Bayonne

A duchy of Benoic, **Bayonne** is the the political, cultural, and religious heart of the Kingdom. Held directly by the King and the site of his seat, Bayonne also the birthplace of King Frollo du Graal and, according to legend, the holy realm where King Frollo achieved the Chalice and met the Lady.

## Culture and Society

Bayonne is a duchy ruled by King Chretien Coeur-de-Lion.

The birthplace and realm of King Frollo du Graal and the site of his fateful encounter with the Lady of the Chalice, Bayonne is a place of chivalry, faith, and tradition. Here the knights most fervently and earnestly uphold their virtues and chivalric ideals, absolute and unwavering in their devotion to their King and their Lady. The Knights of Bayonne are, by most estimations, all a knight should be. The Bayonnets are a courageous and honorable people who take extreme pride in their history and traditions. Even the peasants of Bayonne have a proud and dignified bearing to them.

### **Cuisine**

The barony of Sompui is a center of wine production that may not equal Gironde in output (certainly not in overall wine output) but which is nonetheless famous throughout Asul for its sparkling wine. Indeed, while Gironde is known for its dark rosato wine, Sompui is known throughout the world for its sparkling wine, and in many parts of the Western Kingdoms 'Sompui' is used as a household name for any sparkling wine regardless of its actual source.

### **Religion**

Bayonne is the most religious of Benoic's duchies, and the most fervent in its devotion to the Lady of the Chalice. All its lords and knights are staunchly devoted to the Lady, and the worship of the Saint is generally to be found only among the peasantry; the nobles are devoted to Liege and Lady and no others.

### **Society**

Due to the supreme importance placed on the virtues and ideals of knighthood in Bayonne, many of its lords and landed knights spend their time away from their demesnes questing, seeking valor and demonstrating the virtue of Bayonne. Due to the fact they are seldom around, the castellans and stewards of Bayonne wield considerably more power than their neighbors in other duchies, and in many ways are the true rulers of the duchy.

## Geography

The west of Bayonne consists mostly of farmland, while the eastern half is given over more to pastoral pursuits. The duchy's south gives way to the famous Broceliande, the sacred forest of the Lady.

### **Broceliande**

One of Benoic's two great forests, **Broceliande** is a place of mystery and magic, of the sacred and the profane. It was here in Bayonne, on the forest's rim, that King Frollo du Graal is said to have achieved the Chalice and encountered the Lady in the flesh.

A magnificent and ornate chapel, the **Chapelle du Graal** stands near the edge of Broceliande, upon the very spot where some - its builders obviously included - claim that King Frollo du Graal had his encounter with the Lady. The Bayonne stretch of the forest also includes the infamous **Val sans Retour**; a cursed place that has been the doom of many a knight.

### **Carhaix**

Almost exactly in the center of the duchy rests **Carhaix**, the royal seat and place held in awe and reverence by even most of the nobility - to say nothing of the peasantry.

### **Chapel Road**

**The Chapel Road** connects the Chapelle du Graal in Broceliande with Gironde in the duchy of the same name, and is also that realm's primary road.

### **Massif Noir**

The **Massif Noir** is a compact range of low mountains in southeastern Bayonne. Largely avoided by the locals, these rounded mountains are riddled with caves and caverns known to serve as the lair for at least one tribe of Gronn.

### **Route Petillant**

The main road of Bayonne, the **Route Petillant** connects Carhaix and Sompui before crossing the river into Rochmont.

### **Sompui**

The riverside realm of Baron Morgan de la Riviere, the eponymous town of **Sompui** and its surrounding settlements are given over to vineyards and the barony is a center of sparkling wine production famous throughout Asul.