Valnesse
"Welcome to Valnesse, my esteemed compatriots! The most productive city in all the world, or so they'd have you believe. Don't let the hastiness fool you though, the people here are proud, and take great care with their work. Be careful not to offend them."Valnesse is a sprawling city in the Freelands, on the shores of Lake Liberty. It is one of the largest cities in the Freelands, and is by far the busiest. A centre of industry and trade, Valnesse provides much of the Freelands production capacity, especially when it comes to timber, iron, and canvas goods. The harbour is extremely busy at all hours, and the city itself is always moving, and always working. At first it may seem overwhelming to the outsider, though on closer inspection it is clear that great care is taken to ensure the clean efficiency of almost every task. Very rarely would you see a cart stopped on a road, or a barge waiting for a canal to be cleared for its use. While this may seem unwelcoming to the casual observer, the inhabitants of the city are actually very happy, and it only takes one visit to the Market or Lights Districts to find that Valnessans are as good at relaxing as they are at working. They are, by and large, normal folk, mostly devout, each to their own, and all proud of their profession. As with most of the Free Cities, all are accepted in Valnesse, with people of all common races and creeds easily found, save for Halflings, who have not taken to the lifestyle as the others have. All in all, Valnessans are good people, with a pleasant air about them, and their city makes for a wonderful place to rest, or even call home.
Demographics
Of all the cities in the Freelands, Valnesse may be the most diverse when it comes to the ethnicity and race of its inhabitants. It's racial distribution almost matches Faenir as a whole, save for the lack of Halflings, who are very few and far between in Valnesse. The city is mostly filled with the working class, as almost exclusively, people work in the large factories which are so common in the city. Aside from this, there is a thriving merchant class, as is common within the Freelands, as well as a large marine workforce, which supplies most of the food for Valnesse. There are a few extremely wealthy individuals who own the factories in Valnesse, but these few are often quite generous, which results in a surprising absence of almost any kind of poverty.
Government
Valnesse is governed by a council of 7 Presiders, each representing a different race of Valnessans. Men, Elves, Dwarves, Half-Orcs, Half-Elves, and Gnomes each have a representative, and one other is chosen to represent the minor races on the council. Each Presider only holds their seat for one year, and there are strict restrictions on who qualifies for the role. No-one who owns a factory is eligible to sit on the council, and only those that have lived in Valnesse for 10 years can be chosen. At the end of each political term, each Presider has 2 weeks to nominate a short-list of 5 candidates to replace them, none of whom can be blood relatives or business partners to any currently sitting member of the council. After this time, one day is given to the selection of the next year's council, during which time each Presider speaks for their prospective successors, and the council votes on who they think is most eligible for the role. Finally, no one individual may sit on the council more than once every three years.
Defences
Valnesse is surrounded on the landward side by a heavy wall, which was built by the Randirion Empire after it took the city during their expansion. Since the fall of the Empire however, defence has not been a priority in the city, and many new gates and canals now break up the wall. If Valnesse were to come under attack from the land, it would rely on the strength of their arms, not their walls, to defend them.
The seaward side of the city is another matter. The Presiders decided, soon after it became obvious that the success of the city depended largely on the success of their merchant marine, that the harbour should be heavily defended. Many large towers stand in the harbour, built up from the floor of the lake itself. In between them, they can raise a large chain wall, which is well maintained, and has often proven useful for dealing with piracy.
Industry & Trade
Valnesse is famous for its industry, and is the major exporter for mass produced goods in the Freelands, specialising in timber, iron, and canvas products. Most of the working class man the factories which process such goods, or the production plants which provide the factories with the raw materials they need. Aside from these major products, Valnesse does export some other goods, though in much smaller quantities. The city is not known for finer craftsmanship, and many of the imports to the city consist of such finer goods. Whilst the fishing industry does sustain most of the population of Valnesse, other foods must be imported from other Free Cities.
Infrastructure
Valnesse is an extremely industrial city, and as such, efficiency is as highly valued as almost any other commodity in the area. The city runs as a well oiled machine, having both canals and roads neatly ordered throughout the expanse, allowing the flow of goods and resources to be almost non-stop. The harbour on Liberty Lake is especially impressive, with many workers employed simply to direct and organise the vast quantity of ships importing and exporting to and from the other Free Cities.
Perhaps what is most notable in Valnesse is their use of rails in the more hilly regions of the city, allowing beasts of burden to deliver heavy loads uphill. The practice is thought to have been invented here, by the gnomish population, having later been adopted by other peoples around Iatar, but no-one remembers who specifically came up with the idea.
Guilds and Factions
The goings on in Valnesse are mostly held within two spheres, the political, and the economical. The political side of affairs is surprisingly free of corruption in a city filled with such wealth, though assassinations have been known to occur from time to time. As far as business goes, there are only a few very powerful families who control most of the wealth and production in the city. The average citizen of Valnesse would probably not be aware of the constant manoeuvring and jostling for power that goes on between these families, but the competition can sometimes be extremely fierce. What's worse is that the standing army of Valnesse is supplied by these families, and whilst they are not the police force, they have been known to at times overstep their authority within the city.
History
Valnesse is a fairly old city, though it has not always been the thriving centre of industry it is today. It is thought to have been founded during the Chaos Era, probably fairly soon after the Great Clash, when many mortals spread over Iatar, seeking to settle in the newfound peace. It began as most settlements do, a small village, on the side of the Lake which would come to be known as Lake Liberty. As time passed, it grew in size, but not quickly, and by the time Asharaz the Usurper rose to prominence, he hardly considered it worth conquering. Valnesse rapidly expanded when the Randirion Empire assumed control of the city, and built it up to be a large fortress, and their main centre of power around the lake. The city was one of the first to revolt against the Empire during the reign of Kovia the Mad, and sparked the movement that resulted in the creation of the Freelands. Since then, it has grown into the city that can be seen today, and despite one disaster, a large fire that consumed much of the city, it has nought but prospered as a city-state.
Architecture
Since the fire, most of the houses in the city proper are built of stone, and are low to the ground, very rarely having more than one storey. This design is born mostly of necessity, rather than beauty, being both fire-resistant, and below the clouds of smoke that rise from the factories. The wealthy often live outside the city, in expansive estates, either on the shore of the lake, or in the forest to the west. Much of the Randirion architecture survived the fire, and so the walls and towers of the city remain in that style, as well as the council hall, which was re-purposed as such from the castle which commanded the fortress.
Geography
Valnesse is found on the western shore of Lake Liberty, right in the centre of the Freelands. On the western side, the town continues outside the city walls, with canals flowing through the outskirts, and some even into the forest. It is connected by road to Gryshik to the north, and to Liverna and Parthen to the south.
Type
City
Population
~250,000
Inhabitant Demonym
Valnessan
Location under
Owning Organization
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