Valeria
The twin-cities of Valeria-Port Aurora straddle the Thorn river where the Madras and Sitka flow into it, only a dozen kilometers south of the shores of Lake Aurora. Port Aurora itself was built in the very early stages of full colonization as one of the two polar spaceports for Terra Nova. The dense saguaro forests of the Auroran Basin were cleared several kilometers east of the Thorn and launch facilities were installed. In TN 499 the terminus of the beta maglev -attached to the spaceport- was completed and the superconductive magnetic levitation train line was extended south toward the Irrian Plain and the Badlands. This position ensured that Port Aurora would remain a center of colonial population and industry. As the colony developed, naval transport along rivers and lakes became increasingly important and port facilities were established on the Thorn. By the seventh Terranovan century, the colony was developing an independent culture of its own and many of the long term residents in need of work near the spaceport became disenchanted with the noise of large industrial facilities and roar of departing orbital shuttles; to escape, they began to move nearer to the river, especially on the west shore. In TN 700, this community was named Valeria and became an enclave for executives, merchants and Concordat officials working in Port Aurora, along with a small number of local farmers and fishermen.
When the Concordat abandoned Terra Nova in TN 1455, Valeria and Port Aurora were gripped by chaos and unrest. As the last shuttles lifted off from the spaceport, much of Port Aurora was in flames as abandoned colonists had stormed the Concordat facilities in hopes of getting passage home. Valeria was the site of looting and street fighting as the large, abandoned homes of corporate executives and Terran officials were made to suffer in their departed owners' stead. Over the following cycle two warlords gained control of the cities and welcomed colonists from the rest of the hemisphere who wished to make use of the abandoned facilities. With the spaceport shut down, Valeria began to grow at the expense of Port Aurora and conflict between the two communities became endemic. The conversion of Valerian High Councilor Breas to Revisionism in TN 1523 led to a rapid alliance with Sorrento. Port Aurora could only resist for a few seasons and surrendered in TN 1524. In the next cycle the NLC was founded with Valeria as its capital.
As the new league prospered, so did its capital. Commercial, governmental, educational and military resources were attracted to Valeria and the city began to stretch out around the local rivers. Port Aurora also boomed with additional industrial development. Soon the cities' urban sprawls bled into each other. The two cities were finally integrated in the eighteenth century, after the devastation of St. Vincent's War. The capital region suffered greatly during the conflict, with orbital and sub-orbital bombardment reducing much of the old cities to rubble. Once a peace agreement was signed, a reconstruction plan was developed and a new city was born. Valeria and Port Aurora were merged into a single city-state and the center of Valeria was completely rebuilt. The new capital was centered around St.Vincent's Square, which housed new government facilities for both the NLC and CNCS.
Demographics
Capital City
The largest city-state on Terra Nova, Valeria prides itself on being cosmopolitan, upscale and sophisticated. The shipping, agricultural and industrial centers of the city are usually downplayed by locals and thought of as the domain of Port Aurora or other suburbs of the “true“ Valeria. The massive presence of government agencies, diplomatic missions and bureaucratic agencies has shaped the social ethic of Valeria‘s elite. Power and prestige are very important, and government employees, reporters, lawyers and lobbyists can all be glimpsed in the most chic of shops and at the top restaurants. Away from the great boulevards and public squares, Valeria resembles many other well-to-do city-states. The university district to the north of the city center features a much more relaxed atmosphere, with crowded low-rise apartment buildings dotting the streets between cafes and bookshops. The east shore of the Thorn and Sitka, designated as part of the Port Aurora district, feature commercial docks, warehouses and low-income housing. Many of these areas are quite pleasant and well maintained, but some areas have fallen to the grip of an urban downturn and are grim indeed. Crime and hopelessness thrive in these quarters, away from the attention of the local government. Middle-class, white-collar neighborhoods are the most common, ranging from the manicured lawns of Madras Heights to the southwest of the city center, to the shopping malls and entertainment centers of suburban South Valeria.
Although experienced travelers tend to feel it pales when compared to Port Oasis, Valeria is nevertheless quite cosmopolitan and diverse. Beyond diplomatic visitors, the city’s large student population, tourists and traders also bring in experiences from across the globe. As the site of Nathani Reiss’ Third Peregrination. Valeria is also a Revisionist pilgrimage site, welcoming the faithful from across the hemisphere every cycle. The presence of substantial CNCS and Norlight military forces also brings in recruits from across the league and confederation to Valeria. All these bring a mixture of personalities, backgrounds and cultures that is seldom matched elsewhere in the Norlight Confederacy, making the city-state an unsettling but instructive experience for country-side visitors.
