Writgate

Writgate at a Glance

Writgate is the capital of the Western March. It stands where an old pre-Drying road climbs into the main mountain pass. The city is built in steep stone tiers behind high walls. Its purpose is control. It controls who enters the pass, who leaves it, and what goods move through it. Hunger marches, refugee waves, and raider bands are treated as security threats first. Aid comes second, and only when it can be counted.

The Pass, the Walls, and the Gate Yards

The outer wall seals the pass with layered gates and kill lanes. Watchtowers sit over every approach. Streets are narrow and angled to slow crowds and carts. Open squares are rare and kept under watch. Gate yards hold fenced pens for people, beasts, and cargo. Quarantine sheds sit close to the legal entry routes. Anyone without papers is held until a sponsor pays, a clerk clears their name, or a commander issues an order.

Rule by Writ

Writgate runs on documents and force. The March Court issues March Writs that allow seizure of food, water, timber, beasts, and labor during crisis. Crisis is broadly defined and often declared. Clerks stamp ration tokens, travel permits, and cargo seals. Patrols enforce curfew by bell calls and baton lines. Disputes rarely end in justice. They end in fines, confiscation, conscription, or prison time.

Lord of Writgate

Lord Edric Grael holds the March Court seal and controls Writgate’s crisis powers. He sets ration hours, confirms ration tiers by ward, and orders cuts when wells drop or store ledgers fail. He signs March Writs that seize grain, water, timber, beasts, ore, resin, and labor, and he can convert debt into forced work crews. He appoints captains for gate yards, patrol routes, and reservoir locks, and he can close travel between wards by bell order. He oversees quarantine flags, holding pens, and travel papers, deciding who enters, who waits, and who is turned back. He sets enforcement priorities for smuggling, hoarding, and forged tokens. He must keep the pass open for trade, while preventing raids, smuggling, and disease from entering the walls. He arbitrates disputes between barons, captains, and Life houses. He sends tallies to the crown, requests convoys, and posts fines and seizure rules. He reports each week in person.

The March Court

The March Court Hall runs on lanes, tokens, and stamps. Petitioners line up at rails, pass the search arch, and surrender weapons and tools. Clerks check sponsor letters, service proof, and ration marks, then log the case and assign a slot. Judges and captains sit behind iron screens, while crossbows watch from side stairs. Hearings move fast, and the bell ends speech. When a crisis is declared, clerks draft a March Writ. Once sealed, it can seize grain, water, timber, beasts, ore, resin, and labor. Runners carry copies to gates and patrol posts. Confiscated goods get red cord tags and go to fenced cages. Debt rulings can turn into forced labor orders. Quarantine flags can become travel bans. A bad mark can cut rations for weeks, and review is rare

Water and Ration Control

Water is the city’s true treasury. Deep wells and cistern vaults sit under armed lock. Public cistern yards operate on ration hours. Tokens are checked by armed clerks. Lines are separated by class and work status. Cutting the line can earn a beating or a mark against your household. Private wells in the Upper City exist, but they are watched and taxed. In dry weeks, guards escort water carts as if they were gold.

Trade, Ore, Timber, and Bleedsap

Writgate survives because it can still move goods. Ore from nearby mines is weighed in fenced yards and sent to smelters that burn scarce charcoal. Timber is stacked under tally boards and guarded to prevent theft and arson. Bleedsap resin is treated as strategic stock. It is stored in sealed sheds, counted by inspectors, and guarded like weapons. Resin is used for binding, patch work, sealing, and fuel mixes. Losses are investigated as sabotage.

Faith, Inspection, and the Temple Ward

Most people must enter through the Writgate Temple Ward. Priests inspect travelers for infection signs, curse marks, and tainted charms. Some checks are real. Some are political. Refusal is treated as guilt. Those flagged are sent to quarantine sheds or held for “cleaning rites” that can last days. The priests keep records of who passed, who failed, and who paid for a faster answer. Their authority is public, and their mistakes are rarely punished.

