Isolde (ee-sohl-deh)

Isolde was the first town settled as part of the expansion and security project undertaken by the leaders of Alard's Rest, Plainsview, and Gullthorpe. The settlers and soldiers that were sent to found new towns to protect against Giant incursions and other deadly beasts fought through the wilderness for almost 8 months, enduring a hard winter, before they eventually reached the mountains and found a large natural cavern that was uninhabited. And that cavern is still the location of Isolde to this day.
As one of the "frontier" towns of the Serene Republic of Dalkar, Isolde regularly scouts for groups of Giants and other dangerous beasts, with the goal of preventing them from invading further east into the rest of the nation. Isolde has the unique challenge of watching more than one front, however, as the cavern that houses the city has been attacked by fire giants and other subterranean foes on several occasions.
The people of Isolde are hearty and fierce, willing to do what is necessary to protect themselves and the rest of their kinsmen. The pride and connection, however, is felt less for the faraway towns of the Serene Republic than Isolde's nearer neighbors. The concept of a singular national identity is still something that eludes the western reaches of the Serene Republic, even after more than 500 years.

Demographics

Though Isolde's initial primary purpose was defensive and military in nature, it is not strictly speaking a military fortress or fortified town. There are still a good portion of the citizens that are well-trained soldiers ready to face any threat, but a growing proportion are civilians who are not military and work in a variety of industries not directly related to or supporting the military.
Isolde's population originally skewed more toward the norm for Dalkaria, with mostly giant-kin and humans in the initial settling group. Since that time, other groups of people have moved to the region, and the makeup of Isolde is now predominantly human, with giant-kin and halflings also making up large portions of the town. As the underground town began to expand into mining and other subterranean endeavors, dwarves and gnomes began to immigrate.
There are very few aristocratic families in Isolde; the tough life and almost constant danger prevent anyone from living too comfortably, and most otherwise lucrative industries are owned by the town's government. Along with the very strong sense of community and collective good, this keeps most business owners from amassing enormous amounts of wealth. The average citizen would be considered slightly better off than most other "poor peasants" in other cities, but that is to be expected with the extra dangers the Isoldens face on a daily basis.

Government

The people of Isolde are represented by a mix of elected and appointed officials, due to the military nature of its existence. Every two years the town elects three members of the six-member council, as well as choosing a Mayor from among the three council members who are not up for re-election. This ensures the mayor changes hands at least every two years, though in theory two people could pass it back and forth amongst themselves.
The mayor has certain ceremonial responsibilities and meets directly with the commander of the town's military to decide on tactics, training, etc. In the council sessions, the mayor votes with the other council members on non-military policies and items. When the council is split 3-3 on any specific issue, the mayor's vote breaks the tie, but they may choose to table the issue for discussion at a future council meeting if it is not urgent and they wish to gain more of a consensus.
The Commander of the military is appointed by the Serene General, who is stationed in Riverthorpe. They have almost complete control over the military, though they must consult with Isolde's mayor on strategy and timing. They are not officially on the town's council, but they sit in on the council meetings and can intervene if a discussion around a recommended policy directly impacts the military. While this does not officially shut down the possibility of the motion passing, the council's deference to the military tends to mean they listen to these objections.
The town's council appoints almost all the town's judges as needed and then reaffirms their positions every ten years on the decade year - unless extenuating circumstances require a premature performance assessment. The town's military commander serves as the sole judge for all military matters, and there is a separate jail for military prisoners. Prisoners may appeal the commander's decision to the Serene General, but there have been very few instances of a rogue commander that delivers unjust punishments.

Defences

Isolde's location inside a mountain cavern provides ample natural protection, but there are still many things the town has added over the centuries to make it an even more secure outpost. The first thing to be added was a proper stone wall to protect the cavern's exit into the surface world. This wall is still standing today and is constantly manned by no fewer than 50 members of the town's military, always on watch for giants or dangerous beasts. All trade going between Isolde and the rest of the Serene Republic passes through the heavy, solid steel gates, the gears of which require five men each to open.
After the first attack on the town from underneath, a series of fortifications was built to protect the mines and tunnels that lead deeper into the mountain. The include a snaking maze of tunnels on the edge of town, with several fortified choke points along the way, constantly manned by armed soldiers with magical means to contact the other barrier groups.
The most recent fortification to be put in place was constructed in 1453 2A, after an incursion from the stone giants who dropped onto the exterior gate from above. In the aftermath of that attack, the town constructed an angled metal wall 100 feet up the mountain meant to deflect rockslides and boulders, as well as reroute any attacking giants. This wall is about 100 feet long from end to end and sticks out of the mountainside about 30 feet at most places. The massive steel beams of the wall were driven into the mountain another 50 feet, protecting them from being dislodged and used as projectiles or mountain sleds.

Industry & Trade

The most lucrative and common industries in Isolde apart from the military are the mining and smithing industries. Workers toil endlessly in underground tunnels to unearth iron and other ores, which are carted back to the town and sent to the various forges to be crafted into armor and weapons. These are then sent out to the other towns of the Serene Republic, who send back timber or produce in return.
The town's continual growth has led to the burgeoning of several other industries that are not connected to the military, mostly in the hospitality sector. As the population grew and the proportion of military members shrank, more civilians sought entertainment, which led to the founding of new taverns, theaters, cabarets, etc. This same population boom also led to a culinary revolution in the town. Though Isolde is very reliant on outside produce for many things, there are specific types of mushrooms and root vegetables that are able to grow in the caverns. Where previously these things were staples of bland cuisine, the new gastronomy of the town has made them into liquors, ales, and wines, and the chefs have begun to be increasingly inventive in how they combine the local produce with what is brought in from elsewhere.

