Most of the lore in the upcoming series will be edited compilations of dozens of posts from the last two years. While there are some minor new details sprinkled throughout, I’ve attempted to post significant new information in a “Watch AU Fun Fact” post so you don’t have to read all of these HUGE posts to find them.
Other Posts in this Series
Guilds of Duilintinn Introduction • Fellowship of Thieves • Craftsmen’s Guilds • Merchants’ Guild • Guard Coalition • Wander Legacy • Mercenary Syndicate • Inventors’ Guild • Mages’ Guild • Foresters’ Guild • Keepers of Memory • Scholars’ College • Lifeworker Institute • Order of Stone • Farmers’ Guild • Ocean Men • Artisan’s Guild • Grand Troupe • Bards’ Guild •
In this Post
Summary
Guild Hubs
Apprenticeships
Responsibilities
Inter-Guild Dynamics
Trivia
Summary
The Merchants' Guild is a guild consisting of anyone who works within the structure of Duilintinn's economy, such as coordinating internal trade between Noble Houses and external trade between Duilintinn and foreign kingdoms. It is one of the three major guilds of Cordoire.
Guild Hubs
The Merchant’s Guild is based in Cordoire, with its main hub located on Guild Row within the Administrators’ District. The official mint of Duilintinn is located immediately adjacent to the guild’s main building.
In addition, the Merchants’ Guild has a secondary hub in the city of Fionport, which controls Duilintinn’s only major harbor and is integral to the kingdom’s participation in international trade. The hub sits on the northern side of the main road, near enough to the harbor on the edge of the city without stepping outside of the affluent city center. This hub is often far busier than its counterpart, especially during the summer months as traders pour into Duilintinn for the Trade Season.
Apprenticeships
Like most other guilds in Duilintinn, the Merchants' Guild connects students pursuing higher education with members who need additional help and/or wish to pass on their knowledge to the next generation.
Responsibilities
Internal Trade
The main duty of the Merchant’s Guild is to serve the interests of bankers, entrepreneurs, middlemen, traders, etc. within Duilintinn, primarily by facilitating the distribution of goods from inter-house trade to Duilintinn’s merchants and producing the kingdom’s currency.
The Merchants' Guild plays a vital role in the entire inter-house trade operation that Duilintinn's economy is based upon. While it's the national government's responsibility to collect the goods for redistribution, the Merchants' Guild coordinates between its members throughout Duilintinn to make sure that they are aware of these resupply opportunities. This ensures that the vital second half of this economic system beyond the government's control is fulfilled.
In addition, the Merchants' Guild in the kingdom have bankers to work with currency from each house, centralized in the capital. These five different groups of bankers each have a different value of coin that they consistently mint. For simplicity’s sake, let’s assume it’s the same five values used in American currency: 0.01, 0.05, 0.10, 0.25, and 1.00. The house that was founded first (House Jackie) mints the largest coin, then the second house (House Marvin) mints the second largest, etc. Each coin has the visage of its respective Noble Lord stamped onto one side of its surface, and the insignia of their noble house on the other.
International Trade
The Merchants Guild also plays a large role in the international trade between Duilintinn and other nations. Its Cordoire hub manages much of the political-economic negotiations for the annual Trading Season in the month of July, while the secondary hub in Fionport handles the flow of traders and goods from Fionport Harbor to the capital city.
Inter-Guild Dynamics
Since the Craftsmen's Guilds also play a role in coordinating aspects of the annual Trade Season, the two guilds will need to coordinate between each other from time to time. However, their roles are generally distinct enough that this cooperation usually only goes as far as trading information about their respective plans.
Trivia
In the majority of lore posts in this AU, the terms “trader” and “merchant” are often used interchangeably to refer to someone who facilitates the exchange of goods, be those goods money or actual goods goods. The vast majority of concepts that apply to traders also apply to merchants, and vice versa. However, for those seeking a more technical distinction between the two: Merchants have established consistent practices where they buy large amounts of goods from a source and make money by selling it at a profit. Traders are a bit more casual and their stock isn't as consistent; almost pawn-shop-esque, except they sometimes travel around buying and selling from people all over the place so they can bring new stuff back when they return to your town. Again, both fall under the umbrella of the Merchant’s Guild and the distinction isn’t particularly relevant unless you are trying to choose a title for a character.
Most of the lore in the upcoming series will be edited compilations of dozens of posts from the last two years. While there are some minor new details sprinkled throughout, I’ve attempted to post significant new information in a “Watch AU Fun Fact” post so you don’t have to read all of these HUGE posts to find them.
Other Posts in this Series
Guilds of Duilintinn Introduction • Fellowship of Thieves • Craftsmen’s Guilds • Merchants’ Guild • Guard Coalition • Wander Legacy • Mercenary Syndicate • Inventors’ Guild • Mages’ Guild • Foresters’ Guild • Keepers of Memory • Scholars’ College • Lifeworker Institute • Order of Stone • Farmers’ Guild • Ocean Men • Artisan’s Guild • Grand Troupe • Bards’ Guild •
The Craftsmen's Guilds are considered to be a single unit of guilds within Duilintinn, one of the three major guilds of Cordoire.
While this large “craftsmen” category covers a variety of distinct sub-guilds- each with a wide range of professions- the relatively smaller size of each individual craftsmen's guild limits their influence individually. Therefore, all craft-related guilds come together under the unified banner of the Craftsmen’s Guilds in an official administrative context.
Generally, these smaller sub-guilds will focus on serving their own, only engaging with the greater whole of the guild when in need of advocacy or when coordinating with the government.
In addition, these guilds will come together each year to coordinate the logistical preparations for July’s Trading Season, specifically regarding hospitality and the myriad of traditional events between Duilintinn’s craftsmen and their foreign counterparts, who share a strong sense of camaraderie after years of annual cooperation.
Guild Hubs
While there technically no singular “Craftsmen’s Guild,” dozens of smaller hubs dedicated to specific crafts can be found clustered together in Cordoire’s Craftsmen’s District. Meanwhile, the guild as a whole has a main hub in the city’s Administrator’s District that manages the overarching affairs of all craft-related guilds in the kingdom.
In addition to those located within the city, the Craftsmen’s Guilds have several secondary guild hubs across Duilintinn that all report back to the hub in Cordoire in some capacity. One of the largest of these secondary hubs is located in the Professional District of Mulladún to support House Jackie’s prosperous weapon and armor smiths.
Apprenticeships
Like most other guilds in Duilintinn, the Craftsmen's Guilds connect students pursuing higher education with members who need additional help and/or wish to pass on their knowledge to the next generation.
Well-Known Crafts
Jewelers
Jewelry is one common product created by craftsmen in Duilintinn. While these products aren't cheap, they're not solely reserved for the wealthy. Jewelry is easily affordable for middle-class citizens with the income of some sort of business, such as being a craftsman or owning a farm. Citizens with lower incomes, such as laborers or workers, might need to save up a while to afford jewelry.
Tools for House Brody
House Brody contains few craftsmen; they harvest and distribute most of the kingdom’s natural resources, rather than create with them. Therefore, the regional government of this Noble House will often commission orders of tools directly from the Craftsmen’s Guilds.
Traditional Mage Masks
There’s an entire industry around the creation of the traditional masks earned by mages when they reach journeyman rank (see this post). Many craftsmen can custom make really gorgeous masks for the right price, while others produce simpler ones for those with smaller budgets. It is, in part, the accessibility of such masks that has allowed the tradition to persist into the modern day, though observed to varying degrees of faithfulness.
Smithing in House Jackie
As mentioned above, the smithing of weapons and armor is a thriving career path in House Jackie, largely because that's where the need is greatest, thanks to the presence of both of Duilintinn's militaristic guilds (the Guard Coalition and the Mercenary Syndicate). In fact, smithing is considered one of the major careers of House Jackie, despite the guild’s technical association with Cordoire. After all, a lot of House Jackie's cultural ethic centers around doing something tangible to attack a problem head-on, and for those who can't fight, but still want to be involved in a tangible, immediate way, smithing the weapons we use to fight the baddies is a pretty good option.
Inter-Guild Dynamics
Since the Craftsmen's Guilds and the Merchants Guild both play a role in coordinating aspects of the annual Trade Season, the two guilds will need to coordinate between each other from time to time. However, their roles are generally distinct enough that this cooperation usually only goes as far as trading information about their respective plans.
The Watch is a regular commissioner of the Craftsmen’s Guilds. While every garrison of The Watch seeks to be self-sufficient, this isn’t always feasible. While many Watchers have skills like artistry, carpentry, and smithing, supplementary purchases from the capital craftsmen are usually needed to keep all of The Watch’s volunteers and members fully supplied.
Additionally, some craftsmen are specifically hired by the Mages’ Guild to create masks for their members. However, most who practice the art of mask making tend to do so independently.
Finally, many of the skills practiced within these Craftsmens’ Guilds overlap with the mediums used by the Artisans Guild or the Inventor’s Guild. As a general rule, these three guilds all have unique focuses for their work: Artisans to create art, Inventors to create something new, and Craftsmen to produce a product for practical use. However, all three of these guilds will often exchange information and learn from each other as they each discover or improve upon techniques or products. For example, many inventions created by the Inventors Guild eventually circulate into production by the Craftsmens’ Guilds once they enter into the mainstream.
Most of the lore in the upcoming series will be edited compilations of dozens of posts from the last two years. While there are some minor new details sprinkled throughout, I’ve attempted to post significant new information in a “Watch AU Fun Fact” post so you don’t have to read all of these HUGE posts to find them.
