Laria

Laria, originally named Port Crelov, is a town within the United Socialist States of Eldham. It is notable for its location on the sea, scenic landscapes, and beautiful architecture. The city's banner is a blue orchid on a white field - the favorite flower of several of the city's original chief builders.

Founding and Early Days
The town was founded on May 31st, 2021 by a player named Kato (KatoLeAsian) centered around the small Bay of Gabeli on the island of Téntalo. Kato originally built a small, temporary base into the side of the area's cliffs and the river-woven cave that ran between both sides of the island. It was during this period that the building that would become 'The Out' (a noteworthy inn and brewery) would begin construction. One day a small tower and castle was built overnight by a player named Pietri on the top of the island's peak (much to Kato's surprise). In the following days, a player by the name of _Sorray_ joined, which ignited the rapid growth and construction of of the town. The coastal seawalls were raised around most of the island, and residential housing was built around the low-lying coast.

The Old City
It was eventually connected to the cities of Staroslav and Garkogorod through a system of packed ice bridges designed to be ridden on with boats in order to achieve incredibly high speeds and make travel across the Sea of Lélo'É easier and faster. Laria's iceway station was built in the hollow of the hill which used to be Kato's temporary base.

A wall with two spired towers was raised along the width of the island after several houses were built. However, the town continued to grow past this initial protective wall. The wall serves as a line/boundary between what is now called the 'Old City' and the 'New City'. There are plans for a second wall to be built closer to the western end of the island to encompass the New City if/when the last buildings get built.

The New City
In the area of the New City, large scale developmental projects were undertaken. This included the construction of two new residential districts, an open market square, the Great Library of Sorray, the Evergreen Cafe, the Bagel Inn, and Citizen Hall (a courthouse) - all built upon hand terraformed land.

The Dark Times
The week of July 4-10, 2021 marked a devastating series of events that drastically affected the city and her citizens. Early in the week, the USSE's northern neighbors - colonies of Vanakunir - repeatedly showed aggression towards the nation, which eventually spiraled into the Kunir War. Over the course of this fateful week, a seemingly minor and accidental border misunderstanding erupted into a war in which the warmongering leader of Vanakunir decided to annex the majority of USSE territory simply because he could. In the hours before the official war was to begin, the battle location was changed from Kunir to Laria - which left virtually no time for the city to be prepared for a siege.

The Battle of Gabeli Bay was fought on July 8th, and ended in a Vanakunir victory. Vast swaths of USSE land were claimed and annexed in a spontaneous, last minute decision by the leader of Vanakunir, which included the city of Laria - which wasn't originally within contested land at all. This came as a great shock to the citizens of the USSE, and especially to the residents of Laria. The land was then purchased by Welpish. Many of the residents of Laria were disheartened and fatigued from the events of that fateful week. These events also happened to coincide with real life matters of several of the town's leaders, which forced their inactivity. Many residents moved out, and those that remained were relatively inactive.

In one last build project before the official transfer of ownership, Kato and Sorray built a monument just outside the icy cave which first attracted Kato to the location originally. On July 9th, they built two monolithic statues wielding pickaxes. This monument was named 'The Builders', and was built in dedication and gratitude to the original builders and citizens (i.e. those from before the Kunir War) that were responsible for the majority of the city's construction, growth, and culture.

Reignition
In an unexpected, strange turn of events, Welpish offered to sell the land back to the USSE - though for a steep price. Not wanting to be auctioned off to a random bidder, the USSE repurchased some of their lost land (which included Laria). With the town's owner technically no longer being Welpish, Kato was thrust back into a position of leadership in the city as the de-facto mayor (which he didn't really feel like doing, but did anyways).

With the heartlands of the USSE regained, several of the city's primary builders returned temporarily to finally finish construction of the city. Shops were created, and residential housing was expanded - once more breathing life back into a city previously thought broken in the aftermath of the Kunir War. Pietri - the builder primarily responsible for the construction of the city's industrial sector - had raised an entire artificial island which included a lighthouse, a bridge to connect it to the main island, and a loading station for cargo ships. The second set of walls was built to encompass the New City, which were taller and more fortified than the Old City Wall due to advances in technology - not only marking the furthest line of expansion of the city, but also an important milestone in the construction and history of Laria.

