A map of Trellech's areas and key locations. (Map created by
Michael MB.)
Trellech is the main magical city and the centre of government. Located in southern Wales, on the River Severn, it can be found between Monmouth and Tintern.
The city covers about 20 square miles total when including the buffer zones around the city (spaces with ordinary looking houses projected by magic, to the surrounding countryside.) The core of the city is about 4 square miles.
About 20,000 people have Trellech as their primary residence, but a number of landed families maintain a home (a flat, townhome, or house) for society events and other commitments. The city also swells during the work day due to the Ministry officials and craftsmen and craftswomen who work in the city.
Architecture of the city comes from a wide range of periods, ranging from the 14th century through to the Edwardian era. Individual houses have been rebuilt as needed, but the overall character comes out roughly Georgian, while some key buildings (the
Temple of Healing,
The Albion Museum, and the
Trellech Library have more Gothic or Neo-Classical feels.
Trellech is the centre of Albion's
government . The
Ministry Quarter houses the Halls of Justice (the courts), the
Guard Hall, and the Ministry offices, warehouses, and archived records.
Portal Square is the grey triangle to the east of the city centre. It holds seven
portals, with the area around the square offering a range of waiting areas for both people and goods.
Residential homes make up much of the north and west of the city (beige and purple areas on the map). The purple area is home to the well-off families, a mix of small mansions, private homes, townhomes, and flats interspersed with gardens and parts near the city's amenities. The homes in the beige area are a mix of housing for people who work in Trellech, from a wide range of architecutural periods.
Merchants and trade are at the core of the city. The green areas on the map are shops and stores, often with housing for the crafter or shopkeeper and their family above. (Example: Cassie in
On The Bias). The blue area holds the city's inns and some restaurants. The orange square is the market square, filled three times a week with all manner of fresh foods and goods.
Crafters make up much of the east side of the city, taking the brown areas of the map. This quarter holds both some of their shops and workshops, but also large warehouses shared by various guilds for storing supplies, convenient to Portal Square. The large home to the east of Portal Square is the
Scali Bank.
The
Temple of Healing can be seen everywhere in Trellech, the temple's 7-storey bell tower is the tallest structure in the city. The Temple stands at the north of the complex, with administrative buildings to either side. The Temple gardens and garden grottos have the middle of the space, with the seven main large wards in the bottom half of the complex. The southern edge of the Temple's space is filled with storehouses, kitchens, laundries, alchemical labs for apothecary supplies, and all the other things a hospital might need.
Club Row is to the south of the centre of the city, with the buildings of the various
clubs. Most have their own membership requirements, whether that has to do with school, secret society membership, or avocation.
The Ministry has the bottom of the city's space. The dark purple area east of Club Row has the Halls of Justice and various administrative buildings associated with the
judiciary. The blue area holds the other Ministry buildings, with the
Guard Hall across the street to the east of the Halls of Justice, and the Guard Salle and courtyard east of the Hall. The Ministry has many storehouses, barracks, administrative offices, and other buildings throughout the area, including workrooms and labs for Ministry work.
The entire city is ringed by trees and illusion-protected land, but especailly the swath of land between the city and the Severn river.
Trellech began as a non-magical city (the largest in Wales, taking iron ore from the Forest of Dean and charcoal from local forest production to make miltary items for the De Clare family). Following raids in 1291 and the Black Death in the mid-1300s, the non-magical population slowly left and the magical community took over the space and expanded. This expansion increased substantially in the 1470s and 1480s, especially following
The Pact of 1484.
The
Temple of Healing began as a small abbey and hospital, but was developed into its current form following the Dissolution of the Monastaries in the 16th century.
