Castle Gelda
Castle Gelda was first established in 602 by Lord Caster Dale and his company when the left Phancaster to explore the interior of Beru.
Purpose / Function
The original purpose of the castle was to act as a staging ground for expeditions into the interior of Beru. After the camp was converted into a proper stone keep it became a place of refuge for hunters and explorers to escape the harsh winters. Once the castle was fully constructed it became a military fort used by the Driston Empire during the Stockcross rebellion. After the crowing of King Bortheim Breaton in 714 the castle became a fortress for the newly formed Kingdom of Breaton. During the War of Tears the castle was besieged by the Driston Empire but rather than let the castle fall, the defenders torched and destroyed the main fortifications, rendering the castle a useless ruin.
Architecture
The stones of Castle Gelda are a deep, mottly grey colour with a rough texture to them. The hunting lodges have dark shale roofs in steep peaks.
Defenses
The ruins of the castle's defences are still strong in places, sections of the perimeter wall still stand over 30ft tall and 10ft thick. Portaions of the main keep have collapsed due to disrepair and rot. Some of the outbuildings are still livable, if one does not mind sharing them with rats.
The walls have crenelations along the edges allowing archers cover while aiming at attackers, the main buildings have murderholes & arrow slits for the defenders.
The main gate is defended by a double metal portculice in a horseshoe shape
The main fortified section of the castle is nearly 60ft tall with three layers of arrowslits. You can still see rotted timbers that once supported a walkway around the exterior for defenders to stand on.
History
The first iteration of the castle was a small camp surrounded by a shallow trench with sharpened branches actings as a deterrant to wild beasts of the region. This camp would become a winter resting location for Caster's forces while they explored the area in the warmer seasons. Before making their departure West, Caster organised the construction of a perminant wooden pallisade and left a small contingent of 30 men to guard the camp. Their orders were to fortify the location as best they could and wait for his return.
Caster would never see the camp again as he fell atop the Karparth Range in 611, his remaining forces did stop at the camp, which was now much larger and had several wooden structures within its walls, on their way back to Phancaster in the winter of 611. They reunited with the remaining forces here and returned to Phancaster leaving the camp abandoned.
It wouldn't be until 619 until an effort was made to re-establish a perminant garrison in the camp, when the forces arrived from Montvar they discovered that the camp had become a troll den. Though the trolls were cleared, their presence here showed that the area was home to dangerous monsters. This led to the reconstruction of the camp and an effort to construct the first foundations of the keep began.
In the summer of 623 the stone keep was finished creating a defendable position in the foothills of Yillan Ridge. The castle would act as a staging ground for further explorations into areas such as The Heartwood & Yillan Ridge. Hunters often used this fort as a place to rest and recover during the harsh winters that ravage the area expanding the keep with hunting lodges, food stores & stables. Over the next 30 years the keep's influence and importance resulted in Montvar investing heavily in its development. Skilled craftsmen were sent to construct new buildings, expanding on the keeps original fortifications & establish a large stone wall over 30ft high around the structures within.
This wave on industry placed the newely refurbished Castle Gelda as the seat of military power in the region, an impregnible fortress against all invaders. People who live here claim even the weather is afraid to attack them here.
RUINED STRUCTURE
1200
1200
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