Government
Intrigues and Alliances
In many ways, Valeria runs on politics and power. Mayor Fredrik Paust has the unenviable task of governing a city-state which includes constituents such as the president of the NLC, the entire CNCS supreme court and Grand Marshal Victoria Edden-Smythe. While Valeria is positively above-board when compared to Port Oasis, it nonetheless features its fair share of espionage, betrayal and backroom deals. Mayor Paust must maneuver through this wasps nest in order to defend the rights of his citizens and preserve his position. Unfortunately, many feel he has chosen political survival over the wellbeing of Valerians, and especially that of Aurorans. Indeed, the mayor is a member of the Liberal Democratic Party and associated with its national and hemispheric strategies. He has become infamous for the number of balls and receptions he sponsors, usually as a forum for national officials to meet and discuss issues with business leaders or foreign dignitaries. The grand boulevards and public squares in the city center are kept clean and safe, while the poorer neighborhoods to the east struggle for resources.
Local Revisionist authorities, most particularly Senior Reverend Lianne Jamal, have launched into biting critiques of the Paust government. By using contacts established through The Prophet's Shield and by mobilizing the blue-collar community, Jamal and her associates have been able to bring political pressure on the mayor's office, most particularly through a series of damning news reports in the local and national media. Mayor Paust has been forced into a defensive position, announcing increased police coverage of high-crime areas and several community development projects. Many local observers wonder whether these moves will satisfy a very upset electorate in time for the TN 1934 local election. Civic Alliance candidate Elisa Staun i s the current front-runner and has received vocal support from church organizers.
Industry & Trade
- Service Industry
- Diversified manufacturing
- Transport
- Goverment
The Economics of Power
The capital region has one of the most diversified economies on Terra Nova. The city is most well known for its service industry, with many commercial outlets, legal firms, the nation's largest banks and major trading houses all operating from it. The sheer size of the government also accounts for a huge proportion of the region's economy, with 15% of the population employed by the confederate, national or local governments or by associated agencies. More traditional economic activities are also widespread, with industrial production in Port Aurora and large scale commercial trade and transport being the two largest contributors. Port Aurora features a wide variety of industries, from a large textile sector t o several important petrochemical producers. Intra- and international trade via sub-orbital transport, rail, maglev, river vessel and road transport supports a huge warehouse district along the Thorn and Sitka rivers, and, further east near the spaceport, airport and cargo maglev terminal. The headquarters of Terranovan TransRail dominates this sector of the citystate. A large skyscraper, it rises from the TNTR beta terminus and overlooks competitors such as TransNorth Rail and Vicardy Trucking and Transport.
Valeria also supports a very well-developed underground economy. From the dark streets of the dock neighborhoods to the glamorous hotels hosting diplomatic soirees, the influence of the Kolson and Forzi cartels can be felt. Local criminal organizations, from street gangs to prostitution rings, all owe allegiance to one or the other of the smuggler groups. The market in contraband, narcotics, protection, prostitution and illegal gambling in the capital is a multi-billion mark industry and the cartels are more than willing to spill blood over the profits. In the last five cycles, violence has been spinning out of control and the Paust administration has not responded very effectively. The Valerian police precincts in Port Aurora are largely underfunded, with resources going to protecting the more public streets. Whole neighborhoods have been largely abandoned to the cartels, leaving only a few brave VPD officers (those who have not fallen victim to corruption) to try and stem the tide of violence. NorPol's anti-cartel task force has had more success, but cannot take care of community policing.
History
Valeria Tower Saved
(Valeria Sun limes: 34 Autumn TN 1921) - After three cycles of concerted efforts, the great watch tower of Valeria has been restored to its full glory. The mighty tower, rising 237 meters into the air above the Inner Council chambers of the Confederated Northern City-States, was revealed yesterday after spending eleven seasons under a shroud of scaffolding and canvas. The tower was severally damaged by orbital bombardment in TN 1914 and propped into place by makeshift steel reinforcements until the Treaty of Westphalia. Many believed the tower would have to be destroyed, but the governments of the CNCS and NLC have spared no expense to give it a new lease on life. The entire internal support structure has been reinforced and largely replaced while a huge steel superstructure has been supporting the building. Yesterday, in a gala reception where the superstructure came off, the tower was opened to the public for the first time in seven cycles.
"The Tower is one of our most important symbols," said Norlight President Anders Von Breslau during the ceremony, "and its reopening is a symbol of our recovery from the war. Terra Nova has risen from the pain of the past just like this structure has. Neither one will fall." Von Breslau special guests at the reopening included Grand-Marshal Victoria Edden-Smythe, his successor as military leader of the CNCS, her companion Proconsul Regina of Fort Henry, Second Follower Thor Hutchison and newly elected UMF Treasurer Yves Banderas St. Vincent's Square was full to capacity with average citizens from Valeria come to partake in the festivities. Live music, fireworks and free food and non-alcoholic drinks were all part of the party.
