Kafra
Contents
Overview
The capital and largest city of Nedalia, Kafra is also one of the oldest known settlements in the country. Centrally located in the middle of the country, it sits on the banks of the Kafra River, the longest in Nedalia. The city is also the commercial and financial center of Nedalia and plays an important part in the Atlantian Oceania as a whole, with the new Strategic Defense League (SDL) new headquarters located just south of Kafra.
Huge development efforts have been placed and concentrated on the city by President Andrew Bren after the country came out of its self-imposed isolation phase.
History
6000-4000 years
The oldest recorded settlement in the country, Kafra’s history goes back to almost 6000 years before the end of Nedalian self-imposed isolation. Originally settled by the very first Nedalians (a nomadic people called the Ezze which used to roam the Shamsa Desert and the areas around it), the founders of Kafra were merchants by trade and adventurers by heart.
The Ezze people, it is believed, were descendents of a man called Abb Ezze, which is where the name comes from. The family line has lasted to this day thanks to very tight and rigid control by the family, which still carries the same name. Although they have no evident political power, they are very highly regarded upon and extremely respected because of the manner in which they carry themselves. Unlike most royal families that exist, the Ezze family has never once tarnished their name through any kind of incidents or even stories. Respectful of all people and extremely proud of their heritage, they continue to repeat that they are not above or more important than anyone, and continue to uphold that the power belongs to the people, and it is not up to a few men to decide what the people want.
The first known leader of Kafra, believed to have ruled between 5000 – 4500 years ago, was a man called Mohammed Ezze I. At that time, Kafra, as a city-states, was ruled by the beloved Ezze family, and would continue to be ruled by them until fairly recent times. Under Mohammed Ezze I, the city became the focal point of the region (known as the Wadeh il-Wassat in traditional tongue, or “Middle Valley”), both trade-wise and power-wise. At that time, people were beginning to branch out from Kafra and start settlements of their own in and around Wadeh il-Wassat, but it wasn’t until Mohammed Ezze I took the reigns did the capital city become the centerpiece of them all. Under his reign, the growingly isolated city became the trading center of the region, and the city’s stagnant population growth began rising again.
The first known war to involve the capital city happened 3885 years ago, historians believe, and was called “The Hassidi War.” With Kafra and its surrounding settlements growing prosperous under the heavy trading and stability the Ezze family was providing, it was only inevitable that someone else would put their eyes on the prize and try to invade Wadeh il-Wassat. A tribe to the north of Kafra (believed to have settled around modern day Kurtar), called the Hassidi, attempted to invade the “Middle Valley” under the rule of Wastan II, a maniacal type of ruler who lived for war. Wastan II launched several attacks on villages and towns to the north of Kafra, with some being burned to the ground with its inhabitants. The leaders of the northern villages came to the ruler of Kafra, then Ali Ezze III, and called for help, asking the Kafra leader to fight back the intruder. At that time, Kafra was still a city-states, with the surrounding settlements, villages, and towns all answering to the ruler as well, but outside of Wadeh il-Wassat, Kafra had no influence. Ali Ezze III answered their calls immediately, to the dismay of some of his advisors, to whom he answered with the phrase:
“Fear not, for what is wrong and unjust needs to be proved so. Even if I should die, I would have sparked the flame that shall burn all that is wrong just and engulf the flames of hate that exist in the north today.”
Unfortunately for Ali Ezze III, the leader of the Hassidi had expected his actions, and had the upperhand in the early battles that ensued. In fact, the Kafra army was pushed back all the way to the walls of the capital city, but Wastan II’s arrogance got the better of him. Instead of holding off attacking the city directly and instead planning a siege, Wastan II ordered an attack with the Kafra army retreating into the walls of the city. With archers already have been situated, it wasn’t until Wastan II’s army was seriously depleted did the foot soldiers come out again, pushing the Hassidi out of Wadeh il-Wassat all the way to the borders of the Shamsa Desert, where they finally captured and killed the leader, Wastan II.
The Hassidi War won Kafra and its royal family many praises, increasing the influence of the city, and the story of the war echoed throughout ancient time Nedalia. People who were under the oppression of Wastan II started flowing into Kafra and the surrounding area, and with it came increased trade and prosperity. The city’s location on the banks of the Kafra River was also becoming more and more important; merchants living in settlements to the south started arriving on boats, with some coming all the way from coastal settlements. The city got so big the walls had to be torn down and rebuilt 3 times in the span of 100 years.
4000-1500 years
About 2000 years ago, Kafra engaged in its second war, this time against the Dortanians to the west, in the region where Dorpar and Momesta are located. Unlike the Hassidi, the Dortanians were not led by a ruler, and nor were they barbarian-like. In fact, they were very much comparable to the Kafrawehs (the plural form of those who come from Kafra) in their ways, but there resided one major difference: religious belief. The Kafrawehs believed in one God, the creator of all, while the Dortanians believed in no God. Due to Kafra’s prosperity and intrigue, its influence had grown past the boundaries of Wadeh il-Wassat and into surrounding regions. One of those regions was the Dortania, as it was called, whose lifeblood was the Hornos River. However, with many of the people in settlements situated on the Hornos River falling in love with Kafra and converting to their religious beliefs, many of the power players and merchants who resided in Dorpar and Momesta began mocking and discriminating against what they called, “childish fantasies.” In response to the mockery, the settlements along the Hornos River pledged to stop trading with Momesta and Dorpar and began developing a route to Kafra.
