Citadel

Late in July of 2014, the people of Citadel made themselves known to Union by venturing far afield from their settlement to attack and mug travelers within the northeastern Grassy Plains and the Verdant Forest. Though hostile sentiment ran high at first, the Matriarch of Citadel eventually contacted Union to explain the situation. A strange, fiery monster had appeared within their lands, causing great devastation, and the people of Citadel had resorted to robbing travelers of their food. Union agreed to assist, if only because the monster would eventually make its way south.

With some assistance from Maxwell Akers and the Seekers, the beast was eventually tamed, vanishing into the depths of the earth.

The Citadel itself is a city built into an enormous living tree. While it does house some permanent inhabitants, it primarily serves as a base of operations for the Valkyrie tribes, a group of nomadic herders notable for their female warrior classes. The Citadel is used as a meeting place and houses the Matriarch, the leader of the Valkyries. The Matriarch is chosen through a grand tournament every ten years. The current Matriarch, Frea, has held the position for thirty years.

The Valkyrie tribes live by much different values than the people of Union. Wild, untamed and free, they tend to run by directive of the Matriarch, although they have a number of basic rules that they follow regarding property and punishment.

The tribes are decidedly matriarchal, with men typically performing most of the labor and craft duties and women holding the warrior and government positions. Each tribe has its own elder who represents the tribe's interests; much like that of the Matriarch, the position of the elder is determined via tournament. While ostensibly open to all, the Matriarch position has never been filled by someone who wasn't already an elder.

The Valkyries have Enlightened, whom they refer to as Windblessed. Valkyries are most commonly Flying, Normal and Fighting types, though as with Union, a wide variety of typings can appear. The Citadel itself is smaller than Caldera, but the accumulated tribes are roughly equivalent to Caldera in population. Child of the Howling Gale is an Enlightened ability unique to the people of Citadel.

For the timeline concerning the confrontation with the fiery beast, refer to the Timeline.