Points of interest
After the devastation of St. Vincent's War, the center of Valeria was rebuilt according to plans drafted by Maya Galatera, a local architect widely recognized as one of the best in her field. Galatera's city center was placed on a small bluff just west of the junction of the Thorn and Madras rivers and was conceived as a partial wheel, which characterizes the capital to this day. The hub is St. Vincent's Square, a large public place which includes the chambers of many government bodies, including the Norlight House of Congress and Chamber of Valeria, the CNCS inner council and the CNCS supreme court. Eight boulevards extend from the square and house additional government and diplomatic facilities, as well as some of the nation's top retail outlets. Galatera laid out three parkways which encircled and divided her new city-center; in TN 1856, four of the boulevards were extended to the east of the city and three additional parkways were added, further dividing Valeria. Galatera's original city center remains the center of government, upscale shopping and financial affairs, while the more recent parkways mark the borders of residential and commercial districts.
St. Vincent's Square
The epicenter of the capital region, St. Vincent's Square is the seat of political power in the NLC. Across the fifty-meter wide circular square stands the Chambers of the CNCS Inner Council, the Norlight House of Congress, the CNCS Supreme Court, the Norlight Presidential Palace and the Chamber of Valeria. In the center of the square stands the Children's Garden, a memorial to the victims of St.Vincent's plague. Around the garden are scattered various war memorials, including those to the dead of St. Vincent's War (a low marble wall) and the War of the Alliance Memorial (a large triumphal arch). The square is closed to road traffic but welcomes pedestrians, who often Rock to it to admire the public buildings and hope to catch glimpses of national leaders. They rarely do, of course. Despite the presence of tourists, security is quite tight. Northern Guard and NAF special units guard the various buildings of note, while bodyguards surround the most prominent politicians. Lobbyists, lawyers and reporters can be seen entering the various public buildings at almost anytime of the day.
Many of the public buildings on the square feature guided tours which attracts a large number of tourists. Valeria Tower, the great thirty-story watch tower that overlooks the city, is the most popular tourist attraction because of its spectacular view of the capital and the Thorn river valley itself.
Brëas Boulevard
Of the eight grand boulevards which start at St.Vincent's Square, Breas is the most famous. Running west from the square, Breas is a wide, eight-lane boulevard through St. Vincent's Square that features the most elegant and popular shops, outlets and boutiques in the league. High-class hotels, highly exclusive apartments, and cafes compete for space on the boulevard and attract upscale shoppers, tourists and locals in the mood to spend some money. The Paust government keeps the boulevard scrupulously clean and its is well patrolled by local police as well as the military forces guarding government institutions. This most famous stretch of Breas ends at Armistice Circle which is a large traffic circle and public square that features the Church of the Third Peregrination. This large church was built to commemorate Nathani Reiss's journey to Valeria and is the prime religious center of the region. Breas Boulevard continues further west, but loses its panache and is largely lined with less-glamorous shops.
Valeria Legal Academy
The most prestigious law school in the North, Valeria Legal Academy is housed in an extensive campus near the center of Valeria. Arcing along the Centennial Parkway, between keas and Madras Boulevards, VLA's large stone building and lush parks are among the most photographed areas of the capital. The Larange National Library building at the center of the campus is an eight-story large stone building with an impressive colonnade and wide steps before it. The Larange library houses not only the VWs own collection, but serves as the national repository of record for the Northern Lights Confederacy. Every publication in the league is supposed to deposit three copies at Larange which can then be consulted by approved scholars. Trideo and other electronic media are also deposited at the library, although its coverage i s less complete because of looser publication definitions. The VLA campus i s also home to a luxurious faculty club which is used by the legal elite of the city as meeting place and social club. Chief Justice Stark and his political allies often use the private rooms of the club for their discussions.
The Docks
The east shore of the Thorn and Sitka rivers are the center of commercial shipping in the capital region. The Docks are widely reputed to be dangerous and corrupt, a reputation they haveearned thanks to the disinterest of the twin-cities government in the well-being of the area. Cartel-connected criminal gangs now control much of the access to the shipping facilities, a feat they accomplished by corrupting several key unions. The United Dock Workers is especially dirty and holds a stranglehold on all loading and unloading activity along the docks. The cartel war has arrived at the Valerian docks and several gangs are now trying to challenge the Kolson-backed Remy Boyz for control.
Maps
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Valeria - Port Aurora
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