The Government of Gravenholt

Viscount Alaric Veylen and the Rule of High Bastion

High Bastion rises from the southern bank of the Ashwythe, its pale marble walls a symbol of both majesty and menace. Here resides Viscount Alaric Veylen, half-elf ruler of Gravenholt. Elegant, ruthless, and unerringly poised, the Viscount is as admired for his beauty as he is feared for his cunning. Though officially descended from a long line of noble governors, darker rumors persist—some whisper that no mere mortal blood sustains him, and tales of vampiric lineage are quietly silenced by his officials.

The government of Gravenholt is centered within the South Wing of High Bastion, a looming annex that houses the city’s administrators and military command. The city guard, led by Captain Brynna Feldshear, operates from here with iron discipline. Brynna’s loyalty is spoken of with equal parts respect and pity—she is a rare bastion of honor in a court rife with shadowy intrigue.

Adjacent to High Bastion lies The Commons, a civic heart of gardens, plazas, and shrines. The most imposing structure here is the Ashwythe Cathedral, where Father Greyshale conducts rites amid flickering candles and echoing hymns. Beneath the cathedral stretch crypts as vast as they are unsettling, a reminder that in Gravenholt, the line between the sacred and the sepulchral is perilously thin.

Though the Viscount’s rule is absolute, power in Gravenholt is never held alone. The factions—guilds, cabals, and syndicates—vie constantly for influence, their leaders bending knee in public while scheming in private. Yet so long as Alaric Veylen sits upon his marble throne, none dare openly challenge his dominion.