Ozetrofol |
|||
|
Navigation |
The
fortress, although staffed and inhabited
continuously, remained almost exclusively military
in function until the late 1500s, when iron mines
were opened in the mountains, and the fortress
offered some level of protection and order for the
craftsmen and traders who now had taken up
residence in the area. The
imperial province known as the Kingdom of Aronizen
was established in 1633, and the fortress and its
surrounding settlements were assigned to the
protection of the new king, despite its being
extremely remote from the capital at Armazo. The
name Ozetrofol was bestowed at this time, and the
North and South Towers , overlooking the river
gorge below the old tower, were constructed between
1640 and 1675. During
the waning of the Time of Empire, the military
officers and king's retinue dwelt mostly in the
Oldkeep district, while the craftsmen and merchants
established themselves across the gorge in what
would later be called Hightown. A wide bridge
spanned the gorge, to allow the movement of troops
of men. With
the coming of the Time of Riches, King Beślav
developed an interest in the city, finding its
remoteness a blessing when the politics of the
capital wore on his nerves. He established a summer
palace in Oldkeep, which drew an extended cadre of
jurists, priests, and wealthy courtiers to the
district. In the following years, Alleytown grew up
at the foot of the old city, drawing dispossessed
villagers, farmers, and herders from the
surrounding countryside with hopes of urban success
and fortune. Beślav's
successors took less personal interest in the city,
leaving its governance in the hands of the Count of
Lanceolano, whose court was in Verovośo. A
close relative of the Count would usually reside in
the Palaćo Beślav, serving as his
surrogate. Disputes with the Vreźeiźeira
to the north led to the contruction of the Shield
Wall along the southern edge of Alleytown in 1784.
Since that time, life in Ozetrofol has been
relatively stable, with the rulers and their
officials presiding in Oldkeep, minor aristocracy
and wealthy merchants dwelling in Hightown, and the
common laborers and traders living and working in
the crowded streets of Alleytown. The Imaginarium is a regular feature of Starweaver's Gems from Earth and Sky Copyright © 2009 Tom Waters |
||
zetrofol,
the East City, stands on the slopes of the
Mountains of Dawn that
mark the eastern limit of the
Greenhall.
In
ancient times, the location had been inhabited
sporadically as a semi-permanent campsite for the
nomadic herders who ranged over the eastern lands
in those times, the gorge of the Loumu Vreźeiźo
providing some shelter as well as fresh water.
After the Santali Empire conquered the wilds in
1313, the site became an imperial camp, valuable
for the view it offered of the country to the north
and west. A watchtower (Ozetrotour) was built in
1340, which was expanded to a fortress in the
following decades. 