Salt Lake
Salt Lake is a vassal barony of Amphail, birthplace of the Breadwinner Mariana Goldfinch, and site of the Siege of Salt Lake.
Demographics
The majority of Salt Lake is both human and tenant farmers. Representatives of other trades (leather working, blacksmithing, etc.) can be found in town but they are few, and most of these jobs are handled by a single person and their apprentice.
Government
Following it's founding in 1315, Salt Lake was a vassal barony of Amphail. While the Goldfinches had total control over their own land and affairs, they were obliged to pay taxes to Amphail's Lord and raise their meager levies in the event of an attack. Within Salt Lake, the Goldfinch family had absolute control, though most day-to-day operations on the local farms were carried out by appointed taskmasters.
Following the 1492 Siege of Salt Lake, the governmental structure of the town changed. While the baron of the town, then Mariana Goldfinch, still retains powerful influence, day-to-day business is managed by the Salt Lake Council, a body staffed with representatives of Salt Lake's working class.
History
Salt Lake was founded in 1315 by the Goldfinch family, wealthy merchants from Amphail who aspired to own their own land. The land chosen for Salt Lake was not ideal for irrigation, and the strange temple worried superstitious farmers, but the Goldfinches were determined to make do. From the beginning, the Goldfinches were vassal barons to Amphail, providing taxes and occasional levies when their suzerain requested it.
In 1488, Baron Artus Goldfinch traveled to the nearby Salt Lake Temple of Akadi and stole one of the Eyes of Akadi. This action spawned a retaliatory drought that lasted for four years.
In 1492, a farmer of Salt Lake, renaming himself Harvest, founded the Plowshare Militia and seized control of Salt Lake, rallying other tenant farmers from in and around Amphail to his cause. This sparked a retaliatory attack by the forces of Amphail, beginning the Siege of Salt Lake.
Near the end of the seige, the adventuring party the Breadwinners, including the heir to the barony of Salt Lake Mariana Goldfinch, arrived to mediate a peaceful solution. They managed to return the stolen Eye of Akadi, ending the drought, installed Mariana Goldfinch as baron after arresting her father, and negotiated a peace between Amphail and the Plowshare Militia, establishing the new ruling body of Salt Lake, the Salt Lake Council.
Today, Salt Lake is ruled by Mariana Goldfinch through her cousin Gabriel Goldfinch, acting as regent, alongside the newly established Salt Lake Council.
Geography
The village of Salt Lake is located, unsurprisingly, on the eponymous named Salt Lake. While this does provide the town with a secondary export material, that of salt, it does make farming the land more difficult, as irrigation canals cannot be built from the nearby body of water.
Founding Date
1315
Type
Village
Population
200-300
Inhabitant Demonym
Saltlakers
Location under
Included Locations
Owner/Ruler
Characters in Location
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