Freyk’s Wall is the capital and only major city in the country of Loksenta. The original settlement was founded on the Isle of Cormyn between two forks of the River Lyvenness as it flows into the Sea of Perryn. The city center, the Castle, and many residential districts are still on the Island. Since the end of the Goblin Wars, the city has spread to the East Bank and West Bank of the Lyvenness.
The cityside river banks are protected by a fortification known only as “The Wall”. In 646 Common Reckoning (CR), four years after the founding of the settlement of Cormyn by Borsen of Gwenddon, the Great Goblin Horde crossed the River Touze. They captured the unfinished fortress of Dakor and advanced to the banks of the Lyvenness. The Crimson Brigade, under the leadership of Marshal Freyk, destroyed the Ten-Span Bridge over the river, preventing the Horde from overwhelming the settlement. The next year, Freyk leads reinforcements from Gwenddon in retaking Dakor. King Borsen began building the Wall in 648. When it was completed in 649. It was put to the test in 651, when the Horde again arrived on the banks of the Lyvenness. Marshal Freyk and his forces held the Wall against many attacks by the Horde. Elfard assumed the throne after the Battle of Torvyn, in which both King Borsen and Crilk, the Starntor Ghan, both died. He renamed the settlement Freyk’s Wall.
The Queen maintains the Wall around the island, but the rest of the city little resembles what it looked like during the Goblin Wars. The crooked streets have been straightened. The ramshackle, wooden buildings of that time have been replaced by the soaring skyscrapers of East Gate, the stately manors of the nobility and want-to-be nobility, and the stone townhouses of the middle class. Replaced, that is, except in The Tyr. No one has felt like rejuvenating the worst of the slums.
Freyk’s Wall contains twelve or thirteen major districts, depending on who is doing the counting. From South to North, they are:
Castle Ward - The Castle itself is situated high on a promontory between the West Fork of the Lyvenness and the Sea of Perryn. North of the Castle are embassies, the homes of mid-level nobles and courtiers, the headquarters of the Queen’s Guard, and the Queen’s Park.
The Docks - Below and to the East of the Castle, the Docks district spreads up the Perryn coast to the mouth of the East Fork. This district is the nexus of the intercontinental trade which is the source of most of the wealth in Freyk’s Wall. In addition to the docks hosting sea-going freighters and passenger ships, the district contains warehouses for storing goods just arrived or about to be transhipped, smaller docks for coastal boats carrying goods to and from the train depot in The Fan, and the Loksenta Navy Yard. Ships dock or sail according to the tide and the weather, so the Docks is often bustling with activity at all hours of the day.
Kalltown - North of the Docks is the crowded slum called Kalltown. Once a neat neighborhood of skilled laborers and small merchants, it was overwhelmed by the flood of refugees coming through the Docks from Glorien during the Harrying of the Dragons. Tenements comfortably housing a half-dozen small families were crammed with as many as a hundred poor, jobless emigrants, mostly humans and Galliana elves from Capivan. In the six decades since the casting of the Dragon Bane spell, the fallen elves, insular and xenophobic, have come to dominate Kalltown. They associate as little as possible with the rest of Freyk’s Wall. In spite of being so close to the plentiful jobs that could be found in the Docks, overcrowded Kalltown remains poor.
East Gate - The East Gate district spans the Eastern half of Crossroad, the boulevard that runs from Freyk’s Wall’s Eastern gate to its Western. Loksenta’s major mercantile houses and financial firms are headquartered in East Gate. Skyscrapers jut tens of stories into the sky, the result of powerful architecture mages trying to outdo one another by constructing ever taller, ever more fanciful buildings. The most prominent of the skyscrapers are
The Cornerstone Building, headquarters of the Loksenta Merchantile Company;
The Barnabus Center, headquarters of the Trader’s Guild;
The Alexis Tower, headquarters of the Western Trade Company;
The Yardarm, headquarters of the Thrung Shipping Conglomerate;
The Sheaf, housing The Independent newspaper; and
Scythe Tower, which stands where the original gatehouse for the Eastern city gate used to be.
West Gate - The Crimson Regiment courageously defended the Wall against several sieges during the Goblin Wars. This compound of this elite unit still dominates the West Gate district, which extends on either side of Crossroad from the city’s Western gate. The Dagger Tower, the gatehouse, is also one of the defensive towers of Regiment’s headquarters, The Red Fort. The Red Fort lies to the North of Crossroad, as does the Parade Ground and quarters of senior officers. To the South of Crossroad are quarters for junior officers, barracks for the enlisted troops, and The Sword and The Shield, Loksenta’s military training academy.
Little Krondak - Sandwiched between West Gate and East Gate is this enclave of emigres and the descendents of emigres from the nation of Krondak. Little Krondak mainly consists of uniform townhomes fronting very clean streets. Many of the residents are mid- and upper-level managers working for firms in East Gate. A disproportionately high number of the Crimson Regiment officers are from Little Krondakian families.
