Erðvald

Erðvald is the second biggest city in Frostmarch, and holds significant importance within the country as the cultural and historic capital. The city is located at the mouth of the River Artir, and sits looking over the Bay of Cod. While the city has existed in the Old March for centuries, it has experienced significant modernisation, especially during the Age of the Five Jarls, including the implementation of an advanced Ice-Rail Highway, reconstruction projects of all major monuments of the city, and an expansion of the city's defences and housing capacity. Given the city's age nearing that of 3 years old, the city's construction plans have many constraints with regards to what work can be done on especially the most historic parts of the city, concentrated mostly in the city square. This, therefore, means that much of the city's expansion in both infrastructure and population has depended on its ability to increase its territory, thus warranting the construction of an additional wall in December of 2022 in order to claim more land; seen in the picture to the right provided, this new district is the most spacious and prime for building of the entire city.

Northside District
This district encompasses the area of the city north of the Artir. It notable for its much more agricultural focus, and as such is significantly less affected by the growing urbanisation of the city. Holding 3 large hot springs in close proximity to one another, Erðvald is privy to the fertile land that they each provide, irrigating the land around them with mineral-rich water and producing prime farmland; an extremely rare phenomenon within Erðvald's notoriously harsh environment. Due to this remarkable source of warm water and arable land, the citizens of Erðvald make sure to fully exploit the hot springs benefits in any possible, by not only growing many crops that would otherwise never be able to grow in the cold tundra of Frostmarch, but also by bathing in the hot springs due its prophesised healing abilities. The reason for why these

During the city's early founding, the walls of the city did not originally include this region, but they were extended to the borders that can be seen in the picture provided during the Age of Banditry to protect the city's precious hot springs and even more important food supply. The main reason for why these hot springs are so crucial is mainly due to its scarcity. Since the city's founding up until the present day, no other hot springs or similar warm water sources have been discovered within Frostmarch, making the Northside district hot springs the only source of naturally fresh warm water in eastern Frostmarch. As such it holds a great deal of significance in supplying food to not only the citizens of Erðvald, but also the capital of Frostmarch's citizens, Hafnarfjoll.

City Centre District
The city centre district is the densest region of the city, in both population and physical space. It stretches from the southern bank of the river Artir down to the southern-most wall which separates it from the neighbouring district. It is most notable for its possession of the grand majority of historical buildings, including the famous pub, the 'Gurgling Donkey', as well as the city's Town Hall and marketplace, alongside the iconic Erðvald National History Museum. This region is naturally the oldest and longest standing district of the city, due largely to its beginnings as Erðvald's first settlement, which would soon develop to become the city we know of today; the area was initially chosen for its ideal and profitable fishing, as well as the surrounding high hills which gave the growing town a greater advantage in being able to defend from bands of pillaging raiders, or attackers trying to capture it. This combination of defensible terrain and a plentiful sea - earning it the name the 'Bay of Cod' - allowed for a safe and prosperous life for the settlement's first inhabitants, and aided considerably in its growth up to today's size.

Southside District
As its name implies, Southside is the southernmost extent of the city. Due to the dampening presence of the Basker Isles in the Bay of Cod, the waters near this district are calm and steady, and ideal for docking. Hence, the region has seen explosive growth as the economic centre of the city. The markets of Erðvald are found here, selling food, drink, literature, weapons and other commodities.

Due to its economic value, this region of the city has seen a great deal of investment from the leadership of Frostmarch. For example, the latest extension of the City Wall is found in this district, raised to protect the market and encourage more to engage in trade.

Citadel
Many would consider it absurd for a military structure to occupy 1/4 of a City's land area, but life in Frostmarch neither is nor has been a safe, calm matter. To ensure its defense, the hills surrounding the city have been almost entirely hollowed into an enormous complex of crypts, catacombs, towers, hidden windows and walkways.

All of the matters of the military hide within this mountain fortress, kept safe from invaders and other malicious agents. The only part open to the public is the Erðvald Arena, built by Jarl Train and revamped by Jarl Rose and Thane Fraz to settle disputes in the traditional Nostikur fashion.

History
On July 14th 2021 the city served as the staging area for soldiers of Sørligste before they went to the battle that would become known as Kerfuffle of '21, a relatively minor conflict in which no actual fighting occurred and the only casualties were friendly fire incidents on the Sørligstan side.

The city was used as the administrative capital and rallying point for the military forces of the North Jarldom of Frostmarch lead by Temsyod during the Frostmarch Civil War between November and December of 2022.