Radiating outward from the culture’s most sacred Temple at its heart. Swaths of forest alternate with family dwellings and other civic structures. Valda, Valsgarde’s Prime (and only) ‘city’ actually encompasses a sprawling area in a clearing of the Forest all within a day’s walk of its rounded cliff like coast. Roads in and about the city are winding and narrow and usually not wide enough to accommodate a horse drawn cart. While animal drawn carts are more common place the farther one gets from the center, human drawn ones tend to be found in the ‘city’ proper. At the edge of the clearing, when roads can go no farther into the wild, rope and plank bridges provide easy foot travel through and over the wild spaces linking areas less invaded by the Savage Wyld. The ‘internal’ curve of the urban spiral harbors a high offset wall staggered into “shelves” for tended terrace farming and vine orchards.

The city’s outermost ring is a dense fence of trees that functions as a natural wall against aggressors. The trees have platforms for archers and the wall is constantly guarded. The rope bridges can be cut, descending travelers into the lethal vegetation of the crevices between trees were the Savage Wyld holds sway. But before this action would be deemed necessary an invading outside army would need to climb the incredibly isolated ‘Towers of Valsgarde’ before mounting an effective assault. Valsgarde citizens are so paranoid about invasion that it is said a militant order of priests is entirely devoted to closely monitoring all foreigners who enter the city who presumably could in actuality be ‘advanced scouts’. Although this may just be a bit of folklore and story bandied about by traders and caravan guards.

Valsgarde is populated mainly by women and children. There is no marriage and all property is held communally. Ancestors are traced matrilineally. And for the inhabitants of Valda, the welfare of children is paramount. The city’s patron, is the god of orphans, and abandoned children can be brought from outside to be raised within. The children of Valsgarde are called arkulli or “little bears” (singular arkullos), and are held in the highest esteem by the entire community. Children are welcomed everywhere, from the temple to the training grounds.

The majority of men in Valda live near the Amatrophon, a menagerie at the edge of Valda. At a young age, men are encouraged to “peregrinate,” a practice of wandering the world and seeking knowledge beyond that of their mothers. If these men expect to return and stay they must be able to bring back a wealth of trainable knowledge. In Valsgärde it is believed that women become heroes through martial training, while men become heroes by finding their own way in the world. Just outside of Valsgärde, lies Aesengard, Valda’s the ‘brother’ village. It is populated by men who were once raised in Valsgärde but who choose not to live in a zoo. Instead they exist at the edge of their Homeland in defiance of the government of Valsgärde.