- Written by Orvel Fireside, legendary explorer & Captain-Confidant of the Redbeard Clan, 6th of Winterseve, 100 C.E.
A color-coded chart of the sections & districts of Falconia.
Falconia, the City on the White Crest. Once a simple port town established by the empire of Nerath to allow them to better transport goods to the old imperial capital in Highroad, Falconia has grown into the largest and busiest of Titania's cities. Though Highroad remained the capital until well after the collapse of Nerath, Falconia was made Titania's seat of power in 71 C.E., approximately 30 years ago. This change was necessitated not only by Falconia's growth into Titania's largest city, but by the ascension of King Justician Hawklane. Though his rule was brief and the four major cities of Titania have since returned to recognizing their own rule, many, particularly humans, still see Falconia as Titania's capital, and in a sense it still is - Falconia continues to host the Wintersend Assembly, a meeting of the leaders of the four major cities with various other diplomats in attendance, as it has done since Justician's ascension.
Most visitors to Falconia will enter the city in one of two ways: either along the High Road (highlighted in gray) passing through the miles of farmsteads which provide food for the city (highlighted in red), or through arriving by boat at one of Falconia's two large harbors (highlighted in purple). From there, most visitors will head to the Wayfarer's District (highlighted in green) to shop at the markets, rest in one of its many inns or revel in the taverns of those inns. The Wayfarer's District is built to be welcoming to all travelers, and it is known for the Wayfarer's Grand Basilica, a large temple near the center of the district dedicated to the worship of Avandra, Corellon, Kord & Moradin.
Visitors of a more noble persuasion often bypass the Wayfarer's District, instead heading into the Manor Rows (highlighted in gold) - city's upscale aristocratic district, where the many Falconian nobles reside in grand manor houses. Many of the more upscale guildhouses are also found here, as well as the Cathedral of St. Valerus, a church near the southern part of the district dedicated to worship of Bahamut, Erathis & Pelor.
At the very tip of the peninsular cliff (known as the White Crest) upon which most of Falconia is built sits Castle Seahawk (highlighted in royal blue), Falconia's seat of power and home to the ruling family, House Hawklane. The grand castle overlooks Titan's Breath Bay and its parapets burn with great bonfires, allowing the castle to serve as a lighthouse of sorts. Falconia's current ruler, Duke Graeme Hawklane, holds court here, and the Falconian leg of the High Road ends at the gates of the castle.
Though the above covers the areas of Falconia that most visitors would frequent, for completion's sake, the Tracts (highlighted in brown) must be discussed as well. Originally carved out from the sheer cliffs to facilitate passage between the harbors below and Falconia proper above, the Tracts have since been claimed by the poor, the destitute and the criminal as residences. Citizens in the Tracts live in hovels built into carved-out sections of wall originally used by workers or precariously hung along scaffolds. The great roads once used to take caravans through the passages have been claimed by these citizens; black market stalls, criminal guildhouses and various other unsavory establishments clog the roads down to winding horse-paths. Though the flow of goods into Falconia continues unimpeded thanks to more modern roads passing through the farmsteads, most of Falconia's citizens see the Tracts as a cancer upon their city and make a point of avoiding them.
This covers the various districts of Falconia - before ending this guide, it would be beneficial to speak briefly on the Falconian citizenry. Most of Falconia's citizens are human, but there are a number of half-elves found in the city as well. The other races are found in smaller numbers, primarily made up of small communities of dwarves, halflings, elves and tieflings, but Falconia is a large enough city that all Titania's races have a few representatives living within the city. No matter what race you are or where you hail from, you should be able to find a little bit of home when you visit the City on the White Crest.
No comments:
Post a Comment