Wikhulla

Wikhulla is the largest city in Torskland and a major centre of industry and trade. Located on Torskland's north-western seaboard, the city is centred on its large natural harbour and extends about 75 km eastwards towards the Blåfjell Mountains. To the north Wikhulla is bound by the county of Haukbydel and by the logging villages of Skogmarka in the south-east. Wikhulla is made up of 24 wards and is home to more than half a million people. Residents of the city are known as "Wikhullans".

Prehistory and First Age
Wikhulla is situated at the mouth of the small river Alna, an area that is thought to have been settled since prehistoric times because of its advantageous position. According to Pre-urlandic sagas, the city was founded in the 8th century BV by the legendary raider-lord Kalga Snake-eye. As the Urlandic Empire subjugated most of the Torsklander raider warlords during its northern expansion, the Wikhullans were forced to pay tribute and become vassals of the empire. In surviving urlandic documents the settlement was known as Ut'Boreala, meaning 'the Northernmost', as it sat on the extreme north of the empire's sphere of influence.

The Anarchy
After the Empire's collapse into anarchy, Wikhulla would become the capital of a raider kingdom once more, this time under the Frosketunge clan. For three centuries the three petty kingdoms of Støylen, Wikhulla and Ryggmargen engaged in constant low intensity warfare as each tried to assert dominance over the other two. It was during this period that the Church of the Three Seashells formalised in Torskland, including in Wikhulla.

It was during these turbulent times that the Geitetårn citadel was built on a hill overlooking the city that was at the time used as pasture. Though the Geitetårn has burnt down many times over its history, the core tower still stands and is thought to be among the oldest still standing stone structures in the country. The Frosketunges are also said to have built a great wooden temple to the Sea Mother in Wikhulla which burnt down in the intervening centuries.

The Second Age
The city was eventually brought under the fold of the kingdom of Støylen as Torskland was finally unified as one polity by Ulf Jarlson, who installed the mysterious Ormeøyne clan as the new rulers of the city. Alleged to be witches and worshippers of the old gods, the Ormeøyne were ousted from power during the War of Ten Sieges by their own populace. After spending a decade under direct rule from the church, a merchants revolt, known as the Butter Revolution would transfer powers to a city council composed of the most influential guild families, though agricultural lands outside the city walls would remain church possessions.

From the Marble Renaissance to Our Days
Under the merchant council, Wikhulla would grow to become the foremost port on the west coast of Torskland, eclipsing its two rivals. It prospered by exporting lumber and cod, and importing wine and textiles. Wikhulla also established a flourishing commerce with the ports of Genf and Arvantha as well as the Angir League. This would cement Wikhulla as the centre of the old cod economy. The city's affluence from this time is preserved in the form of several well-maintained buildings from the period, such as the Alderlaugshus which serves as the meeting place of the city council to this day or the Smørsalle, the old seat of the butter churners guild. This prosperity as well as an affinity for seafaring would lead to Wikhulla developing a large shipyard industry during the Marble Renaissance which continues to this day.

After king Egon VI died heirless in 73 BV, Wikhulla became the centre of power of the Hauka-Erlingsson faction in the ensuing war of succession known as the Kraken War. Wary of the centralising ambitions of the presumptive Egon VII, the city council decided to support the claim of young Einar Hauka-Erlingsson, the scion of a weak cadet branch of the ruling dynasty. After nine years of destructive civil war which involved no less than five pretenders to the throne, the city council, verging on bankruptcy renounced its support to Einar's line and signed the Tynnntarm Compromise with the powerful Arvanthan-backed eastern jarl Skulle Bardsson. As a result of the compromise, Wikhulla would retain much of its previous internal autonomy, but would have to hand over the monopoly of such things as the salt trade to the crown. To this day the city fosters an independent streak as Wikhullans remain attached to their local identity.

The city has experienced several major fires. Since much of the city was made of wooden buildings, many of the fires caused severe damage. Great fires ravaged the city in 198, 251, 281, 308, twice in 317, 342, 388, 541 and 542; however, these were only the worst cases and there have been several smaller fires in the city. The 251 fire destroyed 90% of all buildings within the city limits. As a result Wikulla has relatively little in the way of ancient architecture.

Economy
In the modern age Wikhulla is mostly known for its many steel mills and enormous shipyards. Modern shipbuilding was started when Vilhjelm Lardsenn established the city's first modern iron works in 524, joined by his brother Ulf Lardsenn and five other men in 528. The business expanded to become Lardsenn Docks and would rise to the forefront of technological innovations as the Age of Steam began to spread west. Today the city sports no less than 13 docks and around 70 hulls are laid down in Wikhullan yards each year. This frenzied expansion has started to decline since the Isthmus War as the world is gripped by airship fever.

Timber used to be a major export of Nordlanda county and the city council subsidised logging camps in the large forests of Skogmarka. Though the industry was somewhat revitalised by the construction of the Great Lateral Line which runs weekly trains directly from the camps to the sawmills of Wikhulla, logging in the region has been eclipsed by the much large-scale Hartlander and Heptapoler lumber industries, which also benefit from a much cheaper workforce. The legacy of this sector are the exclaves of Østfolda and Hogstleir which despite being some 60 kilometres south of the city are integrated into the city as wards and mostly populated by Wikhullan labourers.

Due to its history and geographical location near the Latvrykksund, Wikhulla is also a centre of the shipping industry with such well known companies as the Hvitløve Line and the Rød-Svart-Blå Line operating out of the city wharf. While the RSB Line is most well known for its many passenger lines throughout the North-West, Hvitløve operates merchantmen that anchor as far as the Sheikhanates or Underland.

Government
the Wikhulla city council has gone through many changes over its long and tumoultous existence, from a clique of powerful families to a representative body of city guilds to its current democratically elected assembly. Soon after the introduction of universal suffrage in city council elections of 569, Wikhulla became one of the centres of the labourist movement. Founded in 562, the Wikhullan Labour Representation and Coordination Committee, one of the organisations that would eventually consolidate into the NLP, gained a majority in the council after the 573 elections and has been in power ever since, though it occasionally in coalition with independents or smaller parties.

The council is composed of 49 members elected for four year terms from mixed-member constituencies following the borders of the 24 city wards. The council is led by a mayor elected via direct suffrage every 6 years. The post is currently held by Matteus Grått (NLP). The mayor heads an executive council and a number of committees, each responsible for a subsection of tasks.

Wards
Wikhulla is composed of 24 wards.


 * Geitetårn
 * Smørby
 * Gammelhavn
 * Lillehavn
 * Bakkedistrikt
 * Sagbrukke
 * Billemøl
 * Taksthus
 * Verftet-Mariya
 * Senggeby
 * Alnavet
 * Zudstrand
 * Mortensrud
 * Bjørndal
 * Seterbråten
 * Nystrand
 * Østfolda
 * Rand-en-Norrköping
 * Nashby
 * Brøkknavet
 * Verft
 * Hogstleir
 * Hel-en-Alna
 * Nybakkefolda