Founding and Geography:

The now famous ‘City of the swamp’ started off as nothing more than a fishing village and ship repair harbor for the ships of the Castine Bay. Sailors from further north on The Gaolund Arm started to move further and further south to seek new fishing locations. The Castine Bay provided excellent resources to these new settlers, however, the coastline of the region was nearly unnavigable due to its shallow waters and swampy make up. Gaulund’s naval tradition for centuries had taught its people to sail on open oceans or seas, and the settlers were not used to building shallow draft ships. As ship building skills increased and the Castine Bay was properly explored, a proper harbor was finally discovered and quickly put to use by the Gaolund Navy and settlers of the region. Although the harbor was small at first, the Gaolund Navy found the location to be strategically important to their overall operations in the Thamasan Ocean. The Gaolund navy started to dredge the harbor and expand its usefulness. Being one of the only true harbors in the region, Tarvovesta grew quickly, shifting from a fishing village with a naval presence, to one of the most important seaports in the nation. Tarvovesta became a major ship building hub, famous for its shallow draft boats called Gundalows that could not only navigate the swampy coast line of the Castine Bay but also travel through the swampy area of the Castine Coastal Region.

Economy and Resources:

Tarvovesta’s economy is very dependent on ocean based shipping and trading on the Thamasan Ocean through the Castine Bay. Fishing resources in the Castine Bay are significant, allowing the population to sustain itself for food and further out in the Thamasan Ocean whaling is also an important industry. The nearby swamps provide resources of their own, timber being easily harvested from the seemingly endless expanse of swamp and easily shipped by river in massive log drives to processing centers in Tarvovesta where the timber can be used for all sorts of projects such as shipbuilding or home construction. The swamps also have significant peat bogs, the peat being a useful heating resource for the rest of the nation and used in heavier industry in Tarvovesta. Numerous rare magical components can be found in the swamps as well and then shipped out of the harbor to markets around the world. Many claim that the Cannons in Gaulund’s capitol city wouldn’t function without the resources found in the Castine Coastal Region. With significant investment from various private companies and the government of Gaulund, a rail line was eventually constructed through the swamp out to the resource rich Doribatt Mountains which Gaolund claims a chunk of but wasn’t able to exploit given their distance from any of the nations major coastal cities. The train line connected deep inland to several small resource gathering towns and eventually all the way up to the Doribatt Mountains themselves, terminating at the small mining community of Auburn. For some time, the rail line to the mountains provided the growing city with even more resources for its industry and employment options for its citizens. In modern times, portions of the rail line have fallen into disrepair after the town of Auburn’s mine dried up and it became abandoned after a strange incident that saw most of the town’s citizens vanish. The rail line still gets to the base of the Doribatt Mountains where it supplies Tarvovesta with resources gathered at newer mines established after the closing of the mine in Auburn. The rail line through the swamp and mountain range is considered to be one of the nations most impressive engineering feats.

Culture and Arts:

The citizens of Tarvovesta are very different from the rest of the population of Gaulund. Descendants of settlers and explorers from The Gaolund Arm region, they share in their distant relatives connection to the ocean and continue their maritime traditions of fishing, ship construction and the shipment of goods. The people of the two regions have however started to become culturally different in other regards such as dress and business practices. Given the different climates, people in Tarvovesta dress for the warmer weather of their area by wearing lightly colored, loose fitting, thin clothing, a stark contrast to the heavier layed clothing that people on The Gaolund Arm have to use to survive the colder climate. The people of Tarvovesta and much of the Castine Coastal Region have incorporated aspects of their swamp culture into daily life, working the dark wood of the swamp trees into various sculpting projects and decorating their homes with dark wooden furniture. Buildings in Tarvovesta has massive porches that over hand the street and a culture of being outside on the hotter days of the year have lead to people conducting conversations from porch to porch while also setting up small cafes and bars in the open air. Clinging moss that is found on the trees in the swamp are allowed to grow on the railings of these porches, giving them a more natural look and making some parts of the city almost look like part of the larger swamp itself. The open air culture of the city also encourages many street performers to set up on the narrow streets and performances break out at all hours of the day either on the street or even from the porches of the buildings. Drinking is a big part of culture in Tarvovesta, with various swamp plants being useful for the making of different alcohols. Once a year there is a massive city wide celebration that lasts nearly a week. The city is filled with many celebrations and parties, culminating in a massive parade that the locals call Madri Gras. During these celebrations nearly the entire population is celebrating, with only a skeleton crew of city watch or members of the navy doing what they can to keep the peace.

