The Province of Tru Dahn
With the booming railcart business now reaching all the major cities on Atla, the province of Tru Dahn is fast becoming a travel destination rivaled only by the province of Alpine (which is so only out of necessity). From the world’s highest known peak, Dawn Light peak, to the Library of the Ancients in its capital city of Tru Dahn, the province has everything for the mind and body.
Because one third of the provincial land mass is desert, the entire population (the third largest on Atla) is contained almost entirely along the coast. Now, with ever growing numbers of tourists and more rail lines to carry them, the province holds some of the most scenic and spectacular routes on Atla. Tru Dahn was the first province to set up rail lines entirely for recreational and tourism purposes. It is home to a world famous route which first follows the twisting coastline south of the city then winds through the fertile canyon lands where it finally returns to the city. Whether it’s a star light run along the coast watching the nighttime sky reflect on the breaking surf, or a high speed run through tunnels and plains, anyone who loves railcarts would be more than thrilled to experience any of the amazing, and indeed greatest routes in the world.
Tru Dahn was for many centuries a primary port on Atla, even well before the formation of the provinces. Sharing the role of main port with Morrid, and having easier access to the goods shipped from Sed, for many years Tru Dahn had the greatest population in Atla. Things have changed recently, with FreePort becoming Atla’s primary port and Alpine becoming the nexus of the rail line, but that doesn’t mean Tru Dahn has been forgotten. The population, though not the greatest, is nearly that of the two largest, FreePort and Alpine. And evidence of its past is still obvious in everything around.
Tru Dahn city is home to the Grand Provincial Council and the Provincial Offices where all of Atla is run. Just outside the border of Tru Dahn city is the largest military training area, Fort Jerrel Command Center, which is still thriving from the time when Tru Dahn was also the military power of Atla.
Though the war in the archipelago is hundreds and thousands of kilometers away, Fort Jerrel continues to train more troops than any other base on Atla. This is due entirely to the wonder that is the railline (and the varied training environment the province offers). The railline was first created and used by the military and because of this, still has the greatest network and infrastructure (commuter and commercial goods lines make up 42% of all lines). This has kept Fort Jerrel both time and cost effective for producing troops. Sending an entire battalion from Tru Dahn even as far north as Hesiod takes only a few days at most. From the time they board the railcart to when they are battle ready in Hesiod takes as little as ten days and only a few thousand mig in transportation costs.
Fort Jerrel’s distance from the war zone has actually benefited Atla as a whole. The devastating attacks from the radicals in the archipelago a few years ago were focused on the smaller bases north of Morrid. It might sound like a horrible catastrophe that a base unequipped to deal with a threat was attacked–but it is not so. The attacks came on the military base near Morrid by surprise, infiltrated from deep within. Because of this, size was irrelevant in stopping the attacks. But, because the base attacked was actually one of the smallest and served primarily as an intelligence HQ, the fire bombs that went off, and the subsequent suicide attackers found few personnel actually operating the base. While the 187 casualties (the greatest number of deaths from foreign attackers since the formation of the provinces) were terrible, estimates have shown that were the radicals to have done the same thing in Fort Jerrel, the death count could have been anywhere from 2-5000 and possibly more (not to mention the greater damage to structures and facilities).
Tru Dahn’s distant past is perhaps the most unknown and varied of any other area. While it is not known for certain, many believe that the first inhabitants to arrive on Atla landed in what is today, the city of Tru Dahn. Evidence is limited given the thousands of years since humans arrived on Atla, but there are a few major pieces of evidence to back the claim up. The two strongest and most popular theories suggest that the oldest recorded civilization and people who lived in the once fertile land of Kahn would have had to have come from Tru Dahn, as it offered the easiest route through the mountains and was already the most tropical area during the time period (80-55,000 PM). Further, Dawn Light Peak would have stood above everything else for countless Kilometers, calling to any wayward travelers and early humans of the time. And though the peaks in the Dawn Light range are not only the highest, but tallest from base to peak, the canyons and paths between them are large enough to offer easy access inland.
Still, all this is nothing more than educated guesswork, and the truth of the matter will likely always remain a mystery as more and more time passes, destroying more and more of the past itself.
Tru Dahn is also home to the southernmost city on Atla, Lands End. This city, a small port city with little in the way of shops and hotels, has become a premiere destination for the wealthy, even surpassing FreePort and the cities near Floran for five years in a row. Though sparsely populated, the rich and famous often come to Lands End to get away from the trouble and turmoil of their public lives. Even by railcart the journey to Lands End is long and tiring. And with so little there for tourists, the only people that ever make the journey are those with houses and land.
There is however, another side to the city of Lands End. The port has served for many years as a launching point for sea expeditions to discover new lands and peoples. But like the waters east of Atla, the southern sea is just as, if not less welcoming than its eastern neighbor.
Scientists and researchers have yet to discover the cause for such violent weather and terrible seas that surround Atla to the east and south. Perhaps if ships were ever to make it south and return the cause would be known. But presently, nothing is known of the land (if any) south of Lands End (or anywhere to the east for that matter). It is known that the equator of Velwythe runs 48 kilometers north of Lands end. This means half the world below Atla is still unknown and undiscovered. Whether thousands of kilometers of unforgiving seas, or a foreign land waits is unknown. But the allure of that mystery has made Lands End a busy port for explorers and scientists alike.
