Newcastle

**Newcastle** is the capital, and largest city of the Kingdom of Aqoris. Located on the east coast of Aqoris in the Domainlands, south of where the Spear flows into the Expanse, Newcastle is the site of the Bear Throne and the Winter Keep, the seat of the Boyce Kings of The North. It has a fairly temperate climate and is subjected to fairly bad Winters but the wealth of the city is able to manage the Winter quite effectively, as such the city is quite luxurious (but not on the same scale as Sunderly) for those who can afford it but there are still slums, such as the notable slum district of Rat's Wail, despite being policed by the competent City Watch of Newcastle.

The city was officially founded in 1 BF alongside the Domainlands by Barden Boyce just as he was embarking on his Foundation Wars. He had begun construction on his Winter Keep a few years prior to the founding of Newcastle but in those years, several fishing villages had sprung up around the new castle - hence the name, so Barden combined the various villages into one larger city, creating Newcastle as his new capital city. He used the city and his Winter Keep as a base to conquer much of Northern Aqoris.

Newcastle has experienced occasional attacks, the most notable being the final battle of The War of The Bears with the Siege of Newcastle by the Rebel Forces under Prince Kaegan Boyce to overthrow King Dannis I Boyce, "the Cruel". The city suffered heavily during the Siege, as well as during the entire reign of King Dannis, and required extensive repairs.

## Notable Locations within the city

### Winter Keep

The Winter Keep is the seat of the ruler of the Kingdom of Aqoris. It is located in the north-east of the city, overlooking Newcastle Bay and into the Eastern Expanse. It has been the seat of House Boyce for the whole four centuries it has stood for.

### Grand Library of Newcastle

The Grand Library of Newcastle is an important building within the Curators Guild as it is their primary study centre and copies of all documents, records and even falcon messages are stored in the vast library. A Great Fire occurred in 300 AF which destroyed a considerable amount of documentation, allegedly including some writings from before the Founding of the Kingdom.

### Rat's Wail

Rat's Wail is the largest slum district in the city. It is located in the eastern side of the city, just west of the harbour, east of the Grand Library of Newcastle, and south of the hill that the Winter Keep sits upon. It is therefore heavily policed due to it's proximity to the Harbour, the Grand Library and the Winter Keep.

Rat's Wail was subjected to the worst of King Dannis' city cleansings. During his reign, thousands of commonfolk were massacred in the streets of Rat's Wail, so much so that the Blood Square was named in honour of it.

### Streets, Squares and Gates

* The Winter Road - the main highway of the Kingdom runs through the city. It enters through the King's Gate in the north of the city and exits south through the Summer Gate and leads onto Sunderly. To the north, it heads to Syderhill and then all the way to Greycrest through The Arcop.
	+ The Lake Road - the road leading to the Lakelands enters into the city through the Lake Gate in the west though it does not extend in the city.
* Barden's Street - a road leading from King's Gate to The Grand Library, and then to the Winter Keep. Acts as the western border of Rat's Wail.

## Population

Newcastle has a population of one million, making it the largest city in Aqoris.

## Notable current residents of the city

* King Warren I Boyce
* Lord Daltas Carlisle, Adviser to The King.
* Lord Ruban Ross, Lord Chancellor.
* Lord Errick Tarbor, Lord Admiral.
* Lord Lorgan Durham, Master of Laws.
* Sir Andrew Carlisle, Lord Commander of the Bronze Cloaks.
* Emerick, High Curator.
* Sir Arvin Knigh, Lord Constable of the City Watch.