Sabaa

Sabaa started its history as the village of Kape Ganakua. After The Cataclysm, the area near the Zequmel River was completely leveled by the winds and the mass of snow and ice that covered it during the The 30-Year Winter.

But the dust and moisture left behind made for incredibly fertile land. As Urnati returned to the land, some found their way to this area near a bend in the river that made fro easy access to water for irrigation. And thus, the village of Kape Ganakua was born in 3294 BTG.

As more Orsholonians moved into the area, so did Baduhmians. No formal borders had been set since The Cataclysm, and control of the area was disputed by both countries. Still, there remained an uneasy truce. In 3170 BTG, King Lineas Torgaro of Orsholon began a program of encouraging Orsholonians to begin settling further south to establish the country’s territory, pushing them closer to areas that were being claimed by Baduhm. The Baduhmian government resented this push, claiming that the territory south of the Zequmel River belonged to Orsholon.

Civilian Baduhmians followed their government, and this resentment toward Orsholon began to boil over. Small disagreements became more and more heated and in some cases, violent. Over the course of two years, King Lineas saw this escalation as a potential danger, and decided to send a messenger to the capital in Baduhm with a a request to meet with their leaders. His goal was to negotiate a truce between the countries and formalize the border.

A week later, the messenger’s horse approached the village of Kape Ganakua with a mutilated corpse strapped to its back: The messenger sent by King Lineas. Lineas’ fury exploded, and he declared war against Baduhm. Little did he know, the Baduhm had beat him to the punch, and the war began in earnest in 3168 BTG.

The small village of Kape Ganakua did not stand a chance. It was the nearest full settlement in the path of the Baduhmian army, and was nearly destroyed in their push into the region. The Baduhmians renamed the village Pive Bage.

The Badumians used the Pive Bage as a base of operations on the north side of the Zequmel River. The wide areas of relatively flat land gave them room to assemble troops after they had crossed. From Pive Bage, they made their first attacks into Orsholon territory.

Badum held Pive Bage for nearly 6 years at the beginning of the war until they were pushed back across the river. Orsholon forces used the river to their benefit, as it created a barrier for new troops from Baduhm to get across and trapped those who were already across. In 3162 BTG, Orsholon regained control of what was left of the village, and renamed it Gula.

The village remained an agricultural center, and the Orsholon army built a low stone wall around the village to act as a barrier against further attacks. In truth, the barrier was far too low, but the fight had been taken well into Baduhm territory. It stayed this way for 47 years. While the fight was inside of Baduhm territory, the smoke from fires and the stream of Royal Guard(organization:d7c8124a-e950-46a6-897a-58eaea26568b) troops moving to and from the battlefront was a constant reminder of the was at hand.

King Lineas died in 3115 BTG. His son, Bretrak, took the throne. @[Bretrak Torgaro was tired of the war that had consumed more than 50 years of his father’s time and life. He decided to take a different tack.

Once again, an Orsholon ruler sent a messenger to Baduhm, this time with a treaty. This time, the messenger came back alive – the Baduhm were willing to talk – with conditions. In other words, they had conditions that had to be met before they were willing to talk about conditions for a truce.

King Bretrak’s advisors warned the King that this was likely a ruse. While Baduhm had likely grown just as tired of the fighting, they had never in 50 years shown any sign of a desire to declare a truce and end the hostilities. Nevertheless, Bretrak began the “negotiations to negotiate”.

Both countries sent messengers back and forth, and each time Bretrak came up with a way to appease their demands, the government of Baduhm found new objections. In truth, Baduhm saw the rise of a new Orsholonian ruler they considered weak. While Bretrak worked to set a negotiation in place, the Baduhm was moving their forces closer to the Zequmel River. Their plan was to create a massive force just south of the river, then sweep in and burn a path all the way to the capital.

