Aarkon Island
Aarkon is a small island located just offshore of Torras Big Island. Aarkon serves as the country's only port of entry. All ships coming into Torra via the strait to Vaansiam must dock here, quarantine for 5 days, and then ferry to the Big Island.
Many merchants arrange for local dealers to meet them in Aarkon, unload their cargo within the quarantine area, and then allow the locals to take the goods into Torra to sell so that the foreign merchants can leave without waiting through quarantine. Aarkon has three large warehouses to store goods that have been dropped off but are not picked up right away, including shipments that foreign merchants are picking up from local dealers shipping abroad.
Aarkon is shaped like an upside-down teardrop. Its layout is based on the generic Border Ranger forts, but with less defensive measures. The rounded north end is dedicated to docks, warehouses, and customs. In the centre are offices, a medical centre, and mess hall for Guardsmen. The west side is dedicated to the actual quarantine facilities - a block of one-room apartments arrivals are required to stay in at all times. The quarantine centre has an attached kitchen and a building house 4 larger quarantine apartments for wealthy travellers who pay extra.
Nobody lives in Aarkon full-time. Because it's safely on an island distanced from the Forest itself, workers are in no danger of coming into contact with bloodsap themselves (it is not contagious). The staff - both Guardsmen and civilians who work as custodians or cooks - travel to and from their homes in New Lualai every day. The number of staff on the island drops to a quarter at night, when their only job is looking after the people in quarantine.
The only way off to access the rest of Torra is by taking the ferry from Aarkon to New Lualai. The ferry dock is on the east side of the island, and walled off from the rest. A stamped passport to prove quarantine has been cleared is required to pass through the gate to the dock. The ferry is a small longship that only goes back and forth between Aarkon and New Lualai.
Founding Date
632
Alternative Name(s)
Quarnatine Island
Type
Military, Base
Population
~85 during the day shift, ~25 during the night shift (not including quarantining travellers)
Owning Organization