Rorfast

Rorfast
Top: Rorfast in the evening Bottom: Turla de Vigoare monument
Motto: Prin Putere, Viață
Nation	Nova Caradia
District	Palat (Special District)
Official language(s)	Sarnechi
Demonym	Rorfaști
- Adjective	Rorfaști
Government	Mayoral
Domn	Luca Cortescu
Establishment	1689 AN
Population	131,717
Abbreviation	RORF

Rorfast is the capital and largest city of Nova Caradia. It was founded with the express intent of creating a modern, highly structured capital for the nation's seat of governance, and its construction was begun in 1689 AN, though a lack of natural resources within the claimed borders of the nation leads engineers to project that the city will take at least another year to become as large as desired by the government.

The primary importance of the city is its functioning as the seat of the Nova Caradian government, as it is the location for the Curtea de Rozmarin and the Palat pe Deal, the residence of the President of Nova Caradia, and, as of 8.V.1691, the headquarters of the national military.

History

Following the founding of the republic in late 1689 in the city of Mina Mițura, a new capital was needed to house the growing governing body, which had up until this point been housed in a building in Mina Mițura chosen for no particular reason other than its larger size compared to the other structures of the small town. Scouting on the island that would eventually constitute the Palat district of the republic revealed that the eastern coast held desirable greenfield sites near its coast, which were nestled against a defensively-useful barrier of hills facing the rest of the island. Of course, the defensive nature of these hills would later become largely obsolete as it became clear the Rorfast would be situated at an extremity of the republic, and would likely be just as defensively compromised whether the hills existed or not. Still, the site was deemed suitable for what was envisioned to eventually become both capital and bustling port city, and so construction began immediately, starting with the harbour and governmental buildings.

The city's gestation in terms of its livability aspect was quite short, as the republic's government pursued the project with single-minded intent, a quality that only increased as early phases of the Genesis Initiative were rolled out and the government poured money into the construction of the city, hiring many domestic construction companies to speed up the process. The city quickly began to sprawl over nearby land, with the desire that the land area of the city's eventual limits be filled before construction began on building the city upwards. The city was declared to be livable in early 1690, and a military parade on 5.XI.1690 marked the year anniversary of the signing of the republic's constitution. The city, however, continued to expand, with projections noting that the city may continue expanding as late as 1700, though the majority of the metropolitan area should be complete by 1694. The city became the headquarters of the national military on 8.V.1691, replacing the city of Brațav, which had previously served mainly due to its physical location, once the headquarters building had been completed.

In early 1691, the city began building a replacement for the current monarchical residence, the Palat de Iederă in Mina Mițura, known as Palatul Bijuteriilor ("The Palace of Jewels"), which was much larger. The outside of the palace was built first to draw tourism before setting in on the construction of the interior. The palace was to be built on the outskirts of the city, nearby the Palat pe Deal, the residence of the president.

Geography and Climate

Rorfast, being located in so southerly a location, tends towards cooler temperatures, though not nearly as cold as the capital of the old Duchy, Relacul. Temperatures range from mild highs in the summer of 24 degrees Celsius, to frostbitten lows in winter around -25 degrees Celsius. The city's presence on the ocean nearby the Austral Strait keeps its usual temperatures somewhat more moderate, not often going below -2 degrees except in the depths of particularly stormy winters.

While the entirety of the island is generally fairly hilly, Rorfast exists on a small area of flat land nearby the shore, with the hills rising up to the west of the city marking its metropolitan boundaries. Many of the low-lying areas of the island are comprised of patches of temperate rainforest, with large vegetation becoming less common as one ascends to higher altitude on the hills. This is supported by frequent isolated storms that occur in all seasons, but are most common in the summer.

Transport

Sea

Rorfast, despite having a reasonably-sized harbour, does not have much activity in terms of sea-based transportation. The city occasionally plays host to military transport ships carrying Marine Force soldiers back and forth between the capital and Cetate pe Vârf, though this is not especially common. However, the city administration foresees the city's harbour eventually becoming the primary means of trade between the republic and other nations, as the capital is easily the largest city in the republic and yet does not have room for an airport other than a small one only suitable for single-person propeller planes, being so closely located to hilly landscape, and thus any large-scale shipping would be required to come by ship or airship.

Air

Though few other nations operate airships, especially to the degree that Nova Caradia does, the devices remain extremely important to the republic, and thus Rorfast maintains an aerodrome near the city centre specifically designed to receive airships, though due to size constraints as it is within the metropolitan area of the city, it is only able to receive two airships at a time. The land around Rorfast is much more hilly than the land nearby Mina Mițura, and therefore the latter is of the two the only one able to maintain even a reasonably sized airfield. Travelers wishing to come to Rorfast by plane must first land in Mina Mițura by plane before taking either automobile or airship to Rorfast.

Automobile

Public transport is common in Rorfast, with buses being common on the roads as a way for most people to commute to work. Public transportation within the city is handled by the government, and is paid for through taxes. Only one road exists between Rorfast and Mina Mițura, and the road is often traveled by buses organised by both cities' governments, transporting travelers between the two cities for a small fee.

Places of Importance

Image	Name
	Palat pe Deal (Presidential Residence)
	Curtea de Rozmarin (Parliament Building)