The Imperial Federal Kingdom of Grand, Belluterra, and Malo (USNW)

POSILLIPO!

k50 is totally right :p

Francistown is the capital of the nation, and is home to the Imperial Senate, the various Imperial Ministries, the Imperial Guards' headquarters, and several other important structures. Today, we'll be touring the South District of the capital.



Here is the main access route to the district, which crosses the south branch of the Garble River. On the left you can see a recently-built modern apartment facing the Ring Canal, which already is a good deal occupied, thanks to the government's progam to eliminate homelessness in the nation, and on the right you can see one of two buildings that compose the Royal Archives, in which all information that the goverment is gathering, has gathered, or will gather, is stored, in both electronic and paper form.




Going a little further upstream, we pass the imposing Tashin House, which forms the headquarters, and primary barracks, of the Imperial Guard, the national police force. It seems most of the guards are in the barracks at the moment...




Feeling a little blue? A concert at Andrews Square might just be what you want. This large square, mostly surrounded by old Trentannian-style merchant houses, was once a marketplace, but after the Great Adonian War, it was temporarily converted into a refugee camp. By the time the camp was dissolved in the mid-1950s, there was no further need for a marketplace in the area, so the square was spruced up and converted into an open-air concert hall. Grandian star singers and groups such as jonDYman, Paulo & the Kinsmen, and Soyleena regularly make apperances here. If you wish to attend one of these concerts, it would be best to make a reservation, as the place is often packed, and it is not uncommon for the crowds to extend onto the street.




If you want to go shopping here, the best place in the area is none other then Walea Row, often simply known as the Row. The Row, with its authentic Trentannian storefronts, goods largely manufactured in the Trenntannian factories or grown on rural Grandian farms, and a great deal too many old folks who still remember the GAW, almost makes you feel like you're back with the soldiers and resistance fighters, although many of the old buildings are falling victim nowdays to modern apartments and supermarkets.




If you want to just stroll through a quiet park and enjoy the view, or take a ride down one of Francistown's remaining Old Canals, why don't you go to the Sental Theater, which has a gorgeous segment of canal and parkland behind it, although the parkland is under threat from development, hints of which can already be seen. If you really want to see a classic play in Khwint, the Sental Theater is currently playing Te Kont tee-Montakween (The Count of Mondegreen), based on the novel by Devin Charles.




Before we close the update, take a look at this teaser for the next update.

Khot hap ee ko!

UPDATE IV: REMEMBER!

As some of you may know, today is the 60th anniversary of Trentannia's invasion of Grand, which began on the 3rd of September, 1941. For this special update, we will be touring different areas of the capital that played an important role in the invasion and subsequent 10-year occupation, and will also take a look at some other areas of Grand that were central to the invasion.


A memorial service is currently being held in Saint Josephine's Cathedral for the approximately 70,000 Grandians who died in the war. For the first time, this service also is being held in memory of the 6,000 Belluterrans who died invading Grand.


Soon, this area will be crowded with people coming to pay their respects to the "Francistown Thirteen", who were leaders of one of the most notable resistance groups in the country, and were one of the main reasons that the Trentannian military in the area never got much farther north than Grand. They had all been captured by 1948, and were subsequently executed without trial, on this very spot. The large triumphal arch in the background, completed in 1956, was commissioned by King Francis V upon his return to Grand after the liberation, to commemorate the victory over Trentannia, and to remember those who gave their lives for freedom.


When Mousford, which was the national capital back then, fell to the Trentannians, Francis V, his wife Queen Jennifer of Puget, the rest of his immediate family, and the most prominent members of his Cabinet and the Senate, fled to Grenylzia, a small fortress in the south part of the country, where they successfully fought off Trentannian besiegers for 66 days—from 28 September to 2 December 1941—until a small fleet of Grandian vessels that had managed to break past the blockade arrived and escorted them to Athanos, the capital of Posillipo, where the they remained in exile until the liberation of Grand in 1951. In their absence, the Trentannians established a puppet government known as the Grand Republic, which in all but name functioned as a province of the Trentannian Empire.


