Borio Castle

Borio Castle is the main fortification of Borio, former capital of the Cordaint Empire at its height. At it's height, it was a huge complex, providing an incredible standard of defense to the entire city. Now, much like the rest of Borio, it stands in ruins.

Design

The Castle takes a concentric form, with three concentric walls of increasing height (both because of the height of the walls themselves and that the higher walls are uphill). Each wall has a gate, each of them with a portullis and gate. The outermost has two sets of gates and 4 sets of portcullis.

Entries

The Castle has one gatehouse and five bridges connecting it to the rest of the city.
One of the largest bridges was for civilian use and connects to one of Borio's three main gatehouses.
The other larger bridge was for military use and connects Borio Castle to the City Walls. It served to allow defenders to easily move between the walls and the castle in the event of a siege without leaving a fortified area.
The three remaining were also for military use and connect up to other parts of the City Walls.
All five gates featured drawbridges, which maintained permanent teams to ensure that they can be raised and lowered very quickly. All of them connect to the outermost wall of the castle, so as not to have put the walls further in at risk if attackers were able to gain access to the bridges. A series of small drawbridges link the walls, and were able to quickly be retracted if attackers were to gain control of the walls, meaning defenders always have full mobility between all defensive points they have control of, but attackers do not.

Denizens

Borio Castle was home to the standing guard of the City of Borio, which stood at 120 men strong, as well a shelter to important citizens in the event of a siege on the City, such as the Cordaintine Senate, the Marca, and key military officials. It was home to over 250 staff, including a 20-man specialised Castle Guard which acted as something of a mix between a royal guard and elite defenders. The castle guard were known for their Black and Gold outfits, a colour scheme shared by no other Cordaintine military unit. It was overlooked jointly by a constable, who handled law enforcement and defence, and a Steward, who handled the day-to-day running of the Castle.
The Castle was also home to the Marca's court, including the Head of the Cordaintine Military.

History

The Castle in its earliest form was built in the year 850, a small stone keep with a wooden wall surrounding it. The wooden wall was replaced with a wooden wall in 865, and in 878 a second stone wall was placed outside, the keep was demolished and integrated into the stone wall surrounding it, and the original wall was thickened and raised considerably.

Founding Date

850

Parent Location

Borio