Highlake

The coastal city of Highlake is situated on a hill between with the deep, still waters of lake Caeruleum on one side and the sea on the other. It is perhaps due to the scenic majesty of its surroundings that Highlake developed as it has—eternally striving toward becoming the shining city on a hill. Everywhere the banners of its many knightly orders flutter in the wind, multicolored flags flap proudly in the salty air blowing in from the sea-side port; the notion of chivalry has affected every aspect of the city’s culture. Highlake is part of the Five Dragons.

Slavery, serfdom, and indentured servitude of any kind are totally outlawed in Highlake. The aristocracy have adopted the notion of noblesse oblige ; they who benefit from the station of their birth owe the most to society. It is the only city in the Empire with a social safety net; its municipal government acting as a sort of welfare state for the poor. It is not sufficient to simply pay ones taxes in Highlake. In order to be held in regard; to be noble, one must contribute towards the city’s various charitable great works.

Highlake is governed by the king, who in turn is served by a council of the various knightly orders. These knights dedicate their lives to the pursuit of chivalric virtue, holding valor, piety, and service to others in the highest regard. Their esprit de corps is possibly matched no where else in the Empire; it is heroic and good to die in battle in service to one’s liege. Their martial prowess is well-respected, and their griffin mounts rightly feared. A knight of Highlake begins learning to ride the fearsome flying predators almost as soon as they are able to talk—flight comes as naturally to them as does walking. In battle, the flying wedge formation of glittering lances can cause lesser military units to route prior to engagement.

Highlake’s welfare state has virtually eliminated poverty, and its investments in education have created a large population of skilled, middle-class labor. The various guilds wield almost as much political clout in the city as do the nobles themselves, but this relationship between labor and the aristocracy is not an adversarial one—rather, it is one of cooperation, with the guilds and nobles working together to improve the city as a whole. This notion of cooperative coexistence is derived from the ideas of chivalry that the city has laid its foundation on; the chivalric notions inextricably tied to the Proximian idea of harmony.