Hasana (Factory)

Hasana is a factory of the Aslock Warm Sea Company. It is situated on Hasana Bay, located at the mouth of the Lemi'Wenizi River. As a factory, it trades with the Ampelu, and ses merchants from Sump Ocsar, Lirei, the Falkeni, and several other places who congregate there to do business in the small, bustling port. 
Hasana factory is the largest AWSC facility in the east of the Warm Sea.
=== Trade History ===
The large quantity of spices, potash, and some crops and woods found in the Lemi'Wenizi river valley was what primarily attracted Otheia, and many natives of Hasana Bay used this to their advantage. In exchange for potash, rice, mahogany, other locally produced goods, and on occasion enslaved captives, locals received clothing, blankets, weapons, sugar, silk and many other items. The factory at Hasana is a market where these transactions take place.
While the Slave Trade to Lirei and the Dreggag is among the most lucrative on the Warm Sea, and Hasana has historically taken part in this trade, in the modern day it is forbidden from taking part. While it has large underground dungeons within its walls, which were used to house over 500 slaves at a time, policy of the AWSC has changed, and now the slave trade has been outlawed across all its holdings. However, slaves may still enter the factory under the rule of their masters, they are simply not allowed to be bought and sold anymore.
=== History ===
Founded in 311 by AWSC merchants seeking to trade on the lucrative Lemi'Wenizi river, by 320 it had become a bustling settlement where traders would come from across the eastern Warm Sea to do business. 
While Hasana was originally built to capitalize on many of the local trades, its most profitable was the Slave Trade. Slaves from the east would be brough along the Lemi'Wenizi, and would be sold to Hasana. There they would await transit to their lives, either in Lirei or in Pitkali lands. However, in 332, the people of Otheia got word that the AWSC was trading widely in slaves, and the company's charter was forcibly changed by the Kara of Aslock, to expressly forbit the sale or transport of any slaves in the company's holdings. Thus, the dungeons, while present, have not seen slaves for many decades. While this would severely hamper the Company's profits, it would recover from this blow quickly.
While originally the factory was constructed from local materials such as timber and mud-brick, in 330, it was raided and burned by a large band of buccaneers, and the Warm Sea Company elected that it needed to do something to defend its interests there. As such, it stationed the Eastern Squadron of its warships in Hasana Bay as a deterrent, and began to construct a large fortress there, in the Otheiae style to protect the settlement itself. 
Shipping in hewn stone, tools, and other materials from Otheia, the engineers were instructed to build a bastion fortress capable of protecting the commercial interests of the AWSC and other merchants there against pirate attack, as well as able to hold its own against a significant fleet. It was to have provisions for 700 soldiers, and was to have its guns able to range across the mouth of the bay. 
As such, Fort Hasana was constructed on the ruins of the old factory. It's walls were large and thick, capable of withstanding a sustained barrage of gunfire, and it was large enough to house a large town within its walls. This town is comprised chiefly of the residences of those connected to the local trade in the region, as well as housing for foreign traders, and multiple large complexes of warehouses. 
Furthermore, there was a large fortress built within the mouth of the bay itself, on a large sand bar. This was connected to the main settlement by a single narrow bridge, with flanking bastions at the corners of the landward wall to provide enfilading fire. Called the Castle, or Hasana Castle, this separate fortress is where the majority of the garrison lives, and also holds the factory's treasury, where the gold and valuables gathered which are determined to be of extreme value are kept, awaiting transport by the Fleet of Firm Earth on its yearly voyage.
Construction on the factory's defenses were completed in 365. It is considered to be one of the greatest fortresses on the Warm Sea due to its construction and positioning.
Following the invasion of the Lemi'Wenizi valley by the Ampelu, the factory sought terms which would enable it to maintain its existence peacefully. These were granted, and the Ampelu trade exclusively through the factory. 
=== Population and Town ===
In the present day, there are about 2,000 permanent residents of Hasana, mostly employees of the Aslock Warm Sea Company. It sees over 3,000 foreign traders and merchants each year, and is host to dozens of warehouses and markets where these men store and sell their goods. 
There is a garrison of 700 soldiers stationed at the factory to keep order and protect the Company's interests. These mainly live in the Castle. 
The architecture of the factory's buildings is a combination of Otheiae and local building tradition. While the fort is almost entirely Otheiae in its design, the rest of the town is built more similarly to the local styles, which were chosen as they are designed to disperse heat rather than retain it.
The buildings of Hasana are painted bright colors from paints, both locally available and imported from abroad. This is for two reasons. The first is that it is aesthetically pleasing to the Otheiae eye, and is thus more likely to attract traders. The second is more practical, in that the light colors reflect the heat. At Hasana, everything from plantation houses beyond the walls to the warehouses, shops, and houses within it are painted brightly, typically pink, pale yellow, or light green. 
=== Naval Elements and Merchant Ships ===
The station of the Eastern Squadron, a large, powerful squadron of warships of the Aslock Warm Sea Comoany, is stationed at Hasana bay, to both act as a deterrent against attack, and to provide considerable striking power to augment the company's economic influence in this region of the Warm Sea. This fleet numbers about 15 Falun'o'war ships, along with several smaller vessels such as spuronas'of'war and gozonars for dispatching messages and performing patrol duties. It includes the powerful Weapon of Artsby as its flagship.
Each year, in mid-winter, the Fleet of Firm Earth arrives in Hasana, where they resupply, and take on more merchandise, as well as any revenue the factory collects onto their treasure ships. This fleet numbers about 40 large armed merchant Falun, as well as a small squadron of warships for protection from raiders.
The factory sees several hundred other merchant ships from across the Warm Sea visit its port yearly. These include Lirei dhows and Moonfleet xebecs, and even Speronaras and smaller Falun from other Otheiae merchant companies.
Category:Economy of Otheia
Category:Settlements of Otheia