Cetate pe Vârf

Cetate pe Vârf
Top: Ruins of the fortress Bottom: The citadel from the village below
Motto: Vigilență, Întotdeauna
Nation	Nova Caradia
District	Frate
Official language(s)	Sarnechi
Demonym	Vârfi
- Adjective	Vârfi
Government	Mayoral
Sheikh	Farashad az Maham Shir-Del
Establishment	1691 AN
Population	13,319
Abbreviation	VÂRF

Cetate pe Vârf, or Citadel on the Cliff, is a fortress and village in the Frate district of Nova Caradia, situated on the eastern coast of Strigăt Island, and is the largest city of the Arkhashi autonomous territory on the island. Despite the name, Cetate pe Vârf, being technically only applied to the fortress on top of the nearby cliff overlooking the sea, the village that exists at the base of that cliff is also called Cetate pe Vârf.

The village and the fortress are both important strategic locations after their seizure in Operation Green Hammer. An NCDF camp exists within the fortress and a management office is part of the residence of the Sheikh of the Arkhashi, which is the leader of the autonomous republic (the title likely being a corruption of the term "Shah").

History

The site of Cetate pe Vârf was once the sight of the Babkhan city of Kara, though no written records exist on Strigăt Island of this time. After the fall of Babkha, the island was taken over by bands of stateless peoples. It traded hands several times, though it is known that the fortress known as the Qal'a, which became the Cetate pe Vârf fortress itself, was built already when the current occupants of the island, the Arkhashi, took over. This fortress became the basis for the Arkhashi system of governance, with the Sheikh residing in the central tower of the Qal'a. The Arkhashi were also the people who built the village at the cliff's base, which became the residence of most of the Arkhashi mercenary force and for the Second Sheikh.

When the area was seized by Nova Caradia and the Arkhashi joined the republic as a semi-autonomous territory, the fortress was heavily damaged. NCDF Marine Defence soldiers stationed at the fortress began a reconstruction of certain parts of the base, though the walls would likely not be repaired due to their having little use against most modern naval weapons, which, overlooking the sea, is what the base would need to be prepared for. The NCDF also began work on a port at the edge of the sea. The village had, at the request of Sheikh Farashad, little to no investment from the Nova Caradian government, as part of its status in a semi-autonomous area.