Other Posts in this Series
Guilds of Duilintinn Introduction • Fellowship of Thieves • Craftsmen’s Guilds • Merchants’ Guild • Guard Coalition • Wander Legacy • Mercenary Syndicate • Inventors’ Guild • Mages’ Guild • Foresters’ Guild • Keepers of Memory • Scholars’ College • Lifeworker Institute • Order of Stone • Farmers’ Guild • Ocean Men • Artisan’s Guild • Grand Troupe • Bards’ Guild •
In this Post
Summary
History
Inter-Guild Dynamics: The Guard Coalition and The Watch
Summary
The Fellowship of Thieves is considered a "guild" by everyone but itself. Centered in the slums of Cordoire, Duilintinn, it considers itself outside of the kingdom's Noble House system of government, despite being granted the same rights of all other guilds by King Sean and listed as one of the three major guilds of Cordoire.
Guild Hubs
The Fellowship of Thieves doesn’t even technically have a guild hub at all, thanks to its self-imposed unofficial status. The Fellowship of Thieves (guild of the underworld in Duilintinn) is intentionally not called a “guild” because of its origins in the slums of Cordoire. This fellowship was founded by the houseless poor in the slums outside the capital as a way to protect their own as they did what was necessary to survive. To this day, this guild avoids being associated with the structures of government and economy in Duilintinn. As a gesture of support towards the residents of the Hidden District, The Duil Government has recognized the Fellowship of Thieves as a legitimate entity and has a dedicated guild space for them in the Administrators District, which the fellowship in turn has never touched. While it has no official guild “hub,” its primary center(s) of operation are known to be located within the Hidden District.
History
This fellowship was founded by the houseless poor in the slums outside the capital as a way to protect their own as they did what was necessary to survive. To this day, this guild avoids being associated with the structures of government and economy in Duilintinn. The hub is located in the swath of land outside the city walls. While being houseless is not a requirement to join the Fellowship of Thieves, the majority of members are. Those who are pledged to a noble house are often mistrusted for a while after joining, but are eventually welcomed into the fold if they prove themselves.
Apprenticeships
Unlike most other guilds in Duilintinn, the Fellowship of Thieves does not have a system through which to provide students with an opportunity for higher education. This is unsurprising, considering their distaste for interacting with the government or other official societal structures in any overt way.
Inter-Guild Dynamics
In many ways, the Fellowship of Thieves is another foil to the establishments of The Watch and The Guard Coalition. All three of these organizations want to protect the people of Duilintinn, but they all go about it in very different ways and with very different internal politics. The Watch is very reactive, with a very casual de facto hierarchy and a focus on investigations and debate. The Guard is very organized, with an iron-clad chain of command and a focus on orders and discipline. The Fellowship of Thieves, on the other hand, is borderline vigilante in structure, with a secretive internal hierarchy and the ability to seemingly be everywhere all the time. They’re in a constant rivalry with The Guard and a tenuous relationship with The Watch.
Their main quibble with The Watch is their reliance on Duilintinn’s existing government structures; the Fellowship of Thieves believes in self-reliance and has little trust in authority. However, they respect The Watch’s active way of addressing issues, analytical minds, and cooperative, skill-based structure (as opposed to a military hierarchy). You’ll sometimes see members of the fellowship join The Watch or lend intel to Watchers they trust.
Most of the lore in the upcoming series will be edited compilations of dozens of posts from the last two years. While there are some minor new details sprinkled throughout, I’ve attempted to post significant new information in a “Watch AU Fun Fact” post so you don’t have to read all of these HUGE posts to find them.
Other Posts in this Series:
Major Cities of Duilintinn: Aghaboy • Mulladún • Monacoil • Fionport • Noefrach • Cordoire • Cordoire Castle
In this Post:
Summary
History
Layout, including sections on the central keep, inner gate, outer wall, lower bailey, and outer yard.
Trivia
Additional Art
Summary
Cordoire Castle (sometimes referred to as King Sean’s Castle) is a large complex located on the southern edge of the city of Cordoire, Duilintinn’s capital. It is both the home and seat of King Sean McLoughlin, the current leader of Duilintinn.
History
Most scholars believe that the hill where the castle now sits was artificially constructed during the Feadhainn Era, most likely while building a fortress in the style of a Motte and Bailey castle. However, the hill is the only remaining evidence of previous development prior to Waldren’s construction of Cordoire.
During the Feadhainn Era, the Mondaidh Plains were much more forested, with its residents building their homes from the readily available lumber. Most of these structures would have rotted away long ago, or else lay buried deep beneath Cordoire’s heavy stone foundations, hence why no other evidence has been found. A shell keep was then built atop of the hill, likely a prototype structure built prior to Feadhainn’s golden age and the construction of cities such as Mulladún and Monacoil.
Records show that when the Waldren Trade Enterprise began occupying the Feadhainn Valley, the foundations of the Feadhainn Era shell keep still remained on the large hill where Cordoire now sits. Thanks to its strategic position at the top of the Beinnfaire Ridge, Waldren decided to construct a large fortress in this area, which would function as the launching point for all operations further west into the valley.
When rebuilding the shell keep, Waldren used the existing foundations to preserve resources and save time. As a result, much of the keep’s shape still resembles classic Feadhainn architecture, although the materials and design sensibilities come from Waldren’s architectural style. From there, the keep was expanded into a full castle with a fully populated bailey and its own outer walls.
From here, the history of Cordoire castle is identical to that of the city it overlooks. Several powerful groups fought over the power vacuum in the city until the future King Sean besieged the city and forced them out. Once Duilintinn was founded, Cordoire was named the kingdom’s capital and Cordoire Castle became both the home and seat of power for the new king, which it has remained to this day.
Layout
Centered around the shell keep perched atop the artificially constructed hill on the southern edge of Cordoire, the castle’s rich history is visible in its Feadhainn and Occupation Era architectural sensibilities. It consists of several sections: a Central Keep, an Inner Gate, a walled bailey, and an extensive yard used for both entertainment and defensive purposes.
Central Keep:
The central keep of King Sean’s Castle was built on the foundations of an ancient Feadhainn Shell Keep, which in turn was probably built on the site of an old Motte and Bailey castle.
For context, a Motte and Bailey Castle consists of a fence-encircled keep built on a large, artificially constructed hill (the Motte) and a lower courtyard (the Bailey). These keeps were usually made from wood, which decomposes quickly, leaving only the hill behind as evidence of its location. A Shell Keep is an evolution of the Motte and Bailey model, featuring a circular stone structure on a hill instead of a wooden, fenced building. The term “shell” comes from the lack of a roof over the structure. Rather, the keep would be arranged like a donut, with buildings located along the inner edge of the stone “shell” and an open-air courtyard in the center.
Feadhainn architecture loves the concept of shell keeps, with cities such as Mulladún and Monacoil demonstrating how much they expanded upon the circular motif with feats of architecture so advanced, they may as well not be called shell keeps anymore. By contrast, the central keep of King Sean’s castle is a relatively simple and straightforward example of a shell keep, likely built prior to Feadhainn’s Golden Age.
The buildings located within the central keep of King Sean’s castle are two stories high, built from both wood and stone with flat roofs that allow for a balcony-esque view over the top of the shell wall.
The first floor of these buildings would be used for important political matters, with arguably the most important room being the throne room. From here, King Sean holds court and gives daily proclamations if he decides to do so indoors. This would be where the paintings that were destroyed hung, before their destruction in late September 1614 (Ref: 1 2). During these indoor proclamations, important members of King Sean's court would have the privilege of observing the proceedings from within the throne room. People outside the government who are lucky enough to get a front-row seat for the proclamation stand in the inner courtyard, while the remaining crowd overflow will gather outside the keep, in the castle bailey. However, such indoor proclamations are rare. When he can, King Sean prefers to climb the stairs to the top of the keep and give his speech from the parapets, where everyone in both the inner and outer courtyard would be able to see him.
The second floor of King Sean’s castle is reserved for the King and his household. No one is allowed in this part of the castle without the express permission of the king and is heavily protected with both magical and mundane defenses. In all of Duilintinn, this part of the castle is one of the few places that The Watch has never had access too. If any of the Missing Lords were located in Cordoire, this is certainly where they’d be hidden.
Inner Gate (and other defenses):
When facing the keep from within the bailey, an inner gate can be seen to its left. The gate is flanked by two asymmetrical towers; one larger that is part of the outer wall, and one smaller that juts into the bailey itself.
At the base of the motte where the central keep stands is an additional wall and a small moat. The wall stands around fifteen feet high and wraps around the entire motte, including the half that protrudes beyond the castle’s outer walls. Similarly, the moat circles the entire motte, ducking under the outer walls of the castle through sturdy grates. Unlike the moat around the city proper, the castle moat is small enough to be filled by simply pumping water into and out of the trench using the city’s waterworks, making it more akin to a small river than a true stationary moat. As a result, the moat around the central keep of the castle is far more efficient and functional than its larger counterpart. Taken together, both the walls and moat around the motte ensure that the inner gate is the only way to enter the central keep.
Once one passes through the inner gate, visitors must pass through a stone complex with a large square tower looming overhead. This barracks houses the guards who protect the castle and would respond to any attempts to breach the motte or inner gate. Beyond this complex is a walled path that leads over the moat’s bridge and up several flights of stairs up the hill and to the central keep.
