Leotyne, the Mountain Land

Also sometimes called The Cliffs, The Mountains, or The Highlands, Leotyne is the kingdom of these three things and more. It is the western-most and smallest kingdom of North Nidonn. It was the place where humans originally landed at around 3809BD. For a list of the highest ranked people in Leotyne, see the people of rank page. At the time, they did not have the resources to exploit the very hilly land, so they moved eastward and left the land.

Leotyne is such a hily area because, north of Leotyne Castle, stands Mount Linhill. It is a place Leotyne sends their best soliders for special training. The roots of this mountain spread south, trailing all over Leotyne and making up their rugged and defensive country's terrain. This area is also full of caves and tunnels, some of which are rumoured to lead into the castle itself. To the south of Leotyne are the Golemn Peaks, and to the north, above and around Mount Linhill, is the Leren Range. Linhill Bay is the only place where Leotynians have access to the sea, but there are no official docks on the shore.

Leotyne Castle

Leotyne castle is grand on the scale of defensive power. Not only must one climb the winding road up and around the fortress and tower to get to the castle, but the sheer verticality of the castle's walls and roughness of the surrounding lands are enough to drive off any sieging attacker. Lord Landon was appointed as ruler of the Highlands in 3608BD and then proceeded to have the castle built on the top of a large plateau on the side of Mount Linhill. There is another flat hill just to the south of this plateau, and the two flat areas were connected by a great stone bridge, called Landon Bridge. The bridge enabled workers to carry wood and stone across to the castle's plateau, though once construction had begun, they actually began to dig stone out of the mountain for both construction and to build tunnels into the stone. Some of the tunnels lead so deep into the mountain that they come out somewhere near the peak, and another fortress, not normally visible due to cloud cover, was built there. As they built, people came and began to settle on the south-most hill, and a town was formed. The town, castle, and mountain fortress are informally referred to as Leotyne Castle, but they do have their proper names.

Landon

The town called Landon itself consists mostly of timber framed houses, though one wall of the house (usually the wall facing away from the centre of the town) was made of stone. This was for two reasons. The first is so that, from within, the town seems softer, closer, and more natural, but viewed from the outside, it seems harsh, strong, and unyielding. The second is that this wall usually contained two or three fireplaces, all with their own tall chimney stacks. In the centre of the town is a bustling marketplace where people from all over North Nidonn come with goods for the citizens of Leotyne. Because it is cold in Leotyne, most rooms are short save the main room with the largest fireplace, which usually extends two stories high, if the house is that tall. People of Leotyne enjoy displaying interesting and old timber or stone items, such as statues or furniture, and also often own animal skin rugs or wall hangings.

Once through the busy town, one would come to Landon Bridge. Like any "ranked" area of North Nidonn, one needs a legitimate letter of passage to be able to cross the bridge. The bridge leads to a large portcullis bearing three gates and a pair of thick timber doors behind them all. The outer walls of the castle are very high -- higher than the walls of any other castle in Riiga -- and taper inwards slightly. They are made of a dusty reddish stone. Because the castle is so high up, rams cannot reach the walls, the cliffs are too sheer, dangerous, and strong to undermine, and a catapult is difficult to set up because of a lack of flat ground. The castle has three courtyards: One is just inside the gates, and stairs connect it with another courtyard that is raised above the main one, like two giant steps. There is a third courtyard with walls and buildings on all sides behind the keep. The castle has many towers, skywalks, and walkways within its high walls. It is rumoured that there is a secret way out on the west side of the wall that leads to a hidden path which would take one safely down the mountain to the river which runs under Landon Bridge.

The mountain fort and training grounds for soldiers is not spoken of, and citizens have not seen it, so very little is known about it. The townspeople refer to it as Heaven's Peak.

Fort Acacia (also Acadin)

The road from Leotyne Castle goes to the southern end of the kingdom and then curls northeast to avoid the eastern cliffs of the area. At the southern end is a tower called Fir Tower, and between the tower and the castle is Fort Acacia. It was originally called Fort Acadin, but was renamed around 2000BD by Lord Regan to Fort Acacia. It has walls almost as high as those of the castle, and with an equally impressive pair of portcullises that allow people to move through the fort to reach the town, and crown of towers. During the day, its gate is normally wide open, but at night, it is superficially closed (only the other portcullises are lowered) and guards stand watch. There is no way to the castle town but through the fort, unless someone was to climb the cliffs.

The path from the tower to the castle, both north and south of the fort, have numerous farmhouses and crops of farmers who have attempted to grow food in the high and rocky soil. Some of them succeed. Leotyne is also scattered with many small communities which have managed to become almost completely self-sustained. They have very little association with the royalty, or the military, but do pledge their allegience with the lord at the castle, who keeps them safe as they care for the land he governs.

Teluel

Like many places in Leotyne, Teluel is based on mining and fortification. It is a sturdy, small city on the road to Fort Acadia. Behind its walls and towers are modest, old buildings made from brick which was created near Fir Lake to the southwest. As it is the first place on the road into Leotyne, it has a strong focus on looking impressive; it is appealing without seeming weak.

Sykratas

The only other way into Leotyne is via its only port -- the city of Sykratas. Like all Leotian places, it has sturdy stone walls, towers, and dense and cosy houses. Despite being a public port, Leotyne discourages general use of Sykratas as a way of entering Leotyne, and instead strongly suggests that people enter via land from the east. This is mainly because entry from the east would send one through Fort Acadia, which is where officials keep records of visitors. Regardless, several conspiracy theories have been drifting around over the years, prompted by Leotyne's apparent paranoia over people using Sykratas.

Highten

The oldest remaining city of Leotyne; it was founded before the castle and even before Landon. Before Leotyne was even officially a province, several scores of families made it to this mountainous region and had begun working on crops of potatoes, yams, and other hardy vegetables. They called it the "high town" which has since been altered to Highten. It supplies a lot of food to other places in Leotyne.