Oakhall Citadel
A once-fortress turned city, the old fortress has been continually expanded and now serves as the castle for the Claydor Family.
Demographics
Human (66%), Dwarf (12%), Elf (5%), Gnome (2%), Half-Elf (1%), Half-Orc (1%), Dragonborn (2%), Tiefling (1%)
Government
The king himself resides here, and has a great deal of say over many of the most important occurrences in the city. However, the small and daily ongoing occurrences of the city are handled by appointed delegates, either one per district, or one per two districts.
Defences
A large wall surrounds the city, made of notable large tree logs, and bolstered with metal plates and stones. It has held against many attacks from quite large and dangerous creatures of the forest, even supposedly holding back a young green dragon in the past. A few cannons line the top of the wall, but they are largely standard, and more of a deterrent in case of siege above anything else.
Industry & Trade
much of the city focuses on trade, and the artisans take raw materials from trade and turn them into more valuable goods to resell. Wood carpentry and silversmithing are two of the larger parts of this. Aside from this, livestock and crops do quite well in the area around the city.
Infrastructure
Many windmills line the outskirts of the city, grinding grains into flower, with plenty of yards on the outskirts working with wood to make boats for fishermen, and carts for traders, travelers, and farmers. A simple sewer has been cobbled together from older cisterns that many houses had.
Districts
Hay Meadow
One of, if not the oldest area in the city, leftover wheat grass from harvests, and other hays, are carted here during the harvest season, and storehouses keep stockpiles dry as craftsmen turn hay into everything possible. Pillows, mattresses, and baskets are the main commodity, and those who live here tend to do well off.Castle Ward
Oakhall Citadel, the namesake of the city, and residence of the royal family, sits here. Old, it stands triumphant near the heart of the city. Repaired many times over the years, even the most cursory glance reveals the great age of the building. The large lawns leading to the front of the castle are regularly used for public gatherings, events, and parties.East Town
As technology advanced, the city would see rapid expansion for the growing metallurgical trades, and the East Town district would grow quickly. Once the heart of Claydor's metal smelting and refining, most of that has moved to Skywatch, and this district now houses many farmers, tradesmen, and general laborers.Mead Gate
To the east of the city, among the many farming fields, a handful of farmers keep bees, not only to help pollinate crops, but for the honey they produce. This gate sees much of the honey that is transported into the city, and there are many a brewery in this district, refining honey into various meads. The park is, once a year, the host of a large festival to celebrate the booming business of mead in Oakhall Citadel, and holds a competition for the best brew.Lightgate
Some of the last remaining metalwork of the town goes on here. Lantern-makers draw bars of metal into thin strips, and cut and chisel and shape them. A large amount of all the lanterns across Irrelion in the modern age can be traced back here. While there are only a few shops that make them, fewer still are highly skilled workers that make lanterns more akin to art, the kind that might be found adorning posts on the walkways of a nobleman's estate, or on the wagon of an exceptionally rich merchant.Wide Market
Many farmers sell their goods here in simple street stalls, usually in front of their house. Foods and meats are the most common good here. Preserved meats in salt-packed barrels and fresh fruits and vegetables sit ready for any buyer. This is where many of the farmers sell their goods, especially to traders passing through.The Lodge
Another older section of the city, much of the houses here are large and more grand, settled around the castle, many noble families and rich farmers or merchants live here in grand houses made with gigantic logs and stones, fancy windows and chandeliers, doors and stairs.Redgate
To the west of the city are thick forests, rich with sturdy wood. Of all of them, the Mahogany wood is the most valuable to lumberjacks and woodworkers, and so this district was named for the rich reds of the wood. Carpentry is the business in this district, with furniture, accent pieces, and all manner of decorations made here out of the rare woods of the forest, primarily mahogany.Newbrook
The newest district to the city, it is named so because new residents are constantly flowing in, like a brook in spring when the snow thaws. Many of the houses here are newer architecture, using wooden planks and beams more often than logs, in contrast to much of the older parts of the city. Many of the people here work on farms to the east of the city, and there are a few people that offer their services as a wagon transport service to bring people to and from the fields, saving a good deal of time.Milkway
To the south of the city, along the edges of the thick forest beyond the clearing made around the city, cows graze in large penned enclosures, feeding freely on the land, raised for meat and milk. Milkway has many small dairy businesses, buying milk, that arrives in thick glass bottles, to be churned into butter and cream for the common folk, and bottled as-is, or turned into cheese, for those who can afford these more luxurious products. Milkway also deals with some of the processing of butchered cows, with jerky, salted rounds, and fresh cuts being churned out when it comes for some cows of each herd to be butchered.Silvergate
The mountains to the south of the city, while a fair journey away, are rich enough in ores to justify the more daring to go and brave the depths in order to haul glittering bounties from the deep. Silver is particularly prevalent here, and Silvergate is the district, alongside Lightgate, where the remaining metalworkers reside. Here, silver, either pure or sterling, is turned into bars, or jewelry, or even decorations, trinkets, and baubles.Joatered's Gate
much of this district is the homes of higher ranking military personnel and their families. The district, and by extension, the gate it is named for, actually changes name somewhat often, always being named after the current highest-ranking military general, which is currently Joatered Rock-Brow.Applepass
Only older than Newbrook, this relatively new district has many fruit farmers that grow trees outside the city. In particular, apples are a popular fruit, as it has been found to make good fermented drinks, but in recent years, the general culture of the kingdom has grown to use apples more and more in cuisines and dishes, and the demand has grown quite rapidly as such.Assets
Stores of weapons, armor, and numerous other resources like food, wood, and metal, sit in stockpiles beneath the citadel, and dry warehouses of grain and preserved meats and fruits ensure that in famine or warfare, there will be ample food for a time, if necessary.
