Madera (muh-dare-uh)

Madera is a small town in the kingdom of Oestbernia. It is situated at the edge of the Sinsear Forest and the Sinsear Mountains. The river Castillon descends from the mountains in a series of waterfalls and forms a small pool near Madera before running westward toward the Frozen Strait. This pool - some say small lake - provides a constant supply of freshwater to the town, and the running river allows for a few watermills to aid with some industries.
Madera was one of the first settlements in what would become the Kingdom of Castillon and later Oestbernia. Settlers fleeing the northern raiders in Nordtvein crossed the Castillon River and met up with others from the southern lands and the elven kingdom and ventured to find a new life together. These united groups traveled toward the mountains, which they knew would be defensible, while trying to stay close to the forest for all the necessities it produces. Eventually, they stumbled upon the place where the Castillon River flowed down from the mountains and pooled before flowing off toward the sea - a beautiful and bountiful area rich in opportunity and possibility.
These settler groups had, in their several months together, begun to form a new type of culture with a language and customs that shared aspects of their original ones. This blended culture would go on to be the foundation of Castillon society, setting it apart from Nordtvein, The Dale, and other mostly-human areas. They named this original town Madera, from a combination of words in a variety of tongues that no one remembers. The word came to mean "peaceful" or "tranquil" and is still part of the Castillon tongue today.

Demographics

Madera is made up mostly of humans, with a little over half of the population. There are also significant enclaves of elves, dwarves, goliaths, and halflings - plus a smattering of other races and peoples. Most people in the town are involved in some capacity in agriculture, forestry, hunting, or goods transportation to and from the capital city of Castillon by river boat and land caravan. Most Maderans, therefore, would be classed as relatively poor compared to other cities' standards; however, in the smaller town of Madera coin goes further, and citizens live comfortable existences. The town does have a few wealthy families who own many acres of land around the town and rent out the land to farmers, vintners, and other growers in exchange for some of the product or profit. These families have been around the area for many generations, with some claiming to trace their heritage back to the original settlers over a millennium ago.

Government

The people of Madera directly elect their mayor every five years, during the same elections in which they choose their towns five representatives to the National Council. There are also elections for a variety of advisors that assist the mayor by overseeing various industries or aspects of the town's life. These also occur every five years, with both the mayor and his advisors able to serve two consecutive terms before being barred from running for ten years. The mayor and his advisors form a council that considers and votes on the town's proposed legislation, while also appointing and maintaining the town's judges.

Defences

The town of Madera is surrounded by a perimeter stone wall about 20 feet tall. It is not the sturdiest wall in the world, but it serves the city well to repel roving creatures from the forest or the odd mountain beast that makes its way down to the plains. The wall is not a complete circle, as a small part of the city backs up to the mountains directly. In these areas, the wall has been built up to the rock, but cutting through the rock to help bury and sure up a small wall segment was deemed too expensive and unnecessary. The town does not have any standing military but relies on its Watch for law enforcement, with more-senior and more highly-trained individuals watching the wall and responding to external threats. In times of dire need, the garrison at Castillon is just over one full days' hard march, so reinforcements can be in Madera quickly if need be.

Infrastructure

The main roads of Madera are paved and well maintained, but the rest of the town tends to be wide dirt roads - with a few paved where wealthy citizens were able to hire work crews in the past to do it. The city pulls its fresh water mainly from the pond at the base of the mountains, and farmers have dug small irrigation channels off the main Castillon River to supply their crops with adequate hydration. The river also sports a handful of watermills that assist the town with grain production primarily. The town has exactly one bridge across the river, but that is mainly used by farmers, as there is no road that connects Madera with any of Oestbernia's northern towns.


F

Architecture

Most houses and buildings are small and frontier or colonial style. In the town proper, there tend to be more row-houses and compact buildings, but these rarely exceed two stories and tend to be slightly wider and/or deeper than their counterparts in other towns. The estates of the noble families are in an Italian or Spanish villa style, spread out over a large footprint with tiled roofs and numerous courtyards. The government buildings and temples are fairly simple Romanesque structures with few adornments or decorations, though the temples sport some colored bricks that set them apart from the relatively drab town hall buildings.

Founding Date

459 2A

Type

Town

Population

8,642

Inhabitant Demonym

Maderans

Owning Organization

Oestbernia