Knutterden
A port city located on the southern shores of The Eastern Strait, Knutterden is home to Bommbergonia's northern fleet and most of its shipbuilding capacity outside of The Great Inland Sea. The city is famous for being besieged by The Alborian Empire during The Hor's War where it held out for six months along with with its famous island forts known as "The Twins" until the bommbergonian military was able to break the siege.
History
Founded sometime in the first few centuries following The Cataclysm, Knutterden is one of the oldest human settlements. Its position on the southern shores of The Eastern Strait allowed it to grow quickly from a small fishing village to one of the largest ports and most important shipyards in The Shattered Continent
Becoming Bommbergonian
By the time that The Bommbergons began to expand their kingdom northwards the city was a major regional power controlled by powerful merchant princes. In early 1066 AC posturing and threatening had turned into outright war and the armies of the two powers met in "The Battle of the Bog", at the conclusion of which the rulers of Knutterden were dead and their army had surrendered. In the aftermath of the battle The Bommbergons declared the creation of The Duchy of Knutterden, appointed one of their loyalists as the new duke, and continued their conquest of the north of bommbergonia.
The Hor's War
In 1957 AC a series of naval skirmishes between The Kingdom of Bommbergonia and The Alborian Empire escalated into a war which centered around an attempt by the alborians to take the port city of Horsmouth in order to secure a foothold within Bommbergonia. The war lasted for over 20 years, ending in 1979 AC, and it escalated substantially as it progressed; in the final years the alborian commander Rogerin Vigouroux launched a campaign to capture the city of Knutterden in order to open up a second front and turn the war in their favor.
The two island forts off the coast of Knutterden known as 'The Twins' ended up being the cornerstone of this campaign, as they both mounted substantial batteries of artillery and had fortified harbors and their own fleets. Knutterden could not be taken without first taking the twins, so the alborians laid siege to the islands for six months, cutting off resupply and attempting to drain them of ammunition and batter them into submission.
In one of the most famous actions of the war, the defenders launched simultaneous night attacks, boarding and setting fire to much of the besieging fleet before landing an elite force on the alborian flagship, killing vigoroux and setting the ship ablaze before retreating back to the twins. This action broke the siege, allowing the bommbergonian navy to sweep in and decimate the confused, disorganized alborian ships and force them to retreat back across the strait. The defense of the twins and assault on the flagship were the beginning of the legacy of one of the greatest heroes of the war, Alexander Byrne.
Demographics
While largely human, as a major trade port Knutterden is fairly diverse and the shipyards there draw workers from across The Shattered Continent.
Government
As the capital of The Duchy of Knutterden, the duke nominally rules the city, but The Northern Sea Lord runs the naval facilities, dockyards, and dry docks which make up a huge portion of the city. There has historically been some friction between the two, with the duke being vocal in his opinion that The Sea Lord should report directly to him.
Notable Locations
The Bommbergonian Naval Academy at Knutterden
The Eastern Strait and The Crater Sea are substantially different to sail than The Great Inland Sea, and so the royal naval academy opened a new location in knutterden to train sailors for their northern fleet. The Northern Sea Lord serves as the head of the academy in addition to his other responsibilities and there is a substantial rivalry between the primary naval academy and it's northern branch.
The Knutterden Institute of Chemical and Alchemical Indagation
One of the most prestigious schools of alchemy in The Shattered Continent, The Knutterden Institute of Chemical and Alchemical Indagation, is typically referred to simply as 'The Institute'. In addition to academic research and teaching students, The Institute is responsible for keeping the northern fleet supplied with gunpowder, waterproofing compounds, and all of their other alchemical needs.
The Under-Institute Warren
The sewers underneath the The Knutterden Institute of Chemical and Alchemical Indagation are strangely clean, something that most attribute to the effect of many different caustic and volatile chemicals being dumped into them by The Institute, but the reality is somewhat more mundane. The Under-Institute Warren connects directly to the sewers and the ratfolk who live there are fully aware of the dangers of allowing alchemical waste to build up near their home, so they keep the sewers nearly spotless. Because they all learn how to identify and neutralize a wide variety of al chemical ingredients and reagents, the warren produces a great many alchemists and students for The Institute
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