Asiena
Asiena is a small mining hamlet located half a day's travel north of the Winter Pass. It was founded in AE 1649 and is the oldest permanent settlement in all Inmalenor.
Rich Mountains
The beginning of what would become the hamlet of Asiena was when the first prospectors entered Inmalenor from the south just after the Taming of the Wall, in late summer AE 1643. The area seemed rich in copper ore and a small mining camp was established in early spring AE 1644. After digging a bit into the mountain it was clear that this specific copper vein was huge, promising a vast bounty from the mountains.
This promise was tempting for many fortune seekers, and it didn't take long until a small permanent settlement grew around the beginning mine. As activity grew and more workers tried to dig the mountain at the same time, it became clear that this mining operation wouldn't be as easy as it had seemed. The mountain was brittle, making the mines prone to cave-ins. Mining was halted for a little while.
Yet the fortune seekers didn't want to give up - there was simply too much copper in the mountain to ignore it. Work begun on trying to develop a way to be able to mine out the precious metal without risking the lives of the miners. Soon the mining operations were up and running again with the help of strong supports being put up as they dug deeper into the mountain. The process was slow, and there wasn't room for many miners working at the same time, but considering how large this particular copper vein was it was worth it.
A Treasure Trove
Years passed, and the mine slowly grew deeper. In the mid-1800s it seemed like the mining operations might be put on hold as another rich copper vein was discovered further up the mountains to the southwest, in the area that would soon become the mining town of Kassila. The mountain was much more solid up there, which would make mining almost effortless compared to the porous mountain by Asiena. The future looked dark for the old mining settlement as no matter how much copper there was in the mountains here, easier access another place would surely tempt all workers to switch to easier working days and more fortune.
Then something happened, something that the believers in Asiena called a miracle. In the deepest parts of the mine there was another metal scattered inside the copper vein.
The miners encountered raw silver.
The fear of the riches of Kassila was soon gone as it became apparent that the silver deposit just seemed to grow the further they dug into it. The mountain was still very brittle, even this far into the mountains, so it was pure agony to have to dig it out so slowly. Yet, it was clear that the survival of Asiena was safe as long as the silver lasted.
Recent Years
There are some current problems with the mining in Asiena. The mines are long and labyrinthine, making the miners' commute to the unmined silver long and tiresome. The supports keeping the mines from falling apart are growing old in some places, and the work of replacing it throughout the whole tunnel complex is a long process, and not just a little dangerous.
During the last few years, since Kassila burned down to the ground, the world is in a slight demand of copper again, making the miners in Asiena considering digging out the copper they've ignored in their hunger for silver. This raises a small problem - the supports preventing the tunnels from falling apart was not put up to accommodate the possibility that anyone would ever want to mine the copper in the walls. This calls for a complete reconstruction of the supports in some places, and considering this will put a halt to the mining of silver for a period of time due to the safety of the miners, the discussion isn't about how to do it but whether or not it's worth it in the end. They can't let the miners keep mining silver when they work on the supports in the only exit due to the higher risk of a cave-in.
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