City Layout:

The city was originally broken into 4 major sections and they were referred to as the quarters. Eventually the city expanded some, but many parts of the city still refer to themselves as quarters. The oldest section of the city is the harbor quarter. This section of the town was where the original fishing village and shipwrights were and the rest of the city expanded out from there. Many of the city’s original structures however no longer stand due to the area’s constant improvement by the navy and the shipping companies improving and expansion of the harbor. Some older buildings and docks do remain, worn and weathered in the swampy conditions. Two major quarters off the harbor quarter are the Timber district and the Peat district. Both of these are centered around their respective industries. The timber district is off the river that runs through marsh outside of the city and log drives end at the lumber yards in this lowlaying section of the city. The smell of sawdust fills the entire quarter. Saw mills employ thousands of people in the city and wood is used for everything from the construction of buildings and furniture to the building and repairing of ships. Many of the city’s citizens live in this sector to be close to where they work and because many structures are constructed close to the lumber yards. The peat district has several modern factories in it that burn either coal or the peat that is harvested from the nearby swamp, giving the quarter its name. The district is hot, and filled with smoke and is generally unpleasant for most of the year. Occasionally during big storms a strong enough wind will blow the smoke away from the area and its workers will have a day of clean air. Outside of the two major quarters of industry is the Hill Quarter. The Hill Quarter is the one section of the city that’s in raised elevation and is known for its wealthy residents. When the city floods because of a storm, this is the part of the city that is usually spared damage. City officials and factory owners live there and it’s one of the few portions of the city where homes may be made of brick instead of wood. The last major part of the city is the government center where several important city buildings are present as well as the barracks of the Honorable Order of Misthunters and the campus of University Of Tarvovesta, the only center of higher education in the Castine Coastal Region. The outskirts of the city quickly end in the unforgiving swamp land and there are only a few roads that lead out into the surrounding area.

City defenses and Security:

Tarvovesta’s most important defense has always been its geographical isolation. Only barely considered to be on the continent of Ihlathi, it’s significant distances from even other cities of Gaolund. Other nations would have to travel incredible distances to the city if they wanted to invade it. The surrounding swamp land makes moving a traditional army to the city nearly impossible as only the locals know the winding swamp roads, and even those are not nearly built up enough to move armies. To invade it by sea would require traveling along significant portions of the Gaolund coast and would ruin most elements of surprise. There are several lighthouses around the Castine Bay and without them, finding the city is nearly impossible. The lighthouses could be turned off at night without issue to the locals who know the bay better than anyone else. The Gaolund navy maintains a serious presence in the city and the Castine Bay. The Navy maintains both an ocean going fleet as well as a river and swamp fleet made up of the famous Gundalow style vessels that have a shallow enough draft to navigate the shallow waters of the wetlands. The navy maintains several buildings and docks yards in the city and is poised to not only protect the city from frogien invaders, but back up the local town watch if the need arises. The city does not have walls surrounding it and the local chapter of the Honorable Order of Misthunters take on dangerous contracts to keep the city’s outskirts and train line safe from dangerous swamp creatures. Organized crime in the city has become a problem in recent years and the city watch has increasingly leaned on the navy for help with the issue. Supplies and military back up can be sent to various parts of the Castine Coastal Region from Tarvovesta by sea with the navy or by rail and the city is considered to be the anchoring point of protection for the entire region.

Related articles:

Doribatt Mountains - The largest mountain range on the Ihlanathian continent

The Gaolund Arm - A large region of Gaolund and a center of Ihlanathian shipping

Castine Bay - A large bay in the Thamasan Ocean

Thamasan Ocean - one of the largest bodies of water in the known world.

Auburn - A remote abandoned village near Mount Corbreck

Honorable Order of Misthunters - A mercenary company dedicated to the hunting of monsters

University Of Tarvovesta - a Major educational center for Gaolund

Castine Coastal Region - A thickly settled region between the Thamasan Ocean and the Doribatt Mountains in the nation of Gaolund

Real world inspiration:

The City of New Orleans - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Orleans

Gundalows - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gundalow

Log driving - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Log_driving

Mardi Gras - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mardi_Gras_in_New_Orleans