In 3108 BTG, Bretrak’s advisors where proven right. The “negotiations” were merely a ruse to allow a break in the heavier fighting so that Baduhmian troops could be replenished and built-up in preparation for the invasion of Orsholon. An army of approximately 700 troops massed south of the Zequmel River. They made their way across the river by night and razed the majority of the village of Gula. This became their base of operations for the next 24 years. It was renamed Kakenea Gowøn by the Baduhm, and was set-up as a training base as well as a repair facility.

The final change to come for the village came in 3082 BTG. Bretrak died in 3084 BTG, and Lineas’ second son, Jiten took the throne. Jiten Torgaro had much of his father’s hot-headed nature, but without the desore to temper it. He despised what he perceived as his brother’s weak handling of the war, and swore that he would make the Baduhm pay.

He spent the first two years of his reign amassing an army of nearly 2,000 troops, and put civilians to mine for iron ore in the Rinzeremel Mountains. No expense was spared to ensure the Royal Guard had the most effective and fearsome weapons possible.

Jiten himself led the charge in 3082, leading his troops straigh to the Zequmel River. No Baduhm soldier was spared, and stories of Jiten slaying his opponents with a fire in his eyes raised his reputation to legendary status. Soon, opposing troops ran in fear at just the sight of Jiten, and the Royal Guard reached the village, slaughtering the training Baduhmian soldiers.

The war would nt be over for another 20 years, but the village now renamed for the last time as Sabaa, would remain safe going forward. The Royal Guard engineers built a solid, high stone wall surrounding the city. They also built buildings on the north side of the city and near the bridge across the Zequmel to act as bases of operations for the Guard.

Since The Gathering, there has been very little military conflict and the village has become more of a hub of trade and agriculture, with the former guard buildings becoming administrative buildings while the Royal Guard built their own regional headquarters within the village walls.

The village has been razed so many times, that most of the building have only existed since the end of the war. Nevertheless, most are centuries old. They have been built primarily of wood shielded by stone. The Royal Guard headquarters ia made entirely of stone, giving them a completely defensible position. The wall around the village has towers strategically placed to allow troops to mount the towers for superior positions to repel any attackers.

Being near the border with Baduhm, the main source of income to Sabaa is the processing of travel papera and trade licenses for those who cross the border. The upkeep of these services is aided by funding from the capital. Other than this, the area is an agricultural region with a large percentage of the countries produce and grains produced within a day's travel.

Sabaa has been attacked and destroyed mutliple times. After the last razing and rebuilding, the Kingdom of Orsholon built a fortified outpost a stone’s throw from the village and act as the town’s defenses and law enforcement organization.

The residents of Sabaa are a mixture of Orsholonians and Baduhmians, the result of war and proximity to the border between the two countries.

The area is flat land that is fertile and perfect for agricultural interests. It was prone to flooding in the annual rainy season, but this has been mitigated by the stone wall built as a barrier againt attack.

The settlement is small, but being a border town that has seen more than its share of war, it has a Royal Guard outpost in close proximity. The village has a small council of elders that acts as the governing body, but as a rule, there is little disagreement.

The primary guild represented in Sabaa is Mogaa Gokeba Wal Nenu, an agricultural organization working to make sure the growers in the region are well-represented in the capital. They also help control prixing and demand for product to ensure their members prosper.

The amount of the country's agricultural output that comes from the area surrounding Sabaa is truly astounding. It is a major source of income, but its abundance it also a detriment. Most years there is sufficient surplus that prices are low and surplus is a common occurrence. Instead, the border village receives allowances from the Kingdom for processing and issuing trade licenses, collecting trade tariffs and generally acting as a border station for travelers and goods moving to and from Baduhm.

Sabaa is the fifth incarnation of this border village since The Cataclysm. The town has been razed, rebuilt and razed again. Since there have been no real skirmishes in many centuries, many of the buildinga are quite old. Nevertheless, they have been designed to be quickly reconstructed should war ever break out again,

There is no real tourism, so to speak, but Sabaa is regularly flooded with travelers moving to and from Baduhm.