Palus

**Palus**, formerly **Thornica,** **Marsh Town**, and later **Palus Urbem**, is a city in the Thornian Empire. It serves as the *de jure* capital of empire, though real political power has been exercised in other major cities such as Elysia, Volovna, and Petrodis since at least 2021.

The city is located on an island (Steaker's Island) on the western side of Steaker's Bay on the Western continent, making it almost perfectly centrally located in Thornia. Palus' architecture is a mixture of colonial fourth republic style wooden houses and fifth & sixth republic stone brutalist mid-rise towers. A new architectural style has emerged in the sixth republic which sees smooth stone replaced with stone bricks. Fourth Republic architecture is still used extensively for smaller buildings.

It is the birthplace of Thornian civilisation with its architecture and culture developing in the city during the colonial era before rapidly expanding eastwards after Thornia's independence from Ume. In comparison to Ume City, Thornica managed to develop rapidly due to the close proximity of natural resource and the tight space on Steaker's Island which enforces a strict town plan. The economic boom seen in the fourth and fifth Umic republics led to Thornica becoming the first Umic town to have more than one tower.

Through the instability of 2019 and 2020, the birthplace of Thornian civilisation had fallen into the wayside as economic activity has shifted eastward into the heart of Goruid whilst the League of Palus has also declined. The city was regarded as a backwater as most national resources were redirected to Elysia and Petrodis. The Thornian Civil War gave way for democratic reforms, and the August Rising empowered regional nationalist movements including the Umic-Palusian movement to re-establish Palus' historic place at the centre of the (Umic) Thornian world.

Umic-Palusian nationalism faded again during the proceeding War of the Three Regions when indigineous groups began to assert their influence within the empire, creating a new Pan-Thornian national identity. The city became a de facto independent territory during this period, and briefly fell into Trabovonian hands. After the war, the city was formally restored as the legal capital of the newly declared Thornian Empire. It is also the last bastion of democratic government after the rest of the country had fallen under direct imperial rule, military rule, or theocratic rule.

## Etymology

In 2019, Thornica was renamed to *Marsh Town* to reduce confusion between the province of Thornia and the settlement. The town was increasingly becoming a regional transportation hub as the surrounding districts receive more attention in terms of development. Later in the year, it was renamed to *Palus Urbem* (city of the swamp). In 2022 this was shortened to just *Palus*.

The name of the city also became the core of the name, *Paluskova*, which is the federation of city councils surrounding the Bay of Thornia.

## History

### Early history

Thornica was founded by South Seas Company employees who were in search of a quick route to the Araloi/Sava desert. Due to the lack of knowledge regarding the regions north of Ume, they were often stuck in the swamps and ran out of supplies quickly. They managed to find their way back to the southern coast and came across Steaker's Island (where Thornica is located), and named it so due to the large number of cows inhabiting the island.

A farm was established on the hinterland north of Steaker's Island to prepare for colonisation. A year later, a hut on stilts was built on the current location of the Governer's House, and the Umic banner was planted on the spot where the Thornic Cross statue is today. A docking area for boats was constructed near the flag. Sugarcane farming was also started around then owing to easy access to water.

### Beginning of mining

The colony remained relatively unimportant, and was often criticised by prominent citizens in Ume as being damaging to the then-town-state's aim of focusing all their economic and military efforts within the Umic plains. The South Seas Company made timber the island's main export but the development of tree farming estates in Ume City almost immediately extinguished hopes.

Initially, the mines were disappointingly barren of metals like iron and gold, but Steaker's Island was plentiful in coal (thus making the Thornica colony self-sufficient). As mining progressed, various minerals were discovered deeper underground.

### Urbanisation on Steaker's Island (2016 - 2019)

Its poor infrastructure often meant that local miners had to return to Ume City to process their gains from the mines. Local government was established in Thornica after the Ume City finally allowed Thornica to use its resources to fund its own development.

Due to the hilly terrain on the mainland, it was decided that the small hill on Steaker's Island would be flattened and that the dirt collected from that would be used to reclaim land in the shallow parts of the coast. This resulted in the doubling of the island's surface area.

The wooden houses on the island's north-eastern corner were completed first, with space in the middle reserved for what was going to be a town square. Thornica was not expected to grow into a town at this time, and thus stone buildings were initially not considered. However, economic stagnation and construction problems in Ume City made the Thornica town government to begin development of stone towers. Residential high-rises and multi-purposes towers were considered beneficial to the town as Steaker's Island's hinterland was not considered a part of the town.

### Renaming and increased national importance (July 2019 - August 2019)

The Steaker's Island precinct, which is also the CBD, underwent numerous face lifts - the removal of the tram system, the replacement of gravel roads with dirt path roads, landscape modelling on the island's south-eastern tip, connected the docks to the main east coast road, and expanded the sugarcane farm.

Land clearance and reclamation began north of Steaker's Island. The exploration of the inland areas and the potentially good terrain may allow Thornica to become almost completely self-sufficient in regards to fuel and building materials. The town's government is also considering returning to building new houses on the mainland using the old wooden colonial styles in order to boost Thornica's cultural image.

Thornia was renamed to Marsh Town in 2019. The town has been recognised as the country's main gateway to the far north and as such, the provincial government has been pouring more resources into infrastructure. It has become increasingly important as a regional transportation hub as it is currently serving as the main (naval) port of entry into Thornia and will become the central hub of the Thornia provincial rail network.

