Vitalis

Demographics

Unique among the Inner Provinces, save the Capital Province, Vitalis does not possess a wide array of prosperous cities or vast plains littered with aristocratic estates or farmlands. Rather Vitalis is almost solely defined by its capital city of Levin, with only a loose sprinkling of temporary town sitting near its borders, more akin to large camps set up to house construction workers over long periods of work.

For while most cities eventually reach a limit on population, or divide and erect new settlements to capitalize on far-off resources, Levin stands as a testament to the sheer economic efficiency of consolidation and expansion. For while most settlements eventually encounter the spacial limitations of their terrain and are forced to find new land to accommodate the growing population, the city of Levin utilized a method of architectural expansion brought from the Far East. While most cities grew wide, Levin grew up.

Years of this dense expansion has left Levin as an absolute colossus of a city, simultaneously sprawling and tall. With some of its tallest non-castle structures stretching up to five levels high. Towers often erected in tight clusters within low class residential or market areas, or in looser patches for those able to spend more on housing. In response to the growing size of the city, and the sheer difficulty of managing the ever-increasing variables that came with the environment Levin was divvied into a lose set of wards. With most of these larger wards containing both enough residents and possessing a robust enough insulated economy to be considered a town unto itself.

Thus despite being one of the smaller provinces when measured purely by area, Vitalis often competes with, if not outright exceeds many larger Inner Provinces in population. A large contributor to this has always been a byproduct of the thriving entertainment and architectural sectors, both of which requiring the support of a rather large number of lower-skill jobs. Large construction projects often take years of concentrated manpower to complete while simultaneously requiring the construction workers to take up residence within Levin or nearby temporary towns. While the theatre industry alone requires the assistance of a bevy of background actors, carpenters, prop makers, seamstresses, clerks, stagehands, and promoters in order to efficiently operate on the scale to which it's grown to.

However, few think of these industries when they think of Levin. Nor do they think about the countless jobs required to support a massive settlement such as Levin, and the countless workers. When one thinks of Levin, they think of stars. The enviable creative genii who bathe in riches and fame while living out of a dream. Dedicated solely to their craft, and above the worries of the common man. Yet, such a view is one mostly held by those who will never step foot within the spiderweb of Levin. For those who do, come to realize that the world of art is much like any other, where the failures lie broken in the shadow of the great.

Whereas renown performers and extremely prolific artists often rise to a level of wealth that enables them to move into more affluent districts with the hopes of socializing and connecting with moneyed sponsors, most are fated by the odds to spend the entirety of their careers residing in the dense urban residential areas never once straying from obscurity.

Government

Due to the extremely dense nature of Levin, and in turn, the dense nature of Greater Vitalis, it was long since decided that one House alone would be unable to properly manage the province. As such, in order to better delegate the workload and in an attempt to avoid handing the majority rule of Vitalis to an outside family, House Aurelius divided Levin into a series of wards. Before these wards were appointed to Aurelius' two cadet branch families, Hoffmir, and Libratus. House Hoffmir was given all wards west of the Igni Plaza, colloquially called the West Wards, while Libratus was given all wards to the east, colloquially called the East Wards. Leaving House Aurelius to focus on running what few countryside towns there were and most of the broader Vitalis responsibilities.

While Hoffmir and Libratus technically have almost free rein over how they manage their respective Wards, they very often approach the direction they lead the city with a sense of unity. With each House recognizing the other's familiarity with their Wards and allowing the others to act unobstructed while pursuing the path that would best advance prosperity for Levin. There are of course disagreement, especially when deciding how best to adjust the budget for each Ward or allot additional resources. Yet, over enough time, even these obstacles are overcome. With many looking to how fast Vitalis recovered from the attack on the Milio Trade Conference as proof that the Vitali governance may well be one of the strongest in the nation.

The long terms effect of this division of power and collaboration has caused Vitalis to make substantial gains over the seventy years since Levin was split. With crime rates, especially in the East Wing slums, plummeting, and the economy of the city rising as both cadet families went to great lengths to engineer key sectors of their wards specifically with the intent of attracting wealthy travelers and introducing new money into the economy.

The success of the Three House governance has not only endeared them to the common people and generated a rarely seen level of goodwill, but unlike the Council, this approval with the common folk has not damaged their relationship with the other nobles of Vitalis. For rather than adopting the Council's tendency to strip wealth or land from the aristocracy and divert it to programs that disproportionally benefit the commoners, the Three Houses act with the betterment of all of Levin in mind. Beliving that all boats will rise with the tide.

