Cinisium

Cinisium is a town built upon the ruins of a far more ancient place, though little of the location's true history is known to its occupants, who tell stories of living stone, of dragons, of the gods. These legends centre on The Fortress of Cynosure, a tall stone tower with heavy fortifications that lies at the heart of the town, which grew around it to satisfy the needs of the nobles and army that dwell within.

Government

The House of Accoleia rules the region from the fortified city of Dysolinium, with the House of Ostoria ruling the township as Magistrate, attended by smaller Houses, Pontia of the Treasury, Sabucia of the Archive and Vetusia of the Artisans.
The seat of House Pontia is within the Cynosure, where they enjoy a comfortable position accomplishing the tasks of their somewhat lax superiors and achieving particular personal profit in doing so. Pontia is a regal human family, headed by the young Sabine Pontia who rose to the seat after the wartime deaths of her parents when their township of Cassium was destroyed by southern orcish warbands. Within the Cynosure, in addition to their personal holdings, they oversee the Treasury of Cinisium, and are empowered to collect taxes and pay them to Dysolinium.
The seat of House Sabucia is within the town's scholarly hub, where they are charged with the care of the Archive of the Laurels, an archive and library of venerable age, and are involved with the scholarly and vocational education of middle-class and upper-class citizens. Sabucia is a regal air genasi family, governed by their head, Caelor Sabucia, a respected student of history and patron of the arts, who spends a great deal of coin on the patronage of talented apprentices and artisans, and in turn shames other families into doing the same at the risk of becoming unfashionable.
The seat of House Vetusia is within the town's industrial hub, where they are charged with the supply of arms, armour and ammunition to the region, which they are able to accomplish through excellent trading acumen, patronage of skilled artisans and metal workers, and a stable slave workforce. Vetusia is a regal human family, and in addition to their smithing interests, the family ardently represents the worship of the deity Animus to the township, maintaining a significant temple to the Masked One, and the city catacombs where the deceased are interred.
The House of Ostoria itself is seated firmly within the Cynosure who tend to maintain a social distance from their town and their subjects, occupying themselves with matters of state and court, and through religious observance of Clementia and Lucerna, an interest in the theory of good governance. House Ostoria once ruled the region from Cinisium before the fall of the Regalia, but when the family's heads in the capitol disappeared and riots took the provinces, Accoleia took advantage of the situation and came out on top, a fact that has been forgiven if not forgotten by Rufus Ostoria, the current presiding head of the House.
Each House, and their bannerhouses, contribute taxes and levies to the House Ostoria, who contribute taxes and levies to their own leige of House Accoleia. The levies are few these days, but the taxes are high, and House Ostoria finds itself hard pressed to pay for their taxes, their lifestyle, and the needs of their holdings. Still, at a minimum, the levies of the region work as guardsmen from the barracks while they train, but their methods tend towards the violent, as they are not trained investigators, just an organised and regimented militia. Justice tends to be informal and frequently delivered, to relieve the burden of the magistrates of the township. Several petty guilds have established themselves as centres of schooling on various topics, granting concessions and training to members in exchange for tuition and an agreement to obey the guild charter, which must be authorised by a magistrate or Companion of the Nine.

Defences

Cinisium has become a fortified town in the recent centuries, with sturdy walls established to help protect the town against invading armies of nearby lords, civil unrest, and orcish warbands, and other local threats. Central to the town's defence is the fortress of Cynosure, which stands eight stories tall, broad and thick with walls of blue-grey basalt and iron-capped spires atop lookouts. A central shaft, only 10 feet diameter, with a wall 5 feet thick, runs freely through the centre of the tower, converted into a freight platform accessed via servants chambers, and surrounding that, the chambers and walls of Cynosure extend outwards, with the complete diameter of the fortress being 180 feet across, with outer walls 10 feet thick.
A 20 foot thick stone wall stands 40 feet tall and wraps around the majority of the town, with smaller palisades erected around all outer districts. Wooden watchtowers stand 60ft apart along the wall, with stone guardhouses built into each gate section. Each guardhouse is equipped with at least two prison cells, and houses two squads, usually only manned by one squad at a time while the remainder of the guards occupy watchtowers. Each gate has two heavy stone pillars chained to hang above, anchored within the guardhouse, allowing the guards to fortify the iron gates by releasing the pillars. Around six men are required to lift each 200kg pillar, accomplished only by way of the pulley and chain housed within the interior walls.
With five guardhouses, each with 20 men, and an additional reserve militia of 100 men who patrol the town and train for war, the town hosts a very modest standing army, with additional levies available to increase their number to 400 total armed men.

Maps

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  Cinisium (Cynosure and Surrounds)

Alternative Name(s)

Gravekeep

Type

Town

Inhabitant Demonym

Cinisian