Bilan is the first village north of Eslading on the main trade road to Rusmaria. No merchant can avoid it. Few travelers forget it. Wagons pass through every day. Wheels grind over packed earth and stone. Drivers slow without thinking. Animals rest. People linger longer than planned.
The village remains small by choice. Bilan has never sought walls, charters, or growth. Its people value control over expansion. The village offers only what travelers need. Food. Beds. Repairs. Information. Then the road carries them onward.
The Crescent’s Edge stands at the center of the village. Its low roof and wide hearth face the road. Jeryl keeps the inn with care and restraint. Regulars know which tables creak and which doors close quietly. They also know which questions not to ask. Aylman keeps a room there. It is always ready. No one comments on it.
Theo serves as the village’s main merchant. He trades in goods that move easily. He also trades in silence. Theo and Aylman share a long familiarity. It rests on mutual advantage. Neither man advertises it. In Bilan, familiarity holds value. Silence holds more.
Others pass through with little notice. Chamaliak has met Aylman here more than once. He blends in among traders and guards. To Aylman, he seems like a common bandit. Bilan encourages such assumptions. The village survives by being overlooked.
Bilan is a village because it chooses to be one. It watches the road. It listens. It remembers. When travelers move on, Bilan remains exactly as it intends.