Region · Duchy of Castal
The fertile Castali river country where Minalan's snowstone revolution began — a patchwork of feuding petty baronies and productive vales along the Bontal River.
The Bontal Vales, also rendered as the Bontali Riverlands, comprise a mid-country region of the Duchy of Castal centered on the Bontal River and its tributaries. Geographically the Vales are defined by rolling hill country broken up by narrow, fertile river valleys, with wooded uplands between. The land sits in the heart of the broader Castali Riverlands, bounded loosely by the hill-lords' country to the south, the great County of Lensely to the north, and the wider Riverlands to the east. The climate is temperate, historically mild with uncommon snow, though weather patterns shifted noticeably after the rise of Minalan the Spellmonger and his snowflake heraldry.
Politically the Bontal is a mosaic of domains rather than a unified province. Major holdings include the Barony of Sevendor, the Barony of Sendaria (long held by Baron Arathanial of the Lensely cadet line), the contested Lordship of Sashtalia (formerly the seat of the Warbird, Sire Gimbal), and the hill-fief of West Fleria. The neighbouring baronies jockey constantly for lances, bridges, and tolls. The senior overlord of record is the County of Lensely, with ultimate fealty owed through the Duke of Castal to King Rard.
The Vales became the centre of magical and political gravity in Castal after Minalan was granted Sevendor and produced snowstone. The Magic Fair of Sevendor, the elevation of the domain to a full barony, the fall of the Warbird of Sashtalia, and the establishment of the Arcane Orders' headquarters at Sevendor Castle all transformed a sleepy river-country into the most talked-about region in the kingdom. Notable settlements include Sevendor Town, Sendaria Port, Chepstan (site of the famed Spring Fair), and Robinwing in the central Riverlands.