Kirphace Castle Town
Government
As the capital of Chal and the seat of the monarch, Kirphace Castle is the first to hear about any new decrees, and a dangerous place to break the law. Trespassing on castle grounds is rarely handled through the legal system rather than attack on sight. In the surrounding town, crime does not have explicitly harsher punishments, but there is far more likelihood that laws will be enforced and carried out. Trade into and out of the city is monitored, and shipping taxes for goods are a major source of income for the crown. For the same reason, smuggling is dealt with harshly, and mishandled cargo, intentionally or otherwise, can result in exorbitant fines.
Defences
Lake Kirphace is one of the strongest natural defenses for the town, but it has more than natural defenses. Walls of plentiful Argend stone encircle the inner reaches of the city and connect to the castle walls on the lakeside, forming a sort of bridge to reach the castle. This bridge, however, is broken up by the Jade Gates, a combined bridge and gate for ships to pass into the portion of the lake that is within the city walls. Named for its towering green bronze bars, the gate is made to be walked across when closed, while the castle controls the winches and chains that open it.
Thinner stone walls also divide districts within the city, allowing specific areas to be blocked off in case of attack. Many of these walls have guardhouses between them, and the outer entrances are no exception. And as if this wasn't enough, the castle itself has yet more defenses of its own. A drawbridge connects the lake island the castle is built upon to the mainland, and ballistae wait to sink ships trying to assault the city from the lake (which will, on top of this, have to travel upriver). Smaller ships frequently patrol the waters, both to track incoming and outgoing vessels and accost hostile ships as a first line of defense.
Industry & Trade
While a multitude of other professions could be discussed in the bustling city, some bear special mention. Being the capital of such a water-focused nation, the shipyards of Kirphace Castle Town are a mark of pride, though they cannot truly compete with those of Port Kurstach. Another noteworthy candidate is the Royal Vineyards, producing grapes and fine wine for the nobility and those of the growing middle class who occasionally feel the need to spoil themselves. Not unfamiliar with travel, many inns are also present within its walls, as well as shops selling anything from high-quality steel to potions where they're most likely to catch the eye of someone with the money to purchase them.
Stonemasonry, more so than anywhere else in the kingdom, is abundant here. As the need for skilled labor for the walls seemed endless, those who knew how to work stone piled into the town surrounding the castle. When it and the city walls were completed, and there was still more stone, they started to turn to the roads, inspired by tales of the Argends' own. Buildings reinforced with stone are unusually common in the city for the same reason.
As such, the city also demands a steady influx of trade, mostly in the form of stone to maintain its walls and roads, lumber to build all manner of things, and various metals that it has no way of acquiring locally. Produce is also frequently brought from farms upriver to sell in city markets. While it has some farms on its outskirts and fisheries on the lakeside, it is not fully self-sufficient without trade.
Infrastructure
The town of Kirphace is, perhaps unsurprisingly, one of the largest and most bustling in Chal. Its sprawling paved streets hold anything from smithies to breweries to apothecaries, supplied by traffic from the lake. The lakeside is also considered especially valuable for shipyards, mills, and fisheries. For the area's farms, basic irrigation canals stemming from the freshwater lake are a common sight on the outskirts. On the outskirts, cobbled roads also branch out from the entrances to a few of the town's districts, a rare sight in Chal.
The infirmary in the chapel district and the sewer system are also notable. Between advanced medical knowledge for its time and Velodrea's focus on cleanliness and order, avoiding the needless spread of disease is considered important in Chal. This stone network of tunnels under the city uses flowing water to transfer waste and alchemical processes to purify the water on its way back to the rivers. In a stroke of apparent genius, mindless amorphous creatures from caves elsewhere in the kingdom, known colloquially as slimes, have been introduced to break down sewage and keep the tunnels clean, though they do complicate maintenance. Thankfully, their dislike of light and fire is well-documented and makes vacating them from specific areas fairly easy.
Guilds and Factions
The most well-known group in Kirphace is stationed in what has been aptly named the Chapel District. Housing the massive Aquarian Chapel with its massive stained-glass windows depicting the elegant form of the Goddess of Order and God of Time, the district is a familiar spot for sightseers and pilgrims alike. Here is the headquarters of the Church of Still Water, the most influential religious presence in the kingdom. Primarily interested in spreading their word of peace to all who will listen, the church has historically pushed back strongly against any attempts to regulate or tax its presence. Apart from this, their advisers to the crown habitually discourage violence in all its forms, from war to the killing of criminals, frequently putting them at odds with the more open-minded paladins and knights of Chal.
History
The history of Chal's capital is closely intertwined with the kingdom's own. A lake where two rivers pour in, it was a central point of transportation even back when King Kosen was liberating the land from the Orcs. In that time, it was defended by little more than manpower and flimsy palisades. Much early interest in mining, in fact, came from the need to fortify this place from attack. As such, nothing accelerated its growth more than the early trade agreements with an Argenduum inundated with excess stone. By the time of King Laren, the castle keep overlooking the lake was all but complete.
Of course, many are familiar with the siege of the Orc hordes that occurred during this time. It was in this time that King Laren drew up many of the plans for the great walls of the city, though much of it could not be completed in his lifetime. In the peace that followed, however, the castle and the town around it grew. People from across the land piled in at the promise of work under the crown and a safe place to live, and eventually the town had become a city in its own right.
Architecture
Slanted slate roofs to prevent flooding and deterioration in the regular Chale rains and walls of wattle and daub are common sights in Kirphace. Small windows with cloth or wooden covers let the light of day in complete the image of these buildings, never quite uniform but fairly narrow. In some districts, signs denoting stores and inns are the only things breaking up this view, with occasional paint jobs allowing some buildings to stand out. In others, larger buildings built of brick are used by guilds or noble estates, often with more room to themselves than the cramped areas left to common folk.
The roads are paved and slanted to allow rainwater and runoff into the sewers, adding a quality to them that is rare among Chale settlements. Some small areas are also dedicated to structures such as parks, gardens, or fountains to add beauty and open space to the city. The walls between districts, towering grey stone, frequently allow somewhat taller buildings to be built around them to mask their presence and make use of the sturdy support, provided they do not interfere with the guardhouses. Farms and ranches are typically left to the outskirts, protected mainly by palisades and wooden fencing but with farmhouses sporting much the same styles as buildings in the interior.
Geography
As stated, Lake Kirphace is a critical part of the capital, with a middling island housing the castle. While much of the land inside the walls is flat, artificially or otherwise, the walls are built around hills to use the natural height advantage where present.
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