Valtara
The city of Valtara is a lost city, envisioned to be a technocratic utopia. Valtara was located in a remote valley enclosed in the Mizzium Mountains. The city was a collaborative effort of a multi-guild coalition comprised of members of the Izzet League, Simic Combine, and Azorius Senate. The city disappeared only 4 years and 9 months after its founding.
Government
Valtara's government was designed as a triumvirate council, consisting of one member from each of the three founding guilds. Each guild was given responsibility for managing a portion of the city's affairs, with disputes being settled by the triumvirate council.
The Azorius Senate managed the city's finances, public services, taxation, and law enforcement. The Izzet League maintained Valtara's infrastructure, utilities, and transportation. And the Simic Combine provided medical and public health services; food; and clean drinking water.
History
Founding
The founding council consisted of Vortica of the Izzet League, Oleg Strelinko, a Tortle of the Simic Combine, and the sphinx Raelesa, of the Azorius Senate.Site Selection
The site of Valtara was chosen due to its remote location and difficulty of access. To achieve the scientific freedom and collaboration the founder's of Valtara envisioned, insulate the city from the politics and power struggles of the guilds. Because very little of the surface of Ravnica was uninhabited, few viable options existed. The founder's preferred location for the city was a small valley, enclosed deep within the Mizzium Mountains which was part of the nation of Mercadia. This valley was only accessible via aquatic underground tunnels which connected the Mercadian Sea to a small spring located inside of the valley. In order to aquire the land rights to the valley, Oleg Strelinko liased with the King and Queen of Mercadia. Oleg arrived in the Mercadian capital of Zal-A'antia on Paujal 14th, 4355 ZC. After nearly 6 months of difficult negotiations, Oleg secured the land rights to the new Valley of Valtara on Griev 3rd, 4355 ZC.Settler Recruitment
The founding council hand selected the 3,000 settlers of Valtara from their respective guilds. They sought out the best and brightest minds from across the entire planet, offering them the opportunity to build the future of Ravnica.Construction
Shortly after the land rights to the Valley of Valtara were secured, a construction plan was enacted. In Seleszeni 4356 ZC, an Izzet crew began digging a pass through the mountains. A couple of months later, the crew inadvertently dug their tunnel into an out-of-commission Rakdos mine shaft, causing a major tunnel collapse. The entire Izzet tunneling crew was lost in the collapse. Because the mine shaft was out-of-commission and had not been accessible for hundreds of years, no attempts at recovering the bodies was ever made. The Izzet quickly sent out a new overland construction crew to begin clearing a trail up and over the mountains which could instead be traversed by cyclops carriages to transport construction materials into the Valley of Valtara. The founders along with Vortica's lead engineers and a large crew from The Izzet League's Construction Corps began construction on the city's in 4357 ZC. Two years later construction was complete. The Izzet League Construction Corps dismantled their temporary housing and departed the Valley of Valtara. The city was officially founded on Seleszeni 17, 4359 ZC.Arrival of Settlers
The first permanent residents of Valtara were Vortica and her lead engineers, who oversaw the construction of the city. By Mid-4358 ZC, portions of the city's infrastructure were being completed. About six months before construction was officially completed the other two founders, Oleg Strelinko and Raelesa, along with a small team of scientists and administrators arrived to oversee the construction of laboratories and prepare for the rest of the settlers. Over the last six months of contruction, additional settlers were brought to Valtara gradually. On Seleszeni 17, 4359 ZC, the same day that the last members of the Izzet League Construction Corps departed, the final 50 of the 3,000 residents of Valtara were scheduled to arrive. The city's founding ceremony was set to take place on that day. On Seleszeni 17, 4359 ZC the final settlers of Valtara were welcomed by a parade and city-wide celebration. Raelesa touted the "flawless execution of Valtara's founding" as "a feat of intellect, logistics, engineering, and collaboration." During her address at the founding ceremony, Vortica stated that this "offered only a glimpse into the achievements possible in Valtara."Disappearance
On Griev 29, 4363 ZC, 4 years and 9 months after its founding, an Azorius envoy arrived at the site of the city to find that all traces of Valtara had vanished. Becuse Valtara practiced extreme isolationism and guarded information going in and out carefully, very little is known of what occured in the city or how it vanished.
RUINED SETTLEMENT
Went Missing Griev 29, 4363 ZC
Founding Date
Seleszeni 17, 4359 ZC
Founders
Type
City
Inhabitant Demonym
Valtaran
Comments