The Mountain Towns
of Caladon
© 1998, F. S.
The wonderful GeoGuide:

The Kingdom of Caladon still maintains guardposts and heavy fortifications in the mountain passes. Being a major path between the north and south, it still feels the need to guard the passes and maintain the peace that its citizens enjoy.

The major towns of Thuton, Deepham, Cerkham, and Mountham grew up from old fortifications that were built to observe and control traffic going through the passes to the other kingdoms. In older times, they were significant military sites to provide safety for the local population should a raid, or worse, come through the pass. The towns were set deep in the mountainside and had lesser defensive walls to protect themselves as the towns grew around each tower. These forts were the seats of barons and lords that were responsible for the protection of their pass and the surrounding lands. They also provided barracks to provide guards to the actual watch towers in the hearts of the passes.

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Although still the seats of the descendants of these lords, today the towns have grown and sprawled out well beyond the defenses. They are now mainly market towns as a first stopping point for trade traffic coming thgough the passes.

The towns have a 'frontier' feel about them, inherited from their positive 'can do' attitude, and their defensive nature. Today, they bustle with life and are areas of growth as the local land turns increasingly to agriculture (except for Mountham, where mines flourish), and the towns themselves become more reliant upon the market.