Breige

Located at a fork in the Bellier river, the smaller town of Breige is relatively innocuous. No great fortifications or other landmarks truly define the settlement, instead it is renowned simply for its great beauty. The greenery of its surroundings have infested the town centre, populating it with several parks and gardens. Noble and merchant estates here are quite grand, and many from across the country hold some land here as a vacation home or status symbol. Breige itself is similar to Cars, with canals cut through the city connecting the two forks of the Bellier. The great beauty of the city attracts many artists and performers, known as a centre for culture in the confederacy. The abundance of talent has greatly benefited the temples in the city, each boasting considerable hoards of sculpture and other art dedicated to their deities. There are several schools in Breige which teach bards and other sorts of performing arts, and the competition between them can get quite fierce.

Politics

As could be expected, the politics of Breige are based mostly around the bard colleges within the city. While its nobility are obviously the ruling class, much of the power has been taken away from them by King Thiry. The Gilded Lily as he is known to most, used alternately as insult and compliment, decided long ago that his true calling was to fulfil a destiny as the greatest showman alive. To this end his patronage of the bards in the city has granted them extensive influence and wealth, and enabled them to take a great stride forwards in how they control the city. The most successful among them play off the King’s vanity, hoping to use his fickle pride for their own gain. For the most part this has worked immensely, allowing for grants and various other privileges to be bestowed upon the largest of the schools. King Thiry himself seems unaware of his role as a puppet for these schools, indulging himself instead in the luxuries and performances that come along with their favour. He surrounds himself with like-minded individuals, and indeed it seems as though the only one in the King’s court not invested in artistry is his brother Guilbert.

The true power behind the throne, Guilbert is the anchor that holds his brother to the ground, completing most of the King’s work throughout the kingdom. He holds his own separate court, made up of the more powerful nobles in the realm, who work to both hedge King Thiry’s actual influence and to expand their own. After the notoriously weak reign of Thiry and Guilbert’s own father, it is perhaps only due to this shadow council’s actions that the kingdom has not be subsumed by others in the past decades. Guilbert and his nobles employ a vast array of spies and agents, each allowing them to cut off potentially harmful actions by the King and to counter with their own desires. For his part, King Thiry seems oblivious to all of this subterfuge, focusing instead on his artistry and performances.

Groups

Bard Colleges

Perhaps the most obvious conflict within Breige is among the well-known Bardic Colleges. These schools are well-known abroad for their quality, considered by many to be the best in the world. Within Breige, however, they are viewed much more cynically. Undoubtedly a sort of civic pride, they are also notorious for the students they attract. Rakes and charlatans swarm the city, all eager to carve out some career as a performer. These students are inevitably young and idealistic, and often from some level of burgher or noble family. Bringing with them an unbearable self-confidence and entitlement, they would be most unwelcome if they did not also bring deep pockets. The city’s inns and taverns fill to bursting most of the year, with students of all sorts carousing and mixing together. Townsfolk speak ill of the crowds, but the atmosphere of revelry is what gives much of the city its charm.

As these students progress, however, they tend to develop a blind loyalty to their chosen school. This loyalty very quickly turns to arrogance, convincing many that their mere memberships puts them above all the others in the city. Combined, all of this makes for a deep rivalry among the students in the city, often segregating them off into groups of like-minded individuals, further isolating and deepening the rivalries between them. Conflict is common between these groups, as schools fight and vie for more students and glory. Brawls and duels are as common as particularly capable performers battling each other for audiences, each a battle of pride and personal glory.

Shadow Council

The Shadow Council is the small court of nobles assembled around Guilbert, King Thiry’s brother. It consists of a handful of the most powerful and influential within the kingdom, who use their power to try and accomplish goals in defense of the realm. The group has existed since the reign of King Thiry’s father, having had the same goal of securing and defending the Kingdom from outside influence, or internal decay. While members have changed over, their ambitions remain largely the same, keeping themselves in positions where they can have the most sway across the region. Prince Guilbert, his brother’s heir, works tirelessly to defend the crown and ensure its seat is as respected and maintained as possible. Several sorcerers sit in this Shadow Council, Guilbert respecting their foresight and outlook on situations.

Landmarks

Personalities

King Thiry, The Gilded Lily

A product of the arts influence on his city, King Thiry is a caricature of a ruler. He cares little for the actual responsibilities of the job, instead using the wealth of his position to fuel dreams as a performing artist. He plays, or tries to play, numerous instruments, putting on all sorts of concerts at his palatial estate. The various colleges all play along with his delusions of grandeur, each seeking out his favour to earn appointments or funding for their own endeavours. Bards, in turn, play the same game, encouraging his mediocre contributions to earn his friendship and patronage. He is very poor with his money, indulging every whim he has to throw extravagant parties. Performers are always welcome at his court, and often receive lavish gifts for particularly entertaining shows. He is in his mid thirties, and dresses in extremely gaudy clothing. He has a twirled black moustache and carefully coiffed hair, with a perpetual smile on his face. He takes criticism poorly, and all within his court have learned it best to avoid spoiling his fun.

Prince Guilbert, King Thiry's Brother

Guilbert is the opposite of his brother. Dour and serious, he has been the steady hand guiding the kingdom since their father’s death. A studious and severe personality, he takes to his role with a fevered diligence. Networks of spies stretch out from his estate, keeping him informed of the kingdom’s goings-on, and allowing him proper time to react. He has been empowered by his brother to enact practically any policy he sees fit, and does so with ruthless efficiency. He disapproves of his brother’s nonchalance about the role, but tolerates his behaviour to keep himself out of the spotlight. Guilbert has particular friends in sorcerers, keeping several as part of his inner circle. He looks similar to his brother, although lacks the buffoonish smile of the king. He is thinner, and carries himself quietly about his estate.

Gavril, Noreya Sorcerer

Noreya are welcome across the Routot lands, for the most part. As such, many of them have made their homes in the far-flung kingdoms that make up the confederacy, each searching for their own niche of belonging. Many are ambitious social climbers, seeking to escape the low status they were condemned to as refugees. Gavril is no different, having come to the kingdom as a young man to try and sate his ambitions. He fell in with one of the older, more influential men on the council as an advisor, and from there he met Prince Guilbert. The pair are often aligned in their goals, and Gavril has become one of the key counsellors to the prince. The Noreya uses his magic to assist his decisions, with minor gifts of prophecy helping to guide the council’s actions. Gavril himself is a dark man, with deep crimson flesh and black eyes. Demonic in appearance, he is as dour and subdued as his friend Guilbert, often coming across as unfriendly and outright intimidating. His horns lay flat against his temples, running along to touch at the back of his skull.

Martin Aubert, Master Actor

Once the finest actor in the entire human realms, Martin is now a much older man. He has taken a teaching position at the Passiflora Academy and generally acts as the school’s headmaster. None of his youthful bravado has left him, however, and he still maintains much of the arrogance that once gave him such a reputation. This manifests in sabotaging particularly skilled students, fearful they may overtake what little glory he can still claim. A particularly spiteful man, he hides all of his insecurity behind a facade of magnanimity and friendliness, disguising his actions as much as possible. He has chased away some notable students of the school in the past few years, and his attitude seems to be growing more paranoid as his age advances even further. Despite this, he is still superbly handsome, with a carefully coiffed head of hair and a scruffy net of stubble on his chin. His charm lies particularly in his smile, which is more of a smirk.