World of Samardan: Garsol, Citadel of the Mountains...

Good Afternoon, All:

Welcome to the seventh post in my A to Z Challenge series, in which I describe 26 different locations in the World of Samardan campaign setting, one for each letter of the alphabet. Today, G is for Garsol, Citadel of the Mountains.

(Hex) Garsol, Citadel of the Mountains

Population: 11,000 (Human). Ruler: Gan-Pansanu Sumaro Gataragan (8th Level Human Warrior[Tactician]). Resources: Weapons, Wine.

Ambiance: Garsol feels like a large military base; the city militia train frequently in public squares, and mercenaries spar in the many training halls that dominate the cultural scene. The white cylinder of the Great Citadel towers over the city from its position high up on the cliffs overlooking the settlement below. The second greatest feature of Garsol is the campus of the Ganrasak, the most respected war academy of the region.

History: Originally constructed to serve as the base of operations for an aspiring warlord, the Great Citadel quickly became a symbol of protection and safety within the region. In order to maintain its position as a strong military power, the first Gan-Pansanu of Garsol sought out talented tacticians, warriors and knights, giving them land in exchange for their services as defenders and later instructors. Although the city is now large enough for its leader to be considered a Raganu ("emperor"), the title of its leader remains Gan-Pansanu ("war-lord") out of tradition.

Encounters: Warriors, mercenaries and military students are all prominent encounters in Garsol. Dueling is a way of life among the people of Garsol and, when combined with the intoxicating wines from Garsolan vineyards, can make evening excursions occasionally dangerous. Common encounters and hazards include overly-enthusiastic city guard, unruly mercenaries, gamblers and street harlots.

Treasure: Some of the finest weapons ever crafted by modern techniques can be found in the Great Citadel of Garsol, given as tribute and a symbol of respect to the man that protects this region. Gan-Pansanu Sumaro Gataragan's pride and joy, however, is a great airship galleon of war, which he has dubbed the Devikaloba ("Beloved of the Gods"), a prize captured in a skirmish with Torkabalem. Prize wines of a quality surpassing anything found elsewhere in the region are also kept in the cellars of vineyards under Garsol's protection.

Adventure Hooks: Adventure hooks for this site could include the following:

• Blad Kanagan, a weapon-master of some slight renown, seeks a diplomatic individual to request an audience with the Gan-Pansanu. Blad would like to apologize for running off with the Gan-Pansanu's daughter, who is now a prisoner of kelshrani rather than blissfully married, much to Blad's chagrine.
• Raganu Pekadevi Rekatur, the Lord-Emperor of Torkobalem, secretly desires the return of the captured airship, the Devikaloba. He would pay any pilot and his crew handsomely for its return.
• Sen Lusadan of the Healing Hands is a frightened man seeking help because he's been challenged to a duel to the death by an arrogant nobleman's son, and Sen Lusadan is a pacifistic healer with no knowledge of combat to speak of.
• Several nobles out of Torkabalem are discretely soliciting the services of "agents experienced in procurement" to "liberate" several casks of fine wine from the elite of the Garsolan vineyards.
• Vira Mudashand is a promising young tactician eager to attend the Ganrasak academy, but she is without letters of reference or tuition. She seeks a band to adventure with, in the hopes of earning her admission, and she happens to have a map to treasure, left to her by her aunt.

Standard Disclaimer: As I have not yet decided where to set this particular location on the map as yet, I've left a placeholder to remind me to come back to this in the future. Later on, I'll replace (Hex) with the actual hex location, when I put all of this together into a single document.

With Regards,
Flynn