Vargenheim

Written by Redclaw123

"Surviving for over two centuries without any form of outside contact was what has shaped us into such a hardy race. We learnt how to survive all by ourselves in a harsh, uncaring environment which at the same time, had shaped us into who we are today."
Larkan Viggo, the first human to step upon the planet of Mikelgaard telling his tale about the two centuries of isolation from the greater part of The Imperial Terran Federation

Vargenheim is the first and largest colony on the boreal world of Mikelgaard, and is also the capital city of the planet. Having been isolated from the outside human civilization for the most part and without any outside help due to the appearance of a sudden Void fissures the citizens of this settlement and the entire planet in general have adapted to that lifestyle for over four centuries, with the fissure dissapitating only after four centuries of isolation, thereby linking Vargenheim and the world of Mikelgaard with the rest of human civilization.

Demographics

Vargenheim is one of the most Homogenous places in The Imperial Terran Federation, being composed mostly of humans largely due to its isolation from the outside universe because of the gigantic Void fissure that had surrounded its star system for over four centuries.

Government

"I have ruled this city and this world for four centuries now, watching over my fellow brethren like my own child. And i will defend them till by last dying breath against whatever comes to harm us"
Attributed to Larkan Viggo

The government of the city is run by the cities colonial council, which takes the part of administration, organisation and running the settlement. At the head of the council, the governor general of Vargenheim holds absolute power over the decisions of the council, unless the entire city council or the majority of the population votes against his decisions. The governor general usually serves for life, unless specially impeached by the population or council, assassinated or dies out of other circumstances.
Each of the members of this sixteen person council is tasked with running a part of the city such as administration, taxes, defense and law enforcement, etc. The council themselves are elected by the general populace in an election that takes place once every five years, with the exception of the governor general who usually serves for life.

Defences

futuristic city 2

Owing to the large number of hostile incursions witnessed by this city early on in its lifetime, the city had fortified itself heavily, with almost all of the citizens taking up arms in dire times for defence of the city. The Vargenheim city watch consists of the professional standing army of the city, who work full time in defence of the settlement, and the Vargenheim defence force, which consists of citizens who have completed their mandatory service in the city watch or are currently going through their mandatory service. In dire times of need, the entire population of the city itself is called to arms to protect the city.
In addition to the already heavily armed and equipped city watch, the settlement itself is in a natural defensive position, occupying a large plateau which is difficult for the enemy to approach. All of these qualities make this city an extremely hard one to conquer, particularly when the citizens are ready to give their entire lives to protect this settlement

Industry & Trade

Vargenheim, due to its isolation from the outside human civilization, depended heavily upon its mining industries and trade with the other regions to stay afloat. This also held true for the other regions as well, who readily traded and came to the settlements aid whenever they were in danger. Vargenheim was chiefly noted for its heavy building and engineering industry, with a large amount of those products going towards the building of other settlements in the region. Indeed, a lot of the settlements of Mikelgaard have ultimately been forged by the stone found underneath the soil of Vargenheim and its steel.

Infrastructure

futuristic city by https://www.deviantart.com/florentllamas

Vargenheim has evolved heavily since its beginning, starting from a few habitats to a large sprawling city of factories, apartments, greenery and unmatchable beauty. The city in itself is a large metropolis, containing large, high rise skyscrapers mixed in with the lush greenery of the Mikelgaardian countryside, much like the megacities of Terra. The different parts of the city itself is linked with high speed trams and large bridges across the different junctions of the city. The surrounding countryside is home to large mining industries, which set up here very early into the formation of the colony to extract the materials required to build the settlement.

Assets

City concept by https://www.deviantart.com/erenarik

"For all these years, we have survived only due to the will of god and the sacrifices made by our brothers and sisters in helping us maintain unity. We have survived the wildest trials of mother nature on an alien world, cut off from all contact with mankind except a few radio transmissions here and there. For that reason, i am grateful"
Attributed to Rear admiral Mads Arkonsson, a Mikelgaardian and one of the most decorated naval commanders in Imperial history

Owing to the isolation suffered by Vargenheim and the rest of Mikelgaard from the outside world, this settlement has built up enormous stocks of resources, raw materials and food for surviving many centuries from an early time. The city in itself was limited in its trade with only the other cities of the planet, as they did not have the resources to explore the star system Mikelgaard was situated in. Every household on Mikelgaard had to pay a portion of their assets such as food and stuff to this stock.

History

Beginnings of a settlement

Vargenheim was established primarily as a mining colony in the - northern regions of the planet, quite a bit above the equator but below the northern polar circle of the planet. It was established by The Imperial Terran Federation after prospectors discovered a large amount of resources hidden underneath the surface. All seemed to be well when the mining began, and no one had expected the arrival of the void fissure .

Isolation

"It all came so suddenly one night. Without any warning, we were cut off from all contact with the rest of mankind. The nightmares were upon us almost immediately, threatening our hold on this world. But we survived. I don't know how but we managed to survive. For over four centuries we have persevered. But now is the time for us to aid mankind in the wider stage of this great war"
Attributed to Mads Arkonsson

One ill fated night on Mikelgaard, everything seemed to be going well. Suddenly, the inhabitants of Vargenheim saw a gigantic purple hole appear in the sky, which had seemed to affect the very minds of the inhabitants directly. This was a void fissure, a large hole into reality that occasionally occurs in random parts of the galaxy, being offshoots of the larger and permanent void storms that are found in the milky way galaxy. From that moment on, most of the contact with the outside human civilization faded with Mikelgaard, with the exception of a few radio messages. Over the course of the next 400 years, the settlement and the planet itself would be relentlessly assaulted by the demonic creatures from the fissure , but each time the city endured.

Rekindling of contact

"We finally did it. After an eternal night of demonic horrors trying to murder us, surviving the wild wrath of nature and so many more hardships, we have at last managed to be reunited with our brothers and sisters. Our journey has only begun however, for the breaker does not tire and is always trying to decieve us at every moment. From now on, our true battle for protecting mankind begins"
Larkan Viggo, giving a speech to the inhabitants of the city upon the rekindling of contact with the wider federation

After four centuries of isolation, the inhabitants of Mikelgaard finally found a fresh ray of hope. One day, they noticed that they could recieve and send regular messages beyond their own star system. The inhabitants had immediately contacted the Federation, and over a period of a few years, they had established regular contact with the wider human civilization. This came as a great joy to the Mikelgaardians, as they had finally been reunited with their brethren. Their joy did not last long however, as they were reminded of the dire situations humanity was facing and had to be mobilized for war. They agreed and thus, the Mikelgaardians also joined in the rest of mankind in their war against the breaker.

Geography

The terrain around the settlement is composed of a large arid plateau, with cold winds frequently blowing in from the northern polar regions of the planet. The water for most of the city comes from underground aquifers beneath the arid landscape and from the few glaciers that are found in the mountains near this region.

Natural Resources

Vargenheim is sustained by the heavy mining industry outside the city, with large amounts of it being exported to other settlements to help sustain them as well. The city in return, particularly depends on agricultural resources from other settlements, as the region it lives in is quite arid and frequently rocked by cold winds coming from the northern polar regions of the planet.

Type

Large city

Population

Fifty million

Inhabitant Demonym

Vargers.

Included Locations

• Vargenheim City Centre

Owning Organization

The Imperial Terran Federation