During the enemy bombardments of the city, and later during the liberation by the Posilliponians, many of the old Posilliponian-style buildings were either destroyed or heavily damaged, resulting in numerous places thorought the city today where a wall-to-wall building suddenly drops off without another wall-to-wall building to continue the sequence, and often instead, a younger, more modern building taking its place. To this day about 18% of Francistown's residents either have a parent who could remember the Great Adonian War, or could remember the war himself or herself.


Once the Trentannians had complete control of Grand, they built a large defensive wall around much of the Grandian coast, as well as a secondary system consisting of large walls and embankments around every major or strategic Grandian settlement within 5 km of the coastline. This is an exceptionally-well preserved section of the primary wall, located in Francistown.


During the house-to-house fighting that followed the initial attack on Francistown, some of the fiercest fighting took place in and around Andrews' Market (now serving as an open-air concert hall, and renamed Andrews Square), shown here in a photo taken from a Trentannian aerial reconnaissance flight over the district.


The large building in the center of the image is especially notable for the fact that its defenders were able to hold off enemy assaults for over five weeks, long after the rest of the city had fallen. It was heavily damaged during the war, but has since been restored and returned to its original purpose of housing residents.

UPDATE V: AMONG THE RICH

Today we'll be taking a look at part of the Mansion District of Francistown. After this, I'm considering where to go next, and I'd like your input before we commence the update

Option 1: Take a look at the oil fields of northern Malo
Option 2: Visit the rainforests of the Duchy of Rania
Option 3: An update on Francistown's Old Town
Option 4: Experience our military might, centered in Grenylzia
Option 5: Go west, and see the glory of the largest palace in Grand

Please post below with your choice Now, that said, on with the update!


Before the liberation of the Grandian Ensuñans (Grandians of Insulonian descent) in August of 2011, very few were able to leave La-mer Province, where they have historically been concentrated. The few that did manage to legally live elsewhere generally moved to Francistown, as it offered unique opportunities for work. This church, located near the boundary of the Mansion District, was built in 1978 for the local Ensuñan community, which is already growing considerably due to the Edict of Liberation.


Here is one of the first mansions you'll come across when turning onto Palace Street, located at a busy intersection with one of the four avenues that run directly to the Imperial Senate. Local development, hints of which can already be seen, have their eyes on this choice piece of property, currently up for sale for 1,900,000 Enieo ($950,000).


Just across the street is a smaller mansion, also up for sale at a bargain price of 1,500,000 Enieo ($750,000), considering how close it is to the beach.


Now beginning Palace Street proper, we pass this magnificent mansion, property of a mysterious New Friscian going only by the name of "Matt". There's a lot of rumors circulating as to who this "Matt" could be, ranging from a multimillionare computer guy to a wealthy miser. One thing all the rumors have in common though - whoever the owner is, he's fabulously wealthy.


After that, we pass the famous Skarr House, the summer palace of the Grandian Petersroys (the branch of the House of Petersroy that rules in Grand). Its magnificent tiled central plaza has seen much wear, but nevertheless still conveys much beauty.


Passing Skarr House, we come to this large mansion, which is for sale at a price of 10 million Enieo. It is the newest mansion on the street, having been completed earlier this year.


The Consul of the Imperial Senate resides in this fine building, the style of which evokes the fine Posilliponian buildings of times past. Behind it you can see work progressing on a new section of the Francistown Metro.


This massive building was originally intended to replace Skarr House, which King-Emperor Daniel IV deemed to be too old-fashioned, but after his death earlier this year, and Charles I was subsequently crowned as the new King-Emperor, he cancelled the plans to make this a royal residence, instead preferring Skarr House, which he had grown up in. He had this house put up for sale at an asking price of 50 million Enieo, or $100 million. There are several conditions to purchasing the place however, one of which is that the buyer must be from a noble or formerly noble family.


For now, the sequence of mansions ends with this mansion, which is the only surviving mansion, besides Skarr House, to have parts that predate the Great Adonian War. The building is currently inhabited by the richest private businessman in the nation, Jack Nielsoen, the CEO of Gemstones International.


Finally, to close this update, here's a glimpse of the private beach sectioned off for the use of the mansion's inhabitants, including those inhabiting Skarr House.