Outer Wall:
The wall surrounds the entire castle, with the central keep at one corner, effectively cutting the motte in half. Only half of the wall surrounding the motte is located inside the bailey itself, with the rest jutting out beyond the larger walled area.
In addition to the guard tower within the inner gate, eight large circular towers are spread at intervals along the wall surrounding the bailey. One of these towers is incorporated in the Inner Gate, while another is directly adjacent to the central keep. The gate into this walled area is also flanked by two smaller towers. Totalled together, this means the castle has a total of 12 towers: eight large circular towers, three smaller towers, and one large square tower.
Like the central keep, significant magical and mundane defenses line the outer walls. Heavy wards and enchantments nullify almost every sort of magic that might allow someone to enter the castle unnoticed or cause harm to its occupants, although doing so without interfering with the magic used within the castle itself is an inexact science at best. Guards and Watchers patrol the outer wall, armed with every defensive tool at their disposal.
Lower Bailey:
The lower bailey is the area within the outer wall that extends north from the base of the motte. This area makes up the majority of the castle complex and consists of a large courtyard and several buildings in the Occupation Era architectural style.
The courtyard is a large semicircle pointed in the direction of the center keep. Covering nearly nine thousand square feet, this is where the large crowds gather for the king’s public proclamations.
The buildings in this area fulfill most of the functions expected of a more modern castle that wouldn’t fit in the central keep. For example, one such building is a large great hall, used for events such as feasts and dances. Other buildings include guest and staff housing, stables, kitchens, and other such facilities. Some gardens and green spaces can also be found between these structures.
There are several occasions in which the general public can enter the lower bailey of the castle. For example, people can view public proclamations from the courtyard on a first-come, first-serve basis. Additionally, the bailey is often opened for holiday celebrations, with festivities in both the courtyard and some of the other buildings. However, the doors aren’t simply open for anyone to wander in or out; all visitors to the bailey are checked in and out by guards at the gate and a strict capacity limit is usually observed. This somewhat mitigates the massive security risk these events bring to the castle; if an agent of The Enemy were to enter with the crowds, at least they’d be unable to do so anonymously, and guards would know if someone had never left after the celebrations were concluded.
Outer Yard
Between the outer wall of Cordoire Castle and the walls of the city itself is a large, green space.
Close to the castle itself, this space is very similar to the grounds of most castles, with gardens, groves, and various buildings for both recreational and upkeep purposes. This area spreads out approximately a quarter mile out from the castle itself.
Beyond this area, the yard is mostly empty space with absolutely no buildings or dense plantlife. This area primarily serves a defensive purpose; anyone attempting to rush the castle would have to run a significant distance without any hiding spots, in clear sight of the guards on the castle walls. This additional precaution is especially important since Cordoire castle is located on the southern edge of the city, allowing attackers to target it without having to wade through the rest of the city proper.
While defense is the primary purpose of this area, the space is not put to waste. Several walking and riding paths meander across the flat grasses and streams that fill this area, occasionally passing by fields of low-lying crops (such as root vegetables) that supplement the castle’s food supplies. It’s rather humble in comparison to the castle grounds of other lands, but what it lacks in aesthetics it makes up for in practicality.
Trivia
Many features and details of Cordoire Castle are inspired by parts of the UK’s Windsor Castle, chosen because of similarities between its Round Tower and Cordoire Castle’s central keep.
Additional Art
One of the earliest concept sketches of the castle. As you can see, the inner gate and courtyard are both missing.
A three-dimensional depiction of the map above. Arguably one of the best depictions of the central keep itself, despite the inaccurate scaling and missing features.
An annotated screenshot taken from Google Maps of Windsor Castle that simulates the scale and layout of Cordoire Castle. This exercise led to the addition of the inner gate.
The following sketch was heavily based on the a Google Street-View image of the Norman Gate in a rough attempt to visualize what such a gate might look like in Cordoire Castle.
This is the same to-scale sketch of Cordoire castle used at the top of this post. However, when I originally drew it, I accidentally laid it out as a mirror-image of the real thing. While the image at the top of the post is more accurate to reality, I wanted to include the original here so that you can read the notes along the side. As you can see, this was the point when the keep’s watchtower and the main courtyard were added to the layout.
Last but not least, this was an attempt to visualize the new layout of the castle in three dimensions. While obviously imperfect in both scaling and detail, this is the only 3D sketch so far that shows the keep’s watchtower and bridge.
Most of the lore in the upcoming series will be edited compilations of dozens of posts from the last two years. While there are some minor new details sprinkled throughout, I’ve attempted to post significant new information in a “Watch AU Fun Fact” post so you don’t have to read all of these HUGE posts to find them.
Once again, we have a post that’s an exception to the rule. In the process of putting together this post, I wrote a TON of new lore that either clarifies, contextualizes, fixes, or adds new depth to lore that’s already existed about the city, including renamed districts, new historical events, and more detailed descriptions of certain areas. Enjoy!
Other Posts in this Series:
Major Cities of Duilintinn: Aghaboy • Mulladún • Monacoil • Fionport • Noefrach • Cordoire • Cordoire Castle
In this Post:
Summary
Name Origin
History from the Feadhainn Era to the Modern Day
Administration of both the Local Municipal Government and National Government of Duilintinn, plus city defenses.
Geography
Architecture
Districts, featuring the Castle, Administrators’ District, Craftsmen’s District, Central Market, Opal District, and Hidden District.
Economy, including guild prescence and outside commerce
Trivia
Additional Art
Summary
Cordoire is the capital city of Duilintinn, as well as the largest, covering an area of about 50 square miles (130 km2). It stands at the edge of the Monaidh Plains of House Jackie, overlooking the sharp decline into the coastal region of House Schneeplestein. Since the Waldren Occupation, Cordoire has played a significant role in Duilintinn’s history and remains a political and economic center of Duilintinn to this day.
Name Origin
“Cordoire” roughly means “small round hill grove” based upon the “Place Names in Ireland” Wikipedia page.
According to records left behind by the Waldren Trade Enterprise, the name is Feadhainn in origin. The hill upon which the city now stands had been called Cordoire long before Waldren ships arrived in the region. While Waldren did attempt to impose a new name in the common tongue, this, like most other attempts to colonize the region, failed miserably.
History
Feadhainn Era
Prior to its construction during the Waldren Occupation from cerca. 1000 to 1500, the land where Cordoire exists today was on the outskirts of Feadhainn territory. At their peak, Feadhainn expanded all the way to the eastern sea. However, Cordoire was not one of Feadhainn’s great Golden Age cities like Monacoil or Mulladún, but rather a small fortification built on an artificial hill centuries earlier.
Waldren Occupation
Records show that when the Waldren Trade Enterprise began occupying the Feadhainn Valley, the foundations of the Feadhainn Era shell keep still remained on the large hill where Cordoire now sits. Thanks to its strategic position at the top of the Beinnfaire Ridge, Waldren decided to construct a large fortress in this area, which would function as the launching point for all operations further west into the valley. After rebuilding and expanding the shell keep into a full castle with a fully populated bailey and its own outer walls, Waldren continued to expand the city, constructing what we now call the “Administrators’ District” immediately north of the castle walls.
These renovations all took place within the first half of the Waldren Occupation, with construction beginning to wane as Waldren realized that Duilintinn’s natural resources were not as lucrative as those of her neighbors to the north and south. However, despite the development of Waldren’s statutory neglect over the region, people continued to move into and expand the city of Cordoire into the northwest, away from the steep Beinnfaire Ridge. During this time, most of the other districts of the city were built.
Interim Years
As revolutions against Waldren began to sweep Tirónar, some of the more powerful occupants of Cordoire who retained their Waldren identity pooled their resources to have a wall constructed around the entire city. During this project, it became clear to many that Waldren was the losing side, and that a power vacuum was ripe for the taking in the prosperous city of Cordoire and the surrounding areas. While the wall construction was a temporary unifying factor, conflict soon broke out among these powerful groups over who would control the city as soon as the project was finished.
Eventually, three major powers rose above the rest, alternating between an endless fight among themselves and sudden alliances to destroy any new threats contending for power. The well being of the people was ignored in favor of political intrigue, and for years chaos and unrest plagued the common folk. Centuries passed, and turmoil engulfed the land. Much of this conflict was centered around the city of Cordoire.
Eventually, Cordoire became a key location in The Quest for Duilintinn. King Sean and his fellow adventurers had to contend with these corrupt, manipulative, and violent factions if there were to be any hope of bringing the lands together. After years of attempts at diplomacy, negotiations, and even some counter-intrigue, it became clear that these factions would prefer to hole up in Cordoire and fight amongst themselves for power forever. When these factions declared their intentions to squash the quest once and for all, King Sean enlisted the help of the Guard Coalition, Mercenary Syndicate, Mages' Guild, and other allies who had pledged their support to rebuild the land to strike first and place the city under siege. Despite many losses and a tragic fire that destroyed much of the central city, the future king's forces eventually routed the power-hungry factions from Cordoire.
Modern Day
After Duilintinn's founding, King Sean created dozens of projects to rebuild areas of the city that were torn apart by the decades of fighting during the Interim Years. This created a lot of jobs, drawing skilled laborers and craftsmen into the city and laying a foundation both for the city's structural and economic revival.
One of the greatest construction projects within the city was the rebuilding of the central market, including the addition of several amphitheaters. With the resurgence of Feadhainn's traditional amphitheaters as a cultural staple in other regions of Duilintinn, most cities built with architecture from the Waldren Occupation would build raised amphitheaters on the edges of their cities. However, King Sean specifically commissioned an intense construction project while rebuilding Cordoire to add an amphitheater to the central marketplace in the traditional lowered style of Feadhainn cities.
