Mbira

Mbira is a small but vibrant port town located in northwestern Sedo. While unremarkable to many foreign visitors, Mbira is an ancient settlement with a proud and storied history. In the modern day, Mbira is a trading port that handles most of the traffic to the northern herds of Aodh and War Forged.

## Town

Mbira is home to about 200 permanent residents, and houses a good number more during high trading seasons. Unlike any other settlement in Serora, Mbira is protected by stone walls on the land, and earth manipulated wall of stone on the water. There is only one entry into the harbor, protected by a vigil from the lighthouse.

The town is built on a small hill and seaside valley, with the residential districts higher up on the hill, and warehouses, sailor hangouts and dockyards occupying the slopes, forming a "commercial" district. The edges of the cliffs are steep in places, especially near the barracks and the main entrance into the city. Entering the town requires climbing a set of wide stairs.

### Drydock

The drydock is the pride of Mbira - a fully equipped dock for constructing and repairing ships. Originally built during the Aodh-Serora war to create warships to contest Aodh on the sea, in modern day it is mostly used to perform basic maintenance on trading ships and smaller sailing vessels. Mbira also offers the services of their drydock to vessels from other herds - including vagabonds - for a reasonable fee. The funds gained this way go to fund the purchase of wood for repairing Seroran ships.

### Port

The main port of Mbira is sprawling, with many docks and piers, and all kinds of vessels. Here one can see large trading ships, fleet passenger ships, a few old but powerful war galleys, and a countless amount of little vessels belonging to various locals. The port is the busiest part of Mbira, and contains several warehouses, taverns and sailor-hangouts, as well as a large recyclist shop which peddles in things gathered from the shores, as well as recycled ship parts.

### Mbira Lighthouse

A lighthouse constructed sometime during the 12th century to replace an older, destroyed lighthouse. It stands on one of the small islets that provide Mbira with a protected harbor, and is built with a combination of traditional brickwork and earth manipulation. Mbira’s light is a crystal imbued with light manipulation, allowing to light the way in any weather.

Mbira lighthouse has always had either a hippocampus or pegasi keeper due to being impossible to reach by land.

### The Walls of Mbira

The walls around the city are something of a fascination for many Serorans. Built during three distinct periods in the town’s history, the town is completely walled off from an attack on land.

The oldest walls, which form the southern and western parts of the fortifications, were built during God’s War. They’re tall, and lifted out from the bedrock itself via the forces of spatial manipulation. The stone is rough from years of harsh winds and erosion, and the wall is occasionally attended to by earth manipulators.

The second portion of the wall was built during the first Aodh-Serora war, and unlike the first, is equine-built, with clearly visible brickwork. This wall covers the eastern side of the town, and is at parts heavily damaged by years of erosion and the subpar building materials used.

The third portion is the newest, and began construction when the recent Aodh-Serora war was declared. The wall, was largely unfinished by the time the Aodhian navy showed up, and was finished by the occupying Aodhian forces - leading to the use of stone and brickwork style differing from Serora’s own.

## Culture

Out of all the settlements in Sedo, Mbira is perhaps the least traditionally Seroran. Due to unusually high amounts of foreign visitors - merchants and simple travelers alike - as well as being a hub for the Seroran traders to gather in on their journeys north, Mbira has a very vibrant, lively and mixed culture. The locals can be seen wearing Aodhian fashion (or the most valiant low-budget mimicries of it, anyway), decorating their houses in the War Forged style, gambling and singing songs learned from the rough Onean sailors. The town is dominated by two things: trading and sailing. As such, the smell of the sea is inescapable, and most locals are proficient with either - or both. Many locals are also fishers or divers. Heading out to scavenge shipwrecks in the Amethyst Swells is a particularly popular past time, and for some even a profession.

Compared to the rest of Sedo, residents of Mbira tend to be more knowledgeable about economics, and most know how to use shards. Although they share the overall Seroran values of acceptance and community, Mbirans tend to be a bit more worldly and a lot less naive than their inland counterparts.

## History

Mbira was founded during the last years of the God’s War as a supply harbor. From Mbira, a supply convoy of ships crossed the ocean into Eithne - near where New Valore now stands. After the war ended and the kirins were destroyed, Mbira continued to function as a hub for all northbound trade into Eithne and Onea. During the war with new Aodh, Mbira was used to construct warships, and its fortifications increased to defend from an expected counterattack.

Afterward, life in Mbira became peaceful. Although the barracks on the fortified hill served as a reminder of the city’s warlike past, it now became a trading city for good, handling northbound trade, as well as receiving passengers from the northern herds. Although other, smaller ports also exist on the coast, Mbira had the official status as a government trading port, guaranteeing ample trade, and a constant buzz of activity.

The settlement came under threat of war once again when Aodh declared war on Serora. While many of Serora’s Furies were in Aquore, Aodhian navy laid siege to the town. Mbira held, but just barely, and when reports of a renewed war band arrived, the decision was made to evacuate the city and sail the ships still stationed there to safety, rather than risk losing them.

Mbira was occupied by Aodhians, and held with their navy. Once the Aodhian land troops caught up, Mbira was officially converted to an Aodhian base of operations, and acted as a supply point and military hospital. During their time in Mbira, Aodhians further fortified the town.

When the war was over, Mbira was the last place in Serora to have a heavy Aodhian presence, and only became completely free of occupation two months after the peace treaty. Now, peace has returned to Mbira, and most of the residents have as well.