Enriksten

From Legendarium

Enriksten is both an Electorate of Tolland, and that country's largest city.

It was founded on the River Osk during the reign of Enrik the Bold around 210 A.T. after the old capitol city had been sacked by invaders and burnt to the ground.

One enters the city through one of the Birosken Gates (designed by the great architect Birsoken during the reign of Queen Elestari) which are five in number and are set in the city's walls at points approximately equidistant from each other The five gates are each named for a different figure or important event from the early history of Tolland. Each gate also has a distinctive design and stands between 120 and 160 feet tall.

The Birosken Gates:

• Borriksgate: This was the first gate constructed on the south side of the city in 246 AT. The gate is the shortest of the five at 124 feet, and it is constructed of the blood red brick that most of the wall is made out of. On either side of gates themselves are large carved statues of Archking Borrik I and his wife, Queen Mirin. Borrik is depicted in full royal raiment, with his hands resting on the pommel of his great hammer Blackmoon, which is inlaid with silver and onyx. Queen Mirin is holding a bouquet of flowers and her dress is inlaid with an immense amount of mother-of-pearl. The gate is a splediferous onyx filligree depicting events from the Archking's reign. Borriksgate opens into the city's Old Market district.

• Knightsgate: One of the so-called "twin gates" along with Baronsgate, this gate stands 133 feet tall. These two gates were built around 260 AT after Birosken had gathered the stunning materials from which they were contstructed. Knightsgate depicts a plethora of the early Knights of Tolland arrayed in battle poses. Each figure is crafted from white crystal adamantine, a rare and expensive mineral. The figures are so valuable that three are missing from theft, and the Birosken Gate Guards were formed to prevent theft and vandalism of the gates. Only the finest of the Tolland Legions' men can apply to be gate guards, and their resplendent uniforms and plumed helmets are recognizable by people all over the world. The individual knight figures are set in blue seastone, and at sunrise and sunset the light is reflected through the crystals, making the gate spositively glow with light. Many nights in summer crowds of families with their children gather around the gates to watch the spectacle. The gates themselves are formed from silver and are a beautiful filligree pattern, with the large silver tree that is the city's symbol formed in the center when the gates are closed. Knightsgate lends its name to the neighborhood it opens into.

• Baronsgate: The other "twin gate", Baronsgate stands at the same height of 133 feet as its twin. The depiction is a similar mosaic of individual crystalline figures, this time of the Barons and lower nobility of the Old Kingdom. They are pictured in stately poses and are fashioned of green crystalline bromite, set in walls of white marble. A total of seven figures are missing from this gate, and the Birosken gate Guards now patrol it at all times to prevent further theft. No figures from either of the twin gates have been stolen for more than a thousand years. The gates themselves are an exact copy of Knightsgate's fashioned from brass. Baronsgate opens into the neighborhood known as Apothecary.

• Osksgate: This was the fourth gate built by Birosken and finished around 272 AT. The tallest of the gates, it stands at 160 feet tall and lies next to the river Osk. It is composed of two magnificent oak trees carved of rockwood and jade, the intertwining braches of which form the arch of the gate. The trees are so intircately carved that it would be impossible to catalog every little detail depicted, but there exists hundereds of animals, millions of leaves, and a plethora of hidden figures. Legend says that somewhere in the great trees lies the names of every person in Tolland as of the year it was built, however no actual names are visible from the ground. The gates themselves are formed from rockwood, and legend says that Birosken harnessed the magic of a Knacking to grow the wood in the shape of the gates themselves. Osksgate opens into the neighborhood known as Riverside.

• Blackgate: The final gate was finished around 292 AT, after the death of Queen Elestari, and is 154 feet tall. Birosken was so depressed that his Queen and rumored lover had passed that he constructed the city's final gate out of black onyx. Either side of the gate is formed of onyx maidens dressed in funeral garb. Endless tears of silvery water flow from their eyes and pour into urns at the base of the sculptures, and the water is recycled back to the top internally. The gates themselves are made of black wrought iron with barbs running down the sides. Blackgate opens into the neighborhood known as Barge Hill.

Neighborhoods of Enriksten:

• Old Market: Old Market is a quaint neighborhood filled with small shops and a large central square containing a statue of Enrik the Bold.

• Knightsgate: Knightsgate once contained the homes of the wealthiest citizens of Enriksten, but after centuries it has become an area filled with tenament housing and crime-filled dark alleyways. Seedy taverns abound, and ladies of the night can be found in the red-light district of Knightsgate.

• Apothecary: Apothecary took its name from the plethora of quack remedies and doctors that used to line its airy streets. Now only a memory, people used to come from miles around to buy the supposed 'cures' and remedies sold here. Noww Apothecary is a middle class neighborhood, with its wide boulevards and pretty taverns.

• Riverside: Riverside is a small neighborhood known mostly for its parks and upscale shops. A wide broadway runs along the river here and merchants crowd it hawking their wares.

• Barge Hill: Barge Hill is near the center of the city, where the shipworks used to lay. The ships would be built on the hill, then rolled down to the harbor on giant tracks that you can still see there today. Nowadays it is mostly small houses and bakeries.

• Harbortown:

• Colm Hollow:

• Ice and Castle:

• Redbridge:

• Venarde:

• Hostel: