Villamaje

> "I come from Villamaje, Your Majesty. There, the world is different than it is in the North. They do not glare at you there as if you have killed one of their family. If you did, they would return the favor and move on, you see." *- Sever Triado, The Plight of Steel, Chapter 17*
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Villamaje is an island kingdom situated within the Eastern Seas - a Southern region at the bottom of the Known World. It is ruled by the Villalon family, which takes a snarling cat as their sigil. Crushed beneath its paw is a *cobralor*, a flower indigenous to the region.

## Geography

Because of its Southern location, the kingdom is tropical and humid year-round. It is an island, and so large beaches surround the shores. At the Northern end of the landmass is a mountainous region of volcanic rock, as well as forests of tall palm trees, which the inhabitants use to construct buildings and ships. On the tallest of these mountains sits the palace of Casteloro, wherein lives the royal family. At the opposite end of the island, which is not farther than a few miles, lies a small town named Obrador. The populace of the island live there primarily, as well as on smaller islands within the Eastern Seas.

The people of Villamaje are born with an incredible heat tolerance. Men wear coats of fine furs, even at mid day, when temperatures can exceed forty degrees Celsius. Women dress in thin silks, though often complain of feeling chilled.

The royal family are descended from shipwrights, and hire teams of builders to continue this tradition. These ships, they sell to customers across the world. When they aren't sold, however, they sit in the many harbors and docks around the island, creating manmade forests of wooden masts and cloth sails.

## The Ruling Family

The Villalon family is descended from shipbuilders and wine makers. They place a strong emphasis on honor and punishment for impudence, and value justice, very often in the form of revenge. When someone has wronged them, the unfortunate soul will soon find a *cobralor* made from copper somewhere in their home. Soon after, they are dead.

The family uses the cat as their sigil to represent their calm, calculating temperaments, which can turn to vile anger in a moment. Cantarell Villalon, their patriarch, holds a vendetta against a man named Narcis Malvador - the leader of the Children of Ash cult, and a friend to the previous king. After Cantarell usurped the throne from the King, who was his own uncle, Narcis cut out the eye of Valentina Villalon, who had been the wife of the previous king before being married to Cantarell. The cult leader is impossible to find, but Cantarell's every thought is bent on doing so.

## Significant Locations

* Casteloro
* Obrador

## History

Where the men of Villamaje came from is unknown. They did not descend from God's Reach with the rest of the noble families, but were discovered on their island by them during the Second Age. All that is known to the Northmen about the history of the Villalon family, is that the uncle of Cantarell, Valentino Villalon, ruled his kingdom as a debaucherous, drunken fool. His councilmen, the *Cortuvia*, concocted a plot with Cantarell to kill him and take the throne.

After his death, his wife Valentina, who was twenty years his junior, was married to Cantarell, her nephew. Some time after she bore him two children, Narcis, for a reason unknown, cornered her in Obrador and gouged out one of her eyes. Cantarell, furious, swore to find the cult leader and spike his head above the palace gates to deter anyone from challenging his family every again.

## Name Origin

The word Villamaje, in the language of the kingdom, translates to *the Gilded House*. It seemed a fitting name to the men who discovered the island, after they constructed Casteloro - a palace they lined with gold.