Valtan

Once little more than a sleepy village, the community of Valtan holds far more strategic importance for the young nation of Nova Norgantho than its appearance would imply.
As well as being the most southerly of the permanent communities within the Worfal Tundra, Valtan also lies on the northern end of the Great North Way, the only formal land trade route which passes through the territory of Nova Norgantho, a vital source of supplies and connection to the outside world for the young nation.
The village is also the closest settlement to the Empire of Turelion's provinces to the west, making it the front line in any defensive effort should the Empire invade from their heartland and it has gained a mythic status within the Rebel Nation as the site of a great victory over the Imperial forces, which stopped the last invasion attempt of Nova Norgantho in its tracks.

Demographics

Valtan is a mixed-species settlement with a slight bias towards Humans, reflecting the fact that the village was once part of the Empire of Turelion, where humans are more numerous.
Whilst Valtan was originally little more than a rural agricultural community of no more than a hundred or so souls, it is now dominated by the presence of the military of Nova Norgantho, whose personnel outnumber the civilian inhabitants by at least 10 to 1. This means that it is hard to give much detail about the socio-economic situation of the populace, as military presence overshadows all of the village’s economic, civilian and martial activity.

Government

Such is the strategic importance of Valtan that the village is governed directly by the commander of the garrison as opposed to by a civilian official. Indeed, so small is the civilian population that they are often forgotten about or even ignored when it comes to making administrative decisions to do with the community.

Defences

The village of Valtan is set on two hills, one to the north and one to the south of the Great North Way where it passes through the southern reaches of the Worfal Tundra. This positioning allows Valtan to have strategic control over this section of the road and parts of the highway for many miles either side, as trade traffic wishing to avoid passing between the village’s two hills must spend significantly longer to traverse the inhospitable environment of the tundra away from the formal roadway.
This natural defensive position for the village has been augmented by the construction of two study palisade walls, one which surrounds the southern hill and one the northern hill. Connecting of shoots of these palisades and integrated gates allow the defenders of Valtan to isolate the section of the road that runs through the village, enabling them to blockade the Great North Way, or trap passing traffic if they so desire.
Valtan’s strategic position means that it has a significant garrison of troops from Nova Norgantho at any one time. A force of 1,000 soldiers is permanently stationed at the village, and this military population can increase massively if the perceived threat level from the Empire of Turelion rises for whatever reason.

The Battle of Valtan Village

Following the violent establishment of Nova Norgantho in 490DW, many within the Empire of Turelion hoped that this new upstart nation would end up tearing itself apart before it was able to establish itself properly. However, after two years had passed where this failed to happen, the then Emperor, Promethea I, still reeling from the embarrassment of the being the incumbent of the Imperial Throne to have lost so much imperial territory in her reign, decided it was tiem to counterattack.
Still adamant that the NorRebs were little more than ill-organised, if lucky, rebels, Promethea chose to dispatch an army made up of the majority of the strength of Turelion Province's Provincial Troops, confident that no other forces would be needed to make good headway into enemy territory. In 492DW, this army marched out of Gold Guard, across the Sanguine River and entered the Worfal Tundra, their sights set on Valtan as their first target.
Sadly for these troops, the misplaced confidence of their Emperor had suffused their commanders as well, who in a baffling display of ineptitude drove their forces on through an incredibly bitter and unseasonal storm in their eagerness to engage the foe. Whilst they initially made good headway, this storm, which lasted for several days, turned the southern Worfal Tundra and even the Great North Way into a massive bog, and the Turelite troops grew increasingly weary as they expended huge amounts of energy moving themselves, let alone their wagon train through the mire.
When the rain eventually stopped and the imperial forces finally came within sight of Valtan, they were met by the forces of Nova Norgantho, who had wisely weathered the storm in the village. The NorRebs descended on the beleaguered, exhausted imperial troops and slaughtered them. To add insult to injury, they stripped the bodies of their weapons and armour and used them to upgrade the equipment of a significant proportion of their own forces.

Industry & Trade

Once Valtan was primarily an agricultural community, but now the whole commercial, industrial and agricultural focus of the town has been turned to supplying and supporting the large garrison and additional troops that are often stationed in the village and the surrounding area.
Crops grown in the town’s hinterland tend to be ones that can be preserved easily, or turned into easily preserved foods such as barrack’s biscuit; the village has several smithies focused on the repair and maintenance of weapons; and, a small cottage industry has grown up making arrows, boots, mess kits and anything else that the soldiering population of the town might need.
Additionally, whilst trade is not a massive part of the livelihood of the village, with most traders whose destination lies within Nova Norgantho heading north along the Norgantho Way to Hraman, statistically more trading activity than occurs elsewhere in the Rebel Nation takes place in Valtan. The village also imposes a passage tax on all trading caravans who pass through the village, but who are not intending to sell any of their goods to Nova Norgantho – a tax which adds a nice amount of additional income to coffers of the Rebel Nation each year.

Infrastructure

Valtan is well connected compared to other parts of Nova Norgantho as it lies at the t-junction where the Great North Way, which snakes up through the Kaldara Desert, meets the Norgantho Way, which leads directly to the capital of the Rebel Nation Hraman.
In terms of the facilities of the village itself, both sides of Valtan have their own well supplying ample drinking water for the population of both civilians and soldiers. However, no sewage network has ever been constructed for the village, and instead huge latrine and cess pits have been dug to the west of the village, where the huge amounts of rubbish, waste and effluent generated by the population is dumped, symbolically placed on the side of the village that faces the direction of the Empire of Turelion.

Founding Date

297DP

Alternative Name(s)

The Southern Fortress

Type

Village

Population

c.100 civilian inhabitants, over 1,000 members of the military garrison

Inhabitant Demonym

Vals

Location under

Worfal Tundra

Owning Organization

Nova Norgantho