Balsearenta
The Fortress City of Balsearenta is the capital of the Duchy of Portshilia and the only Kingdom city along the central Clessonna Ocean. The city is famed for its fisheries, shipyards, and whaling industry. However, the most important industry of the city is its offshore silver mines. These mines have brought in excessive income over the centuries, leading to exorbitant displays of state wealth. One such example is Balsearena’s gleaming Silver Walls which have been an icon for the duchy since their creation in the 46th century, despite the fact that they have fallen into disrepair in recent centuries.
Balsearenta's recent history has been punctuated by pirate raids out of the neighboring Hrim. The Kingdom's vassalage of the island of Ren was formed with the intent of the Ren fleet to deter piracy and secure the Kingdom's source of silver in western Sinderlan. However, in 9047 the Duchy of the Crag and Hrim declared open war on the Duchy of Portshilia and began the Siege of Balsearenta. In Dying Light 9047, after a relatively short siege, the city, its mines, and its surrounding farmland fell to the combined forces of the Crag-Hrim alliance.
Early History
Ancient records found in a ruined excavated records-keeping building in Alterporton place the oldest written record of Balsearenta in the late 400s, which suggest its settlement beforehand. According to oral tradition, that the Fortress is said to have been first settled by a group of wanderers who sought refuge from a storm. Upon delving into the ruins they found behind a massive set of walls, they discovered vast stores of ocean-faring vessels. Through the use of these vessels, the wanderers maintainted a tight control over the fortress they dubbed Balsearenta, which is believed to translate to modern common as "Safe Fortress by the Sea."Salt and Silver
Until the 1500s, Balsearenta acted as a major port for the central west, its only competitor being the Fortress City of Brine to the south. Its nature as a heavily fortified city with its citadel walls led to it being used as a hub for military operations and secure trading in the western seas. However, the Starfall brought immense destruction to the region. Large pieces of the moon Velnor plunged into the ocean, bathing the coast with tsunamis. While the walls of city witheld the shockwaves, the lands around the city were severely salted, poisoning it to agriculture. The Cape of Swept Sand to the north of the city remains inarable to this day. In the face of the destruction, the entire western fleet based in the city was lost. As ecological collapse set in across Sinderlan, many citizens of Balsearenta fled inland amid the turmoil. Those that remained began starving, and the city nearly died out. A small contingency of survivors managed to construct a single large fishing vessel to feed those that remained. In their success, the ruined city of Balsearenta remained a somewhat inhabited city and seat of the Duchy of Portshilia. Its population eventually began to recover, settling in at roughly 2000. In 1806, as the skies finally had fully cleared from the Starfall debris, sailors began fishing further out from the city. In their exploits, the fishermen discovered chunks of silver ore in their nets. Upon investigation by the Kingdom Science Institute, it became apparent that the large piece of Velnor which had impacted in the ocean contained a massive silver vein. This began the Silver Rush of 1809, where the population of Balsearenta exploded to nearly 700,000 in an attempt to access the silver at the ocean floor.The Gleaming Silver City
As methods improved in accessing the ore at the ocean floor, the city was enriched by their new role as the Kingdom's primary producer of silver. Funding was invested in the creation of hyper efficient harbors, spawning the Balsearenta Cothons along the coast, defended by a gargantuan sea wall. From these Cothons, fleets of ships were dispatched to dredge ore to fuel the Kingdom's growing need. It is believed that the silver mined in Balsearenta cut an entire nine centuries off its war indemnity owed to the Free Cities. In 4502, Duke Gilam commissioned half the ducal treasury's silver be melted down and used to coat the ancient Fortress walls of the city. The citadel walls became known as the Silver Walls, which became an icon for the city and Duchy. In periods of good maintenance, it is said you could see the reflection of the city on the horizon for hundreds of miles, both on the mainland and at sea. As technology improved, so too did the ambitions of Balsearenta's ruling class. In 7859, Duke Jarru of the Argent Spire, ordered the construction of "dry mines" in the ocean. The Portshilia Corps of Engineers spent the next two decades constructing a series of walls around several square miles of open ocean, which were sealed and emptied. These became known as the Ocean Hollows, in which massive mining and refining complexes were constructed. These Hollows acted as the main export area for the silver, allowing for freshly smelted silver to be exported directly from the mines. During the eons as a silver exporter, the city endured regular pirate raids from Hrim to the north. After the secession fo the Duchy of the Crag in the 85th Century, the city became victimized by freelance privateers driven to desperation as the land of the Valley of Plenty withered. This led to increased spending on military operations out of Balsearenta and its Cothons. Additionally, as part of the stipulations which vassalized the island of Ren in the 90th century, the Grand Fleet of Ren was under contract to keep the island safe in times of crisis. By the 91st century, the city had become poorly maintained due to the negligence of the Ducal Dynasty of the Haslow family, which poorly maintained the silver mines, leading to decreased production and income for the city. However, the King of the Harvest appointed Duchess Pellia, first of a new dynasty, in 9037. Her leadership became tested in 9047 when the Crag and Hrim declared war on Portshilia, immediately laying siege to the city as their fleet blockaded the harbor after destroying the main Balsearenta fleet and landing troop north of the Cape of Swept Sand. Following the Circlecrash, the city fell to the combined alliance forces, being mainly absorbed into the administration of the Duchy of the Crag.Infrastructure
The most dominant feature of Balsearenta is its hexagonal citadel wall system, encompassing the city up to the edge of the sea. The walls, the highest and most widely encompassing of all the Fortress Cities of the Kingdom, are punctuated by large bastions. With a diameter of 8 miles, the citadel of Balsearenta is likely the largest citadel on Perradin. In the 4500s, then-Duke Gilam commissioned half the ducal treasury be melted down and used to coat the ancient Fortress walls of the city. Since then, the Silver Walls have been an icon for the duchy, despite the fact that they have fallen into disrepair in recent centuries.
Other major infrastructure of the city includes the Balsearenta Cothons, a series of artificial harbors built around ring-shaped piers. These Cothons serve a triple purpose as military, commericial, and civilian hubs of construction, storage, and docking. Atop the piers are a series of drydocks, warehouses, and commericial offices. The city has a seris of eight Cothons that are regularly filled with ships and citizens.
Geography
The city sits at the mouth of the Maelon River on the west coast of Sinderlan. Around the northern side of the city is the Cape of Swept Sand, a craggy landmass that the city has avoided developing due to its harsh terrain. The waters for several miles out on the coast are comparatively shallow, and have allowed for the silver mines to be reclaimed.
Founding Date
~300 FFC
Type
Large city
Population
1.1 million (9040 Census)
Location under
Owner/Ruler
Owning Organization
Characters in Location
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