Zumalar City
History
0wk - 812wk
Since the start of the Western Kingdom, the port City of Zumalar has been the main port for goods traversing the great rivers (Baratary River, Zumary River etc) in the north, south to the coast and then out to The Great Western Sea and all the markets accessible by the port.
813wk
Zumalar City has been effectively destroyed in the Drow invasion of 813wk by being almost leveled in the fighting and was the primary point of the ice road.
The Rock of Zumalar which was destroyed into small pieces through the release of incredibly destructive energies.
With the destruction of Zumalar the Zumary River silted over and subsequent destructive floods and deluges, earthquakes and such has meant that the site of the city is now underwater and the WK is looking at alternate sites for the river traffic (such that it is) can traverse and exchange cargos'.
823wk (Chestyr has become the new main port)
The near city of Chestyr along the coast has been designated as the Western Kingdom's new Port for the traffic from inland Western Kingdom and beyond.
Old Zumalar City information (the city is destroyed and should be considered as Ruins)
Overview
The city of Zumalar was built on a large granite outcrop on the south coast of Aladar, surrounded by the Ffenargh, with the mouth of the Zumary River to its immediate east with the mouth Ffenagh esturary further east. This terminus of the rivers exiting the central Western Kingdom, represented a location on both the sea and coast where trans-shipments take place and sea traffic yields to river traffic and vis-a-versa. This city was in the Viscounty of Zumalar, Aladar.
Geography
The 'Rock of Zumalar' is a monolithic limestone promontory that rests on the coast of the 'Western Sea' at the point where the Ffenargh Swamp drains into the sea. It juts out into the Western Sea from the southern coast of Aladar with the promontory standing high above the water but inland northwards it falls rapidly to sea level and in some cases below where the swamp holds sway.
On the south face the 'Rock of Zumalar' rises vertically from sea level up to 1,350 feet at the Seawolf Battery. The Rock's highest point stands 1,398 ft above the sea at O'Hura's Tower while the central peak of Signal Peak, stands at an elevation of 1,270 ft. The near-cliffs along the western side of the Rock drop down to a series of rocky slopes and a rocky/sandy area extends west until it meets the FFenargh river outflow which is the official tributary outlet flowing out of the Ffenargh Swamp. On the east side the rock the slope is gentler but still remains steep with few buildings until ground level where the oldest parts of the city stands.
The northern face of the 'Rock of Zumalar' where the mass of buildings start is comparatively less steep and the city flows northwards from here where it has expanded over the past generations reclaiming lands from the Ffenargh through advanced land reclamation techniques for draining and stabilising land for productive use rather than swamp habitats.
Districts
- Riverdocks
- The Crook
- Solton
- Richton
- Slopeholm (aka Lower Rock)
- The Peaks (aka Upper Rock)
Economics
The City relies heavily on 3 main types of income
- river/ocean Trade. The city is the main point for downstream river traffic from the Western Kingdom and the upriver traffic of goods trans-shipped from ocean going vessels to the Western Kingdom
- Fish. The city has a large fishing fleet that
- Swamp and Ocean related products
Places of Interest
- Execution Plaza
History of the City of Zumalar
What is now the city of Zumalar was initially founded as a defensive outpost against seas based dangers like pirates as well as providing a lighthouse warning passing vessels of localised dangers and demarcating the limits of the Western kingdom and the local realm.
What was initially a small signal/light tower and a bunkhouse has grown over the centuries into a larger defensive outpost, then a small fishing village, then a midsize village, a small town, a large town and so on until the major city of today.
Over the generations the rulers of Zumalar have increased the size of the city and the arable land around it by draining the nearby swamp and creating clearer channels to enable better drainage. The work done by the Ffenargh theocracy in recent times (circa 790-810WK) has created a passage for river boats to pass through the Ffenargh Swamp has further increased the flow passing Zumalar to the sea and created an outlet for the swamp named the Ffenargh River which passes to the west of the city of Zumalar.
Over the generations the swamp has been pushed back from the coast until it is now 2 miles north of the city and behind some significant earthen walls and drainage channels. Successive generations of Zumalarians have drained the swamp and built walls once the land could sustain the weight. The city has several sets of walls but almost all of them were later built past and then new walls erected where possible. In 600WK the last major set of strong walls were built at the far northern edge of the city once the land had settled enough and was suitable for fortifications.
Zumalar became one of the main fortifications for the Western Kingdom against seaborne invaders, pirate and other realms nearby as well as the major trading port for the merchants of Bowcourt and the majority of the Western Kingdom.
