Kevos
The town of Kevos is along the Long Road into the Apps, but still part of the Kingdom of Alsona. It is nestled along a road precariously positioned on the mountainsides in a lush valley with a scenic stream passing through. Up until about ten years ago, the town was small and peaceful and relied solely on localized farming and a single modestly sized mine built in the outskirts. When dwarves started arriving in Alsona in large numbers, many of them began to settle in Kevos, to the point where nearly half of the population is currnetly dwarf. During their migration and settlement, the dwarves discovered new veins of ore in the mines and began digging out their own underground community beneath the human town. This has led to considerably strained tensions and resentment, as the dwarves remain isolated from the human population. During the Wingo War, the dwarves were considered suspect by both their kin in the west, and the humans of the community, as they remained loyal to the Alsonans and provided vital resources for the war effort, despite the racial undertones of the conflict.
Demographics
The town of Kevos consists primarily of two groups, the human Losanan population that makes up the majority of the surface city, and the dwarven population that makes up the underground. Although all technically answer to the authority of the Countess, the dwarves tend to ignore the affairs of the humans in favor of implementing their own cultural norms from their fallen mountain strongholds. The countess has allowed this to continue in the wake of the Wingo War, and two populations remain divided and suspicious of each other.
Government
The reigning noble of the region of Kevos is the direct ruler over the town and its environs. She appoints any delegates or individuals required for solving problems relating to the town's administration, and over the years a form of bureaucracy has emerged for the purposes of defense and tax collection. Although the duties relating to the town's defense has recently been turned over to the Royal Army of Alsona in the wake of the Wingo War, law and order is still upkept by the countess' employees, including town guards and appointed judges.
Defences
Kevos' aboveground community of humans is protected by strong walls patrolled and manned by elements of the Alsonan Royal Army. These hardened defenders, many of whom are commanded by veterans of the Wingo War, help to protect the humans of the settlement from threats both internal and external. The army maintains a fortified keep inside the boundaries of the settleme nt and can call upon the local countess' town guards to provide the services of the militia in the case of a dire threat. The dwarves of the underground maintain their own guard and have many veterans of conflict in the Apps Mountains, some of whom served for over a century in the wars and disputes of the mountains. They are able to organize into a formidble and well equipped militia should anything threaten the peace of the underground.
Industry & Trade
The Long Road provides many of the jobs and commercial benefits to Kevos that may not otherwise exist. The passage of the caravans over the mountains is difficult, and Kevos is the last city in Alsona before the journey east and the final stopping point for caravans from Recfrere. Taxation of goods and vital services are all conducted here, as the local countesses have made their family's fortune in the exploitation of this vital chokepoint of trade.
Long ago, Kevos was originally constructed as a mining town, as deposits of iron were found in the mountain. These ran dry over three centuries ago, and Kevos settled into a position of commerce instead. The arrival of dwarven refugees led to the discovery of new deposits, and the dwarves claimed credit and ownership of the resources hauled out of their chambers in the mountains. This has given a new life to industry in Kevos, as the iron and coal hauled out of the mines offers a substantial competition to the now controlled Wingo Mine of the west and the need to import goods from other countries. The dwarves have become rich, despite sharing much of this wealth with the Apps Mining Company.
Infrastructure
The surface town of Kevos is what most would expect of a middling human community in Alsona. The roads are mostly paved and the streets well lit and patrolled. A rudimentary sewer system was at one point constructed hundreds of years ago, but has since been abandoned and then reclaimed by dwarven settlers. The roads are kept well maintained, as the town is the jumping off point for the Long Road and passage of trading caravans over the Apps Mountains. Many corrals, mustering yards, and other needed facilities for caravans have been created to assist in the difficult overland journey.
Districts
There are truly only two core sections of Kevos. The first is the Old Town, the upper level where the humans of the community reside. These structures date back to the founding of the town and mark its legal boundaries for the purposes of the kingdom. The businesses and people in this district are primarily dedicated towards the servicing and mustering of trading caravans bound for distant points along the Long Road and towards Recfrere or Populres. Inns, hotels, and other establishments dedicated towards travelers and merchants are abundant, and a marketplace suitable for a city far beyond Kevos' size offers numerous fine wares from across the Apps.
The second district of Kevos is that which is underground. Established roughly eighty years ago by dwarven immigrants and refugees from the fallen strongholds of the Apps Mountains, the dwarves have recreated a taste of what was once their home in the northeast. Dwarven artisans and stonemasons from storied holds have put their labors to creating an imitation of their old homes, digging out the mountain at the center of Kevos, and opening up long dormant mines. The iron, coal, and lead found within the mountain have proven to be a major boon for the settlement as a whole, revitalizing the local economy from beyond simply a trading post. The exact extent of the dwarven city and mines and the number of its inhabitants is unknown to the human populace, but suspicions abound about the dwarves and their intents. Travelers keep away from the city, as dwarven law reigns over the underground populace, and they are unfriendly to most other races, but smugglers and criminals have found that if the exact laws of the dwarves are obeyed, the underground is a useful refuge to their enterprises.
Guilds and Factions
The humans and dwarves consist of two factions more than capable of disturbing the peace in Kevos over the decades. Racially based violence is common between the two groups, but never quite crossing the line to a true civil war. The Alonsan Royal Army has its hands full and frequently steps in to keep the peace in favor of the human population, but they are frequently balanced out by mercenaries employed by the Apps Mining Company, which has significant funds and resources invested in the maintainence of the mine and support of the dwarven people. Any other groups or conflicts operating in the town has to tread lightly, as neither side would allow for anything that could upset the very delicate and tenuous balance of power in the community.
Points of interest
Although there exist many attractions in Kevos for travelers and those who spend their lives on the caravans, very little else draws as much notice as the Refuge Gates. These gates mark the entryway into the underground mines and homes of the dwarves. These immense gates are modeled upon those that kept the dwarven strongholds of the Apps Mountains secure for centuries, and the dwarves have decorated them with hopeful symbology and carvings of hope. The masterwork that has been dedicated towards the decoration of these gates have marveled even the finest artists of Pegrama who view this as one of the great wonders of the nation.
Founding Date
85 AF
Population
2370
Related Ethnicities
Inhabitant Demonym
Kevan
Location under
Owner/Ruler
Owning Organization
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