El Bastión (The Bastion)

I am the Bastion, the fortified wall that circles the city and keeps it safe. The watchtowers are my watchmen; the gates are my drawbridges; the walls are my proven stone. I prove every brick before it is laid: no crack, no missing stone, no weak mortar. I share my foundation with the greater castle next door — one wall, two cities. I am the guardian of the peace within.

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A mason once tried to build me in haste. He skipped the test pit; he ignored the green brick. The wall stood for a night. In the morning, the east tower fell — not with a crash, but with a sigh, a slow lean, a collapse into dust. No one was hurt. But the city was open for six hours. The Bastion learned: haste is the enemy of walls. Every brick must be tested, even when the caravan waits.