Pelervar/Ashford

Ashford

Tier	Free City · Regional Centre
Region	Western Marches
City ruler	Mayor of Ashford
Regional ruler	Principal of the Western Marches
Population	Mostly human, significant dwarven community
Notable	Damaged harbour fort; refugee camp; a Grey Order Registry

Ashford is a Free City and the regional centre of the Western Marches, the embattled western frontier of the Free Cities. It is mostly human with a significant dwarven population, and it holds a working harbour, council halls, markets, temple precincts, a Grey Order Registry, and a fort — now damaged — overlooking the harbour entrance to the south. A refugee camp has grown up outside the walls, fed by people driven from settlements lost to raids from across the western sea. Ashford is known, grimly, as the last major settlement of the Marches still standing.

Two Authorities

• The Mayor of Ashford, elected by the city's registered citizens, governs the city itself — its law, taxes, public works, markets, and security.
• The Principal of the Western Marches, elected by the registered citizens of the region's recognised settlements and confirmed by the Council, governs the region: its chartered settlements, roads, border defence, and inter-town disputes, from the Principal's Hall.

Ashford holds a full city seat on the Council through its Mayor; the Principal carries a separate advisory regional voice. The Principal's wardens, road patrols, and militia levies, alongside Ashford's own City Watch, are what keep the frontier from collapsing entirely.

Do not confuse the Mayor of Ashford (the city) with the Principal of the Western Marches (the region). Both sit in the same city.

Nearby

The independent dwarven holds lie in the mountains above the Marches; the ruin of Westwatch stands within sight of the city.