Vulthalla

Vulthalla is a coastal mountainside city in the Vulperium within Serrona, overlooking the the Celestial Sea. Situated in a secluded and elevated area it has grown into a thriving yet fairly peaceful city of refuge. Once a small settlement it has become a formidable bastion in the eastern portion of Vulpinia.

Early days
Originally starting as a squatter settlement, the city of Vulthalla was founded by Jesus Regulus.

At some point after this time Elcat built housing upon the floating islands that drift about the west of Vulthalla and Ironjaw parked his ship in the northern bay at Vulthalla where it remains to this day.

Perravul-Inle Conflict
The Perravulite lower class was composed of many newcomers to Vulthalla, and several others that had joined with the recruitment of Jesus Regulus. Because of the general demographic becoming increasingly more ethnically diverse province of Perravul, public opinion of Vulpur enforcement had worsened. Eventually, two individuals Dang and Billy came up with an idea to regress into the traditional prehistorical beliefs of the Eastern mountainous region of the country, proclaiming their long lost god as their "true symbol". With this, they recognized a false god of fable, which belonged to the long forgotten era Dang was from. The religion was called Inle, with the holy texts retaining documentation of the political drama relating to it, all within a piece of scripture called "The Book of Elil".

Many shrines throughout Serrona were raised by the group to this "False God" purely to get a rise out of some nobility, as at this time the nation was called "The Ethno-state of Vulpinia". Dang even ended up writing several different works to record the historical language of the religious and philosophical practices that were done by the people of his time at the same time as well, fledging out the scripture. However as time went on, news of a “Cult of the false god” spread and reached the Vuls in the capital of Tildivul. Burin, seeing such action as an attack on the countries history and suspecting Vulthalla of plotting succession from the state, brought up this issue with Nuncio Yolcotl. Soon rumors of talks among the nobles began to flare and an informant in the court relayed to Dang and the other residents of Vulthalla that Burin was considering enforcing martial law.

All sorts of rumors circulated and eventually a conspiracy against the perceived threat was plotted by some of the Vulpinian nobles. Using the excuse of accused secession from the then Ethnostate of Vulpinia, Burin and others planned to use the province of Perravul as a scapegoat to invade Notos, claiming that Dang and others were planning to rebel and start a coup with aid from Notos (a claim that was found later to be false). Tensions surrounding the rumours continued to circle. Locals worried and hid away many books written around this period. Nuncio became frustrated with the rising tensions but was also unsure if he could dismiss the idea of a future invasion of Notos. Billy and Pidgeon (exposed as an informant) were both called to court in the capital on the basis of treason.

To many at this time, the trial was setup to keep Billy hostage and become an active smear campaign against him and Vulthalla as a whole which stemmed from the lack of trust that Burin's influence in the court and status as a noble would lead to any real truth to be allowed to be said. Because of this, Billy ended up leaving the nation in self-exile renouncing all connections to Vulthalla and Vulpinia as a whole. This only made him appear more suspicious to the Vulpur nobility. With a key suspect gone use for a public trial ceased.

Despite all this talks between Jesus Regulus, Burin, Nuncio and Dang to ensure the survival of Perravul went smoothly. No trial ended up happening due to the efforts of Vulthalla's leaders. Civil war and the invasion of Notos were both averted.

Fortunately, Notos and Vulpinia are on good terms to this day, especially since it's been so long since these events happened. The legacy of the "Cult of the False God" lives on and the shrines are still praised in Notos.

The aftermath of Billy's self-induced exile did cause a large portion of emigration out of the area to avoid the conflict. This marked the end of the Perravul Golden Period, with a steady decline in the mining Industry and construction projects essentially ceasing as the public funding of the city dried up. This decline was temporary however as after a while Jesus's attempts to increase the productivity of Vulthalla began to revive interest in the city and construction work resumed.

Recent and Ongoing History
Around the time Vulpinia declared itself the Vulperium Vulthalla had undergone massive construction work including fortifications such as walls and gatehouses, a market port and several new buildings.

Government
Vulthalla is governed by its Duke and Count. Currently Jesus Regulus is its Duke and Dang The Sage is its Count.

Geography
The mountains of Vulthalla are surrounded by forestlands. Because of their shape it is thought that the mountains were originally a supernatural formation forming the hand of whatever may have cast their limbs upon this world.

Climate
Built on a mountain, Vulthalla experiences high winds, snow and rain. Air in Vulthalla has slightly lower oxygen levels than most other towns and cities in the Vulperium due to its high location above sea level. Auroras have been seen in the sky around these mountains.

Flora and Fauna
The mountains are mostly rocky but have quite of lot of grass and bushes growing up them. Horses and bees have been sighted around Vulthalla.

Hot Springs
There are several waterfalls in Vulthalla, some of which spew hot water. Vuls enjoy bathing in the spring baths that exist on these mountains. Despite the warm and soothing properties of these hot springs, these baths are not actually geothermic-ally heated. In fact, in a time before recorded history of civilization, Vulthalla was covered in glaciers and sheets of ice remained atop the mountain.

The nature of these springs is also a little mystical because the water for these springs come from those glaciers many millennia ago, melted by the ancient crystal source of the cities wildlife and abundance. And the water pockets where these glaciers once colossally covered now are fresh sources of drinking water deep in the crust of the mountain as well as the river south of Vulthalla.

Alcohol and Substances
Vulthalla is home to at least two taverns, one belonging to Jesus and Brock and the Cosy Cavern owned by Aza, as well as the Durn drinking hall of Taarnakgal. It is also the location of the SAMCRO cartel's headquarters.

Architecture
Most buildings around Vulthalla are made from spruce, stone, wooden planks, timber frames and wattle and daub, with slanted, usually steep roofs to keep snow from piling up.

Demographics
Due to the secluded nature of the region of Perravul, the mountains of Vulthalla are inhabited by a more diverse population than just vulpur. The area historically has always been separated by geography and politics away from the Aroforn (and previously Tildivul). As a result it has been a point of contention with the direct goals of the Vulpur people in the past, though since the regime change from The Ethno-state of Vulpinia into the Valardom of Vulpinia this is no longer the case. The city is now a peaceful home to various races, ranging from the undead to humans and dwarves. This diversity among the region has lent it a unique and distinct structural style as well as culture, developed by notable figures such as Dang, Aza and Jesus.

Religions
The main religion here is the Vulpur Nabu faith and there are several Nabu churches including a cathedral. The Durnic Faith, also known as Harnagism, existed in the dwarven halls below though most practitioners of that religion have left.

Races
Vulthalla is a diverse city, with residents of the following species:


 * Vulpur
 * Human
 * Undead
 * Fairy
 * Durn

Languages
The main language of Vulthalla is Vulpin, though Durnic and Common are also spoken there.

Locations
The city of Vulthalla is the location of several places of note:


 * The port and floating islands
 * The Ironjaw mining district
 * The mountains
 * The valley
 * An area with several player plots
 * Sage's Gate, the West Gate and another (as of yet unnamed) gatehouse
 * Taarnakgal, a large Durn beer hall connected to the mineshafts