill, like the Arm, is divided into two halves both by law and economic circumstance. The Spill is split between the northern and southern banks, with the Maven Bridge connecting them across Laurent's Cove. The Spill was the dividing line between the original Terracetop-focused city of Surlee, and the southernly market-focused Oldtowne. Both banks evolved around these distinct histories, with the northern bank becoming well protected through the construction of thick quays, both to guard against floods and reinforce the Spill's usage as a natural southern portion of Surlee's walls. The southern bank was generally neglected until the Semillon takeover, devoid of any red-roofed structures until their reign.

"The Mistral Way is said to have competition from the continuously bold constructions of House Semillon's seat at Surlee. Their redesign of the city certainly never ceases to amaze by its brave choices and originality. Surely Meridia's beauty ought to be on guard." - The Whistling Observer

The northern bank was entirely red-roofed by the end of Braelea rule, forming the backbone of Surlee's industry. Here were to be found most of the skilled trades expected in a city, with jewelry and glasswork a particular specialty of the neighborhood. After House Semillon's rise, and even more so with their takeover of the Vinelands, the businesses of the northern bank coalesced into organized companies. Ad-hoc production of crafts was replaced by professional exports, and many of the shipping companies previously based in the Arm moved here to be within the more reputable and stable northern half of the city. The overall ambience of the northern bank is starkly different as well, with highly walkable quays hosting waterside restaurants and storefronts.
The southern bank had no such economic success, and while red-roofed buildings have gradually replaced structures here, they are largely owned by those actually from, or working for, the northern bank. This neighborhood was originally made up of family-run exporters who built up rural clientele through generations of hard work and reputation-building. Fewer and fewer businesses in that style survived to the present, and those that remain struggle to not be bought out, or forced out, of their books of clients.

"An armed force of treasonous southernly merchants, backed up by vagabonds from the Annexes, forced the Lieutenant of the Spill's small band of guards to a halt on the Maven Bridge today. Allegedly in protest of the beautification of the neighborhood, we suspect Braelea infiltrators antagonized this uprising." - The Violet Velum

The southern bank's fate was supposed to have been sealed with the construction of the Maven Bridge, a wide stone structure laid smack across the river, demolishing a number of shops on its way. Mocked as the Marrstral Way, a play on the Mistral Way of Meridia, with marr being Anharan for bad, it was constructed as the vanguard of an attempt at city planning. The Semillons planned to spread the reconstruction of the city in the manner of the Coquet Heights from the Grant, along the Maven Bridge, and into the southern bank. However, their efforts were ground to a halt through the organized resistance of the neighborhood. Instead, more subtle methods are being used, such as allowing northern companies to organize gangs to coerce southern businesses into capitulation.

Newgate

Newgate is an anomaly within the northern half of the city. An ancient neighborhood, it was brought within the walls in the mid-Age of Rule, forming part of the core of Braelea-era Surlee. While ancient, it is still a very red-roofed district, not yet swept up in the rebuilding and economic restructuring taking place in most neighborhoods north of the Spill. This survivability came from two sources, the existing economic base of the neighborhood, and the strong leadership resulting from it.

"They have undertaken quite an alleged beautification, though it is far too gaudy for my taste, since I was last here. The Newgate truly is new, as one of what I believe to have been the most ancient structures in the city has been torn down to make way for a gilded cage." - Letter from Lord Thewisy home to his wife, on a trip to the New Wine Festival

Newgate is a typical gate neighborhood, not unlike those along major routes in any other Anharan city. It is situated around the Newgate, which is only new by comparison to Terracetop as it is actually the oldest continuous gate in the city. In the early Braelea-era Surlee, Newgate was home to the working class of the city, and thus the main street was lined in taverns and inns. Here, what wine that did not get exported, and the ale made in the Buttery, was dispensed amongst the tired laborers of the city's outer extremities. Not quite urban, nor part of the adjacent Horseshoe Vale, Newgate was a lively neighborhood, where early residents of Surlee could go for a good time.
The Newgate itself managed all traffic coming into the Blossom Fields from the east, along the Ruby Key, and thus any land-based exports from Surlee or any territory west of it. A considerable inn business sprang up around the gate, which grew dramatically with the popularity of the New Wine Festival. The location of Surlee on major trade routes, crucial regardless of the chaos of the usurpation wars, gave the taverns and inns here relative economic stability, and prevented them being held hostage by the tariffs used to control the Spill.
Their second attribute, the leadership of the neighborhood, came about as a resistance to excise taxes placed upon taverns and inns by House Semillon. Innkeepers, shopkeepers, and tavern owners banded together under the Guild of Illustrious Hosts and Barmen to shudder their businesses during the New Wine Festival, placing a considerable strain on Semillon income and public perception, and successfully resisted Semillon attempts to force the neighborhood under their Free Company Lieutenant. The neighborhood continues to be run, informally, by a council of significant business leaders to the present.

