Wintrow

In the northmost reigon of Gand- sitting starkly in the middle of a flat planes and framed on three sides by mountains sits the old and noble town of Wintrow. Here the climate is cold, arid and dry the vegetation is sparse but hardy, much like the town's people. The people of Gand regard those of Wintrow as a strange sort with King Arvid himself once joking that 'they have been left in the cold so long that their manners have frozen over'. Wintrow is the oldest Kitham city which predates even Zentawen. It is also well known that for the school it hosts the College of Wintrow. Wintrow is one of the Major Cities of Gand.  

History

Wintrow was first settled during the Early Era (EE) by the kith population who migrated to Gand from colder climates. Although the soil was hard to work the land was flat and the climate was stable allowing for crops to grow reliably all year around, having mountainous ranges behind them and access to the ocean allowed them a defensible position that wa rich in resources. This was important in an age where treaties with orcs were not yet established and they were unaquainted with the wild flora and fauna of Gand. As the Kith became more settled in this new land they began to migrate further out, but Wintrow as a settlement would always have residents.   Wintrow is known for a number of things, first and foremost is the College of Wintrow which is a long-running establishment that has trained many of Gand's brightest and best minds. It also has a number of unique exports like elk, ink and Pearlberry. It is also known for it's geothermic springs and for homing the engineers guild which manages fairs to the Royal Trains that run along the deeprail of the Elven Network Trade Route  

Layout and Landmarks

Wintrow is laid out in an 'S' shape with a large trading road running through the middle of the ciy and one gated enterance to the south. Most roads branch from the main trade road and are narrow- designed for small groups to walk at a time. Small vents are lined along these walkways and serve to funnel steam and heat from the geothermic pools and stop the roads from freezing over. The buildings are made from dense oak and pitch daub which keeps them insulated, most of the community buildings have sloaped roofs that lead onto neighboring buildings, many residential homes have sod-roofs which further insulated the homes and prevent them from becoming waterlogged during the warmer months, rain is infrequent in Wintrow but when it does rain it comes in short torrents. The roads are paled with flat stands which have in time become bumpy and cracked with disrepair.

Geothermic Springs

The springs can be accessed in town and have had a large stone building erected around it to cover the springs. there are three swimmable springs which are tended to by custodians and are open to the public, these take on the role of a bathhouse and are said to be rich in minerals that promote good health tis is also used as a wash house for people to launder their clothes.

The College of Wintrow

The college sits left of the city and branches off from the main training road, the college is a forty minute walk on foot to reach and requires one to walk the path around the ampitheater and to all around a small lake tat separates the two areas.

The Ampitheater

The Wintrow amphitheater sits in between the city and the college it is a large outdoor space that sinks into he side of a hill and is made from large stone slabs and a raised basalt platform, here is where performances take place as well as debates, public addresses and recitations. It is here that the college also presents their new graduates of the year to Gand.

Deeprail Terminal

The Deeprail Terminal is the last port on the Elven Network Trade Route and sits above an elvish town that runs underground, the rail stops in wintrow but no one is really sure how far out the elvish city below it stands out as much of it is still sealed off.

Engineers Guild

It's not uncommon for alumni of the college to pursue careers in Wintrow and one of the most ambitious forms of this is joining the engineers guild. The guild has a base in the Deerail Terminal with offices abouve ground and workshops below. The guild is responsible for maintaining a ledger of registered railliners which are ordained to travel using the network, they also prescribe licenses for operators of those railiners and maintains the royal vehicles belonging to the king himself.

Culture

The people of Wintrow are not unfriendly per sey- they follow the rules of hospitality and politeness as much as anywhere, but there is a real reservation towards outsiders often times a Wintrow local can seem polite but clipped in tone and will rarely engage in meaningful talk with non-locals. There are two people who are in Wintrow, those who have lived their for generations and young people who are studying. Because of this there can be a bit of a cultural divide between the students some of whom can be seen as rowdy, snobbish and disruptive and the locals who are no-nonsense an salt of the earth type of people.  

Government and Defence

Wintrow is governed by a Council of Custodians who are elected by representative guilds including the engineers guild, merchants guild, blacksmiths guild, agriculture guild as well as scholars and professors from the college. At any given time these can be as many as ten members or as few as four, these members are elected by their respective guilds and may serve up to two years at a time before their role can be changed. Custodian members typically work together towards a collective goal for the town, no one member has any more or less power than anyone else, decisions are agreed upon and voted in. If they are summoned by the kin, all must go.   The council works to have a very strict neutral position on most issues much as magic and the brotherhood and the use of eleven spaces as no individual person wants to loose their seat they very rarely will roc the boat with a strong political opinion, this does safe guard them from a lot of scrutiny but they are not big players on the stage of Gand.   Wintrow has a small guard population aimed to patrol the city and enforce the peace the goal of these guards are to be as small and in noticeable as possible, they rarely have incidents to respond to but are able to use the jail to detain people if necessary.    

Commerce and Exports

The city has a number of major exports, they manufacture a large amount of ink silk scrolls Whitchurch are provided to the college to use, as well as to the scribes of he courts and churches. Wintrow farms populations of elk and venison which are the citys main source of meat and most in demand export. Finally they have an orchard that grown Pearlberry all year around. Pearlberry is a key ingredient in a lot of of desserts and sauces but also is used to make a fortified wine called poet which is traditionally drank on a number of festivals.