Cordoire is now the capital city of Duilintinn. The city is extremely urbanized, with a large, crowded population that continues to grow to this day. However, since the Overnight Defense in 1603, some question whether or not it is safe to have so many people near one of The Enemy's largest targets. Since the reports of infiltration in late 1613 to the present (November 1614 at time of writing), these concerns have continued to spread, yet seem to have little impact on the city's rapid urbanization.
Holidays are celebrated across Duilintinn, but none more spectacularly than in Cordoire. In recent years, King Sean has mobilized Cordoire’s ability to party by declaring additional monthly celebrations to raise money for charity, to great success.
Administration
Local Government
Legally, Cordoire is a separate province of Duilintinn with similar authority to a Noble House, much like the District of Columbia in the United States. As such, it has its own local government that functions similarly to the regional government of a Noble House. Logistically, this local government is structured more like a branch of the national government, rather than its own entity. Thankfully, in practice, the bureaucracies of the local and national government in Cordoire have thus far maintained a clear separation between their distinct responsibilities, allowing the city to retain its provincial authority while operating within the structures of the national government.
Part of the reason this system works is because the provincial government of Cordoire is not responsible for the record keeping and social services managed by Duilintinn’s five Noble Houses. A citizen cannot pledge themselves to Cordoire the same way they can pledge themselves to one of the other Noble Houses. Rather, the citizens of Cordoire would remain under the domestic authority and care of their chosen Noble House, or else none at all in a status known as Houselessness. Just as a Noble House would conduct services and administrative responsibilities for their citizens in other Noble Houses through their embassies in each regional capital, each Noble House has an embassy in Cordoire’s Administrator’s District through which they handle these matters for their citizens living in the city.
All five Noble Houses work together to ensure that Cordoire has the infrastructure necessary to provide social services to its citizens. Officials from all five Noble Houses are sent to Cordoire with a budget of resources from their respective houses, forming a committee that ensures the infrastructure within Cordoire will allow these embassies to provide for their respective citizens.
National Government
Cordoire is the center of Duilintinn’s political world. It’s Administrators’ District holds all of the government buildings used by Duilintinn’s bureaucratic national government, including embassies representing each Noble House and guild of Duilintinn. With the input and coordination of these parties, decisions that will impact the entirety of the kingdom are made and executed here. Meanwhile, the castle on the southern edge of the city houses King Sean and his most trusted confidants and is the site of the king’s regular proclamations to his people.
Defenses
Cordoire has a thick outer wall surrounding most of the city, with large watchtowers located half a mile apart along its circumference. The entire wall measures a staggering 25 miles long, or approximately 40 km. Its 50 total watchtowers are manned by a combination of Guard Coalition members hired on by the government and Watchers who have been assigned to keep a watch over the city and its surrounding area. While members of the Guard Coalition initially protested the addition of Watcher forces along the city wall when The Watch was officially deployed in early 1603, the vital role they played in defending the city during the Overnight Defense that December officially silenced those complaints. In fact, it was said that the most cordial relationship between The Watch and The Guard Coalition exists among those who work together along the city walls, although that has slightly degraded with time.
In addition, Cordoire is also surrounded by a moat, located an average of one mile out from the walls (depending on where you are). However, it offers minimal defense and is extremely difficult to maintain. When the city of Cordoire was built during the Waldren Occupation, the construction teams attempted to divert some smaller tributaries of the Guardian River into the shape of a moat around the city. However, this moat doesn’t particularly enjoy being a moat, especially since the city of Cordoire happens to be very, VERY large. If left unattended, the diverted part of the river will start to veer east again, down the slope of the Beinnfaire Ridge. In addition, much of the water is absorbed by the arid soil of the Monaidh Plains before it even reaches the city. Some believe that the ongoing research into how Feadhainn managed to divert the Agrona River might eventually yield information that would make this maintenance process easier, but so far, these efforts have met minimal success. As a result, even in peak condition, the moat around Cordoire is not a very intimidating obstacle. While the constant maintenance the moat’s upkeep requires does create jobs, most people agree that the talents of these people could be better applied elsewhere. For now, the moat is still being maintained, but that might change eventually.
Finally, Fort Stiofán also deploys teams of Watchers to patrol the city from the ground, taking into account the lack of protection that the moat offers to those living within the urban sprawl outside of the city walls. After all, it’s been over a decade since a direct attack upon the city, and with The Enemy’s moves against the king growing more and more subtle, it is useful to have eyes and ears on the ground as well as upon the walled ramparts. These patrols divide the area surrounding Cordoire into seven segments, each approximately 4 miles long, with permanent campsites located between every other sector. Each day is divided into three 8-hour shifts, with each team moving on to patrol/rest at the next section when the next team arrives. There are three types of patrols: Sunrise shifts, which patrol from 4am to 8pm; Sunset shifts, which patrol from 12pm to 4am; and Moonlight shifts, with patrol from 8pm to 12pm. Teams are usually informed of their shift type a few days before leaving Fort Stiofán, giving them time to adjust their circadian rhythm in advance. A full patrol route around the city and back to Fort Stiofán takes approximately one week, with two weeks of rest at the garrison to help the team recover from those grueling 16-hour workdays*. For you visual learners out there, a typical patrol route would look something like this:
Fort Stiofán to Cordoire: Travel 30 miles in just under 1 day, with time to rest and get supplies.
Section 1: Patrol a 4 mile area for 8 hours
Section 2: Patrol a 4 mile area for 8 hours
Campsite: 8 hours of rest
Section 3: Patrol a 4 mile area for 8 hours
Section 4: Patrol a 4 mile area for 8 hours
Campsite: 8 hours of rest
Section 5: Patrol a 4 mile area for 8 hours
Section 6: Patrol a 4 mile area for 8 hours
Campsite: 8 hours of rest
Section 7: Patrol a 4 mile area for 8 hours
Cordoire Starting Point: Rest for the rest of the day
Return to Fort Stiofán: Travel 30 miles in just under 1 day
It’s important to note that a patrol will not move on to the next sector/campsite until the next patrol arrives to relieve them. This ensures that no part of the city border remains unprotected. While the patrol from Fort Stiofán will always leave at the exact same time each shift, this domino effect of shifting patrols will mean that the time a “shift” begins and ends will become later and later as a patrol migrates around the city. The time of each shift is not nearly as important as the assurance that there is always a patrol in every sector of the city wall. When the patrol at the final sector of the city is finally able to return to Fort Stiofán, each sector will have been filled with a new patrol.
*Past posts on this subject stated that it took a fortnight to complete a patrol route around the city, with one week of rest, but this was based on outdated measurements from before Cordoire’s size was retconned.
Geography
Topography
A large, artificially built hill stands on the southern edge of the city, with the castle sitting atop of it. The rest of the topography is mostly flat, typical for the region, with a mostly dry and poorly-maintained moat surrounding the city approximately a mile away from the walls.
Climate
The standard climate of the Monaidh Plains of House Jackie, with dry summers and snowy winters, and very little humidity year-round.
Natural History
The hill upon which sits the king’s castle was built artificially during the Feadhainn Era to construct a keep resembling a real-world Motte and Bailey Castle. While it has likely shrunken slightly over time due to erosion and other factors, the hill stands firm to this day.
Like much of the Monaidh Plains, the land where Cordoire sits was once very forested. However, the land was severely deforested during the first half of the Waldren Occupation, leaving behind a dry plains region with minimal topsoil.
An offshoot of the Guardian River flows near the city, but its path was diverted sometime during the Interim Years to create a moat around the city. However, the river seems intent on returning to its original course, making the moat very difficult to maintain.
Architecture
Buildings
With the exception of the castle’s central keep, which was built during the Feadhainn era, the vast majority of Cordoire was built during the Waldren Occupation or in the immediate aftermath, and thus its defining architectural characteristics are largely derived from Occupation Era architecture. These traits include buildings with white stone walls accented with red clay tile roofs organized along an extremely neat grid system.
Once Waldren stopped investing in the region’s infrastructure, the city’s growth was less regulated and stylized. What wasn’t built by Waldren itself was constructed in an attempt to imitate the original style. As a general rule, the castle and districts immediately adjacent to it- such as the Administrators’ District- are all authentic examples of Occupation Era architecture, while every other part of the city within the walls was built after Waldren’s departure in an attempt to imitate its architectural style. While many of these expansions are extremely similar to the real deal, experts in history and architecture can usually tell the difference between these two eras of construction.
Finally, the expansions built outside the city walls are not constructed to imitate any consistent architectural style. In areas populated by refugee communities or foreign immigrants, some of the buildings might even resemble foreign architectural styles more than anything found in Duilintinn.
Roads
There are four major roads that roughly divide Cordoire into quarters, each meeting in the Central Market district. These roads are not only used for navigating within the city proper, but for travelers passing through the city to the areas beyond. This became slightly hazardous as the city grew more populated, and even more so when The Watch was founded.
For this reason, large bells are located along these major roads, the first of which can be found at each of the city gates. When one of the gate watchmen sees a messenger or other rider from The Watch galloping headlong towards the city, the bells will toll, prompting the gates to be opened (if they weren’t already) and warning everyone to clear the roads as quickly as they could. As the rider progressed through the city, the bells ahead of them would toll to warn those further down the road, until they finally cleared the city gates on the other side.
