Caer Cadarn

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Late spring in the pass, and the road running with meltwater. A gate in the narrows, a small garrison, one arcanist. Nothing had happened there in a very long time.

Then the gate opened from inside.

Nobody stormed Porth-Haiarn. The chain came in, the portcullis went up, and an army walked through a fort that still believed it was safe.

The garrison's arcanist got a warning out.

Gate opened from inside. Not stormed. Pass is open, army through. They come for the crossing. Tell Alis… the papers on my desk are—

It reached the Duke's own Court Arcanist, who knew the man who sent it. Nothing else has come out of the pass.

They are coming here. This city is Caer Cadarn now. Three hundred years ago it was Vaenthir, and it was the seat of their kingdom — and in their dispatches and on their maps it still is.

No more than a week, at the pace a host moves.

The Duke's Council

Eight seats, and the people in them. This is who runs Caer Cadarn on an ordinary morning — the Duke, the officers who hold the machinery of the duchy, and one chair that is older than the duchy itself.

The five who vote

	Owain Caradoc — The Duke	Holds the duchy of the Crown and answers for the frontier. A vassal, not a sovereign — and not free to lose this city.
	Osric Ashby — The Grand Magister	Chairs the council, and holds the chancellery, the courts, the watch and the gaol. Every piece of paper in the duchy passes through his hands.
	Gethin Bowen — The General	The walls and the men on them, and the engineers — who are the duchy's public works and its siege corps on one budget. Risen through merit, at a table that mostly did not have to.
	Emrys Caradoc — The Treasurer	The purse, and the Duke's creditors. Of the Duke's own house, junior line — so the money is family, which cuts both ways.
	Rineth Lianor — The Advisor	A forest elder of about five hundred, at the Duke's right hand by three hundred years of custom. She grew the garden ward. Note — Rineth is an elven title, though many think it is her name.

The three who sit, and are not counted

Heard on the matter they were brought for, and not counted when it comes to a vote.

	Efa Weaver — The Spymaster	What is known, and how it was learned. The office is public; her people are not. A forgettable face in a crowd, an unforgettable one to those who cross her.
	Godwin Deane — The Court Cleric	The temples, the healers, and the Duke's own soul. Ordained in this city, which is not true of every priest in it.
	Idris Parry — The Court Arcanist	The duchy's magic, such as it is, and the register of who is permitted to practise it. Half-elf, about ninety.

More coming soon

The city, the land around it, and the people who live in both — the wards and the walls, who the duchy's neighbours are, and how names work here, which is the part worth having before you make a character.

This is a first look while the rest is being written.