Midtown - Whether the area North of the districts centered on Crossroad should be considered a single district or two is a matter of continuing debate. Residents living West of Pali Avenue are proud to be from Midtown West. Those living East of the Avenue insist they are from Midtown East. The farther one lives and works from Midtown, however, the more likely one is to consider it a single district. Indeed, both halves consist mostly of middle class apartments and townhouses and mid-sized businesses. The primary distinguishing features are the Lord’s Hospital in Midtown West and The Gramercy, the world’s first department store, in Midtown East. The headquarters of the d’Ameston Agency is in Midtown East.
North Market - The district North of Midtown West is named after the large market square at its center. North Market is the city’s primary source for goods shipped from the interior of Loksenta. The square is surrounded by small businesses. These give way to lower-middle class apartments towards the edge of the district.
The Tyr - Between the Wall and Midtown West and North Market huddles Tyrum’s Fall, usually shortened to the Tyr. This district is named after General Marcelan Tyrum, who died here failing to prevent a goblin army from mounting the Wall, the only time the Wall was ever breached. Since then, the Tyr seems to have gone from misfortune to misfortune. It is the worst slum in the city, crowded with ancient, crumbling tenements along twisted, garbage-filled alleys.
Dragon’s Reach - In contrast to The Tyr is the district on the other side of Midtown, Dragon’s Reach. Magically cleaned streets sparkle so much they look polished. The district is full of upper class apartments and townhomes and exclusive social clubs. The Theatre District is within Dragon’s Reach, as is Miltos Drive, the city’s elite shopping street. The only thing less than ritzy in Dragon’s Reach is the Goblin Market, a collection of Starntor market stalls housed in the grandiose airship terminal of the defunct White Wing Line.
Spires - The Spires district lies in Northwest end of the Isle of Cormyn. This district surrounds the Academy, the mage training college. The main Academy buildings are ancient for Freyk’s Wall, built in a simple, elegant style. The towers, or spires, of each of the nine archmages on the Academy’s ruling council, however, are as flamboyant and attention grabbing as their occupants. The rest of Spires is dedicated to serving the needs of the Academy faculty, staff, and students. Around the Academy grounds are cafes, small restaurants, and shops for magical supplies. Housing for senior mages clusters near the Wall to the North. Near the Wall to the West, and therefore close to the Tyr, are apartments for students and junior mages. The Green Flame, a luxury hotel for visiting mages and other august personages borders North Park, the greenspace that caps the Isle of Cormyn. Also notable, at least to Academy students, are two large taverns, the Eagle and the Gryphon.
Cliffside - The Northeast end of the Isle of Cormyn rises in a steep cliff several score meters above the East Fork of the Lyvenness. During the Goblin Wars, Cliffside was considered one of the safest areas of Freyk’s Wall, second only to the Castle itself. It is unsurprising, therefore, that this district became the home of Loksenta’s upper nobility. Currently, Cliffside contains twenty-four estates of the Fourteen Dukes, as well as some powerful Margraves and Eoarls. The highest ranking of these nobles live along the edge of the cliff itself, the only riverside area of the Isle of Cormyn not covered by the Wall. Less prestigious estates are downhill, next to North Park and East Park, the greenspace separating Cliffside from Dragon’s Reach. The least prestigious estates are also the lowest, bordering Midtown East and Spires.
In the relative safety after the end of the Goblin Wars, the growing population of Freyk’s Wall and that population’s growing affluence has pushed the boundaries off of the Isle to both the far banks of the river. These suburbs are collectively called, “Beyond the Wall.” There are three notable districts Beyond the Wall.
The Fan - This district lies across the New Bridge from the Western gate of the city proper. The district is named for the fan of railway lines leading from the interior of Loksenta to the Fellowes Central Railway Station. Many of the factories established during the Magica Revolution, including the Sito Lift Company and Loksenta Rail. Several mercenary companies have their barracks and training grounds in the Fan, as the only the Crimson Brigade can be billeted within the Wall.
Goblin Town - For many decades after the end of the Goblin Wars, the Starntor were forbidden from entering Freyk’s Wall. For many more decades, they were not allowed to settle within the Wall. The traders that came to trade with the new kingdom established a village to the East of the city, at the far end of the King Borsen Bridge. This district is still a colorful and lively Starntor enclave.
Necropolis - The Isle of Cormyn has never been large enough to house both the living and dead of Freyk’s Wall. Since the construction of the tomb of Prince Hilmark, the eldest son of King Borsen, in 1644, the ridge overlooking the sea, South of Goblin Town, has been the burial place of the city’s gentry.
Den of the Red Wolf 