Districts
Castle
King Sean’s castle is perched atop the artificially constructed hill on the southern edge of Cordoire. Due to the amount of detail in the castle’s own description, it will receive its own dedicated post in the near future.
Administrators’ District
The Administrators’ District (sometimes called the “Administration” or “Administrative” District) is located directly adjacent to the castle in the southern half of Cordoire. It is directly accessible via the Central Market and is home to government buildings, embassies, and other spaces vital to the administration of both Duilintinn’s national government and the municipal government of Cordoire itself.
In addition to government buildings and meeting halls, most of this district is full of embassies and representative hubs for other organizations/places. For example, each Noble House has a significant embassy located in this district.
Additionally, every country Duilintinn has some sort of treaty or agreement with is also represented in the Administrator’s District with its own embassy. These include, but are not limited to: every country in Tirónar, every nation outside of Tirónar that Duilintinn has trade agreements with, and every town/community in the Feadhainn Valley that elected to remain independent from Duilintinn after the kingdom’s founding. However, not every one of the entities represented will deign to fill their embassy with a full staff. Some embassies only have a handful of dignitaries, who mostly stick around to sign the trade agreement renewals every year and occasionally manage odd bits of drama involving one of their citizens in Duilintinn (which can be extremely rare if very few of their citizens actually stay in the country for more than a month or two). Others are fully staffed with everything from scribes to important government officials to handle the regular whirlpool of politics, negotiations, and requests from their citizens in Duilintinn on a daily basis. It just depends on the need and how much the country wants to invest in managing their relationship with Duilintinn.
Another important area within the Administrators’ District of Cordoire is a street called “Guild Row.” As you might be able to guess, this street specifically houses all of the representatives within the national government for Duilintinn’s officially recognized guilds. Essentially, these spaces are like mini guild hubs, only they specifically foster that guild’s relationship with the government. From Guild Row, all of the apprenticeship programs and kingdom-wide responsibilities managed by each guild are born, developed, and carried out in collaboration with King Sean, the national government, and the Noble Houses.
Additionally, two of these buildings also function as the main guild hub for two of Cordoire’s major guilds. The official mint of Duilintinn is located off the hub of the Merchants’ Guild, but otherwise, the Merchants’ Guild’s secondary hub in Fionport is technically far busier than the one in Cordoire. On the other hand, the Craftsmens’ Guild has dozens of smaller hubs dedicated to specific crafts located throughout both Cordoire and Duilintinn as a whole; thus, the main hub in the Administrator’s District is mostly used for administrative work and coordination between the smaller guilds. Finally, the Fellowship of Thieves doesn’t even technically have a guild hub at all, thanks to its self-imposed unofficial status.
Craftsmen’s District
Moving further into the city, the Craftsmen’s District is located to the east and west of the Administrators’ District and runs adjacent to most of the city’s major roads. This district is mostly populated by workshops and smaller, middle-class homes, often located on the second floor of a store or shop. Throughout this district are also the various small guild hubs of the sub-guilds dedicated to various crafts, all of which report to the slightly larger “main hub” in the Administrators’ District.
Technically, there are two “sections” of the Craftsmen’s District; one to the east of the Administrators’ District, and one to the west. On paper, they are more or less identical. The only major difference between the two are location and which craft has their sub-guild hub located where. For example, you might have the woodworkers located in the eastern district, and the textile artists located in the western district. For the sake of clarity when giving directions, these districts are distinguished from each other by calling them the Eastern Craftsmens’ District and Western Craftsmens’ District.
Becoming a capital craftsmen within the city walls is an extremely competitive endeavor. There are a limited amount of spaces within the Craftsmens’ District to set up shop, so prospective residents must apply for a license to conduct their business within Cordoire proper, with new licenses becoming available whenever someone decides to leave their space behind. Since each license guarantees a space for a specific practice, many people who wish to work in the city will come together and apply as a unit to share one such space.
However, no such rule exists for the craftsmen beyond the city walls. Hence, both halves of the Craftsmens’ District have slowly grown over time to sprawl out beyond the city along the roads to the main gates. Thanks to the additional space, craftsmen living outside the walls will also tend to have their homes in a separate building located near their shops, unlike the craftsmen living within the city proper, who usually live above their workspaces for lack of space.
If you look at the map, you’ll see that the craftsmen located outside of the capital are clustered around the roads to House Brody and Fort Stiofán. This is not a coincidence. House Brody contains few craftsmen; they harvest and distribute most of the kingdom’s natural resources, rather than create with them. Therefore, they will be the most in need of tools made outside of their borders. The same goes for Fort Stiofán. While every garrison of The Watch seeks to be self-sufficient, this isn’t always feasible. While many Watchers have skills like artistry, carpentry, and smithing, supplementary purchases from the capital craftsmen are usually needed to keep all of The Watch’s volunteers and members fully supplied.
Central Market
In the center of Cordoire is a huge market space. The area was far smaller prior to the Quest for Duilintinn, but many of the surrounding houses were destroyed in a devastating fire that took place during the siege of the city. Rather than rebuild entire districts, the King had the space cleaned and several amphitheaters built before reopening it as a public commons and marketplace for anyone who wished to try their luck doing business in the city.
Most of the space is full to bursting with tents, stalls, and every other sort of temporary storefront you could imagine. Unlike the Craftsmen’s District, no license is required to set up shop in the central market, so long as you’ve cleaned everything up by one hour after nightfall. This usually results in a predawn rush to find a space and set up every morning, with storefronts opening for business as the sun rises. Technically this means that marketplace business hours are longer in the summer, but it gets cold enough in the winter that few people would want to stand out after dark longer than they had to.
Scattered throughout the marketplace are several large amphitheaters in the Feadhainn style - meaning they are dug into the ground, rather than raised above it - with one enormous amphitheater at the very center. These public spaces function as both a park and a community center for the citizens of Cordoire. It’s common to see children playing in these spaces when not reserved for events. A low wall with several exits surrounds the outer edge of each amphitheater, creating a semblance of privacy that isolates the amphitheater from the chaos of the marketplace as stairs continue down into the center. Market storefronts are often pressed up against this wall, but legally cannot set up shop within the amphitheater or block the exits. The only exception to this rule takes place during the July Trade Season, when the amphitheaters are reserved by the city for the entire month to allow more space for visiting foreign traders.
Additionally, several green areas are scattered throughout the central market. Much like the amphitheaters, these areas are off limits to storefronts. In these spaces you might find beautiful artistinal gardens, communal vegetable plots, or mini biological displays hidden within greenhouses or in the open air.
The Opal District
The Opal District, also colloquially called just the “Wealthy District,” is located north of the Central Market. Named for its shining, almost opulent architecture, this is by far Cordoire’s most high-income area. While many of the buildings have been repurposed as museums, libraries, and other public services, some are still occupied as residential spaces by those who have the means to afford the heavy upkeep tax used to preserve the historic buildings. Part of the reason this tax is so high is because it also pays for the upkeep of the buildings used as public services, who would not be able to afford said upkeep. This encourages the development of the area as a place that serves the entire city, rather than an insular upper-class neighborhood.
The Hidden District
Cordoire has never stopped growing, even when the wall around the city was built during the Interim years. However, while development along the roads into the city also benefitted from Cordoire’s prosperity, they were the exception rather than the norm. Instead, most of Cordoire’s urban sprawl is a collection of slums and shantytowns known as “The Hidden District.”
The district’s name could be attributed to a variety of factors. For one, too many find it easier to ignore the poverty at their doorstep rather than address it. Moreover, most of the occupants of the Hidden District are houseless, with no Noble House holding their records, thus making them effectively invisible to Duilintinn’s government and unreachable by most conventional means of social aid. Finally, this district holds the central guild hub of the Fellowship of Thieves, adding an additional air of mystery and secrecy to the area.
The Hidden District is generally made up of dozens of small, like-minded communities from almost every background you could imagine, creating these vibrant cultural bubbles throughout the district. However, there is one thing that the majority of this district’s residents have in common: Houselessness. Some are Houseless by choice, either out of disillusionment with the system, after fleeing criminal judgement in their hometown, or simply not wanting to give up their community’s existing structure in favor of a larger government power. Others may be refugees or orphans who don’t understand how Duilintinn’s Noble House system works. Many are simply too focused on survival to waste energy on attempting to get registered under a Noble House.
Contrary to popular belief, poverty is not a guaranteed norm within the Hidden District. The main disadvantage of Houselessness is that it cuts one off from the government social services distributed by the Noble Houses, offering fewer opportunities and less of a safety net in a crisis. Despite this, many of the Hidden District’s communities get by perfectly fine and even thrive without these services by taking care of their own.
However, for every community that thrives, there are several more that need aid. Many efforts have been made since Duilintinn’s founding to address the poverty within Cordoire’s slums, but by nature of Duilintinn’s House System, most of the slum’s residents are completely undocumented. Thus, it’s far more difficult for administrations to coordinate and offer social services than it is for them to distribute the same services to their documented citizens. This is one of the fundamental flaws of Duilintinn’s Noble House system, and while small pockets of relief efforts have been successful, no wide-sweeping policies have been successful in aiding the slums of Cordoire as a whole.
