Name: City of Salinon
Type:__ Walled City, Capital of Outer Midlands
Population: 150,000 to 200,000
Location: Outer Midlands, salinon
Real world Equivalent:__ Rome or Constantinople.
Description:The City of Salinon is the chief city in the Outer Midlands and the seat of Duke Krisztov Otakar XII.
Physical Description: The city itself is built in a steep hill the rises sharply from east to west before ending in a stone bluff over 300 feet high. The southern side islopes very sharply but is only impassible on the western end. The hill slopes more gently down to ground level on both the north and east sides.
City Wards: The city is divided into several different, smaller areas called wards by walls. The wards are of varying size and shapes and were mostly added as the city grew.
Physical Notes: Built by elves and then rebuilt and added upon by humans. The city has strong elvish elements to it. The roads are of smooth stone and stay clear of snow and ice regardless how bad the weather. The city's architecture is a mix of Elvish and human elements.
Defenses:
Outer City Walls:The city is surrounded on three sides (North, east and south) by tall, thick stone walls heavily interspersed by 96 towers. On the west side it it protected by the tall bluff. The wall itself is 60 feet tall with the towers being 70 feet tall and the gate houses 80 feet. It is 20 feet thick.
Inner City Walls: the city is divided into a number of wards by inner walls. Most the same height and width of the Outer wall but there is considerable variety. Each section was built as the city expanded and they are often noticeably different in color of the stone and style as well as height and thickness.
Notable Organizations:
City Watch: Ost Varya (Elvish for City Protector). Around 1.400 strong they patrol the city and its wards keeping the peace and upholding the laws. The organization is a mix of police and fire department. They work from small watch stations called Ostobarad which are a combination of police station and fire station. In later centuries (around 900CR) the fire fighting portion is split off into a separate organization.
City Militia: This is made up of citizens who must serve a specific period of service each year (usually 30 to 90 days) as part of the privilege of living in the city. Their quality ranges from decent to mediocre. Real world equivalent is the National Guard.
City Guard: These are regular full time soldiers whose duty is to guard the city itself from attack. They man city walls and gates. They are paid for by the city officials and the Duke but answer only to the Duke. Something the city council is not happy about but can do nothing about. Their nickname is The Badgers.
Notable Locations:
Castle Salinon: This castle is the home of the duke of Salinon - the ruler of the Outer Midlands. Located at the highest point in the city the castle is protected on one side by the tall bluff making approach on that side impossible. The walls there are 60 feet tall in and 20 feet thick. The tower (or Keep) is over 200 feet tall. The castle is home to countless hawks and falcons.
The Drop: A nickname given to the southern part of the hill where it goes from very steep (but climbable) to a bluff with a straight drop over 100 feet to the ground (thus the name). The tower located on the wall in that place is known appropriately as Drop tower.
A short description of the city is provided in "Last Tale of Yajakali" chapter 59, the only story to date which features Salinon. The perspective character is Jaime Verdane:
His eyes slipped from the many towers to the snow-covered fields around them. The road went around both southern and northern flanks of the city, but their caravan turned down the southern fork. The northern led through the greater part of the city so apparently Duke Otakar wasn't interested in parading him before the people of Salinon just yet. The southern branch passed by the fishing villages that clustered like barnacles to the city walls. Once inside the heavily fortified walls, they would proceed by a series of locks, ladders, and gates up the steep incline until they passed into the castle itself.
The main part of the castle was built upon the white bluff that had once jutted from the ground like a tombstone in an empty field. Over the years as first the elves and then man had come to live here, the western slope had been smoothed and blended into the surrounding landscape providing easy access to the summit. The northern face had also been smoothed to some degree, but the southern face, especially nearest the cliffs, would still be impassible if not for what they'd built there.
