Yaleth
Yaleth has a single bridge over the Brail, the Reckstag.
The Reckstag Bridge
Spanning the Brail in the valley between Pratel and Royal Hill just southwest of Ansell Square, the Reckstag is easily the Cities' grandest bridge. Originally built by the old Dorlaf Kingdom, the Reckstag Bridge was near-destroyed in the fighting to liberate Yaleth from the Erish but later or less reconstructed along its original lines. Chief feature of the bridge are the two large gold (plated metal) straps suspended above either end, shaped and curved together so they appear to be two huge sea shells spanning the breadth of the bridge. Two towering copper iron poles shoot up o either side of the shells, competing an ornate archway; the outermost strips of the shells are fastened to the poles, the rest held in place by welding and the pressure of the others. Tied to the top of the polls and stretching across the length of either of the bridge are two Giant's Handrails, long silver metal tubes, from which streamers hang during carnivals. Down at pedestrian level, the bridge's sides have been carved in a series of frescoes, now badly worn and chipped, but the top of the sides, chiselled into a succession of wave-style curves, have lasted better, as have the large engraved copper plates which are fastened onto the outside of the sides. For all its finery, the Reckstag Bridge itself is heavy solid and well-built, made form the granite of the southern Campbells, a more durable material than much of the Cities' stone. It was designed to take a lot of traffic and this it does; the main complaints about the Reckstag, apart from the fact that it bars stalls, shops etc. concern the two central support pillars which are planted in the Brail, a devil for river traffic to navigate.
An even older and more impressive construction once stood downstream to the south, the Eastcastle Bridge. Destroyed by fire when the civil war swept into the Cities in 1145, it had been half-rebuilt by 1166 when a more accidental fire hit it, destroying the building site. Another attempt to rebuild the bridge was nearly complete in 1239, when it was vaporised by a freak accident from a product built in the Serpent Laboratory, a forerunner to the problems of the early 1300's. This was too much even for the Cities, and the Eastcastle Bridge was abandoned for good. An old Kakranfan family, the Stuaonto's, run the ferry between the stretch of water the bridge once crossed; probably the most famous of the Cities' numerous ferry companies.
Jalkin
Jalkin has four bridges; not many really for a building mad city lying on two small rivers which join to make one, slightly bigger river. The Culn is crossed twice; most northerly is the Lianti Bridge, completed in 1249, named after the recently deceased Chancellor Myers Lianti. Offering the lazy aristocrats of the Lewis Avenue sector a fast track to the north gates, the Lianti Bridge is a sturdy, well-made construction, built of good, solid Welcing brick and spanning the river in one easy arch.
Just before reaching Suln Tres the Culn passes under the Summer Bridge, which was thrown up in the first construction wave and has since been thrown down and rather stubbornly thrown up ever since (built in 1014, it burnt down in 1300, and fell down in 1095 and 1255) Crosses the Culn between Bristel Avenue & Fishers Road it is main crossing if travelling through Jalkin whichever direction. As well as being lined with stalls many shops have been built into its high sides; Suttosko the Elven, a fortune teller (though not actually an Elf) is one famous sight, as is the book-binders Helltiech & Helltiech. Originally high and arching, the Summers Bridge has become rather squatter and broader one each rebuilding, and a solid middle support was added when it was realised that virtually no traffic comes under it, just over it.
"The sides of the Summers Bridge, banked precariously high with shops, are as tall and tottering as turrets on an Erish castle. Spanning the Culn on the main north-south road through Jalkin, the bridge is host to hordes of foot and wagon traffic as well as its semi-resident street hawkers and vendors. As one scribe said, "Here you can buy your dinner, mend your boots, learn your fortune, hire a horse, cure your piles or buy a gilded medallion for a loved one. The only thing you can't do on the Summers Bridge is cross the sodding river." Smoke from a dozen fires on the bridge rose up, merging with the hazy heat of the morning air." (from City Hobgoblins)
"The Summers Bridge was looming over them. It looked even more absurd from the water, an excessively curved arch whose sides were banked high with slender, precarious houses. Each emitted mazy dribbles of smoke and each, she knew, held the shops and stalls which made crossing the bridge such a feat of will and endurance. She noticed for the first time that the bridge itself had a line of faces carved along its side. They were just about human but were extremely grotesque, twisted in demonic cackles and leers." (from The Innocents)
A short distance up the rather sarcastically named Fishers Road, the filthy river Brulos can be crossed by the Clerken Bridge, so called because of the proximity of Jalkin Library. Mainly distinguished by rather natty onyx statues of mythical creatures on either side (Kraken and Sea Giant west side, Sea Dragon and Mergirl on east).
The one bridge over the Greater Brulos - a number of ferries allow other crossings of the river - is the Southmarket Bridge, near the area of same name. Another built in the first construction projects, it is an austere enough construction, with carved parapets and frescos of the old kings of Dorlaf on its outer sides. But, overrun by cheap stalls and traders the Southmarket Bridge has a shocking reputation. It is haunted by pickpockets by day, muggers at night and by prostitutes, drunks and conmen during all hours; as the saying goes, "It's safer to swim".
Rykes Gardens
The Nichols Bridge
Just north of Jalkin's Harkanas Gate is the Harkanas Bridge, which crosses the Brulos on the start of Gungaman's Way and also gives access to Rykes Gardens. First built, under a different name, by the Erish Empire and widened in 1038 the Harkanas Bridge is a fairly simple engraved stone design, but rather more high and arched than it needed to be, which caused regular moans amongst those trying to take bulky cartloads across it. this, plus the sheer volume of traffic crossing the Harkanas caused another bridge to be built, finished in 1277, only about 10 feet upstream. The Oelring Bridge is wide, squat and heavy, designed specially for wagons and coaches; two toll boots, one facing north, one south, are incorporated into the centre and designed to help relieve some of the chaos at the toll posts at the Harkanas Gate.