Magic and Vaus Hall

Magic is rare in the March, so Vaus Hall holds unusual power. It is home to a single wizard of high standing and a small household of trained aides. The hall maintains ward lines, alarm seals, and emergency defenses. In return, the wizard receives legal immunity in narrow areas, first claim on certain materials, and a voice in security policy. Nobles and commanders fear the wizard and need the wizard. This creates constant tension. When the city is threatened, people demand miracles. When the threat passes, people demand limits.

The Wards of Writgate

Writgate Slums

The Slums sit packed against older walls and broken lanes. Housing is improvised and overcrowded. Crime is common and often organized by small crews. Cult recruiters work here because despair is easy to sell. Guards enter in groups and leave quickly. Fires spread fast. So do rumors.

Lower City

The Lower City is dense and loud, with workshops, cramped tenements, and ration yards. It is the main space for laborers, porters, and scrap traders. Unrest grows here during shortages. Secret meetings happen in back rooms, cellars, and closed bathhouses. The city calls it disorder. Many residents call it survival.

Writgate Docks

The Docks sit below the main tiers where goods are loaded and stored. It is still harsh, but it is watched more closely due to trade. Dock guards inspect cargo seals and break up fights fast. Bribery is common, but it has rules. Smugglers hide contraband in timber stacks, resin casks, and false cart beds. Disease control is strict here, since water and travel meet in one place.

Writgate Market District

The Market District is where legal trade is meant to happen. Stalls cluster around counting tables, weigh stations, and permit booths. Food is sold in measured lots. Tools and nails are priced like luxuries. Writ clerks and informants blend into crowds. Many deals are done with paper and stamps, not coin.

Writgate Castle Ward

The Castle Ward holds the March Court, the writ archives, and the command offices. It is built for control and defense, not comfort. Records are kept behind locked doors and iron screens. Petition lines form at dawn. Many leave with less than they arrived with. The ward also holds secure cistern vaults and the sealed resin yards.

Writgate Upper City

The Upper City holds the better homes, private storehouses, and guarded wells. It also holds the coliseum. Gladiatorial games are used as public pressure release and public warning. Fighters include prisoners, debtors, captured raiders, and hired killers with contracts. Wagers are legal in limited forms and heavily taxed. Winners may earn ration grants, legal pardons, or work papers. Losers earn pits, chains, or burial tags.

Writgate Temple Ward

The Temple Ward is both gate and filter. Its streets are cleaner, not kinder. Inspection halls, quarantine sheds, and holding pens line the approaches. Priests control entry stamps, curse checks, and “clean” marks that allow work. The ward also hosts charity kitchens during declared emergencies, but those kitchens are guarded and recorded.

Writgate Cemetery

The Cemetery sits apart from trade lanes and ration yards. It is used heavily and without ceremony for the poor. Plague pits and ash graves exist for bad weeks. Graves of officers and major families are marked and walled. Grave watch is a real job, since body theft supports alchemy, cult work, and illegal rites. Night access is restricted. Breaking that rule earns prison or worse.

Writgate Barracks

The Barracks holds the garrison and the prison. Patrols rotate from here to ration yards, gates, and market lines. The prison is used for criminals, debtors, and “unverified persons.” Interrogations focus on networks, not single crimes. Sentences often include forced labor in yards, mines, or wall repair crews.

Vaus Hall

Vaus Hall sits separated from dense housing and is kept clear by law and fear. It is guarded, but not like a palace. Its security relies on wards, locked paths, and controlled access. Petitioners arrive daily with requests for cures, protections, and blessings. Most leave with nothing. Some leave with a contract that costs more than coin.

Daily Life and Mood

Life in Writgate is measured. Water, food, travel, and work all require a mark, a token, or a stamp. Curfews are normal. Public punishments are common and meant to be seen. Many people keep quiet in daylight and speak only in trusted rooms at night. The city endures because it must. The pass makes it important. Scarcity makes it cruel.