Whiterock

Whiterock is the capital city of Bastonia, in the Bastonian Heartland. Castle Whiterock, its fortified heart, is the regnal seat of the Monarch of Bastonia as well as the ducal seat of the Duke of Bastonia. The Cathedral of the Almighty, a prominent temple and the seat of the Archbishop of Whiterock, is also the center of the church of the Almighty. It is one of only two metropolises in Bastonia, and as the center of both secular and spiritual governance, the most populous city in Bastonia.

The city contains both a suburban environ (the Whiterock Green), a walled-off Old City, and a fortified core in Castle Whiterock. It is built on and around a prominent geological feature of the same name, and commands a broad view of surrounding plains.

Geography

Whiterock is build on a promontory of the same name, and is somewhat radially arranged. Military, civil, and religious authority is all centered around the buildings and keeps of Castle Whiterock, its heavily-fortified central and highest point. Around the base of Whiterock is the Old City, an urbanized area within what is known as the First Wall. Beyond that, a suburban area of the working class extends outward until it blends into ruralness.

Economy

Whiterock is the seat of government, home to many prominent guilds and banks, along with various universities and seminaries. It is the second wealthiest city in all of Bastonia, the wealthiest being Oversea in Zeemarch.

Politics

Whiterock is the seat of secular governmental power in Bastonia, and therefore the shining city on the hill from which all law and authority supposedly spreads. Courtiers, nobles, and Dukes from the various Duchies all visit Whiterock more or less frequently to conduct business and petition the current monarch, as do the priests of various sects of the Church.

By long tradition and practical reality it is said that whoever holds Castle Whiterock is entitled to inherit the crown and selected by the Almighty for this task. For this reason, the chosen successor of the monarch is almost always the Duke of Bastonia and long tradition holds that at no time can both the monarch and the Duke be absent from the city.

Whiterock is also where the members of the Bastonian Church congregate when there is a need to appoint one of their number to the position of Archbishop of Whiterock, unsurprisingly.