The Adults Retire
By late August, the city had finally come to its full fruition. A new blacksmith, shop, high density townhouses, bazaar, barracks, and government building had been constructed - filling the city up to the outer walls. Additionally, a public garden with a large, custom tree was built as well. Retroactive improvements were also made around the city. These included the raising of a tall, mage's/alchemist's tower next to the city Library, as well as smaller details such as street vendors, hand-built trees, and numerous custom player heads. A gazebo was also built atop a prominent hill in the New City district, which allowed residents a place to connect with nature, and more importantly provide a great view of the city. Farm fields and buildings were also built just outside the outer walls.

However, real life matters eventually caught back up with the city's leaders. Towards the very end of August, with the sprawling city of Laria finally completed, Kato and Sorray retired. They occasionally log on from time to time to visit, check up on things, and mess with new players, but their work is done. At least, for now...

Mr_BluePig, one of the earlier citizens of the city, was elected Mayor after Kato stepped down. The city continues to serve as home to many people, and to instill awe into all who gaze upon its beauty.

L O R E & Culture
(This section will be written mostly in-character, with occasional out-of-character clarifications when needed).

In the early history of the area, the island (later named Tentalo) on which the city of Laria would eventually sit upon was covered in a cold, wild, coniferous forest. This factor, in addition to being separated from the mainland, meant that the indigenous population was slow in exploring the island. As such, while the mainland areas of Eastern Serrona were dotted with agricultural settlements, the island for a long time laid untouched.

As the culture and civilization changed in response to advances in technology and shifts in ideology, large & centralized population centers began to rise on the far Eastern shores of Kiurtrog. The mainland areas of Eastern Serrona were slower in reorganizing into larger, permanent settlements, yet it was clear they were headed in the same direction. There were two distinct cultural groups in Eastern Serrona, yet for thousands of years they had lived in close proximity and contact with one another. A large sea had separated the heartlands of these two groups - rising waters had submerged the land bridge that once connected Kiurtrog to the mainland (the Island of Tentalo is all that remains of this land bridge). As such, there would soon be a need for a connection across the sea.

Early settlers of the island sailed across the icy, turbulent waters to land on the shores of the island. They trekked through the dense forest of tall, imposing spruce. Towards the end of the island, they found a cave in which a frozen river had bored through a mountain-side, creating a channel through the island. It is said that the early settlers had arrived at this location at the end of a long day of exploration, and witnessed the setting sun shine rays of red and orange through the icy air of this frozen cave, and that that was the moment when Kato decided.

The first building of the city was then constructed: a tavern & inn, The Out. This location was originally meant to serve as a rest-stop along the route between Kiurtrog and mainland Serrona. However, this quickly changed as more and more travelers stopped to rest, and ended up staying. The location was then named Port Crelov (Crelov meaning 'icy cave' in Lo'Oi); however, the city's name would eventually be changed to its modern name of Laria (which will be the name used to refer to the city from now on).

While the city was growing rapidly, another population center had sprung up along the shores of mainland Serrona, just across the channel of the Island of Tentalo: Crosotex. While Laria was growing more quickly than Kato had intended, Crosotex was exploding in growth by comparison. At first, Laria's leadership was excited for this new, rapidly expanding neighbor: it was supposed to be a rest-stop along the route to Kiurtrog, so more mainlanders meant more travelers. However, Laria ended up growing into a fully fledged city in it of itself, and so a rivalry developed between the two neighbors. They would repeatedly compete over prominence and influence in the region.

Though Crosotex was more populous at the time, Laria was uncontestably the more beautiful. While Laria stymied its own pace of growth in order to plan its development and layout, Crosotex accepted residents as they came in. This resulted in a larger yet rushed city, filled with crime and squalor. Laria on the other hand was smaller, yet comfortably fit and accommodated all of its residents.

Eventually, tensions between the two cities would rise and culminate into an extended violent confrontation. Outsiders looking at the conflict viewed it as a sort of civil war between peoples of the same culture and ethnicity, but the partaking parties had formed strong identities with their respective cities and viewed each other as adversaries. The scale of the conflict was limited as Laria did not have the population to field a force large enough to overrun Crosotex, and Crosotex was unable to break past the natural defenses that Laria enjoyed from being on an island situated within a frozen sea. This conflict, however, was overshadowed by the larger Serotoix Civil War, which was mainly centered around Kiurtrog. The aftermath of the civil war resulted in the formation of the USSE which then incorporated the two feuding cities into its government, pacifying the conflict. Though the violence was ended, the rivalry would continue between the two cities up until the abandoning and destruction of Crosotex in the Kunir War.

Notable Events
The Trial of Jjmoney08032

The Battle of Gabeli Bay