Infuriated by that decision, and directly blaming Kafra for what had happened, the Dortanians launched a surprise attack at the western end of Wadeh il-Wassat, in attempts to block the quickly developing trade route. Seeing it as a direct threat to the well-being of the people in the area, as well as oppression of the people on the eastern bank of the Hornos River, Ahmad Ezze IV launched a counter attack on the Dortanians, succeeding in driving them back past the Hornos River and nearly into Momesta. Not wanting to have their cities fall to Kafraweh rule, the Dortanians signed a pact and agreement of peace. However, they could not stop the wave of converts that took place in Dortania, and somewhere along the timeline of history, the Dortanian civilization ceased to exist, although there are still many people in that specific region that can trace their roots back to Dortanian ancestry.
1500-500 years
Through the next 1500 years, Kafra’s reputation of prosperity, freedom, stability, and beauty grew far and beyond Wadeh il-Wassat. People from all over what is now present day Nedalia would call for help against oppression and poverty, against unjust rulers and corrupt officials. Kafra was the fantasy everyone wanted to live in, and the Ezzeddine family would have liked nothing more than to unite the entire land and rid it of all injustice. However, such a feat was impossible for Kafra, as it would’ve have led to the demise of the Kafra army, and in such, the demise of the city itself. So the calls would go unanswered until about 500 years ago, when Ne Ezze took the throne of the city.
As a child, Ne Ezze would sneak into the Counselor’s Court in the Royal Palace and would listen to those who had traveled thousands of miles in order to ask for Kafra’s aid in ridding them of oppression. Time and time again, he would here the counselors tell the people that there was nothing they could do, and that infuriated and upset the future leader. He would spend nights imagining freeing those who wept in the court, night crying sometimes for the people who could not bare to see, or live, another day because of all that had been done to them. When he became ruler of Kafra, the first words that he uttered is know the most famous phrase in Nedalian history:
“This land will be known as the land of freedom, as the land free of oppression, as the land that withstood the wrath of those who wished nothing but ill upon it and its people. This land shall rise as one, and when it does, it will never allow part of it to fall. It shall rise as one, and remain as one, free till the day we are called to beautiful heaven.”
It is said that Ne Ezze did not see Kafra again until he slept on his death-bed, finally at peace having freed the land he so dearly loved. He went from town to town, region to region, fighting and battling any oppressor, any corrupt official with power, any dictator that abused his or her people. He was the first into the battles, and the last out, it was said. Stories, myths, legends that exist about the man cannot be counted, ranging from slaying the sorcerer of Aanjar to defeating the barbarians of the Clearcoast mountains. He once said, “There is nothing that rivals the Daluthan sunset other than the Andestranne sunrise.” He had been from one end of Nedalia to the other. At the end of it all, finally having his dream of freeing and uniting the entire country, the greatest human Nedalia had ever known, and the man the country was named after 500 years on, arrived in Kafra weary and sick, riding his own horse. He refused to be carried, it was said, saying,
“I shall never lower a man’s worth because of personal ill. You can carry me when I die, if you wish, but before then, I shall be like any other farmer who hauls himself day in, day out, in rain or snow, sickness or in health, to provide for his family. Before then, I shall attend to myself.”
The day after he arrived in Kafra, seeing the city for the first time since he left it at the age of 22, he died peacefully in his sleep, dream realized. The ideals of which the country stands by today exist because of him, and the he is categorized as the greatest Nedalian who ever lived. The irony in that is pretty obvious.
500 Years-Present Day
United as one, the land was governed out of Kafra by the Ezze family, who were secretly planning to modernize the political system. Understanding that they could not realistically rule the entire land, they plotted for a democratic government to take over the rule of the country, effectively ending the Ezzeddine rule of Kafra and Nedalia as a whole. It took nearly 150 years of planning, then gradually adopting the process for a full-fledged democratic government, operating out of Kafra, to take over rule completely.
In these past 150 years before the end of isolation, Kafra became the political center of Nedalia, and its population growth rate exploded. The fastest growth rate to ever be recorded in Nedalia happened in the city from 100 years ago to almost 45 years ago, and since then it has steadied. Modernization of the city took place before and after the end of isolation, and its transition from regional trading hub to the center of the entire nation’s financial and commercial livelihood came quickly as well.
Today, the city serves as an important center for not only Nedalia, but the entire AO. The Strategic Defense League, of which Nedalia was a founding member, has situated its Headquarters just south of the city, increasing Kafra’s political importance in the region. Its population stands at just under 55,000,000 for the entire metropolitan area, classifying it as one of the biggest cities in the entire AO. Modernization efforts continue to be the backbone of the city’s projects, and the future continues to look bright.
Pictures of Kafra
Night-shot of downtown Kafra from the "Old Town" district.
