Osanem

If one would look at Osanem from afar they would think the entire city is burning. It is only when you come closer that you see that the smoke actually rises from thousands of chimneys. If this is what non magical progress looks like, I don't want it to come to Adlhir.

— High Sage Syronikir

Osanem is the capital of the Pavan Empire and currenlty the largest metropolitan area on the planet. About 1,2 milion people make this city their home and it's suburbs seem to go on forever. It has been a large city for most of it's history but in the recent century it grew exponentially.
All of this is due to the rise of industry in the Pavan Empire. Technological advances have made it possible to produce goods at astounding speed and the introduction of new machinery and chemicals has made it easier than ever before to feed people. No wonder so many come to this city to seek their fortune. Sadly most of them fail to reach their goals.

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This map shows the world of Niorath and its various biomes and nations. The north and south pole areas are still rather unexplored because they are frequently covered in ice. Various species live there but they have not played any major role in the history of the planet. The other continents are much more populated and have seen their fair share of changing occupants.

Some areas of the world are quite different from the normal natural biomes. These are chaos areas, region affected by the dangerous Chaos Tempests who can corrupt the land beyond recognition. Many of these are the result of forbidden magic going very wrong and have often meant the end of the empires that performed the related rituals.

Extra Information

Founding Date

273 BF

Location

The city is located in Pavanor along the Kisari Basin.

Owner

Osanem is the capital of the Pavan Empire

Population

1 241 352

Primary Races

Humans, Half-Elves, Dwarves

Known for

Machinery, Ships, Metal Working, Weapons, Glass

Avg. Temperature

12 °C

History

Founding

The city of Osanem was actually founded during the Pavan Independence Wars in the year 273 BF. Archon was the one who decided to make his new capital here instead of Istaria. Why he did not choose the settlement from which the revolution started remains unknown. Nonetheless, it was at a great location as it had a large natural harbor area and easy access to water thanks to the large Afaliem river.
One of the first buildings being constructed was the temple dedicated to Indovir. Archon said that the building needed this priority to ensure the blessings of Indovir in the battles yet to come. While he was not fighting Archon would spend most of his days here. A large catacomb was added where only he and chosen members of his family were allowed to go.
In the decades after the initial settlement the city grew in size as more and more freed people would settle there. When the independence wars finally ended it would become the city where the Archonic Alliance would reside. Although it was not truly the capital of the newly independent Human nations, it was still the neutral ground for them all to meet and make plans against their common enemy.

by Total War Warhammer II

by Wikimedia Commons

Unification

Eventually the Archonic Alliance was disbanded and Osanem became only one of the capitals in the region. Cities of the other nations became larger than Osanem over time. Although it was still an important center it had lost the prestige it used to have.
After reconquering much land the Emperor Irasem managed proclaimed himself to be the first Emperor of the Pavan Empire. Osanem regained it's importance and quickly grew in size once more. During this period the city was renewed and many building projects were started. The largest ones were without doubt the construction of the palace and the new Archonic Temple after the previous one burned down.

Economy

Industry

The largest changes to the city came with the Industrial Revolution which started in the Pavan Empire. For the longest time people were dependent on Falls for magitech devices and warfare. Today the Empire has surpassed other nations because of the use of Fireshrooms and gunpowder which are much more easy to aquire. Osanem has become the center of Human trade because of it and all other Human nations try to follow its example.
Textiles were among the first goods that could be mass produced by the first factories. Eventually Osanem moved the textile production to other cities in the Empire and started to focus on all the new techniques for metalworking.

Textile Machines by Wikimedia Commons

by Wikimedia Commons

Metalworking

Today Osanem has gained the name 'city of steel' due to the large number of steel mills and all the products that are made with steel there. At first the new and easy methods for working with metal were used to easily give rise to machine tools and advanced agricultural equipment. But it did not take long before it started to be used for other purposed.
Once it would have been a rare sight to see iron in any type of construction but now the landscape around Osanem is filled with steel bridges, train rails and even within the city itself steel is used more and more in the buildings themselves. The steel created in the city is also widely used for the constructions of weapons and advanced armors which are even used for the Pavan Soulknights.

Construction

Steel and Glass

Apart from steel it also became much easier to create glass. It become more common to make light construction out of clear glass which was supported by several steel beams. Roofs became a common thing to make with this method. The best example of this is perhaps the main train station in Osanem which uses this kind of construction as its roof.
Apat from that it became more common to use metal as a form of decoration. In this regard they copied the Elven approach to make artificial decorations look natural. Whereas the Elves use magic to create these the Humans of the Pavan Empire wnat to show they can do just as much with ingenuity.

Osanem Station by Wikimedia commons

Ships

by Wikimedia commons

Osanem was always a large trade city and an important harbor. Most ships for the Empire were created there although many were also created in dockyards further to the west. The industrial revolution did not change did but it did change the kind of construction being done.

Whereas previously ships were made using mainly wood the availability of steel changed that. At first it was used for extra protection on the first ships that started to use steam engines. But once sails started to become irrelevant ships were being made entirely out of metal.