Image: Rebel Wolves / Bandai NamcoOfficial screenshot from Rebel Wolves / Bandai Namco.
Svartrau
Svartrau is the capital of Vale Sangora, the city at the center of the valley. It has the most vendors, three scouting towers and Greifberg Castle, so you will keep coming back.
- Type
- Settlement
- Region
- Svartrau City
Good to know
- Greifberg Castle, Brencis's seat, is here.
- Svartrau Cathedral feeds the poor and orphaned on its steps.
- The plague and Brencis's coup killed many of its people, nobles above all.
- Vampires roam its streets after dark, so it is not safe at night.
- Market, Cathedral and Neustadt are its three scouting towers.
- All five of Brencis's flags hang on its gates.
Under the city
A maze of cellars, damp caves and old ruins lies beneath Svartrau. Thieves use it to escape the guards, but creatures live there too.
Trade
Svartrau grew rich on the silver trade. It is the only true city in the valley and has the widest range of merchants.
Districts
Altenmarkt sits in the north-centre, Neustadt in the south-west and Silberstein in the east. Silberkreis is the rich quarter next to the castle.
A Friend Like ThisA Friend Like This opens Lacra's questline in Svartrau City. You track a rogue vrakhir across the rooftops at night, and how you handle the interrogation at the end can keep it peaceful.
A Hero's EndA Hero's End sends you into ancient ruins under Svartrau after you deal with Father Florin. It is worth doing for two legendary items: the shortsword The Hand of Fate and the Ancient Hero's Armour.- A Mother's PleaA Mother's Plea is the Uriash Elder's request to find her daughter Ocha in Svartrau. It only appears if you enter the Uriash village peacefully, and it pays out the Soul Stigma Manual.
Ambrus's CellarsAmbrus's Cellars are the court activities where you raid the hidden blood stores of the vampire Ambrus. Each cellar you clear raises his anger, which is how you unlock the duel with him.- Ambrus's Cellars: Trouble BrewingTrouble Brewing is the Ambrus cellar hidden in a guarded house in Svartrau City. Spare the alchemist upstairs and you walk away with a Lasting Malediction Manual and a potent Razor Claw vial.
Bakir's PilloriesBakir's Pillories are court activities where prisoners are held and drained in pillories under guard. Freeing them angers the vampire Bakir, and one rescue opens a Swordmastery teacher.- Bakir's Pillories: Out of LoveOut of Love is the Bakir pillory in a backyard in central Svartrau City. Free the prisoner Nelu and he sends you to the merchant Vicho, so it doubles as an easy lead into the city's side content.
- Banner of OppressionBanner of Oppression is the open-world event for cutting down Brencis's banners over the gates of Svartrau City. There are five, and taking all of them earns the Capture the Flag achievement.
Fall Before DuskFall Before Dusk is the ending quest of Crake's questline, a rebel assault on Greifberg Castle that ends with Brencis. Beat him for The Knyazmaker, or bargain with him for The Turncoat.- Midnight ReckoningMidnight Reckoning is the last quest in Lacra's questline and the ending path where you storm Greifberg Castle with her. Keep a manual save first, because starting the attack locks you into an ending.
- Old Friends, New FriendsOld Friends, New Friends is a short optional side quest where Coen catches up with Vladimir at the manumit hideout in Svartrau. It is quick XP, but it fails once the endgame starts, so do it early.
- The Good SamaritanThe Good Samaritan is a short follow-up to A Study in Crimson in Vicho's questline. A Svartrau medic asks you to carry medicine to a farm south of the city, and what you find there is grim.
- The Heart Wants What It WantsThe Heart Wants What It Wants is a Svartrau side quest featuring Ocha, a Uriash in love with a man named Andrei. A peaceful run keeps everyone happy and turns Ocha into a Swordmastery teacher.
- Trouble with SilverTrouble with Silver is a quick Svartrau City activity where a guard is harassing an old woman over silver. Stepping in earns 100 XP and a skill point.
- Where Loyalty LiesWhere Loyalty Lies is a Crake questline quest in Svartrau City where Coen finally gets in with the manumit rebels. You need a high Infamy before it starts, so plan some court activities first.
- AndreiAndrei is a silver trader in Svartrau who works out of a hideout behind a butcher's shop. He is the man Ocha wants dealt with in The Heart Wants What It Wants, and how you handle him shapes her ending.
- DanyloDanylo is a smith's apprentice you can free from one of Ambrus's prisoner transports. Visit him afterwards in Svartrau and he thanks Coen with a piece of armour.
- NishNish is a vrakhir hiding in Svartrau whom you track down in Lacra's side quest A Friend Like This. You have to win the first fight, but you can talk Nish down instead of killing.
- OchaOcha is an Uriash from Clan Bakr who picks a tavern brawl with Coen in Svartrau. Beat her and she asks for help with Andrei, which opens The Heart Wants What It Wants.
- Brencis's FlagsBrencis's Flags are five banners hung in the gatehouses of Svartrau City. Cut all of them down to earn Capture the Flag, but expect guards and a rise in Infamy.
Scouting TowersScouting towers are 11 high points across Vale Sangora that you climb at night to survey the land. Each one reveals nearby points of interest, so climb them early.
- Greifberg CastleGreifberg Castle is Brencis's seat in Svartrau, where Coen's family is held. Entering it starts the ending sequence, so finish your side content before you go in.
- NeustadtNeustadt is a district of Svartrau City with its own traders and a scouting tower. Stop here to shop, then climb Neustadt Tower at night.
- Neustadt TowerNeustadt Tower is one of three scouting towers inside Svartrau City, in its south-western part. Climb it at night along the battlements and survey the city for Bird's-Eye View.
- Rebel's HideoutThe Rebel's Hideout is the Manumites' base below Svartrau City, where the rebels against the vrakhiri gather. Crake's questline runs through it, starting with Distant Shadows.
- SilberkreisSilberkreis is the wealthiest district of Svartrau, right by Greifberg Castle. It is where the city's money lives, and the nearest district to Brencis's seat.
- SilbersteinSilberstein is a part of eastern Svartrau City with a doctor, an innkeeper and an armourer. Since Update 1.1 its merchant is open around the clock, which makes it a handy shopping stop.
Svartrau CathedralSvartrau Cathedral is the large church in the capital, richly decorated with art, stained glass and tapestries. It holds the tallest city scouting tower, a key fresco and a phial of Xanthe's blood nearby.
- Svartrau CryptsThe Svartrau Crypts lie under the capital. A legendary sword is said to be hidden there, and A Monk and a Saint ends inside with a fight for the Broken Sword of St. Mihai.
- Vicho's EmporiumVicho's Emporium is the curiosity shop that the vampire Vicho runs in Svartrau. It is hard to find and locked at street level, so get in through the upstairs balcony at night.
Related places
- Region
Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains are the range that surrounds Vale Sangora. You never leave the valley, but the peaks frame every view and hide places like the Uriash village.
- Image: Rebel Wolves / Bandai NamcoSettlement
Uriash Village
Uriash Village is the hidden mountain home of the goat-like Uriash and the Bakr clan. You reach it in Song of the Mountain, and only if you go in peacefully.
- Image: Rebel Wolves / Bandai NamcoOther
Eerie Knoll
Eerie Knoll is a small named spot in Vale Sangora with a road running near it. Guides have not tied a quest or reward to it yet, so treat it as a waypoint while you explore.
- Image: Rebel Wolves / Bandai NamcoOther
Parlita
Parlita is one of the eight villages of Vale Sangora, west of Maragir. Visit it for Tour Guide Training, and expect more patrols as Brencis's edicts tighten.