Defences

While the constantly expanding nature of Levin has given it no shortage of advantages, it has come with a few significant shortcomings. With the difficulty that comes with defending such a vast area ranking among the top of this list. As to ensure there is sufficient empty land for the city to grow into when expansions are needed, or new Wards are to be constructed, the city cannot afford the constant delays that would come from tearing down and reconstructing a large wall or any other forms of static defense. As such, defending the city against sieges or invasions is an extraordinarily difficult task, with attempting to divert enough of the city's forces to guard all parts of the city's perimeter proving all but impossible.

It's due to this weakness that Vitalis has benefited greatly from the protection of the Empire. As when compared to the days before the Age of Conquest, the only neighboring lord or forces large enough to attempt a successful siege are those of their neighboring provinces. Restricting all-out assaults of the city to periods of national invasion akin to the First Border War, substantially lessening the need for protection strong enough to withstand the force of a small army and allowing the city to devote more of its resources towards infrastructure.

Yet the lack of walls is not the only blind spot in Vitalis' defenses. As despite their large population, the province spends a proportionally low amount on policing its city and employing a providential army when compared to Inner Provinces of a similar size. While this low investment in guards and the resting army has historically resulted in abnormally high crime rates within Vitalis. With these rates peaking within the denser areas of Levin compared to the higher rates of highway robbery in other decentralized provinces.

However, in the time since the Three House Governance this crime rate has steadily dropped to levels comparable and in some cases matching similar regions. All the while maintaining the same disproportionally low amount spent on enforcing the streets of Levin.

Assets

Even while lacking any substantial presence in the world of interprovincial exports and imports, the economy of Vitalis has always existed as an important sector of the Inner Provinces by flourishing in a niche they themselves created. While other provinces often enrich the Empire through material goods or services, by producing or gathering physical items in demand. Vitalis and the city of Levin deal in the ephemeral act of human interaction. Turning culture into a commodity and perfecting the art of selling it. There is no gold standard or potential for resell that ensures the long term value of a viewing a show at the Igni Plaza. Yet that has done nothing to stop its seats from selling out. For in the modern age in which the worries of food and shelter have long left the minds of most within the Inner Province, the demographic of people able to spend on experience with negligible effects on their survival has only continued to grow.

While there are still local trade markets that supply the residents with living essential and other goods or services, most food and raw materials come into the city via traders during weekly markets. As without any major points of production, it would impossible for Vitalis to generate enough resources to adequately fulfill the needs of its massive city complex. As such, with both Levin's high need for external imports, and the ravish markets created off the backs of the heightened amount the tourism in the area, most traders highly value the Vitalis marketplaces. Knowing that they can very easily sell their goods at a much higher price in order to make up for the cost of travel. While this does generally cause most items bought in Vitalis to come at a higher cost, the residents of Vitalis are some of the least affected by this increased price. As when bringing merchandise within the markets of Levin with the intent to sell, a trader must first pay the respective Ward House a tax for what enters. A tax that is then dispersed amongst the ward's residents at the end of the year to counterbalance the increased cost of living. While at times traders have attempted to further hike up the price of the product in an attempt to target the additional wealth of their local customers, this will often end up raising the price to a point that tourists are unable to reasonably purchase their goods. Cutting off one of the biggest markets for the traders, and therefore damaging their profits in the long run.

History

The region of Vitalis was originally formed around the House Aurelius estate. Inhabited by those working the then farmlands, before slowly expanding into a small township as various auxiliary businesses grew to support and profit of the residents. Yet what set Vitalis apart from the countless small settlements that litter the Early West Uros landscape was the tendencies of their ruling house. House Aurelius traced their origins back to beyond the Zerathian Deserts, and as such brought with them a very different culture. Stressing values such as the enrichment of life through art, immortality though one's achievements, and the romanticization of a life led with meaning. A culture that over the years began into the inhabitants of the town, and plant the seeds for what Vitalis would eventually become.

Even the early city of Levin shared most of the same issues with defending itself that can be seen today. With both loose static defenses and an often lightly manned garrison primarily charge of keeping the peace rather than confront a coordinated invasion. As such, when Alistair arrived with the offer to bring the Aurelius lands into the growing Empire, the implicit price of refusal was something that the budding lands could not pay. Yet despite this choice being forced upon them, the arrangement offered wasn't anything Aurelius took offense to. Allowing them to continue to operate more or less under their own jurisdiction, while most importantly providing an army capable of defending the Empire and, in turn, Vitalis.

It was only after this agreement, and when Vitalis came under the protection of the wider Empire that its capital city of Levin began to grow into something resembling the entity seen today. Riding the waves of increased patriotism during and succeeding the First Border War to produce a string of pro-Empire shows and monuments to kickstart the constant flow of tourism that the Province has become so known for.

"Where Love and Blood Flow Freely."

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Alternative Name(s)

Patron Province of the Arts

Type

National Territory

Inhabitant Demonym

Vitali

Owning Organization

The Empire of Bryonsworth