Therefore, the first step towards helping the people clustered in these slums would be to find them a house, but many of the refugees clustered around the edge of the city have no desire to leave or register themselves under the Noble House structure. For some, this is good enough in comparison to what they faced in their old situation. For others, they’ve never known anything else. For still others, a feeling of bitterness or cynicism towards the house system and the ways it might have failed or abandoned them keeps them stubbornly insisting on remaining houseless. Regardless, while this decision is absolutely their perrocative, it does complicate the issue of addressing socio economic problems in the district. It’s a tough problem to solve, and until a solution is found, the Hidden District surrounding the outer border of Cordoire will remain as a sobering reminder that, no matter how legendary you are, you can’t save everyone.
Economy
Cordoire is one of Duilintinn’s major economic hubs, second only to Fionport in House Schneeplestein. From its central geographic location, Cordoire hosts the annual Trade Season Holiday and facilitates inter-house trade through the efforts of its local guilds and national government.
In addition, Cordoire does have a small amount of agricultural output. Farms dot the landscape of the region between the city proper and the houses surrounding the area. Many people who live in the capital might be farmers by trade who, for whatever reason, decided to move to the city. Other farms are run by communities in the Hidden District. Small gardens can be found at most patrol campsites for resting Watchers to tend and eat from. Within the city itself, community gardens can be found throughout green areas in the Central Market.
Guild Presence
Every guild in Duilintinn has some sort of presence in the capital city, but only three specific guilds call Cordoire their central city of operations: The Fellowship of Thieves, The Merchant’s Guild, and a variety of Craftsmen’s Guilds. However, since most guilds are based in an entire Noble House, rather than a single city, most of Cordoire’s major guilds also have significant presence in other Noble Houses as well.
The Fellowship of Thieves (guild of the underworld in Duilintinn) is intentionally not called a “guild” because of its origins in the slums of Cordoire. This fellowship was founded by the houseless poor in the slums outside the capital as a way to protect their own as they did what was necessary to survive. To this day, this guild avoids being associated with the structures of government and economy in Duilintinn. As a gesture of support towards the residents of the Hidden District, The Duil Government has recognized the Fellowship of Thieves as a legitimate entity and has a dedicated guild space for them in the Administrators District, which the fellowship in turn has never touched. While it has no official guild “hub,” its primary center(s) of operation are known to be located within the Hidden District.
The Merchant’s Guild is also based in Cordoire, with its main hub located within the Administrators’ District. It’s main duty is to serve the interests of bankers, entrepreneurs, middlemen, traders, etc. within Duilintinn, primarily by facilitating the distribution of goods from inter-house trade to Duilintinn’s merchants and by managing the political-economic negotiations for the annual Trading Season in the month of July. In addition, the Merchant’s Guild is also responsible for the creation of Duilintinn’s currency, with a mint immediately adjacent to the guild’s main building. In addition, the Merchants’ Guild in Cordoire coordinates heavily with its secondary hub in the city of Fionport, which controls Duilintinn’s only major harbor and is integral to the kingdom’s participation in international trade.
Finally, while there technically no singular “Craftsmen’s Guild,” a wide variety of guilds for various crafts can be found clustered together in the Craftsmen’s District, with one hub in the Administrator’s District that manages the overarching affairs of all craft-related guilds in the kingdom. In addition to their primary roles, these guilds will come together each year to coordinate the logistical preparations for July’s Trading Season, specifically regarding hospitality and the myriad of traditional events between Duilintinn’s craftsmen and their foreign counterparts, who share a strong sense of camaraderie after years of annual cooperation. In addition to those located within the city, this guild has several secondary guild hubs across Duilintinn that all report back to the hub in Cordoire in some capacity, including a large secondary hub in Mulladún that supports House Jackie’s prospering weapon and armor smiths.
Outside Commerce
Cordoire is the center of Duilintinn’s annual July Trade Season. Located a mere three days' ride by cart from the coast and less than a week from almost everywhere in the Duilintinn, Cordoire is a convenient place for traders to hawk their wares to all parts of the kingdom. Generally, traders will begin to arrive in the city early June and remain in Cordoire up through August.
A limited number of traders will get official permission to set up shop within the amphitheaters of the Central Market during the month of July, while the land along the main roads up to the gates is open to any wishing to sell their wares, no paperwork needed. During their stay, these traders will pitch small shelters outside the city walls that function as both living spaces and temporary storefronts. The colorful tents and shops of traders will often stretch out along the roads to the city gates for miles beyond the moat; If you were walking or riding to the city gates from a distance, it might look like the circus had come to town!
Additionally, the local craftspeople of Cordoire will often offer their homes and shops to visiting traders as an act of hospitality and mutual benefit. It’s good business to offer a trader to share your storefront for the season because it brings people eager for foreign goods into your store as well. Even if they don’t buy anything, they might remember you as the nice craftsman who allowed a trader to stay at his shop. There's no underlying hostility or competition between the traders and the craftsmen, and the opportunity to learn from someone new and make friends in your field is celebrated along with the rest of the holiday.
While some traders do also take their wares directly to other parts of the kingdom, it’s more common for citizens to take trips to the capital during the summer months to see what goods are on offer as part of the traditional Trade Season. In addition, many enterprising entrepreneurs will buy goods from the traders, travel to far corners of the kingdom, and sell them for a profit. While more expensive than purchasing directly from the traders, this allows people who cannot travel to also participate in the trade season. All of this results in a very, very busy and economically thriving Cordoire during the summer months.
Trivia
Cordoire’s size has been retconned several times. It’s original concept measured at 40 miles across at its widest point, the size of Oklahoma City, the largest city in America! The first retcon changed this to approximately 10 miles wide, with a 9-mile buffer zone surrounding the walled part of the city. That was still too much, so to date, Cordoire’s current canonical size is 8 miles wide within the walls, with an additional one to three mile zone between the moat and the walls.
Yes, the map of Cordoire is tilted at a deceptively strange angle. You have no idea how many times I’ve written something like “the castle is on the eastern edge of the city” instead of the southern edge. In fact, many other elements of the city map, particularly district size and scale, are not ideal either. I eventually hope to redraw Cordoire’s map in a more intuitive fashion, but for now, these are the best maps we have.
Additional Art
One of the earliest maps of Cordoire, with districts colored in. Please only use this as a general reference for where districts are located related to other locations. Disregard all sense of size and scale of both the city as a whole and individual districts in this map, as those aspects are outdated. Additionally,“Traders” is no longer a unique district, but an extension of the craftsmen's district.
This is what the city map would look like if it was oriented with North facing the top of the page. Note that I was actually slightly inaccurate when drawing the compass and edge of the Beinnfaire Ridge (see following image).
This is what Cordoire looks like on the large map of Duilintinn, albeit without the buildings outside of the walls for the sake of simplicity. Each square on the grid represents one square mile. This depiction of Cordoire’s layout in terms of size and scale is currently the most canonically accurate, but it lacks many of the details in the images above.
Author’s Note: Final part, and first outing with Alf. He’s my only Watcher who would have been active during the Battle of Cordoire.
Bard’s Note: How you know that someone has been reading the Wiki: They call the Overnight Defense by it’s official historical name, The Battle of Cordoire. XDDD I mean, tehnically speaking, the Battle of Cordoire specifically refers to the standoff that took place immediately outside of Cordoire, while that overnight Defense refers generally to both that battle and the other raids and events that took place that night in the buildup and aftermath. Anyway, nerdy lore facts aside, thanks to @theshapeshifter100 for this submission!
Head’s up, as with the last two stories, this is the Overnight Defense, which means it’s about to get intense. TW for an actual battle, detailed descriptions of monsters, corpses, and puppets, blood, etc. It’s a FANTASTIC depiction of The Overnight Defense, probably the best in the AU to date, but just so you’re aware, if this was on AO3, this would 100% get a “Graphic Depictions of Violence” warning. Consider yourselves warned.
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Alf puffed out a breath, watching the small fog float up in front of him. He marched outside the walls of Cordoire, leading a small group of Watchers around the walls, keeping an eye out for, something. Shadowy figures, lone people wandering around, any groups spotted.
The snow was thick on the ground, making it harder work than it would usually be to walk through. Under his armour he could feel his calves beginning to complain.
Lanterns lit up the walls, the occasional snowflake fluttering in and out of the light. Inside the walls were crowds of people, mingling, eating, drinking and generally having a good time. They didn’t know, or didn’t perhaps think, of the potential threat.
He had not been in the meetings to determine this, he had not been asked to nor did he have an interest, but he had agreed with the conclusion that had been shared. The man who had been known as Mage Antonius Septimus, now just ‘The Enemy’, had attempted to take the King’s life before around this time of year, he may do so again.
He may also wish not to make this a pattern, he had seemed like a dangerously clever man if Alf remembered him correctly. Not a man you’d want to make an enemy of, although perhaps not a man you’d want to entrust with too much power.
Either way, Alf wasn’t sure what to expect tonight. A big show, a silent attempt, or no attempt at all. He would just have to find out. He wasn’t entirely sure what he was hoping for, if he wanted to handle a potential assassin, or have the night pass peacefully. Really the first one was a selfish idea to show his skill. The ideal scenario would be that nothing happens.
The night plodded on to the beat of armoured boots trekking through snow. He could hear disgruntled mumbling behind him, and Alf tugged his green cloak closer, one hand close to his sword hilt.
He looked up at the sound of a croaking raven call, and said raven glided in, half masked in the darkness and looking for somewhere to land. One Watcher held their arm out and the raven landed on it before stretching out a leg, which had a roll of parchment tied to it.
“Company! Halt!” Alf barked, although most of them had already stopped anyway. Some of them grumbled as he gave the command, something about this ‘being the Watch and not the Guard’. He didn’t really give a damn, old habits die hard and they listened to him when he did it.
