Siltala
Siltala is the capital of the Surcounty of Siltala, located on the east bank of the Tula River and on the eastern edge of the Surcounty itself. The town itself is located in the valleys below the rocky slopes of the Enares Mountains, the surrounding country spotted by olive groves and pastures, the main roads leading to the bridge across the Tula and the other into the mountain trail over the Enares to Torncastle. The town is surrounded by a thick and stout outer wall, lined with thick bastions, the old keep to which the old lords of Siltala once resided now lies in ruins on the north side of the town. The Pohlmann family under Martin Pohlmann now control the Surcounty and have taken up in a more recently built estate to the west closer to the banks of the Tula, built by the Tapamaks, former lords and still influential house within the region. Within the town walls, much of the town is built up as wooden, wattle and daub structures, giving the streets a crowded, perhaps cosy feeling. Though the buildings look old and historical, many of them were only built after the conclusion of widescale conflict during the Succession of the Suns civil war between the houses of Ilkitala and Maijalan. Siltala was once part of the Maijalan demesne, captured during the latter stages of the conflict, in the following centuries after the end of the civil war, Maijalan properties were confiscated and generally destroyed or reconstructed, Siltala was no exception. Much of the stonework that had made up the previously thick and sturdy buildings of the town was dismantled and used to rebuild damage within the traditionally Ilkitala-held town of Anttula in the north, as such only the thick stone foundation of many of the town's most historic structures were left behind, upon which the new style of the town has now risen.
The town has historic roots as a hub settlement on the eastern banks of the Tula River, providing a suitable stopping place for any travellers heading either north, south or east through Pasilo Pass. A small river within close vicinity to Siltala offers a safe and reliable source of water, the area around the settlement is among the most flat and arable for a hundred miles. The valleys auspiciously funnel down towards the town and the old road that passes though it provides a most convenient route north towards the Duchy of the Dales or conversely, south to Kopori or the capital itself.
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