Dorlaf was a relatively populated area
even before the foundation of Christoté, especially the Central Plains; the
region may have really taken off in the 1200's but has long been associated
with farmlands and prosperity. Most of
its towns outside the Triple Cities date back to the Kingdom of Dorlaf, though
the assorted conflict and passage of time means few of the original buildings
survive. Particularly damaging was Lord
Stekkman's subjugation of local resistance 850-60, and many of the oldest
buildings were constructed immediately after, as the Erish tried to repair
their new conquests. The Garreday Uprisings
(which saw heavy fighting around Cannes and Crislaw and Brays Crossing both
gutted by fire), the Civil Wars and, in northern stretches, the Labbish
invasion have all left their scars on the place. But in general it is a region of high peace and prosperity, the
legendary bandits and outlaws of old times giving rise to merchant convoys and
the thousands of small farms dotted across the Plains. The towns themselves have gradually grown,
an increase in the population partly balanced out by migration to the Cities
Chorley
"The Iron Town", site of the main smiths which supply the Christotan National Guards with weapons, armour and, above all, horseshoes. Also clusters of commercial sector metal smiths, some creating similar produce others more domestic - cutlers are especially heavy on the ground. The town is Dorlafan in location but Elsan in spirit, surrounding by shrubland and mainly pastoral ground, with a tendency to sprawl outwards rather than upwards, and relying more on crafts and textiles than farmed produce to employ itself. Also a good location for trade, however; on the Mellertang Road, and a convenient stop-over for Flauge, Elsey and the Cities. Has its own full Town Council, which in turn has a well-earned reputation for turbulence and ineptitude. Chief places to see are the Temple to Ella, built from a mixture of Elvish wood and Brown Hills clay; the ingenious but rather pointless fishers huts lying near the top of the slopes down to the Mellertang and on top of stilts which rest on the river's flood meadows; the equally ingenious and rather more purposeful rope-ferry, capable of carrying horses and shipments of rock across the waters; and the Temple of Morunun, rumoured to be Dorlaf's eeriest building, built 800 years ago and scary even then and age has only improved the black fascination of the church for the God of Death. In all, Chorley is a busy, largely prosperous place with a few sites to see but irredeemably provincial and small town in character, stuck in its own love-hate relationships with itself, the Mellertang, and with the iron works which fill the air with smoke and noise and feed so many residents.
Jolton
Jalkin to Chorley's Forgar, though with a reputation for debauchery even in the Cities. This mainly comes from having Brightlace University within its walls Christoté's largest university, whose students, always exhilarated by the new environments of (relative) freedom and time on their hands, are currently working through the Can Callar-inspired fashion for mixing intellectual iconoclasm with reckless hedonism. Jolton has evolved into a part feeder, supplier and cleaner-up for the university - a sort of Market heading the other way - though it has fulfilled other functions in history. Once the site of a now-destroyed castle in the old Dorlafan kingdom, the Erish Empire in its first 50 or so years ran the region from Jolton - mainly to escape stroppy Yaleth. In many respects, though, the place is market town, where surrounding farmers meet to sell their produce, and mainly sell it to traders heading straight to the Cities along the South Passage Road. Though mainly growing edible goods, rattan is also grown nearby and cane from these has created a lively basket-weaving industry as one of Jolton's main earners.
Miersea
Known mainly for the clusters of villas, mansions and other summer retreats of the wealthy, which dot the cliffs overlooking Lake Maraskow. Indeed, most of the northern shores of the lake, especially around nearby Mierview Castle, are something of a rich man's playground. Partly this is because of the weather, particularly pleasant in the spring when the warm winds reach it sooner than further north, and partly the proximity of the lake, a large and picturesque stretch of water if rather over-cluttered with small boats, gentle woody slopes leading down to it. not far from Miersea is Lake Maraskow's most notable island, St Maskham's Rock, flings itself out of the water, an astonishingly high and steep rock, rather corkscrew shaped with trees twisting up it. Once the site of an old fort, this was flattened after the Erish were slung out and never inhabited since; the island is seen as both a religious area and a "quaint" sight. Miersea itself is overlooked by a more habitated religious site, a large and splendid Garrath church, which stands at the crest of where the land slopes down to the lake. Other features include a sizeable marina and one of Dorlaf's largest steam-baths. Both these, and much of the town's income, benefit from the visiting wealthy; Lake Maraskaw supplies others, such as fishing and the construction of small boats. The traditional rival of the town is Crislaw on the southern shore of the lake - less money, less aristocrats, a lot more mess and vigour. Crislaw is a bustling fishing and trading town with little civic splendours but a reputation for spawning vulgar and successful merchants - Tomas Listel and were both born there. It is the site of the rather vast Pikestaff Breweries, whose beer is drunk across Christoté, and whose rubbish can sometimes make the whole of Lake Maraskow smell, much to Miersea's annoyance.
