Whitestone

Whitestone is a city in the Alabaster Sierras mountain range on the northeastern edge of Tal'Dorei's continent. It is ruled from Whitestone Castle, the former and current home of the de Rolo family and the one-time home of the Briarwoods. Somewhat isolated from the rest of Tal'Dorei both geographically and politically, Whitestone's citizens suffered without external aid for five years under the oppression and horrors of the Briarwoods until Vox Machina arrived, fomented the Whitestone Rebellion, and fatally deposed the Briarwoods. Shortly thereafter, the Chroma Conclave attacked many cities around Exandria except for Whitestone, which became a refugee haven. The refugees—ranging from peasants and farmers to merchants and nobles—bolstered the city's population and workforce, both of which had been decimated throughout the Briarwoods' reign.

The city of Whitestone is named for the white-colored stone quarried there, which, although not inherently magical, is particularly receptive to arcane energies and therefore may be used to create objects that can retain more powerful enchantments, perhaps for longer periods of time.

The Crest of Whitestone is divided into three parts: top, middle, and bottom. The top part has the Sun, the symbol of Pelor, on a field of blue. This represents the daytime sky and Whitestone's patron god, Pelor, who watches the city from above. The middle part has a tree (the Sun Tree) on a field of white. This represents Whitestone itself: life amidst the cold snow of the Alabaster Sierras. The bottom part has five stars on a field of purple. These stars represent each Champion of Pelor that has come before and served both Pelor and Whitestone. With the ascension of Baroness Vex'ahlia of the Third House, the Crest will need to be altered with a sixth star.

Whitestone Castle
Whitestone Castle is an ancient structure to the north of the city. Originally owned by the de Rolo family, the Briarwoods claimed the castle for themselves once the city fell under their rule. After the success of the Whitestone Rebellion, Cassandra de Rolo and, in absentia, Percival de Rolo regained ownership.

There are dungeons beneath Whitestone Castle, as well as an undercroft where the bodies of previous rulers were entombed. There used to be a destination circle of teleportation in the castle; however, it appeared to have been destroyed by the Briarwoods in their efforts to further isolate Whitestone from the rest of the world.

Leadership
Prior to the Briarwoods, Whitestone was ruled by the de Rolo family. During the Briarwood years, Sylas Briarwood and Delilah Briarwood installed themselves as Lord and Lady, and they awarded several subordinates with land and titles, including Countess Jazna Grebin, Sir Kerrion Stonefell, Duke Goran Vedmire, and Count Tylieri.

After the liberation of Whitestone from the Briarwoods, Percy recommended that the city adopt a council-based form of government rather than returning to de Rolo family rule. Percy's initial thought was to compose the council from a notable member of each of the farming, economic, religious, trade, and citizen communities, as well as a noble from the de Rolo family. Together, the council would make decisions by vote, and any tied votes would be resolved by the noble. Cassandra de Rolo agreed to serve on the council, as did Keeper Yennen, if the the people of Whitestone consented to this new government.

Acting on his own without consulting the council, Percy later granted Vex'ahlia a title:  Lady Vex'ahlia, Baroness of the Third House of Whitestone and Grand Mistress of the Grey Hunt. However, Percy did not explain the duties, privileges, and relationship to Whitestone's ruling council that this title might include, if any at all, nor whether the council must officially approve the granting of such titles.

Military
The Pale Guard is a combat unit in Whitestone, but it is meant more for local law enforcement rather than acting as a standing army. Nevertheless, the Pale Guard remains important to the defense of Whitestone. With the fall of Emon to the Chroma Conclave and the withdrawal of Syngorn into the Feywild, Whitestone became the last military power in Tal'Dorei capable of conventionally fighting the dragons. Thus, Whitestone became Vox Machina's main base of operations during their conflict with the Chroma Conclave.

After the defeat of the Chroma Conclave, Lord Percival de Rolo decided to improve Whitestone's defenses by creating a sort of pseudo-standing army: the Whitestone Riflemen. Though the Riflemen lacked the numbers of other armies in Tal'Dorei, they made up for it with their technological advantage: as the name implies, they use firearms exclusively. With the Pale Guard and the Whitestone Riflemen combined, Whitestone has emerged as a formidable military ally or opponent.

With Vecna having transported onto the Material Plane, near Whitestone, it is unknown how effective Whitestone's new military forces will be against the semi-divine lich-god.

Culture
Prior to the Briarwoods, the people of Whitestone celebrated Winter's Crest with an annual festival, like other cities in Tal'Dorei. When Vox Machina liberated the city, the heroes joined the citizens in celebrating Whitestone's first Winter's Crest Festival in years.

It is Percy's dream that Whitestone become "a shining beacon on the hill, of what mankind's future could be". This is partially motivated by the Orb of Annihilation beneath Whitestone Castle, and Percy's fear that the anti-magic field could someday envelop the entire city (driving Percy to find non-magical solutions in case of a "magic blackout"). To that end, he has begun modernizing the city. His first major project is a subterranean network of steam pipes underneath all of Whitestone's roads. The result would be heated roads that never need to be cleared of snow or ice.

Notable People
Since not all surnames are known, the following table is sorted by first name.