In June 2019, the Old Town area of Marsh Town's CBD was extended through land reclamation and its central square was transformed into a shallow harbour. The mainland areas of the Marsh District neighbouring the Marsh Town CBD were linked to Steaker's Island via a bridge. This mainland area is known as 'The Landing' in Thornia as it was the first place that South Seas Company sailors landed when exploring the region.

In July 2019, the Governor's Mansion was completed. The town's first hotel, The Acacia, was built next to the Governor's Mansion and includes a Deluxe suite. The Steaker's Island Tower, completed on 27 July 2019, was the first large-scale monument built in the town since the Aiwa Cross. The tower's viewing platform at its peak gives visitors a view of the northern hinterland of Marsh Town.

### Return to city status and Crown rule (August 2019 - 11 April 2020)

In August 2019, Marsh Town was once again granted city status by the government of the Republic of Thornia. The construction of a new mall and a new skyscraper inspired local urban planners to begin envisioning the redevelopment of the region into a unified metropolitan region known as 'Harbour City'. The integration of the settlements around Steaker's Bay would begin with the construction of a bridge (the longest in the world) across the bay from the Marsh Town CBD to Hill Town on the southern half of the mouth of the bay.

In November 2019, Marsh Town received the new Latin name of *Palus Urbem* (meaning city of the swamp). Plans to expand the city of ceased due to the server hiatus of late 2019 as well as plans to redirect funds to the raising of a Paludumian-led army of the Holy States.

The *Palatium Populus*, a Sixth Republic style large complex that sits above the eastern bay of Coloniam Insula, was built to house several departments of the government of the Holy States. The complex houses the meeting hall of the College of States, the Confederal Tax Collection, the Treasury of the Holy States, and a public exhibition hall. The building has greatly increased the overall footprint of Palus Urbem, making its built-up area larger than Ume City.

On 25 December 2019, the city was briefly occupied by multiple pillager units. The city guard and Thornian forces managed to retake control of most of the city by the end of the day, with the final standoff occurring in the Palatium Populus.

### Socialist era (11 April 2020 - August 2020)

On 11 April 2020, the city fell to the Northern Revolutionary Socialist Party after the Crown of Great Thornia was dissolved. The city became the centre and capital of the new Palus Socialist Republic after Great Thornia left the League of Palus. The monarchy returned in May in a hybrid regime with the NRSP, thus the Palace of Palus resumed its function as a royal residence.

### Restoration as a condominium territory (August 2020 - Present)

As The Great Plague's effects rippled through Thornia, the Order of the Golden Trident seized control of the country from the monarchy and the NRSP. The Order re-instanted Thornia as a member state of the League of Palus and restored Palus' status as capital of its namesake alliance. The Province of Palus was also dissolved as its territory was ceded to the Province of Elysia as the Borough of Palus.

Despite this, Palus has slid in its importance within Thornia as more attention has been put on Elysia (in the aftermath of the Massacre of Elysia) and the rest of the Province of Elysia. The city's fortunes have also been dampened by the occassional pillager raid as its civilian population has been slowly killed off.

In September 2020, numerous reforms and political events led to the city and surrounding swamps returning to its former status as the administrative centre of the Palus Capital Territory (PCT). The PCT eventually morphed into Paluskova.

The city withstood several sieges and battles throughout the Thornian Civil War and the August Rising. A compromise between the severely weakened post-war central government and numerous rebel groups (including Umic nationalists) led to Palus regaining its place as the sole capital of the Thornian realm. The Paluskova system of federated city governments remained even after the August Rising, but this time the centre of administration has shifted to Steaker's Island.

## Architecture

There are generally considered to be three styles of architecture in Marsh Town: Fourth Republic, Fifth Republic, and Sixth Republic. Although these styles are named after historical eras, buildings of all three types are still being built at around the same time across Marsh Town and Thornia.

The Fourth Republic style does not correspond with the style of the same era in Ume City, but rather describes the smaller wooden buildings in Steaker Island's north-east. These buildings are made of spruce beams, spruce roofs, and birch walls. Most public facility buildings are housed in these houses. Oak trapdoors are usually used for windows as they allow windows to be opened and closed.

The Fifth Republic style describes those mid-to-high rise buildings in the centre of Steaker's Island which are made of smooth stone. Such buildings usually have water elevator shafts instead of staircases. These buildings are more costly to construct as their use of smooth stone and glass require the builder to have a pickaxe with silk touch on hand in the event of accidental block placements. An example of such architecture is the Thornia provincial government building.

The Sixth Republic style is the contemporary style of architecture in the city. It makes heavy use of stone bricks (for walls) and chiseled stone bricks (to separate walls of different floors and for door frames). Such buildings may either use glass or oak trapdoors for windows. An example of such architecture is the Governor's Mansion and the Thornia Mining Consortium Building. A further evolution of this style could be seen in the Steaker's Island Tower monument with additional support pillars and details being prominent compared to the spartan Fifth Republic style. The Palatium Populus was built in the Sixth Republic style.

## Districts

The city currently only consists of Steaker's Island and West Isle.

Palus Urbem previously comprised of two districts: Coloniam Insula (*island colony*) and Coloniam Terra Vadum (*colony on shallow lands*). Coloniam Insula contains the central business district (which itself contains all regional and city government buildings, public facilities, high-rise housing, and a hotel). Coloniam Terra Vadum is a provisional district as roads are still being laid out. Palus Urbem's main farms are yet to be moved and to another swamp island further east and currently takes up most of the Coloniam Terra Vadum district.