Alf turned on his heel and went up to the Watcher with the raven. Their arm trembled a little bit under the weight of the bird, and Alf untied the parchment as quickly as possible so the bird could hop to the ground.
He unfurled the small message and stood under the nearest lamplight to read it.
‘Large group spotted from northwest. Appears similar to earlier skirmishes, but army sized. Assemble immediately.’
It took a good minute for that message to sink in. Creatures similar to the skirmishes in the Western Forest? But the size of an army?
He reached for a charcoal stick in his cloak and scribbled a quick reply, stating that his group would be on their way. Part of him told him that this was a distraction, that an assassin could easily sneak in with an army sized distraction.
Well, if that was the case, hopefully the mages inside the walls, or hell, even the Coalition, could deal with that.
“We are to head north west!” he projected to his group, rolling up the message. The raven hopped back onto the previous Watcher’s arm and allowed Alf to tie the message to its leg before it flew off again. “You have no doubt heard talk or read reports of skirmishes with The Enemy’s forces in the Western Forest. Now, according to this message, an army of them is marching, and we are to meet them!”
As expected, there were nervous looks and mumblings. They were a mixed group; some were part timing with the Syndicate like Alf, a couple were ex Knights, and more of them were Watchers who were just trying their best.
Alf marched to the front of the group, feeling sympathy, but also not likely to let anyone desert.
“Look lively!” he barked. “Forward!”
With some apprehension, his group followed.
If he knew where he was, and he was pretty certain that he did, he guessed it would take a couple of hours to get to roughly where he needed to be. Part of him considered going through Cordoire itself, but dismissed it. His group didn’t need to cut through like that, it probably wouldn’t shave off any considerable time.
Several hours later they reached the north west side of the capital, since that was more or less where they’d started from. A large crowd of Watchers in armour and green cloaks were getting organised, someone had arrived with more weapons and was handing them out.
There was a large group with spades several tens of metres in front of the wall, digging a trench. Nearby were some more Watchers sharpening spikes as fast as they could and planting them in the trench.
“IF YOU’VE GOT A LONGBOW GET TO THE WALL!” someone bellowed in the milling crowd.
“SHIELDS UP FRONT!”
“DOES ANYONE HAVE A HORSE?!”
“MESSENGERS SPREAD OUT!”
The Watchers were spread out along the wall, archers between the wall and the trench with arrows ready in the ground, and infantry spread all the way out into the slums. People in the slums watched them with suspicion and curiosity, but otherwise stayed in their homes. It seemed like they had been warned.
Alf went to find someone who seemed to vaguely be in charge. That was his only issue with the Watch, there wasn’t much of a chain of command. Normally this wouldn’t be much of a problem, but now, it really was. Anyone could shout out an order and someone would follow it.
He ended up leaving his group behind as he wove his way through the throng.
“Watch where you’re pointing that thing!” he snapped at what looked like a teenager, holding a spear like they’d never seen one before, and holding the business end out very haphazardly.
They yanked it back and probably apologised, but Alf had already moved on, a man on a mission.
Finally he found someone he thought might in some kind of actual command. An older woman by the largest cache of weapons and tools and a pile of papers, with a hastily erected tent behind her. He strode up and she glanced in his direction.
“One moment,” she turned to who he assumed was another squad leader and handed them an armful of spades before sending them off. “Yes?”
“Are you who I need to report to say that my group has arrived?”
“Might as well be,” she sighed. “What’s your name?”
“Alf Powell,” he answered with a slight pause.
“Got it got it,” she wrote something down. “Is your group armed?”
“Mostly. Mostly sword and shield, a few crossbow wielders.”
She nodded. “Sword and shield up front of a line with the polearms, crossbows to the sides near the back. Put a couple of sword folk with each crossbow. If they really don’t want to fight, they can dig or guard our archers.”
“Understood.”
She looked Alf up and down. “I’m going to take a wild guess and say you were in Tandeli’s Royal Guard, when that was still established.”
“I was indeed,” Alf tried to ignore his heart beating a bit faster in his chest. “The accent gave it away didn’t it?”
“Yes, it did. That and the walk. You walk like a Knight, but you have a Tandeli accent,” she frowned slightly. “Would you prefer I call you by your Chosen Name?”.
“Alf is fine.”
“Very well,” a small smile grew on her face. “Sadly, there will be no naval warfare here, are you going to cope on land?”
“I will be just fine on land.”
“Good. Get yourself, somewhere, Mr Powell. Head out into the buildings and find the closest line.”
He nodded curtly, keeping mum about the vague order, and marched back to his group. He quickly split them up according to the higher ranking Watcher’s orders, and he headed to a rough position.
He ended up in an infantry line, mostly in the slums and no longer able to see the trenches and archers. Given how late his group had been getting here, he was by far nowhere near the front lines. Those, he would guess, were further away from the city, ready to meet this oncoming army.
Above him on the roofs of the small, battered houses, sat two crossbow wielders from his group, with two others wielding swords to protect them. Around Alf were various pole arm and sword wielders, clustered together in a loose formation that stretched out through the muddy streets.
He was normally a single sword kind of person, given his previous position he had always been a solo fighter. Here he was using a sword and shield, something he had been training with in the Syndicate. Still, the shield felt heavy and cumbersome on his arm.
He understood the logic, but fighting in army was not how he had been trained. Although, he doubted many people here had.
There was surprisingly little talking, must people just muttering under their breath and shifting to stave off the cold as the snow spiralled around them. There were some conversations, mostly folks trying assuage each other’s fears. That it was going to be fine, that of course it was going to be fine.
The necessary lies and half truths.
He couldn’t see anything from his position, just houses and mud and scared eyes peeking through doors. In the near silence the thud of hooves was deafening, and a green cloaked Messenger appeared from the darkness.
They stopped at the front of the line and leaned down to speak, and Alf could hear what was said, but a ripple went through his line, and everyone tensed as whispers shot through. Dark mass on the horizon. Weird movement. About to hit the front when the Messenger left.
Alf felt something stir in his belly. It took him a moment to recognise it as a combination of fear and anticipation. His shield arm trembled and he glared at it. He had a lifetime of training under his belt, he of all people, would be fine!
The last time he’s been in a major conflict, Ida died.
Welcome to conflict Powell. People die, get used to it.
The Messenger trotted off carefully on the slick ground, no doubt to warn the lines further behind. The silence was deafening and the tension palpable. They all knew this army was coming, and everyone probably hoped that the front line would catch it.
A shout came from the crossbows on the roof and the group tensed as one. Faint shouting and ringing of metal could be heard ahead of them. An order echoed through the informal ranks, but there was a ringing in Alf’s ears. He didn’t quite catch it. Around him people drew their swords and raised their shields, and he followed suit without realising.
Then he noticed that the darkness ahead of them had deepened, and was moving.
Arrows soared overhead and into the mass that suddenly in front of them, and whatever formation this line of the Watch had dissolved.
With some unspoken word his entire section charged and Alf had to charge with them or be trampled. They half ran, half slipped over icy, muddy and slushy ground, roars and yells ringing in his ears.
The first monster popped up in front of him and he had run it through before his mind had truly caught up. A worryingly human looked creature was impaled on the end of his sword, too skinny to be healthy.
It’s neck juddered and cracked and it looked up at him, a tangle of greasy blond hair falling over glazed over eyes. Alf let out undignified shriek and flung his sword around like he was trying to shake off a spider.
It landed with the splat on the ground, leaking black fluid from the stomach. It started to get back up and Alf stabbed down with his sword. Again and again and again until it was more hole than being.
The Watchers around him had split off, leaving Alf to stare at this creature. It wasn’t human, and he wouldn’t call it a Changeling either. He had vaguely heard reports of creatures like this, but reports were one thing, seeing it in a fight was quite another.
A crossbow quarrel thudded into the ground by his leg and startled him into moving on.
The night deepened and the fight went on. Sweat soaked every part of him, his armour was scratched and stained and bruises were flaring up underneath. Still, this army showed no sign of stopping.
He had no idea what was happening outside his little bubble. The majority of the army could have invaded Cordoire for all he knew. He had ended up in some dark part of the slums, mud, snow, blood and ichor mixing together underfoot to become a slippery nightmare.
He had three monsters around him, all appearing desperate to see him cold and bleeding on the ground. It looked like they had practice too, judging by the dark stains on whatever passed for hands.
One leapt on his back and scrabbled at his neck, clawing and biting. With a roar he ran backwards and slammed himself repeatedly against the nearest wall. The other two leapt at once and he slashed out at one with his sword and held up his shield to catch the other.
The sudden weight on the shield sent him staggering, and the one on his back hadn’t stopped, so he slammed his back against the wall again before using the sword to stab the monster on his shield enough to get it off.
The remaining creature shrieked and came out him again, eyes glowing green. The eyes were so bright and the scream so shrill that Alf had to close his eyes and shake his head to clear it, dropping his attack.
He then screamed as the monster on his shield reached over and slashed at his face. He stumbled away from the wall, backing into the one that wasn’t already on him and slipped on the slush, crashing on to his back. He managed to land on two of the monsters, and flung his shield away to get rid of the last one.
There was a crunch underneath him and a screech that pierced through his ear and straight into his brain. He yelled in response and rolled away, head ringing with the noise.
The creatures he’d landed on weren’t dead by any means, but they appear to have broken enough bones to not be getting back soon.
