An introduction to Fivaviana

Hello, everyone. I've been working on the mini-update over the last few days, which is a lot of boring coding and dialogue writing that doesn't make for a very interesting update on here, so let's have a lore post today to pass the time.

The second city to be founded after the capital, Fivaviana serves a very different role. Whereas Sapphory City is a fortress designed to protect the Royal Family and the Nobility from any threat, Fivaviana is an open, prosperous port-city that trades with every part of the island and even with a few ports in the outside world.

The city grew so quickly in the early days of colonisation that all attempts to wall it off in the same way as the capital proved pointless. Though its population is half the size of Sapph-City, Fivaviana occupies almost double the land, and is a sprawling hive of activity with masses of goods shipped through its port. This has also had the effect of making it a den of illegal activity, and beneath the rich and pleasant façade is a criminal underworld linked with illegal slaving activity. It will not surprise many of you to learn that Ezra and Renée are regular visitors. (Assuming Renée is alive in your playthrough.)

Trade with the outside world is tricky, and the Sapphorians take great pains to ensure it is not possible for men to infiltrate the island (or for that matter, for women to arrive illegally.) This resulted in the establishment of an ultra-high-security offshore checkpoint on nearby Sentinel lsland. Every ship arriving from the outside world is forensically examined before being allowed to approach Fivaviana and any attempt to approach without checking in there first will result in a lethal response from the fearsome SNS Boudicca, the Sapphorian Navy flagship, and its battlegroup, which maintains a constant patrol.

The city is also steeped in history. It was here that Queen Isabella the First and Princess Cecily Rinta of Okonrin signed the Treaty of Fivaviana in the first era, formally uniting Eastern and Western Sapphory as one nation. The treaty was written and the signing overseen by Founding mother Aurora herself and is kept on public display at the Temple of the Mothers, which is a major tourist attraction.

On top of this, the city boasts some of Sapphory's finest shopping with an array of restaurants, cafes and other amusements. Just don't stray too far from the main thoroughfares. Just beneath the pleasant and tranquil surface is a seedy underbelly that will swallow you whole.

I hope you've all enjoyed this first glimpse of the game's newest location. See you Wednesday for the public post.

Trinian