Blogisode 4: The Second Wall

The second wall is the entrance into the core of Ositia.  This wall is built by royal commission and using molded rocks from the mines.  It had a distinct aura to it, the stones once polished.  Nearly twice the height and width of the first wall the gates were also adorned with grand tapestries and flags.  The royal colors of deep reds and blues flowed over the gate of the second wall.  This was the greeting for members of the inside court.  This second wall was once the exterior wall of the castle.  It bears a few scars from battles past but had been sufficiently repaired.  Even the soldiers who guarded this part of the wall dressed in special armor.  The light of the sun shone brightly off their armor.  It served the purpose of blinding those who were attacking and awing those who were visiting.  This second wall had four gates.  One gate faced the sun as it rose and another when it set.  They were opposite to each other.  Two more gates stood in the middle of the distance between the first two.  Their design was intended to create the four points of the compass; the roads leading into the castle heading in each direction.  The second wall didn’t always have these four gates.  Before the first wall there were only two.  King Orisgoth had the second cut into the wall after his citizens built the first wall.  It may have been only as a mockery, however, as he did not change the laws around who could pass through the gates of the second wall.

The people within the second wall were often considered to be the upper class.  Many owned large farms, businesses, trades, mines or were relatives and friends of the king.  Being a relative of King Orisgoth certainly did not guarantee you favour in his kingdom.  At times, neither did being his friend.  Although more affluent the houses in this part of town were very tightly packed.  Row houses were commonly used to save space.  Many stood three and four stories call and were constructed from white and pale blue stone cut from the mountains that Orisgothia straddled.  The space was tight because, before the first wall, the affluent of Orisgothia struggled to remain protected from enemy raids.  Space behind the wall became a premium and began forcing out many of the smaller business owners and land owners.  Soon the land was consumed and there was hardly space for the cobblestone roads their horses travelled.  The houses lined the roads tightly, only a stone waterway separating the two.  Each home had a small bridge over the waterway to their doors.  The white and blue of the buildings almost glowed at night.  When the moon shines at its brightest and the torches are lit the streets can almost shimmer.

The streets of the merchants are just as crowded as the homes that surround them.  The main roads from the north and the south are lined with shops, pubs, restaurants and all sorts of entertainment for the people of this part of town.  Since those who weren’t owners were not permitted the prices and fare at these establishments was well above a month’s salary of the average worker.  Those few who had jobs in these places reveled in the opulence they were surrounded with.  The road to the east, as well as many that branched off from it, contained many of the offices of the mine owners.  Here the rich came and discusses business, trade and labour.  The price of raw resources was decided in many of these buildings based on demand and volume.  The outlying cities and towns of Orisgothia came to trade here.  Food, grains, timber and stone all changed hands and companies.  Blistrar is at the center of all of it.  Many of these buildings are lined with streaks of blistrar.  The centerpiece is the great Orisgothian market.  This building is situated right on the main east road and nearly in the center of the business area.  Its construction consists of pure stone, grand glass windows with large blistrar coated sashes.  The windows were topped with grand blistrar triangular dormers.  The roof itself is shingled with hammered iron coated with pure blistrar.  The blue glowed in the sunlight and seemed to glisten even at night.  Nearly indestructible it has served as a citadel for the elite noblemen during many raids.

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