Alicksport

**Alicksport** is a town in the Ossiric League pledged to the Duchy of Heilicon. The town is situated near the mouth of the Sothen river on the Great Bay.

## History

The first inhabitants of the lower Sothen had settled the region long before the Corastian Empire established a town under the emperor Tulian called Milis. While the town grew quickly at first with the promise of trade goods from across the strait in Callira and farther east along the Torisian coast, the shallow depth of the Sothen was unsuitable for ocean-going vessels. Milis was soon overshadowed by Leganne to the west with its much deeper harbor along the East Fork near the Ellorin. Within fifty years, the port of Milis had dwindled until it became only a border outpost with a nominal Corastian garrison and a single tax collector.

By the time of the Corastian Federation several centuries later, Milis had been further eclipsed by Heilicon, which came to dominate the overland trade between Leganne and the southern provinces of Torisia even after the schism between Toris and Volaska. Decades of intermittent conflict following the schism and the later founding of the Second Empire under the Ossirian general Yorick drew away the last of the Corastian garrisons along the southern frontier, leaving what remained of Milis undefended. Like many neglected garrisons, Milis suffered from seasonal attacks by Torisian, Calliran, and Narakshese raiders which drove those who escaped into walled towns like Heilicon and the numerous mountain forts farther inland up the Sothen.

The ruins of Milis were only intermittently inhabited for the next several hundred years, largely by fishermen and occasional smugglers, until Prince Hassen's expedition during the reign of his father King Froderick of the Ossirians sought to expand the kingdom's borders eastward across the Ellorin. While the prince's main force settled the region of Hassen's Dale and founded Cyrnne as a fortress town, a lieutenant named Alick led a smaller contingent of troops south along the coast of Atian's Strait to scout out a site for a suitable port. Upon finding the ruins of Milis, Alick ordered his men to fortify them into a proper settlement.

Over the next several hundred years, Alicksport grew slowly into a fishing port, then a walled town enfeoffed to the Ossirian House of Kallen by the ducal House of Mennish in Heilicon. A strategic marriage with the Mennishes in 582 CR brought a much-needed influx of capital to Alicksport, culminating in the dredging of the Sothen to deepen its harbor for ocean-going vessels such as those which otherwise need to brave the Strand Island straits on the way to Leganne. This made Heilicon accessible by river barges and Alicksport as its primary port for maritime trade with Torisia, Naraksha, and ports further to the east and north. While Alicksport never surpassed Heilicon and its numerous industries, its port facilities and sailors ably served the mercantile ambitions of the Mennishes and Heiliconian merchant houses for the next two centuries.

During the Mentite War, Alickport was largely spared the ravages of both armies as most of the fighting was concentrated around Leganne and Meddelburg to the west and Cyrnne and Heilicon to the north. While a small detachment of Mentite troops did attempt to take the town in 743, these along with a number of Mentites were killed and their bodies hanged above the north gate on the road to Heilicon. The town's population swelled with refugees from outlying villages seeking shelter within the walls or onboard the many ships in the port. Soldiers under the command of Lord Rolen Kallen joined with Western Ossirian forces in the campaign against the Mentites that ultimately pushed them back to Cyrnne and ended with the massacre of the city's inhabitants. After the war, the House of Kallen continued to support the Mennishes by providing labor and loaning gold to help restore Heilicon to its prewar stature.

## Geography

Alicksport is located near the mouth of the Sothen river along the Great Bay. On a clear day, the easternmost of the Strand Islands is said to be visible from the port. The town's strategic location near the entrance of the Great Bay made it a frequent stopover for merchant vessels and raiders bound for deeper ports, though dredging in the mouth of the Sothen has helped make Alicksport a destination in its own right, though its prior reputation as a haven for smugglers has rendered it less desirable than Leganne to the west or Celaran to the east.

## Demographics

Alicksport's population has varied considerably over its long history from a fishing settlement to a Corastian garrison, then as an Ossirian fort and walled town. The majority of its inhabitants belong to the Global Church, though the port and its many inns always play host to traders, smugglers, mercenaries, and travelers from throughout the Great Bay region and beyond, bringing with them a wide array of faiths.

## Politics

While Alicksport and its surrounding lands comprise the Barony of Alicksport as a fief of the House of Kallen, the town itself is governed by an elected council and elected mayor. Furthermore, its commercial enterprises are regulated by guilds as in other parts of Corastia.

## Military

Alicksport is defended by soldiers of the House of Kallen as well as a civilian militia which primarily enforces order at the port.

## Influence

Alicksport's reputation as a smuggler's port has not reduced with time even as the diversity and legitimacy of its trade has steadily increased. Consequently, the town and particularly its port are known to other Ossirians primarily through the popular song "Alicksport Fair" (sometimes called "The Fish-Seller's Daughter").

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