Royal Road
Well, the Royal Road is just a magnificent wonder, isn’t it? There’s nothing like it anywhere else in the world. Makes me proud to be a Kalderani! Sure, if you live in a village or town and you don’t really travel, you probably don’t think twice about the road. But if you’re on the move, then you realize how extraordinary it is. Such is the size of Kalderesh that if you wanted to travel to each of the major cities in the land, it would take you about one and a half years. But if you use the Royal Road, you can do the same thing in just 4 months! That’s because the road is very well built and its constantly maintained, by us.
We have 63 teams of engineers, labourers, and military support groups that do upkeep. There are regular military patrols, that move along the road from station to station, to keep the King’s Peace. They give us feedback on sections of the road that are in bad condition so that we can tend to it before things go to pot.
Construction of the road started in 4272, by King Ebrardus. In his time, only Camfor and Azerel were well-developed settlements. Can you believe it! A crude road network of varying quality already existed when he took to the throne, with small trails leading to villages that would only much later become the major centres we know today.
It took 34 years to complete the road, if you can believe it! It was officially opened on the Day of Roses in 4306, but of course was being used (and repaired!) long before that.
If you look at the map here behind me, you’ll see where the various work gangs are at the moment. You’ll also notice that the Road is shaped like an “8” lying on its side. So there’s two routes that you can take – one is the Royal Loop, which goes all along the outside. That takes 117 days to travel. The other route is the Royal Eight, that’s when you travel the whole thing, and you’re doing this bit in the middle, between Coth-Rom and Torbeck, twice. That takes 141 days. I’m not sure how often, but from time to time the King does the Royal Eight, and I can tell you, that’s a pretty impressive sight to see!
Why did it take 34 years to build the road, you ask? Well, for one, it’s huge. At its narrowest, where it winds through the wild Krethes Mountains, north of Asafor towards Pai, allows two wagons to pass each other by. Mostly, it is 5 wagons wide, which may seem a bit much, but this allows for extremely rapid troop movement. Remember, back in the very olden days, monstrous incursions from the mountains were limiting the spread of settlements because military reinforcements from the major centres couldn’t respond quickly enough. That’s not the case any more, so pretty much if you’re in sight of the Royal Road, you’re safe.
— Danier Spannler Jr., Director of Engineering Works, Azerel & Prycastle.
Table: Royal Road travel times (days) between major centres
| Asafor | Azerel | Barforos | Camfor | Coth-Rom | Daernbeck | Londesh | Pai | Torbeck | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asafor | — | 51.9 | 20.3 | 45.2 | 20.6 | 37.2 | 13.3 | 19.7 | 34.6 |
| Azerel | 51.9 | — | 31.6 | 6.7 | 29.0 | 22.5 | 38.6 | 32.0 | 18.5 |
| Barforos | 20.3 | 31.6 | — | 24.9 | 28.8 | 45.4 | 7.0 | 38.5 | 14.3 |
| Camfor | 45.2 | 6.7 | 24.9 | — | 22.3 | 24.7 | 31.9 | 32.0 | 11.8 |
| Coth-Rom | 20.6 | 29.0 | 28.8 | 22.3 | — | 16.6 | 35.8 | 9.7 | 11.7 |
| Daernbeck | 37.2 | 22.5 | 45.4 | 24.7 | 16.6 | — | 52.4 | 26.3 | 28.3 |
| Londesh | 13.3 | 38.6 | 7.0 | 31.9 | 35.8 | 52.4 | — | 33.0 | 21.3 |
| Pai | 19.7 | 32.0 | 38.5 | 32.0 | 9.7 | 26.3 | 33.0 | — | 21.4 |
| Torbeck | 34.6 | 18.5 | 14.3 | 11.8 | 11.7 | 28.3 | 21.3 | 21.4 | — |
Royal Eight: Camfor – Daernbeck – Coth Rom – Torbeck – Barforos – Londesh – Asafor – Pai – Coth Rom – Torbeck – Camfor (141 days).
Royal Loop: Camfor – Daernbeck – Coth Rom – Pai – Asafor – Londesh – Barforos – Torbeck – Camfor (117 days).