Greld

In the days of the Old Pale Empire, Greld had an Imperial Factor who exercised significant control over local politics, even when they did not formally govern the town, a function delegated to an elected town council.   After the fall of the Old Pale Empire, the title of Factor became associated with the ruler of the council as a kind of honorific, even though they did not act as a true Factor in the original sense of the word. Now, Greld is the only place in the world where the title survives.     The town is administered from the Hall of the Factors (aka Factorial Hall), the grandest municipal building, dating back to the era of the Old Pale Empire.

The primary source of employment and trade in Greld comes from the slate quarries which have provided building material for all the towns and cities of Tinturbean for thousands of years. These are set back from the cliffs, inland and to the south. The stone is usually sent by sea but some travels overland. Some of it is dressed locally, adding value to the raw material.   There is a small fishing fleet and farm land centred round the town which is sufficient to feed the local population and generate a small export surplus in good years.

Greld has an official foundation charter which is dated to the 1st of Glim, 2031 BPC under the order of Emperor Leonard III of the Old Pale Empire. This was a stable and peaceful period of middle Empire history, characterised by steady population growth and a flourishing of the arts and sciences. Leonard III granted the town charter as part of the extended celebrations for his accession to the throne.
  For most of its history Greld has remained an unremarkable working town, contributing to the economy of western Tinturbean but making little impact on the world stage. In 1090 BPC, the discovery of the Silver Seam in mining operations to the south, made the town briefly famous and wealthy before the vein was worked out.
  After the fall of the Old Pale Empire, it was threatened by the encroaching forces of the Dark Domains during the Breach Wars, but unlike settlements further south it managed to retain its independence.
  Greld is best known to the wider world as the site of the famous Vigil of Mirrors which took place towards the end of the Age of Shadows in 4922 APC.

The Silver Seam is the largest hostelry in town. It was built during the age of the Flame Kingdoms but it is named after the famous vein of silver which had made the town briefly famous in the days of the Old Pale Empire. It is still owned and run by descendants of one of the original miners to work that seam.