"Their proclivity for coups and backhanded dealings have given the Semillons quite the paranoid edge. Their fortifications are dotted throughout the countryside, every approach to the city manned, even the poor servants' entrances to their palace." - Letter from Lord Thewisy home to his wife, on a trip to the New Wine Festival

The one exception is in the west of the neighborhood, where palace employees reside under a harsh regime. They are not allowed to be seen going to work on Terracetop through public streets, and thus use an ancient stone stairway carved up the Lovers' Steps. However, as this poses a risk to the defenses of the Semillon castle, it is carefully guarded and the area's residents are closely watched. While this is derided as being typical of Semillon paranoia, there was little the Newgate council could do for them, as it is part of the status quo that keeps them in power.

The Grant

The Grant used to be the heart of a vibrant Braelea city, however it has undergone the most dramatic changes of any Surlee neighborhood. The oldest of the neighborhoods of Surlee, it was the original town built around the base of Terracetop. As it saw the most destruction during the 1st Usurpation, the Grant was ripe for reconstruction under the new Semillon model. In this way it earned its name, as most of the Braelea-era families were thrown out, and the land granted to Semillon loyalists.

"While most of the initial resistance was in the valiant defense of Oldtowne, those living in Surlee were laid waste to at the base of the castle hill. My messenger tells me the streets were choked with ash, and nearly unnavigable with a glut of bodies." - Guy d'Aimonne, Chronicles of Guy d'Aimonne

Just prior to the 2nd Usurpation, the Semillon reconstruction of the Grant entered full swing. Any of the ancient red-roofed structures still standing in the neighborhood, some dating back to the most legendary days of the Age of Rule, were leveled. In their place rose tightly packed blocks in imitation of Meridia. Whitewashed, with the faux bluestone roofs epitomizing the Semillon reconstructions, these structures were built on a grid pattern to line up with the Maven Bridge, creating a view straight through the city from Terracetop to across the Spill.

"The girls were desperate to escape our apartments in the Grant to explore the boulevards of shopping, as I have been informed at length that the jewelry from here is all the rage in court at the moment." - Letter from Lord Thewisy home to his wife, on a trip to the New Wine Festival

This urban planning was done to the specifications of the Lords Semillon, who sought to construct their ideal city for the most effective cost. In their attempts, they left a shadow of what used to be, with many dead ends from former streets visible within the Grant, oddly shaped parks out of sight of the main streets, and other vestiges of the past. This façade was not only created for the benefit of House Semillon itself, but as an attempt to impress their fellow major houses, amongst which they have never been highly regarded. However, the Grant has become a sought after destination for society shopping outside of the capital region, and the shops and hotels along the major streets are full come time for the New Wine Festival.

Gildstones

Semillon city planning writ large, the Gildstones district plays host to the instruments of their power, and this is reflected in its design. Here are to be found the headquarters of the Free Company, other mercenaries, wine and trade conglomerates, and most prominently the Bank of Anhara.

Windfall

The newest district of the northern half of the city to see large-scale construction, Windfall used to be the mustering yards for the Braelea, and later Semillon, armies. Under House Braelea, the district was home to little of note besides the residences of some merchants of means, clustered about the western gate, adjacent to what used to be a sizeable open air market. While this gate no longer exists, its shadow can be seen in the gap between the two segments of the city's old walls which remain on the border of the neighborhood. This cannot be said of the eastern gate, which has been turned into the Poncian Arch, formerly the main southern gate of the city.