Infrastructure

That Isolde is underground helps its basic setup and infrastructure, as there is little need for paved roads. The stone of the cavern floor is a fine road for carts and people, though the city does maintain some types of marking or curbs to stop carts from careening into buildings. The town's water is supplied by several streams and pools that run or collect throughout the cavern and the nearby tunnels.
As Isolde is the main iron mine in the Serene Republic, it is also the place of smelting and smithing for the vast majority of the nation's weapons. One specific branch of tunnels off the main town cavern leads to three lava-fed forges deep underground. While not hot enough to produce the masterwork weapons of Gel Morgran, they allow the smiths to craft almost continuously if they need to, without having to reheat forges or kilns.

History

Prior to the middle of the tenth century of the Second Age, the wilderness and mountains west of the Oriel River were a dangerous place for humanoids. Giants and vicious beasts roamed freely, and all past attempts at founding settlements had ended futilely. Then, in 940, the leaders of Alard's Rest assembled groups of soldiers and settlers to purposefully found new towns and protect the rest of the kingdom from these grave threats.
Of the roughly six groups that set out from Alard's Rest that year, one was almost immediately wiped out when they had the supreme misfortune to wander right into the middle of two warring hill giant clans. The other groups managed to steer clear of such treacherous circumstances and made their way throughout the western plains. As the groups spread further and further apart, they lost contact with one another and had to scout for threats on their own.
One such group followed the river closely, fording back and forth when they ran into trouble, eventually ending up after eight months near where the river flowed out of the mountains in a spectacular waterfall. Following the base of the mountains, the group eventually came upon a natural cavern in the mountains, and all scouting showed it to be empty. The group decided this would be a marvelous place to settle a fortified town, and they set to work building houses and fortifications as quickly as they could before giants discovered their location.
Within six months, the town had a crude wall on the exterior of the cavern and had built enough houses for everyone in the company to live, plus a crude military barracks and armory.  One of the other wandering groups seemed to have the same idea and stumbled upon the already founded Isolde, whereupon they joined the existing town and built their own houses. Many people began experimenting with different plants to see if they could get anything to grow underground, and the shepherds quickly realized keeping any type of livestock above ground attracted unwanted attention from the threats they were trying to avoid. They soon moved their herds into the cavern, though the species of pigs, sheep, and chickens did not take well to the cavern lifestyle and died out after just a few years.
It took almost a decade before the people of Isolde decided it was time to delve deeper into the mountain and dig mines for ore or gems. The town had grown to almost 4,000 by this point, and the Serene Republic had gathered experienced miners from all over the world to help with this new endeavor. Within two months, the miners found rich deposits of iron and lava-filled chambers suitable for forges. Not long after that, a small scouting party also discovered a tunnel that led to a Fire Giant stronghold, and the miners sealed off that tunnel to prevent the giants from discovering their activities.
In the year 1102 2A, the mines of Isolde suddenly found themselves under attack by marauding fire giants that had managed to find the elusive miners after 150 years of trying. The city's defenders abandoned the exterior wall and rushed to the mines to thwart the menace, successfully pushing back the giant raiders but sustaining heavy casualties to do so. After this, a series of fortifications and barriers were installed to prevent any future attacks by the Fire Giants. These have been updated or replaced occasionally over the last 300 years, though they would still be recognizable to the citizens at the time of their construction.
Over the last 500 years, from the time of Isolde's and the other western towns' founding, trade and political unity have only grown and strengthened. The three western towns trade freely with one another and to a lesser extent with the rest of the nation. The defensive positions these towns occupy are too important for the nation to abandon, so they receive far more supplies from the rest of the Serene Republic than they send.

Architecture

The original buildings of Isolde - only a handful of which still remain - were built with what timber and thatch the settlers could find nearby and drag into the cavern. Many have been reinforced over the centuries, but at their core they are basic huts and cabins. Once the town decided to start mining and experts were brought in, Isolde took on an entirely new look. The floor of the cavern was excavated, with buildings hewn directly out of the stone and new streets formed by carving away whole sections of rock. This excavated rock was made into bricks and slabs for use in other buildings or to add on to the tops of other buildings. Now, the town sits in what is essentially a large divot in the cavern floor, with the edges still built up to natural height - though eroded somewhat from the time of the founding.
Many of these stone buildings are simple squares or half-spheres with numerous window holes for air flow. Some resemble stalagmites, jutting up from the cavern floor at odd angles and capped with pointed turrets and spires. The magical lights that illuminate the town have given some people the freedom to paint their stone houses or add other embellishments to set them apart from each other. Though the overall view a visitor gets upon entering the massive cavern is still just an expanse of stony grey.

Founding Date

941 2A

Type

Town

Population

8,307

Inhabitant Demonym

Isoldens

Location under

Dalkaria

Owning Organization

Serene Republic of Dalkar