Farrador
Farrador is the seat of the Barony of Farrador and the primary military town of Veglia province. It sits in the southern reaches of the Veglian heartland, where the broad pastoral plains give way to the foothills that climb toward the mountain passes separating Veglia from Askoneria and Klopedia to the south. It is a city of soldiers, and it has been for as long as anyone can remember.
The town grew up around Castle Farrador, a fortress whose origins predate the Empire entirely. In the centuries before unification, the peaks to the south were said to harbor a great red dragon that descended periodically to devastate the valley's livestock and demand tribute in treasure. The original watchtower was built to give the valley's farmers warning of the creature's approach. Whether the dragon was real, legendary, or something in between, the tower was real enough, and it proved useful for more conventional threats as well. By 920, a pre-unification queen named Hildeberg of Cardon had expanded the tower into a proper fortress and taken up residence within it; her descendants have governed the barony ever since, holding the title through every change of Imperial administration. The current baron is Ricsig Tabor, the latest in this unbroken line.
The town grew up around Castle Farrador, a fortress whose origins predate the Empire entirely. In the centuries before unification, the peaks to the south were said to harbor a great red dragon that descended periodically to devastate the valley's livestock and demand tribute in treasure. The original watchtower was built to give the valley's farmers warning of the creature's approach. Whether the dragon was real, legendary, or something in between, the tower was real enough, and it proved useful for more conventional threats as well. By 920, a pre-unification queen named Hildeberg of Cardon had expanded the tower into a proper fortress and taken up residence within it; her descendants have governed the barony ever since, holding the title through every change of Imperial administration. The current baron is Ricsig Tabor, the latest in this unbroken line.
Industry & Trade
The Barony of Farrador is responsible for the majority of Veglia's provincial levy, and the town is the principal training ground for those forces. Its geography is deliberate in this respect: within a day's march of Farrador, a soldier can train on open plains, roll hills, river crossings, and the lower mountain foothills, providing a variety of terrain that no single geographic environment could offer. The Imperial Army has long recognized this, and detachments from Askoneria's Standing Army rotate through Farrador's training grounds regularly, supplementing the work done at Ironhall with the different terrain challenges the Veglian south provides.
Castle Farrador itself serves as both the Baron's residence and the command headquarters for provincial military forces. Its walls house an armory, stabling for several hundred horses, and a small garrison that remains in year-round residence regardless of what forces are training in the fields below.
The passes to the south, through which the road to Askoneria and ultimately Klopedia runs, are watched from a chain of signal towers that extends from the castle's highest battlements down through the foothills. In the event of a threat from the south, Farrador is the first substantial fortification the road reaches after clearing the passes, a fact that has historically made it the staging point for Imperial forces moving in either direction.
Castle Farrador itself serves as both the Baron's residence and the command headquarters for provincial military forces. Its walls house an armory, stabling for several hundred horses, and a small garrison that remains in year-round residence regardless of what forces are training in the fields below.
The passes to the south, through which the road to Askoneria and ultimately Klopedia runs, are watched from a chain of signal towers that extends from the castle's highest battlements down through the foothills. In the event of a threat from the south, Farrador is the first substantial fortification the road reaches after clearing the passes, a fact that has historically made it the staging point for Imperial forces moving in either direction.
Infrastructure
Farrador is a functional town built around a military purpose, and its layout reflects this without apology. Castle Farrador dominates the southern skyline, a heavy, dark-stoned structure that has been expanded, rebuilt, and reinforced so many times over its history that it no longer resembles any single architectural era. The town clusters around and below the castle's northern approach, protected by a single curtain wall that is thick, well-maintained, and entirely without the decorative stonework one finds in wealthier provincial capitals.
The streets are wide enough for military formations to march through, and the major arteries of the town are kept clear of the stalls and market encroachments that characterize civilian settlements of comparable size. Barracks occupy a large portion of the town's eastern quarter, housing the provincial levy forces and the rotating detachments of the Imperial Standing Army that train here. The smell of horses, leather, and forge-smoke is constant.
The civilian population of merchants who supply the garrison, craftspeople who maintain its equipment, innkeepers, food sellers, and the families of career soldiers has grown over the centuries into a substantial community of its own, occupying the western quarter of the town with a density and noise that stands in contrast to the ordered military districts to the east.
The streets are wide enough for military formations to march through, and the major arteries of the town are kept clear of the stalls and market encroachments that characterize civilian settlements of comparable size. Barracks occupy a large portion of the town's eastern quarter, housing the provincial levy forces and the rotating detachments of the Imperial Standing Army that train here. The smell of horses, leather, and forge-smoke is constant.
The civilian population of merchants who supply the garrison, craftspeople who maintain its equipment, innkeepers, food sellers, and the families of career soldiers has grown over the centuries into a substantial community of its own, occupying the western quarter of the town with a density and noise that stands in contrast to the ordered military districts to the east.
Points of interest
Castle Farrador is the town's defining feature and a significant historical site in its own right. The oldest sections of the original watchtower are visible in the castle's southern foundation, preserved deliberately as a reminder of the settlement's origins. The castle's great hall contains a carved relief depicting the legendary red dragon of the peaks, a piece of folklore that the Tabor family has always been careful neither to confirm nor deny.
The Tournament Ground south of the castle walls hosts regular martial competitions between provincial levy units and visiting Imperial forces. The annual Farrador Proving, held in early autumn, draws competitors from as far as Askoneria and is considered one of the more prestigious military competitions outside of Vellakar's Coliseum.
The Pass Road Waystation at the town's southern edge is a fortified rest stop maintained jointly by the barony and the Imperial road authority, providing accommodation, horse exchange, and a small garrison presence for travelers using the southern passes.
The Tournament Ground south of the castle walls hosts regular martial competitions between provincial levy units and visiting Imperial forces. The annual Farrador Proving, held in early autumn, draws competitors from as far as Askoneria and is considered one of the more prestigious military competitions outside of Vellakar's Coliseum.
The Pass Road Waystation at the town's southern edge is a fortified rest stop maintained jointly by the barony and the Imperial road authority, providing accommodation, horse exchange, and a small garrison presence for travelers using the southern passes.
Population
12,000
Owner/Ruler
Ruling/Owning Rank
Owning Organization
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