Beryl

From Glen Cook Wiki

Regional detail of area near Beryl, originally a free city and later a city in the Northern Empire.

Beryl is the city where we first meet The Black Company. It is an ancient city on the southern edge of the Sea of Torments. It is the "Queen of the Jewel Cities". Initially, Beryl is ruled by the Syndic from a central fortress called the Bastion. Later, it becomes a province of the Northern Empire. Beryl appears to have a strong fleet of ships, as the initial alliance between the Northern Empire and the city calls for Beryl to support the Empire with its navy.

Beryl is very ancient, and Croaker often enjoys strolling along the boulevards and probing its history. It appears to be based on the real life city of Byzantium/Constantinople/Istanbul, which is also an ancient city with things built and rebuilt on top of each other many times. It is also similar in that they both have political factions referred to by colors; Constantinople had four, Beryl, two, the Reds and the Blues.

During a period known as the ancient kingdom the forvalaka came and terrorized the city for a decade during the reign of Niam. They were eventually overcome and locked in a tomb on Necropolitan Hill.

• Necropolitan Hill
  • tomb of the forvalaka
  • reign of Niam

• Fork Barracks
• Urban Cohorts, city guard
• The Bastion
• The Paper Tower
• Upper Enclosure, mausoleums of the wealthy
• The Queen of the Jewel Cities
• Trejan's Wall overlooking Beryl's harbour
• Silent would be useful if the Blues played rough
• Mole Tavern, origin of poisonings
• "Fire! Riots in the Groan! Dancing at the Gate of Dawn!" Dancing was an old time general who nearly destroyed Beryl

• south of Fortress Island?
• the Pillar of Anguish is an arrowhead of a chalk headland wormholed with countless little caverns. It thrusts out to sea a day's march east of Beryl. A lighthouse/watchtover stands there. The name comes from the moaning the wind makes passing through the caverns

• Punishment of slaves means being left up for scavenger birds after public crucifixion
• Only criminals are buried uncremated, or not buried at all

• Avenue of the Syndics, runs from Customs House uptown to the Bastion's main gate
• Rubbish Gate

• Apparently, mutineers broke into Necropolitan Hill, letting loose the forvalaka

Maps

• Black Company Maps (direct links: Map of the North, Map of the South)