"Not even bothering to pull the banner of Salis down, the Semillon men took an axe to the poles atop the Southern Gate, leaving their own colors the tallest." - The Whistling Observer

The Poncian Arch represents the change that took place in Windfall between the Braelea and Semillon eras, and here the neighborhood gained its name. In Anhara, when a larger house summons their vassals to arms, it is known as calling their winds. Upon Semillon's initiation of the 2nd Usurpation War, they hauled down the Salis banner above the gate, and raised their own, indicating the end of their status as a wind. After the success of the 2nd Usurpation War, the former gate of the city was turned into the Poncian Arch, a beautifully carved triumphal arch depicting the legendary history of House Semillon from their perspective, the most visual aspect of the return of the Romance of Nobility movement.

"Find the most up-to-date Meridian styles here. Look finer than the finest ladies of the Cinquial Season!" - A Shop Advertisement in the Clothiers' Row

The actual composition of the district is not dissimilar in makeup to that of the pre-Semillon Windfall. Along the southern walls are clustered the homes of merchants, with shops along the two main roads. Particular specialties of this area include the arts, with many freelance painters hawking their goods on the street, as well as a number of clothiers popular with the middle class. Around the Poncian Arch live the most to-do residents of the district, too good for the Inkstain Hook, but not possessing the hereditary power and wealth necessary for the Grant.
This is reflected in the architecture, which seeks to mimic that official style of the Grant without the government funds to do so, leading to ad-hoc beautification projects with often more genuine character of that imposed elsewhere in the city.

Inkstain Hook

The Inkstain Hook is Semillon city planning for the masses. Formerly a sprawling ramshackle of peasant homesteads, it was leveled gradually by House Semillon as they constructed the Aure Halls and its dependencies. The Hook is exactly that, a dependency of the Aure Halls both in its design and population.

"They have been busy at work beautifying a swathe in the west of the city, developing an ant colony of bankers and clerks, all scuttling about shaving coins for their lofty lord." - Letter from Lord Thewisy home to his wife, on a trip to the New Wine Festival

As the Aure Halls were constructed first, those small farmers living in what would be the Hook watched construction approach like a stormfront. When it finally reached the Hook, the neighborhood was relegated behind its neighbor. Walled off from the Aure Halls by natural means, mostly trees but also the backs of buildings, the Hook is meant to funnel its residents into the Halls and home again. The structures of the Hook are almost wholly residential, and built in a nearly identical fashion, wrapping around the entirety of the Halls neighborhood.
Those living in the Hooks are fed into the Halls through narrow lanes, leading into the main square of the neighborhood, and occasionally directly into buildings. Designed to keep those that staff the businesses of the Halls out of sight, and efficiently delivered to their place of employ. The Hooks play host to almost exclusively a professional class directly employed in the Halls.

Aure Halls

The Aure Halls neighborhood sits atop what used to be a prominent spring-fed lake for the homesteads west of the city, all removed in the march of Semillon urban planning. Constructed atop this lake, now a greatly reduced water feature, are the Aure Halls-proper, the headquarters of the Bank of Anhara. Dotted around this are the numerous businesses one would expect to find near the most prominent bank in the nation, as well as those more unique to Surlee, such as the Blossom Fields Bottlers.

"I was secreted away from official affairs to meet with our friends from the smugglers I need not name to you, and deliver encouragement to them, as we have few other supporters amongst the glitz of the Aure Halls." - Letter from Lord Thewisy home to his wife, on a trip to the New Wine Festival

The Aure Halls are the centerpiece of the neighborhood. Surrounding the Halls are two crescents of blocks, in the white-walled faux bluestone-capped, style endemic to Surlee. Here is hosted the periphery of the banking industry, speculators, exporters, guilds, and all those in-between. Most prominent amongst them is the Blossom Fields Bottlers, the official, and only legal, exporter of wine from the Blossom Fields region. Besides businesses, men are to be purchased here as well, as the Aure Halls are the premier source for mercenaries east of Etan's Stream.

The Hedges

The Hedges were designed as the playground of the rich and powerful in the Vinelands, but for many are a gilded cage. Here are kept the official, and unofficial, hostages that allow the Semillons to maintain their hold over the Vinelands, forced to participate in what many nobles see as the farce of House Semillon's Romance of Nobility movement.

Oldvine Yard

Under the Braeleas, the Oldvine Yard went through a few evolutions, from a huddle of hovels outside the walls of the first castle, to a mustering yard, and eventually to a wealthy residential neighborhood for members of the Braelea court. After the fall to House Semillon, many of these Braelea loyalists were killed or fled south, leaving behind an empty neighborhood of well-adorned mansions, right in the heart of the city.

