Bratun (pronounced BRA-toon) is a large port city in Forloroth & Valadhel, located on an island of the same name. As the largest settlement in the United Provinces, the city has considerable economic and political influence. Merchants from western Thadria often make port at Bratun before continuing to Mithridate and the start of the Hundred Days Road.
Bratun is a city that never sleeps. Ships making the journey across the Phiora Sea regularly stop at Bratun, whether to resupply or as a destination in its own right. Away from the docks, the city is densely built up on the south side of the island, tall buildings rising over narrow streets. Class divides in the city are quite obvious to most visitors, with the houses of the upper class located on the three hill-top neighborhoods to the west, from which one can look down over the the rest of the city. The north side of the island is relatively sparsely populated, with only a handful of farms and a couple small villages within the forests.
Bratun is considered to have the status of a "free city" within Forloroth & Valadhel. It retains significant autonomy, and effectively has self-rule without interference from the two provinces. Though the lord-mayor of Bratun is officially separate from the Provincial central government, they are often considered to have the same standing as the two governors, who frequently include the mayor in their discussions before taking major actions.
Most of the Provincial fleet is stationed at Bratun. At the time the provinces declared independence in Y9620* much of the Viridian navy was stationed in Bratun, and when the bulk of the sailors defected the city leaders took possession of the ships. Though the fleet has been largely replaced over the last few hundred years, the port of Bratun remains a critical location to the Provincial military.