Hajul

Hajul is a blend city, stitched together from every people who travel or work the crossing roads. Humans dominate in number simply due to volume, but no group holds cultural control. Dwarves maintain the stonework and reinforce the bridge pylons. Halflings run supply depots and inns. Elves, tieflings, and desert-folk from the south drift through in steady numbers. Guild members from every region rotate in and out, giving Hajul an energy that feels constantly in motion. Wealth exists, but no lasting elite class has yet consolidated power — the closest thing the city has to permanent leadership is the cluster of officers from the The Wayfarer's Guild, local merchants, and bridge overseers who have learned to cooperate out of mutual necessity.

Hajul has no single ruling family or council. Instead, it’s governed by a Tri-Seat Accord, a simple three-person arrangement formed after the Bridge of Chuldriz was built. The seats are held by a representative of the Kragthor Territory, a representative of the Luminara Territory, and a representative from The Wayfarer's Guild. None have unilateral control. Decisions require at least two agreeing parties, and each faction constantly jockeys for influence. The Wayfarer’s Guild, while not an official political body, carries enough regional sway that all three seats often consult them before major decisions — especially those involving trade, safety, or the condition of the bridge.

LUMINARA REPRESENTATIVE

Aelis Corven — Human (Hacuito Born)

Aelis is a meticulous diplomat from Luminara’s civil service, chosen not for charisma but for reliability. She’s the kind of bureaucrat who keeps three copies of every treaty on her person and knows the exact weight capacity of the Bridge of Chuldriz by memory. Hacuito sent her because she doesn’t escalate conflicts — she neutralizes them. Aelis has gained quiet respect in Hajul for her ability to de-escalate arguments between caravans and her willingness to mediate without resorting to empty threats. She’s not beloved, but she’s trusted — and trust counts for more here.

KRAGTHOR REPRESENTATIVE

Gorvak son of Three-Tusks — Ogre-blooded

Cabrycg refuses to send “softskins” to represent them. Gorvak is half-ogre, half-orc— a towering, blue-skinned diplomat with tusks filed smooth to avoid intimidating the locals. Despite his size, he’s surprisingly calm, thoughtful, and speaks with a teacher’s patience. Gorvak was chosen because he understands the value of the bridge better than most of the territory's warlords: without that crossing, resources don’t move, tempers rise, and skirmishes reignite. He is a cleric of the guard from The Faith of War and focuses more on strategy than strength. Locals were terrified when he first arrived, but he’s since become a fixture — helping repair collapsed roofs during storms, settling tavern fights by simply lifting the fighters apart, and showing genuine interest in the city’s wellbeing. His presence reminds the region that there is peace as long as the treaty holds, but should it falter he will be at the front lines.

WAYFARER REPRESENTATIVE

For the Wayfarer's representative it is none other than the one who forged the treaty: Ysilra “Featherfall” Naethwyn.

Hajul is not a fortress. Its greatest defense is its treaty status and the fact that any incursion would immediately violate agreements between territories that are always one insult away from fighting again. They maintain a rotating detachment of guards and scouts from the guild along with emergency protocols taught by the Wayfarer's.

Because the bridge is so strategically important, the city also maintains a series of reinforced checkpoints and signal towers, but these are meant to warn rather than repel. Any actual large-scale defense relies on the guarantees written into the treaty — the unspoken promise that if one territory breaks it, the other will descend with fury.

Hajul’s economy is built on crossroads work transport, goods exchange, information trade, guild contracts, and of course being a centralized hub for the Imperial Parcel Service. Every road through the region going into the Kragthor Territory eventually runs through Hajul for the safest route, and the city thrives on being in the way. Merchants find customers, guild members find work, travelers find safety, and diplomats find neutral ground. The Wayfarer’s Guild brings steady business by funneling recruits, couriers, and specialists through the city at all hours.

Hajul’s infrastructure is young, sturdy, and constantly expanding. New stone buildings rise beside old wooden ones. The central roads are braced against heavy caravan wear. Wells have been deepened and reinforced with dwarven stonework. The bridge is connected to a web of staging platforms used for inspections, toll collection, and guild deliveries. Storage yards, workshops, repair barns, and stables sprawl in every direction.

The original barn that served as the first guild hall still stands — now surrounded by a proper compound where recruits sleep, couriers check in, and dispatchers manage the flow of jobs across the continent.

Hajul began as a trading stop — nothing more elaborate than a dusty junction where three territories converged, and caravans paused to water animals and haggle over rumors. Back then, it was a loose sprawl of tents and lean-tos orbiting a single, overworked well. Even its name wasn’t formal; travelers called it “Hajul” because that’s what the first recorded caravan ledger wrote down, and no one ever agreed on a better one.