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.

Castle Whiterock

See Also: Castle Whiterock

Castle Whiterock is the oldest continuously-inhabited settlement in Bastonia and may be the oldest fortification in the world that is still extant and unruined. By elvish reckoning, its foundation was laid in the year 40 of the Age of Elvish Springtime, and its completion ten years later marks the start of the epoch in the Bastonian Annals known as the "Age of Rebellion". Hagiographies tell us that the castle and the settlements surrounding it (the so-called Old City) was founded and constructed in the collaboration of Lukas the Rebellious and Heather of High-Toor. This short age lasted for an additional 25 years before the castle was tested in what became known as the Battle of the First Wall, turning the pages of history to the Age of Bastonia and fixing a major facet of the Bastonian culture and religion to a concrete point in time. Some scholars dispute these events given that this would make Lukas the Rebellious at least two hundred years old by the time of the Battle of the First Wall, a computation at odds with observed human lifespans and with his supposed martial prowess at the time.

The Castle itself is of imposing construction, having been maintained and built upon in the years since its original construction. The region of the city known as Castle Whiterock is actually three districts set up as a concentric castle upon a hill, with each outward segment a little lower than the one closer inward. This hill (the eponymous "Whiterock") is often confused by those who have never entered the Castle district proper as being part of the castle structure.

The castle is primarily a military and regal complex. It is home to the residence and courts of the Bastonian Monarch and the Duke of Bastonia, military barracks and chapels for their respective permanent Chivalric Orders, and the attendant stables and storehouses required to permit the castle to be held in seige even if the Old City should be taken.

Prominantly, and unusually for Bastonian architecture, the Castle also contains the Cathedral of the Almighty, the ranking physical church venue of the Church of the Almighty, diocesan see of the Archbishop of Whiterock. The building and the Archbishop play critical roles in the transference of the Crown of San Lukas from one head to the next.

There are three gatehouses to defend in the outer baily of the castle which permit access to the Old City. Two are relatively ancient: the Lion's Gate and the Heron's Gate, with a third having been added sometime in the 12th century Age of Bastonia, called simply the "North Gate". All three of these gates open into the lower bailey, through which visitors must first transit the Sacred Stair (a form of zwinger) before entering the High Baily.

Old City

See Also: Old City (Whiterock)

The Old City of Whiterock properly comprises seven baileys divided more or less radially, between the outermost walls of the city (the "First Wall"), and the walls of the Lower Baily of Castle Whiterock on the interior. Three of these baileys are accessible from outside the city: the Westfirst, the Southfirst, and the Breach baileys. The other four can only be accessed from within the walls: the Golden Bailey, Lion's Bailey, Heron's Baily, and North Bailey. Of these, the latter three have access to the Castle through their respective Baileys, with the Golden Bailey being the outlier, having access to no other part of the city save the Lion's Bailey.

Golden Bailey is especially noteworthy for its contents, as it chiefly contains the urban residences of nobility and ranking clergy who are in the Court of Whiterock; its section of the first wall is said to be especially difficult to scale or undermine due to the presence of a broad and usually-flooded depression, and its "inner" walls are exceptionally thick. This arrangement of the Golden Bailey is a relatively modern innovation intended to give comfort to those nobles not afforded places within Castle Whiterock itself in the event of a siege.

The West Bailey, best known for containing the headquarters of the Worshipful Company of the West Bailey and the residence of the Archbishop of Whiterock, is also a popular commercial center.

Whiterock Green

The fortified city of Whiterock is surrounded by a broad expanse known as Whiterock Green, which particularly in the areas around the West, South, and Breach gatehouses is largely built up and urbanized. While governed and taxed by the city proper they are not considered part of the city itself and are usually cleared in the event of a seige, but are a popular place for trade within the Bastonian Heartland, as they may be frequented by those who might not otherwise be permitted into the city proper by the guard on an ordinary day. There are special laws and regulations preventing structures and people from coming too close to the walls (were it even possible, given that the First Wall has been surrounded in the centuries that followed by a broad moat), with the sole exception of the wall at the Breach Gatehouse, all the way to the towers either side of the gatehouse, which are holy ground and a popular place of pilgrimage, especially for devotees of San Lukas, whose hagiography is tied directly to the eponymous Breach.

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.