Bastions Against the Night
Caern-raths are large fortresses (the Rath) on hills (the Caern). These are then surrounded by similarly well constructed homes and manors along the hillside. Concentric walls guard the different tiers on the hill, houses of more prominent lughlinn and nobility are close to the rath and within the center walls with others interspersed among the lower walls. The walls and homes are made of shaped stone and wood with a thick plaster usually applied to the structures. Each caern-Rath is built with a greater menhir near the entrance to the rath which provides a protective aura with an approximately one-hundred and fifty foot hemispherical radius. Caern-raths are exceedingly rare and were often developed from pre-built settlements from the Age of Summer. The wealth of trade and talent of craftsmen within these civil centers often affords the caern-raths access to a higher level of technology and infrastructure than their caern-hearth cousins.