Graycleft
Graycleft: From the East
CONSTRUCTION
Graycleft is the third location I constructed in Alpha, and my first real city. After building the original Cair Denbar, and the small Desert Village that eventually grew into Agrazahn, I discovered a ravine open to the surface with mineshaft entrances in it. I built the city directly into the walls of the ravine, with just the Keep, Church, and skytower on the surface.
While exploring the depths beneath the city, I discovered my first Stronghold and incorporated it into the design with a secret hidden entrance at the bottom of the city. I originally referred to it as the Sagehold, until I built the current Sagehold on the hill above the city.
Once the Sagehold was constructed, I expanded the city up to it on the surface. The city remained largely untouched for years after this, as I wanted it to keep its small, rural feel.
For the 5th Anniversary of Alpha, I decided to bring Graycleft up-to-date. It was feeling a bit old, as most of the buildings were smaller and looked dingy in comparison to my more modern builds. I overhauled most of the surface buildings, built a new city-wall, and expanded the city again to fill in the area created by the new square city walls. I also added a railway station that connects the lowest level of Graycleft to The Deep.
In 2020, I added a full expansion on the hill above the city to the east. I finally got to make the cemetery a big more believable, and added some fancy new buildings. To finish it off, I updated all the railings in the ravine.
LORE
Graycleft is an old city with an ancient Stronghold deep beneath it. It is home to the Order of Sages, keepers of knowledge and wisdom in the world. They hail from the Sagehold, a large keep on a hill above the city. The Sages maintain the Great Library, and run the various halls of knowledge, halls of learning, and halls of wisdom around the empire.
Graycleft was the capital of the Kingdom of Westvale for many years, until the Kingdom joined the Denbarian Empire and became the West Province. It is still ruled by the King of the West from Graycleft Keep.
TRAVEL CONNECTIONS
Vale Gate: Road to Valemont and Lakeside
Hill Gate: Road to the Desert Province and Agrazahn
Bridge Gate: Road to the South Province and Southron
Graycleft Railway Station: Railway to The Deep
Graycleft Skytower: Airships to Imperial City, Draksp’ir, and Fire Nation