The Cellrenacs
The name given to the densely-populated south-west corner of the Central Plains, clustered around the River Brail. As well as two sizeable castles - Jeczan Castle and the Tannerz seat, Mierlack Court - the Cellrenacs also contain a number of small towns. The largest is Elrich, which has grown up around the Elrich Bridge, a huge structure which spans the River Brail - the furthest downstream that this river is crossed - and which the Mellertang Way now runs on. Finished in 1080, the final part of the re-routing of the Way to incorporate the Cities, the Elrich Bridge is a vast, broad structure with few frills but a solid design, made to take the heavy carts and caravans of the Way as well as withstand any flooding of the Brail. The usual spin-offs of the bridge - the high tolls charged, together with busy markets and inns - add to the prosperity of Elrich, augmenting the rich farmland around and the strong local industry which specialises in ropemaking. It is a fairly rough place, however, the headquarters of the VII Regiment (the unit which patrols southern Dorlaf), the bridge itself is something of a target for bandits, and various rowdy travellers along the Mellertang Way add their own touch. Nearby Winscon, on the south bank of the Brail, is far more of a backwater, mainly known for its reputed high rate of insanity and these days, to everyone's amusement, the birthplace of Chela Tatel. Albaran is a more modern settlement than much of the Cellrenacs, having sprung up in the last hundred years . Strathey Hill, not far to the north, is little more than a large village, distinguishable mainly for an elaborate memorial to those who died in the wars with the Erish Empire; the Battle of the Cellrenacs, the defeat which prompted King Falcan's surrender to the Erish, took place just outside Strathey Hill in 848.
Kopan, Esterlan, Sisto
All three are towns built in the last fifty years in an attempt to solve the Cities' long-standing overcrowding problem. The idea, given that farmers surrounding the Cities have long refused to sell their land for expansion, is to locate any who are sufficiently close and are prepared to sell. Their land can be used for houses for people to live in and migrate daily to the Cities. Esterlan and Sisto (first built in 1287 and 1313 respectively) are fortunate in already lying on the Mellertang and Keskos ways; Kopan (1308) had a specially built road linking it to Forgar. The plan worked reasonably well, and though no-one enjoyed an hour's coach ride either side of work, the alternatives offered by the Cities themselves are often less bearable. All three towns are rather soulless and impersonal, particularly so when first built. They all follow the same unimaginative plan, a grid network of streets arranged around a central square, on which stands the essentials of urban living; public forum, Garran and Ellan churches, public library and theatre. Scattered elsewhere are the usual inns, bathhouses, shops, Guards lock-ups etc. Visiting Kopan in 1322 inspired the architect Tomas Solsen to write his famously snide pamphlet The Self-Assembly, All-Weather Dorlafan Town Kit. Gradually, though, each town has acquired a little distinctive character. Esterlan alone has remained a blend of miscellaneous commuting workers, farmers, migrants newly-arrived to the regions and retirees. Sisto has been targeted by the recently retired middle classes who wish to escape the Cities but not lose contact with it entirely. Their more refined villas have gradually replaced the grimmer municipal houses; they have also driven property prices up so that lawyers and businessmen are the only Cities workers still living in Astic. Kopan, meanwhile, has been nicknamed 'Sawtown', as both the Charlac Carriage Works and the Zielona Works have bought up sizeable blocks of houses to rent out to their workers.