Black Steel's first settlement on the edge of the Grat'han jungles (pun probably intended by somebody) lies on the northern delta of the Azarin river system, at the end of the Grat'han bay just south of Tornbring Vale, between Korv and the Anvil Strait. (See regional map) The fortified harbor town of Thornton watches over the rest of "The Edge" -- the fields and mines of Alluarten, Thestrinarra, and (in theory) Volkrendas: The three Counties officially presided over by Solo, Broxte, and Quazar. The rich natural resources of The Edge are themselves much in demand in Shalasian markets and beyond, but it has also become a center of trade for the local Grat'han natives, including a growing number of jungle villages who send barges of raw material down the river in exchange for luxury goods which their crews can carry home along the river banks. Overseas commerce with Thornton is currently handled mostly by the Silver Star, Merlesy, and Tower merchant companies out of Shalasia, with smaller shares handled by the Brookwind and Sea Ray companies, and by a number of smaller concerns based in or cleared by The Scabbard. Though now more settled than it was upon its inception a few years ago, Thornton is still a fortified town at the edge of civilization (pun presumably intended by someone once again) and is perpetually in danger from everything from Sea Raiders and warlike tribes of Grat'han natives to Seashore Sirens and werebeasts, to say nothing of monstrous creatures out of the jungles. Alluarten and Thestrinarra now serve as an increasingly effective buffer, but Lord Protector Charracks and his monstrous army still have their hands full holding the borders against still-more-monstrous beasts.
Population: Over 4,500 official citizens, primarily human, but also including a number of goblinoids and wolfmen.
Government: Law and trial in the city of Thornton is decided by popular referendum, with the quirk that voters willing to fight for their opinion are more heavily weighted than those who are not. Proof of willingness to fight is determined by actual "judicial combat" -- fought with bare hands at the center of justice, in a manner prescribed by law, and provider over by an elected official known as the town's Head Magistrate. The office of Head Magistrate is theoretically held for life, but the city's laws include provisions for removing the office-holder from power. The Counties of Alluarten, Thestrinarra, and especially Volkrendas, theoretically subject to their respective Counts, and policed by Charracks and his army when matters get completely out of hand, are essentially ruled by frontier law.
National Affiliation: The Scabbard-Edge Federation (AKA Black Steel)
Chief Exports: Grat'han furs, grains, legumes, wine, meat, and preserves; fine jewelry, especially of platinum from the local mines; various Grat'han handcrafts, ranging from weapons to artwork.
History
The fertile Azarin river delta has long supported a wide range of human, goblinoid, and beastman tribes, changing and replacing one another from one generation to the next, if not every year or every season. Creating a permanent foot-hold on this dangerous coast was a major project for Black Steel, spearheaded by Foreign Minister Matrix, who arranged for the original fortifications with help from the Silver Star Merchant Company, who enjoyed exclusive trading rights with The Edge for the next two years, and still have one of the largest contracts for shipments in and out of Thornton to this day, controlling a full quarter of its maritime trade. With Lord Protector Charracks and his small army defending the fortifications as they were built, and then the town itself and its surroundings, the project appears so far to be a success -- Thornton itself has already grown to more than five times the permanent population of the largest-known Grat'han tribe ever known to inhabit the region -- but only time will tell how permanent the new settlement can be in the face of the Grat'han coast and its myriad dangers.
The Counties of Alluarten and Thestrinarra, theoretically the fiefdoms of Counts Solo and Broxte, respectively, were only surveyed properly within the past year, by the Rat Pack and Daryan's elite team, with some help from Counts Broxte and Quazar near the end. They owe their Counts only lip-service allegiance, as they are functionally just a collection of independent frontier communities, including the native tribes that lived there before The Edge came to be, and who by arrangement with Black Steel now contribute to a varying extent to -- and of course benefit from -- the increasing security of their homes in the dangerous region. The County of Volkrendas on the other hand, Count Quazar's theoretical fiefdom, is the nearest to the jungles of the three, and has never been properly surveyed. It is known to be home to a native tribe hostile to the idea of Black Steel rule, and may harbor dangers as yet unknown. Though a few hearty souls from Thornton have dared to move out there, it is a County of the Edge in name only.
Important Landmarks
Alluamona: The single largest native tribe in the three Counties lies on a branch of the Azarin river in Alluarten. (It is the Azarin itself that gives both Alluamona and Alluarten -- Grat'han words meaning roughly "River home" and "River's Tide" respectively -- their names.) Its people work closely with their neighbors from more civilized lands, and welcome visitors from the north.
Aluazarin: The full Grat'han name for the Azarin river means approximately, "River with the might of mountains." The many-branched Azarin probably originates among the mountains of the Great Divide, winding and branching far down through the jungles before it flows out into the Edge delta -- the largest and northernmost of its many outlets.
Charracks's Lot: A large open space near the center of Thornton, fenced off from the rest of the town, is owned by Charracks, and earmarked for the construction of his temple to Vamakhel, Maiden Pain. Awaiting further research, materials, and planning, the project has not as yet progressed even to preparing foundations.
Embassy House: Built -- and reserved when necessary -- to provide appropriate housing for foreign dignitaries, the Thornton Embassy House is modest by the standards of Shalasia or even The Scabbard, but stands out here by sheer contrast with the rest of the rough-and tumble city. It is rarely used by Black Steel officials for various reasons, but its rooms are regularly rented to important visiting merchants, or to wealthy citizens of Thornton itself for celebrations. It has proven especially popular for costume parties.
The Hedge: (Pun, as always, presumably intended by somebody, somewhere down the line.) The borders of Alluarten are defined by a thickly-tangled hedge of thorny Grat'han bushes: A spiky living wall averaging three meters in width and height, extending all along the hundred-kilometer land borders with Volkrendas and the wilds. The remnants of the branch that once extended between Alluarten and Thestrinarra can still be seen as well, but they have been much broken up by patrols, travelers, and settlers since Thestrinarra was included within the hedge-wall. The outward-facing Hedge grows increasingly wild and intermittent as well, as the powerful spells that originally brought it into being do not maintain its unnatural existence.
The Old Wall: The high stone walls that originally described the outer limits of the Edge settlement still contain the majority of Thornton's buildings, but the gates are now open at all hours except in time of actual imminent attack, as the town has increasingly spilled out into the near regions of Alluraten and Thestrinarra. The name itself of course is a local joke: Though vital in the Edge's early days and still useful in times of serious danger, the wall was outgrown very rapidly by its community: Construction of the "Old Wall" -- so-called today -- was completed less than three years ago.
The Thornton Project: The largest and best-known alehouse in the Edge, near the center of the Thornton proper, which functions when necessary as the town's center of government, now bears the name unofficially used for the government itself -- and to an extent, the town and all of the Edge. A "Thornton Project" is a local idiom, from the name of a prominent local citizen, for any scheme at once too risky to consider and too lucrative to refuse.
