Principa

Capital of the Meidem Province

Principa is synonymous with soldiers even if Ione itself is not.
— Ionean Footsolider

The city of Principa is the capital of the Meidem province in the Southeast of Ione. Principa is the smallest of the capital cities of Ione and lies the furthest from the rivers that surround the country and the closest to the bordering nations. A towering gatehouse allowing passage through the border wall is technically part of the city but is not nearly as integrated as the the towering gatehouse in Absolus. As the city is the closest to the neighbors of Ione, Principa tends to be the location in which the few soldiers that Ione employs are trained and housed. The current Exarch residing in Principa is Oswalt Fletcher.

Demographics

Principa has a recorded population of 2,900 individuals making it the smallest of the capital cities. Following the direction of the Alarch, only the human population of the city is recorded so it is likely that the population may be slightly higher than reported. As Principa is primarily a military focused settlement, races other than human are very rarely found there, though with the towering gatehouse providing access out into the rest of the Irios region many travellers move through the settlement on their way to Fortuna or Ornamen.

Government

Principa is governed by theocratic rule similar to all settlements within Ione. The municipal government is controlled by an Eparch who is appointed through Cionecic's Divine Selection. The Eparch reports to the provincial representative, the Exarch, who also resides in Principa as it is the provincial capital of Meidem.

Industry & Trade

Principa revolves almost entirely around supporting the military functions of Ione. They import the majority of their goods and materials from other cities but do produce a large array of weapons and kit for soldiers, primarily basics for foot soldiers. There are some specialized craftsmen that work on equipment used for magic users, though they are outnumbered by their counterparts in Fortuna.

History

Much of Ione's early history is hiding within their small region, attempting to stay out of the conflicts brought about by the Time of Trials, though they did not escape unscathed. Small raids on settlements such as Vane prompted the Alarch to implement certain doctrine such as the Clandestine Growth Directive which prevented Ioneans from forming new settlements out of the fear of further discovery. After successfully fending off multiple agressive neighbors and watching many nations canabalize each other, Ione was confronted with their first diplomatic group in the Skoedites, who were looking cooperative relations rather than hostile ones. After developing a few years of initial trust with Skoedan, and knowing that knowledge of their existence would spread throughout the region, the Clandestine Growth Directive was lifted by Alarch Lindhardt Bregate in 880 and the settlement of Principa was founded only two years later. From the initial founding Principa was designated as the location to train and house majority of the military, which had previously been done in Fortuna. While Fortuna still kept some of their training facilities they were no longer used to train the average foot soldier but were instead shifted to train specialized troops, especially those that exhibited magical abilities. Principa was also placed near the edge of the Ionean Holy Land, the area where Marks of Fortune were known to appear in order to fully secure the area under Ionean control which had been a primary goal of the nation since its formation in 373. Being the furthest city from the safety of Sanctum Forest resulted in significant considerations for defenses for the settlement, primarily basic fortifications that would be housing archers and cannons, though these would become obsolete when the border wall along Sanctum Forest was extended in 958. Barracks was placed in the city centre and between the city bounds and the towering gatehouse are the training grounds. By the time Principa was founded fully wooden structures were already obsolete and thus Principa was the first city to be originally constructed primarily from stone. It's marble reconstruction was also done relatively soon after the discovery of marble in Arnsrath due to being the provincial capital but also for its close proximity to Arnsrath, though other settlements with more cultural and religious importance were completed first.

Points of interest

[Gatehouse of the Southeast] - The towering gatehouse that allows access to western Irios is located in Principa, though it is not as directly integrated into the city as the other two gatehouses.
[Chapel of Meidem] - Each of the provincial capitals has a large chapel that provides the dual purpose of a religious site and the location of the sitting Exarch of the province.
[Principine Barracks] - The primary housing of the Ionean military force which resides in the centre of the city and through which majority of the city functions around.
[Principine Training Grounds] - A large area southeast of the city that exists between the core of the settlement and the towering gatehouse that provides grounds for training and drilling soldiers.

Architecture

As this was one of the cities constructed originally from stone, it was the origination point of some of the gothic architecture seen throughout the marjoity of Ione. It was the first settlements to see pointed arches, rib vaults, and detailed columns, though the more complex constructions such as the tall spires would not arrive in Principa until the marble rebuild of many of the buildings. Later on majority of the city centre would be overhauled to include all of the features found elsewhere in the rest of Ione. Moving further from the city centre and public spaces into residential areas results in much simpler architecture, though still finely crafted from marble.