Guilds and Factions
Order of Gilded Hooves
An organization of messengers, those in this prestigious group have usually ridden horses since childhood, and have immense skill in communicating with, and riding their equine companions. They can cross ground sometimes twice as fast as others, due to being able to cross even the worst of terrain with ease. The cost of hiring one of these messengers is steep, but your message will get there the fastest it can, and so they are hired often by nobles and merchants for urgent communications.History
Formed as a small citadel in the past to house an influential family, the Claydor family took it over during the beginning of the Age of Blood, and used it to stage their kingdom. The mountains north of the citadel prevented almost any excursion into their claimed lands, and let the city grow and fortify before the wars of the Age of Blood became constant and widespread.
Points of interest
Tavern: The Slaughtered Stag
Owned by a young Helena Preston, she runs a respected establishment in the Newbrook district, and is loved by the local dwarves, despite being human herself, for her own special brews, ales, and spirits, which meet the quite stringent dwarven expectations for alcohol. Sturdy timber beams hold up a simple thatched roof, with a wide open interior that always smells of pine, and of her signature Lamb & Bear stew.Blacksmith: The Mithril Anvil
Myria Gilded-Eye, an elderly dwarven woman, runs this family smithy in the Silvergate District. Her sons and grandsons hammer away in this large and open cobbled-stone building. The ringing of anvils is rhythmic and steady, as Myria taps her own hammer on the anvil, an unspoken language among smiths, telling her kin what to do to the piece, when to strike, how often, where, when to rotate, and every bit of information. Her body is aged, but her mind and skills are sharp as a tack, or as the swords that the Gilded-Eye family puts out. The breastplate that Roy Claydor himself wears was crafted for his father, passed down to him, and forged by Myria's very hands. It is considered a national treasure.Alchemist: The Unicorn's Trouble
Susannah Birkenhead, a young human, runs this store on the northern edge of The Lodge district. Her house is unique, and made of bricks. An accident during her training led to the building burning down, and bricks were chosen as a more safe option for the building when it was being rebuilt. Flowers and weeds grow in window-sills, and along walls, as lichen and moss grow, carefully curated on stones outside. Her concoctions are usually simple and mundane, but every effective. Simple tinctures and tonics for humors and illnesses, or more magical potions for those who have the coin and need for such thing. Inside her simple home, the skull of the dragon that once besieged the city hangs. It has long been known that a skilled apothecary can use dragons' bones for potions of immense strength and capability, and so it has been passed down among apothecaries of the city, waiting for one to have the skills necessary to use it, or to keep it forever as an exceptionally rare wall decoration.General Store: The Copper Bucket
Owned by an old shrewd human, Wymar Stafford runs this establishment in the Wide Market district. Known for being very shrewd on his prices, very few make good deals here, but his prices aren't unfair either. The building is quite ordinary, timber construction and slate roof, a small alcove in the front of the house holds an ornate glass window, and it glitters and gleams at night as lights from inside the building dance across the street as they bend and warp through the glass.Architecture
The houses here are sturdy and simple, yet old, made with hefty oak and ash, and each long is hefty and strong, with stone foundations and walls and window-frames accenting the mostly wooden structures. While simple, these houses are each built with longevity in mind, and every one feels like a home, with gentle lamp-light lapping out the windows at dawn and dusk.
Geography
The surrounding area is quite flat, and has been cut down to make a sizable plains surrounding the city, with a few streams nearby supplying freshwater and fish. Not far from the city are thick rolling forests, extending for miles upon miles in all directions except due-east, which is the only clear path in and out of the city.
Climate
Cold southern winds keep the Clayden peninsula quite cold, but the heavy tree-cover to the south, combined with marginal winds from the warmer west, help to keep Oakhall Citadel somewhat warm during the summer months of the year. The winters are cold and breezy, but hardly are snowstorms and blizzards an issue, thanks to the mountains to the south.
Natural Resources
The thick forests provide wood, as the southern mountains provide metals, and the surrounding plains provide crops and cattle.
Founding Date
N/A
Type
Capital
Population
88,935
Owner/Ruler
Owning Organization
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