He grabbed his sword and dispatched the creature on his shield. With a groan and a shake of his head, sending flecks of his blood all over the place, he turned back to the two on the ground and stabbed them until they stopped moving.
For a moment, the night was still, and he took a moment to get his breath back. His head throbbed like one massive bruise, while the entire left side was on fire. Red hot liquid dripped down his face and for a moment his vision swam. Nausea rose up and he doubled over, breathing deeply and slowly and waiting for it pass.
He collected his shield, shoving it back on his arm, and walked off to find more monsters.
The sun nervously peeked over the horizon, and with it the remaining monsters retreated. Alf staggered back to where he hoped the original meeting point had been. He was exhausted, dragging his feet behind him.
He’d lost his shield somewhere, his shield arm hanging limply by his side and throbbing with pain. Everything looked the same and his head pounded like someone was using it as a drum.
The blood had stopped falling down his face, hardening and cracking every time a muscle twitched. It itched like an army of ants, but he barely had the energy to scratch at it.
There was a forest green blur and someone’s voice made it past the ringing in his ears.
“…ear me? Can you hear me? What’s your name?” there was a slight sting as they appeared to be tapping his face.
“Alf…” was that right? It felt like there should be more to it. It fell half finished from his lips as his mind tried to catch up.
“Okay Alf. I’m going to help you back to the wall, okay?”
Alf nodded, and groaned when the movement made his head pulse in pain.
“ ‘S alright, I gotcha,” someone wrapped Alf’s arm around their shoulder and helped him walk back.
Everything after that was a blur. He was sat down somewhere, his bad arm suddenly against his chest and something making his face sting.
People came and went and voices drifted through one ear and out the other. He may have slept, he wasn’t entirely sure until he realised he was looking up at a cloth tent ceiling with some of his vision obscured.
He managed to sit up with one arm and found a cup of water on the ground next to him, which he grabbed and drank in three gulps. He put it back down and got a better look at his surroundings.
He appeared in some kind of medical tent, hastily set up from the lack of beds and everyone lying on the ground. There were two rows of patients in the tent, with a large table in the centre groaning under the weight of bandages, poultices, herbs, pestle and mortars, and weighing scales.
Two people were running around between patients and when one of them spotted he was awake, ran out of the tent. They were quickly back with the woman Alf had reported to last night.
She looked as bad as he felt, worse even. A large swatch of bandages covered her left eye entirely and it was clear every step caused some pain. In her hand she carried a piece of parchment and she looked down it at as she came to a stop at Alf.
“Good to see you with us Mr Powell.”
Alf tried to sit up straighter. “Good to see you, ma’am?” he suddenly wasn’t sure which honorific she preferred.
“Don’t worry about that,” she waved off. “Only reason I’m here is because people seem to think I’m charge. Don’t ask me how that happened. I’m looking over this, can you confirm that you had 15 in your company yesterday?”
“Excluding myself, yes.”
She tried to keep a stoic face, but her mouth clearly turned down. “I see. Once you are on your feet come and find me. I don’t have a nice job for you, but it’s necessary one.”
“Understood,” Alf didn’t nod this time, remembering that that might be a bad idea.
The woman nodded sharply, wincing slightly before turning on her heel and leaving.
Over the next few hours Alf got breakdown, in drips and drabs, about what had happened, the aftermath, and the extent of his injuries.
In his case his shield arm was definitely broken, and the scratches on his face had only just missed his eye. In fact he was told to keep a close watch on those injuries in case there was an infection that spread to the eye. As he suspected there were more cuts, bites and bruises than could be counted, as well as general exhaustion.
Although apparently, he was one of the lucky ones.
A large chunk had made it back, some in more pieces than others. Some were no longer among the living, and some had just vanished into the night.
No one knew what happened to them. Alf assumed desertion, and for the first time in his life, he did not blame them. No training in the world could prepare you for what happened last night. Most people are trained to fight other people, not, monsters.
After some food and a bit more rest, Alf was considered well enough to leave the tent, as long as he came back, or to another doctor or medical professional to check on his worst injuries. It didn’t take much for him to find the now one eyed woman, and he really needed to get her name.
He didn’t get much of a chance immediately, as she marched him to a secluded spot by the moat. It would almost have been idyllic, if not for the blanket coverings arranged in neat rows.
Alf took a deep breath, and the woman he was with nodded slowly.
“I think you know what I need you to do. I’m sorry.”
Alf puffed out his cheeks and let out a long breath. “Very well. I will do my best. Before I start, may I ask your name?”
“Natalia,” Natalia responded. “I will walk with you if you need. I can keep note of the names.”
“Thank you,” Alf swallowed uneasily and began to walk around.
Welcome to conflict Powell. People die, get used to it.
With a pit opening in his stomach, Alf hoped he never would get used to this.
__***__***__***__
Author’s Note: Alf has the Influence Curse. Keeps his eye but sometimes gets green floaters and flashes in that eye. Sometimes his head pounds and he needs to lay down in a dark room for a day
I doubt that there was one leader. Most likely every few hundred metres someone would go ‘that on, they’re in charge’, and that person would have to put up with it.
General plan was, walls make an excellent last line of defense, have a line of archers there, a little raised up, spiked trench in front of them. Lines of Watchers sent out through the slums, depending on who was there first and who got themselves organised first. Alf’s group took two hours to get back, and some sent out earlier on patrols, some later, some deployed at different points. So some got back earlier, some got back later. Majority of the infantry lines are sword and shield bearers, and pole arms, not really enough shields or confident shields for a shield wall. Crossbows wherever you can get them, and they need to be guarded because crossbows take forever to load in comparison to a longbow.
Bard’s Note: Psssttttt Holly, you mind if I use this to flesh out some of the lore about the actual specific events of the Overnight Defense? Specifically that last paragraph of your author’s notes in particular.
Anyway, HOLY CRAP. I think I mentioned this a tiny bit in the last submission, but Holly, you are SO GOOD at writing the more intense elements of this world and actually diving into the critical, complex dynamics of it in a nuanced way. Things like the organization structure of The Watch feel realistic because you treat them realistically; saying “yeah, this isn’t the best structure in the world” makes it more believable than saying “IT WORKS BECAUSE WE SAY IT DOES” which is… sorta how I started out when I was initially developing the idea that The Watch doesn’t have a strict heirarchy structure? I made it better over time, but still, I think the way you talked about it here made it feel the most real out of everything so far. And the way you write the raids and such! I always write them from such a critical, historical point of view- reports, historical analysis, cause and effect, big picture stuff- but you get into the nitty gritty of how that affects the PEOPLE of this world and oh my gosh IT’S SO GOOD.
In my last post about my work on designing the layout of King Sean’s castle, I talked about how the Round Tower in Windsor Castle had a lot of similarities to the castle I was trying to design.
That research allowed me to get a sense of how big a tower like this would be, what sort of other features (gates, towers, etc) might be included, and overall gave me enough concrete information to start actually sketching a more concrete layout for the castle.
And of course, thanks to a silly mistake, I drew it reversed. The real castle will have both the gate and the hill on the right-hand side, unless I decide to change anything (which is still very possible). I was originally planning to flip the image, but then I realized the notes would be illegible.
Therefore, in order to give you a better sense of the actual layout, I also sketched a version in crayon while waiting for my Sunday School class to arrive on Sunday morning.
Anyway, as you can see, there are a few new details since my last post!
First, the main keep has an additional, smaller tower added to the side of it. This smaller tower will look identical to the other towers dotting the wall. Originally, I was going to leave the corner with the keep tower-less, but I realized that the keep should be the most defensible position, so it doesn’t make sense to skip out on a watchtower.
Second, I’ve added a few details to the route up to the main keep. The main gate into the castle has moved, allowing for that big central road and courtyard beneath the keep.
The inner gate in the top corner now features an asymmetrical pair of towers, a small courtyard area, and an additional gatehouse building at the beginning of the steps to the keep.
Finally, I roughly penciled in a bunch of buildings in the castle’s lower ward. However, I don’t actually think most of that space will be filled with buildings. Most likely, it’ll be a bunch of gardens interspersed with a few fancy buildings for castle spaces that aren’t in the upper keep.
Again, this is still a mega wip, so things may change between now and the final product. Specifically, I’m currently eyeballing the height of the outer walls... but that’s a later post for future me to work on.
In my past few posts, I talked a bit about how the castle is probably a combination of a Feadhainn-era shell keep and Waldren-style additions. This post is specifically going to focus on the circular keep portion of the castle.
These shell keeps are called a “shell” because they don’t have a stone roof. Instead, there are small buildings along the inner edge of the circle, leaving a courtyard in the center. Here are a few pictures I found during my research for reference:
In the case of King Sean’s Castle, the interior buildings would also be made of stone and would stand two stories tall. The first floor would be for important political matters (we’ll get to that in a second), while the second floor is reserved for the King and his household.
The most important room on the lower floor would arguably be the throne room, where King Sean holds court and gives daily proclamations if he decides to do so indoors. This would be where the paintings referenced in these two reports were located, before they were destroyed.
During these indoor proclamations, important members of King Sean’s court would observe from within the throne room. People outside of the government who are lucky enough to get a front-row seat for the proclamation stand in the inner courtyard. After that, the remaining crowd overflow will gather outside of the keep, in the area at the bottom of the hill.
However, such indoor proclamations are rare. When he can, King Sean prefers to climb the stairs to the top of the keep and give his speech from the parapets, where everyone in both the inner and outer courtyard would be able to see him.
