Vane

City in Ione

Residing at the end of the Silent River in the east of Ione since the Time of Trials, Vane is one of the most isolated cities in the nation as most traders opt to use the longer and more easily navigable Jhio River river. After the construction of the Ionean border walls, the forward outpost role was made obsolete, though Vanites still staff that section of the wall and Overlook Outpost. With fishing, farming, and a reasonable ability to construct tools, Vane has minor reliance on the imports from the nearby towns of Kronbruck and Greycross which allows Vane to sustain itself without much interaction from the rest of the nation.

Demographics

Vane has a recorded population of 1,100 individuals all of which are human. Following the direction of the Alarch, only the human population of the city is recorded, though unlike many of the other settlements of Ione this number is thought to be inflated rather than under reported. A number of Wood Elves are also known to reside within the borders of Vane, their ancestores having arrived after the fall of the Union Under Ashenkarle in 540.

Government

Vane is governed by theocratic rule similar to all settlements within Ione and 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 resides in Absolus as it is the provincial capital of Ghia.

Industry & Trade

Much of Vane's history was as a scouting outpost with limited industry, instead relying on imports from Fortuna, and later Kronbruck. As the settlement grew, some fishing and farming was introduced, though not enough to compete with the output of Anderselt or Kronbruck. Vane does still provide watchmen for the North-Eastern section of the border wall and provides staffing for Overlook Outpost at the headwater of the Silent River to watch over the Southern shore of Jewel Lake.

History

Originally a scouting outpost during the initial construction of Fortuna in the Time of Trials, Vane has existed longer than Ione itself, being founded by the Ionean predecessors, The Fortenes during the Time of Trials. The Jhio river provided The Fortenes with reasonable protection from threats originating from the west of Fanvinir and with the battlefield shifting further east into Irios, the core of Ione had a chance to settle. However as there was always a risk that the war shift back west, an outpost was constructed at the end of the Silent river to notify the Ionean settlers if they needed to flee back into the forest, though the Eastward Warring Front never returned. Though Vane was not without conflict during the Time of Trials. The Vanites were specifically on the lookout for armies led by Patron Deities as this is what had originally pushed The Fortenes into Sanctum Forest but this left them vulnerable to smaller insurgencies, such as the humans who raided the town in 439. Majority of the Vanites fled to Kronbruck, but the small settlement was looted and razed which led to the creation of the Clandestine Growth Directive out of fear of further discovery. Vane would not be rebuilt until Ione's second military conflict would conclude. After the pantheon leading the Eastward Warring Fronts collapsed inward and fractured into multiple groups, Ione began preparing a militia to defend some of their land. When The Union Under Ashenkarle, one of the splinter groups, attempted to annex land that Ione held claims on and murdered the Ionean envoy, Ione declared war in 507 and successfully removed them from their land in 515. After reinforcing at their border, Ione would rebuild Vane in 518 as the supplying of troops also allowed the transport of materials to the site. The war remained in effect, though without fighting from either belligerent until the dissolution of the Union Under Ashenkarle in 536. The wooden border wall insulating Sanctum Forest from outsiders originally terminated at Vane, and was replaced by stone in 605. When the decision was made to extend the border wall around the entirety of Ione in 958 construction began first in Vane due to the vulnerability that the settlement had experienced in the past and the safety the Jhio River provided to Ione's western settlements. SImilar to Anderselt the fishing docks for Vane reside on the outside of the border walls with limited access for fishermen to reach the docks.

Points of interest

Overlook Outpost - Overlook outpost is a small stone tower built in the headwater of the Silent River that is cared for and staffed by the townsfolk of Vane. It is primarily used to ensure that the forest is not entered from the shores of Jewel Lake.
[The Silent Docks] - The only set of docks that exist on the Silent River. Used for fishing and for transport up to Overlook Outpost.
[Shrine of the Razing of Vane] - A monument to the razing of Vane during a raid which occurred in 439, prompting the Clandestine Growth Directive in 440. Vane was rebuilt in 518.

Architecture

The original construction of Vane was built out of wood though very few buildings, mostly on the outskirts of the city, survived the destruction of the raid. The rebuilding of Vane was done with mostly locally produced stone collected and transported by the militiamen that were stationed there during the lack of combat with the Union Under Ashenkarle. Due to most of the wooden buildings being completely destroyed it was one of the first settlements to be completely rebuilt in stone, though rather crudely, due to majority of the work being performed by the militia rather than stonemasons. Some of Vane was rebuilt using marble, though much like Anderselt the size of the settlement and it's distance from Arnsrath resulted in Vane being one of the last settlements to recieve the overhaul, despite having less optimal buildings compared to most settlements. Many of the buildings have been transition to marble but lack much of the gothic features of other settlements.