Braseik

Capital of the Midlands

Novigrad (Screenshot from The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt) by Maciej Jackiewicz (Art Director)

Demographics

Population

87,000

Dominant

Humans

Minorities

Dwarves and Halflings

Enclaves

Gnomes and Orcs

Religion

Praverianism (Bornican)

Language

Common and Valic

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Braseik is the third most populous city on the continent, after Bornica and Dassarak, as well as the unofficial capital of the western Empire. It was formerly the capital of the old kingdom of Valica, which came to be known as the "Midlands" by its Cytrian overlords. Despite lacking direct access to the ocean, the city rivals Bornica as the Imperial trade-center due to its role providing wheat flour for most of the continent. Braseik hosts the second largest cathedral in the

Praverian world, and is also considered the western capital of the Holy Church. Likewise, despite its distance from the center of Imperial and religious power, the city has historically mirrored Bornica in its distrust of magic and emphasis on manufacturing and industry.

Government

Hierarchy

1. Duchess Beata of Braseik
   
   
2. Church of Bornica
   
   
3. Merchants' Council (very much in competition with the Church)
   
   
4. Lord Mayor

Economy

Exports

Primary: Wheat Flour, Textiles and Manufactured Goods
Secondary: Beer and Marble

Imports

Timber, Limestone, Slate, Steel, Wine, Spices, and Incense

History

The city of Braseik grew to regional dominance by wealth generated through their plentiful quarries of white marble. Nicknamed the "White City," the marble edifices of Braseik glisten like an urban beacon, towering on a hill over an endless expanse of yellow wheat. Originally the royal seat to the Kingdom of Skaalia, the city ruled over a vast and expanding empire from 32 to 763 AC. In fact, it was the last Skaalian King's military conquest of the Velshraine Delta that left the southern kingdom vulnerable to the Second Cytrian Invasion. Once Empress Tyeska (or Saint Tyeska) executed King Jutbar, she centered the Cytrian base of power in Braseik, making it the unofficial capital of the Cytrian Empire until the Empress returned to Bornica in 796.

House Irmesch was a family of Cytrian origins whom Empress Tyeska entrusted the vast Duchy of the Midlands. With the Imperial-funded construction of St Dobran's Cathedral between 765 and 797--the second largest in the Praverian world--, both Imperial government and religion were woven into the fabric of the city. House Irmesch still rules the Midlands in the Emperor's name from their seat in Braseik and are one of the oldest noble families in the Empire.

The Flaming Chalice of Braseik

Type

Large city