"I visited our Quills working away in the neighborhood outside the Semillon palace. I had to traverse through a collection of strange structures, all hosting groups of which I was variously aware, though did not know had anything to do with the region. Upon further inspection, it seems Semillon collects them, like claims on the eclectic coat of arms of some new noble." - Letter from Lord Thewisy home to his wife, on a trip to the New Wine Festival

House Semillon is held in low regard by many of their fellow noble houses. This is less to do with their weak claim to the Braelea lands, or even the Vinelands, as their usurpations were centuries ago, but more how the Semillons themselves have worried about their reputation. Nowhere is House Semillon's anxious desire to be respected more evident than in the Oldvine Yard, where they have made an effort to collect as many organizations as possible, to add to their legitimacy. Here is the largest Crimson Quill enclave outside of Somae, monasteries for various orders of brothers, priories of priests and priestesses, halls of the Songbirds and bardic orders, the meeting places of knightly bands, facilities for the city's management, and everything in-between.

Terracetop

Terracetop is a sprawling palace complex structured around one of the oldest extant castles in Anhara, outside of an original regional capital. Constructed vastly of a yellow-white sandstone, with various expansions galleted together into one unwieldy mass, the palace of Terracetop is the seat of Semillon power, and the center of their version of the Romance of Nobility. With so vast a history, it is best read about elsewhere.

Lovers' Steps

The legendary gardens of Mirielle, where Laurent first came upon her, the Lovers' Steps used to wrap around the entirety of Terracetop, doubling as a defensive maze of brambles, preventing the scaling of the hill. Here it was said that Vestria once walked, blessing Laurent and Mirielle, and prophesizing about their house. Under House Braelea, it became a site of pilgrimage, sacred due to one of the few appearances of Vestria outside of the Coquet Heights. Under House Semillon, it was closed off to pilgrims, another of the many points of contention between the house and their subjects, and instead became the playground of nobility.

Surroundings

Surlee is surrounded by a winding warren of valleys and hills, forming both a crucial defensive feature and a defining geographic one for the city. Within the valleys are small communities of villages and farms, a common sight throughout much of the western Vinelands. Overlooking these pleasant little communities are hill fortresses, many dating back to the most ancient days of the region, guarding in particular the vineyards winding along the hills.

Caskkeep

The foremost hillfort near Surlee, Caskkeep marked the ancient extent of Braelea-proper land around the city. Here much of the house's wine was stored, collected from the vineyards defended by it. Many early battles for control of the Blossom Fields were fought here in days of legend, but it played an important role in the 1st Usurpation War and subsequent Braelea loyalist uprisings. Today, it is a crucial garrison for House Semillon, guaranteeing that what they did to the Braeleas and Salises will not happen to them.

Punchbowl

The arena of Surlee, here fight the local cledefoires, an Anharan tradition of theatrical combat. Many of Anhara's oldest cities have an arena such as this, where in the most ancient days, ritual combat took place. Surlee, however, is not one of these. Instead, the "Punchbowl" as the locals call it, is a Semillon addition to the city, part of their attempts to add a storied aesthetic through building projects. The Punchbowl sits upon an island, across a bridge from Ghostbottle, and hosts events surrounded by a small market.

Horseshoe Vale

The outermost extremity of Surlee, the Horseshoe Vale was the northern equivalent of Oldtowne in the days of ancient Braelea, a rival settlement eventually consumed by the city. However, it still lies outside the walls, protected by its complex winding valley, much to the consternation of Semillon leadership. It has proved hard to control, and has been a haven for Braelea loyalists, black market wine smugglers, and the generally dissatisfied masses.

Founding Date

276AR

Founders

• Laurent of the Hedge

Alternative Name(s)

The Whitewashed City

Type

City

Inhabitant Demonym

Surleen

Location under

The Vinelands

Included Locations

• Gates of Surlee
• Terracetop
• The Aure Halls

Ruling/Owning Rank

Patriarch

Owning Organization

House Semillon

Related Tradition (Primary)

• New Wine Festival
• Raymon's Rest

Related Traditions

• Braelea Loyalism

Related Historical Events

• 80 AM
  Founding of the Guild of Illustrious Hosts & Barmen
• 55 AM
  House Salis Falls to House Semillon
• 455 AR
  Founding of the Blossom Fields Bottlers
• 450 AM
  The Fall of House Braelea
• 450 AM
  The Sack of Surlee