Salvarisonnes

Lescatie may be a city-state, but that doesn't mean the dominion of the crown ends at the walls. Sitting at the center of a fertile valley, with the bounty of its fields and the protection of its mountains, it was only to be expected that more towns and villages would be established, each paying homage to the capital. After Lescatie itself, the largest settlement within the kingdom is the walled city of Salvarisonnes.

Famous for its fortifications, Salvarisonnes resembles a castle as much as it does a city when one approaches it from the road. In times of strife, the walls have never been breached; even when the city has not been besieged in years, they remain a local icon. One point of local pride holds that not even Matto the Great himself could break the walls - in fact, during his conquests, his army was defeated at Salvarisonnes without the loss of a single man.

As the legend goes, when Matto's forces besieged Salvarisonnes, the walls held for many months, until the defenders were wracked with hunger and supplies were running thin. The ruling Duchess then decided to let a fat pig - the last the castle had at its disposal - loose through the gates, and the invaders, seeing that their enemies were seemingly well-stocked enough to be willing to sacrifice a pig just to taunt them, surrendered then and there. Even though Salvarisonnes would pay fealty to Lescatie in time, its people still celebrate it as the city that not even a great king could conquer, and a festival has commemorated the siege ever since.

Aside from its walls, the city is also defended by a firm garrison of knights and soldiers, among them the Order of the Lily - the finest fighters in the kingdom's ranks, who have among their tasks the personal protection of the Matriarch and the Royal Family. The city's fearsome reputation as an impenetrable fortress is owed in no small part to these knights, and they may often be found patroling the streets among the city's guard.

The city is located on the northern shore of Lac du Salvarisonnes, facing Lescatie to the south; a ring road encircling the lake links both cities, and one can travel from one to the other in about half a day. Ironically enough, for all of Salvarisonnes' defenses, it was unable to mobilize its forces fast enough to break the siege of Lescatie during the revolution. Since then, a few forts and waystations have been built along the road to spread the garrison more easily and allow for quicker response to any threats, and the knights of the Order of Lescatie regularly circulate between the two cities along this route, stationing themselves for a time at each outpost along the way.

Although the city rose to prominence for its defensive strength, its important location - and its safety from brigands - made it an important stop for merchant caravans, and over time it grew wealthy, developing a robust economy of its own. Today, the streets boast as many homes, shops, and markets as they do guard posts. Salvarisonnes is, in particular, known for its blacksmiths; the local guild enjoys great power by virtue of the fact they supply the knights of the Order of the Lily, and in return are protected by their swords.

The seat of power in Salvarisonnes, located on a small island in the lake and jointed to the mainland by a bridge, is the Citadel of Salvarisonnes. In addition to housing the administrative facilities of the city, it also serves as the barracks and armory of the Order of the Lily, and provides housing, stables, and training grounds for many of its members. Between the chokepoint of the bridge and its powerful garrison of well-trained and equipped elite knights, if besieging Salvarisonnes is difficult, taking its citadel would be an even more daunting task.

The upper level of the Citadel of Salvarisonnes comprises the personal residence of the Matriarch and her husband, and an enchanted door connects one room to the Holy Apartments in the Royal Palace of Lescatie to allow for easy transport from one city to the other. Before Wilmarina came to power, the city was under her family's control, and when she became Matriarch her family holdings were merged with those of the Cult of Voltan. However, with her newfound duties, she has little time for day-to-day governance, and entrusts power to Count Tancred Berger, who runs the city in her absence. The Count is a pious and dutiful man as long as the Matriarch is looking - when her back is turned, however, he covets power for himself, and has long been embezzling money from the city's coffers for his own estates. His reach is limited by virtue of the fact that the Matriarch keeps the Order of the Lily close, and they answer solely to her; he knows that they would easily dispatch of him if they felt the need. If the knights were to be indisposed for whatever reason, however, he would not hesitate to make a move.