Seapoint

From Archivum Wisteria
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Seapoint is the westernmost fortification in the Bastion Line, a string of ancient fortifications along what is now the border of the Frontier Counties, and which had once described the southern border of the kingdom of Bastonia. The name is also extended to the large town of Seapoint, which exists to its northwest. Seapoint is the headquarters of the Order of the Lanyard, a Chivalric Order in the service of the Almighty who historically created and manned all six castles in the Bastion Line - a distinction they now share in part with the Right Honourable Companions of the Engineer. The town is considered part of the Bastonian Heartland despite its proximity to Zeemarch.

Geography

Seapoint castle is a dour fortification of granite which sits astride a pass amongst the cliffs the Bastion Line augment. To its northwest, above it on a cliff, is the town of Seapoint, which gives the foritifcation its name. The overland route from the town to the fortification at the base of the path is nearly 20 miles, owing to the winding nature of the road that makes its way up the cliffs, unsuitable for heavy traffic. The fortification is designed to protect largely for attack from the south in keeping with its position as the westernmost anchor of the Bastion Line.

This area is rich in iron deposits and heavily forested.

Economy

With the expansion of Bastonia into the Frontier Counties, Southpoint is in heavy economic distress. While the crown maintains its interest in keeping up the Bastion Line - even going so far as to assign a whole second order to the task - free merchants and traders have little interest in the Bastion Line, and much of construction is happening further south. While the road through Southpoint would carry you into the Frontier Counties, the difficulty of the journey and it's unsuitability for carted traffic means that the town is largely bypassed by oceangoing trade to Southport or overland trade via the easier crossings such as Crucible Rock.

What does exist for economic drivers in the town are the immediate needs of its citizenry (supported by extensive farming in its northern expanse) and the increasing armament of the Knights who man the castle.

Politics

Like the other positions along the Bastion Line, the settlement of the Frontier Counties has lead to a decrease in relevance for Seapoint. The Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Lanyard is also historically the Count of the Line, giving him political authority along the entire Bastion Line and the authority to tax not just the other five Bastion Line fortifications but the various other settlements in that district.

Faced with decreasing political relevance with the introduction of the rival Right Honourable Companions of the Engineer, the Order of the Lanyard appears to be preparing for a campaign of southern expansion of their own.