Salemanford
By Natalie Parker
What are the actual resources of the city?
Some of the most industrious factories across the whole of Mitteleuropa, providing parts to automotive, aviation and military industries in neighbouring provinces, as well as fine finished goods for modern households.
What does the City import?
Food, both luxurious to feed the Upper Echelons and basic but plentiful to feed the city’s hard working labourers. Coal to fire her power plants and steel to drive her industry. Precious metals and gemstones from the prospector towns in The Hiccups that rely on Salemanford for their livelihoods, and raw fabric materials from the surrounding farms of the foothills and plain.
Define the City’s issues
Until fifteen years ago, Salemanford was a city plagued by too much democracy. Scores of political parties all focused on single issues such as the state of the palace gardens, the widening of Saintzenplatz to accommodate ever larger motor vehicles and more.
Red tape was everywhere, policing and government were virtually nonexistent, the gangs ran the city in all but name. So, they asked themselves, why not go all the way? Understanding the need to have peace between the families, the four largest gangs (the Kaiser Sevens, Three Rivers Boys, Bronze Blades & Ruby Cats) invited the retiring Sky Pirate Queen, Red Hilda to sit as Capo Supreme in The Crimson Coup.
Violent crime is down to nothing, but vice is through the roof. The people are generally happier and more productive than they’ve ever been, but there are downsides. Social mobility ended with The Coup, and membership in a gang is the only way forward for many.
Citizens are well fed and paid, but almost all of that money ends up back in the pockets of the Four Houses and The Crimson Council, spent at their many Casinos, Cabarets and Cathouses.
Nearby cities initially halted trade with Salemanford after The Crimson Coup, but now profit massively from their ties, and as such are reluctant to intervene in what they call “local politics” as the underground remnants of the former City Council attempt to foment revolt.
They have found little success recruiting among any but the most fringe extremists, making them dangerous, if small.
The City’s big cultural events or selling points?
The Three Rivers Race has only grown in stature since The Crimson Coup, and has now expanded to a whole fortnight of air, river and land races that draw tourist crowds from across the East, much to the ire of Genova.
Two sporting teams hail from Salemanford, with citizens north of the Frison river, among the heavy industrial sectors traditionally supporting Das Reds along with the Kaiser Sevens, and the citizens working in the fine industry across the south of the river support Die Bleus, as do the Bronze Blades. The upper echelons living on the East Banks support whoever’s winning and don’t let them catch you saying otherwise.
Who are the City’s Leaders?
Capo Supreme and coronated as the City’s Kaiserin is Red Hilda.
The Heads of the Four Houses, since they’ve been known after their absorption of the smaller gangs and their “going legit” as The Crimson Council are:
Clockwise, from top left:
Alexei, son of Sergei (Kaiser Sevens)
“Little Big” Antonio Villsoni (Three Rivers Boys)
“Lady” Vittoria Rotwalden (Bronze Blades)
Sassa “The Hatter” Svåruthärdlig (Ruby Cats)
What is the city’s infrastructure like?
The Four Houses have divided ownership and responsibility for vital services and infrastructure among themselves. While the rife cronyism plaguing these services will no doubt eventually lead to severe issues, for now things are well planned and maintained.
The Kaiser Sevens took control of construction, road maintenance, land freight and waste management.
River freight, dockyard industry and water utilities are the province of the Three Rivers Boys.
The Bronze Blades handle policing, postal services and urban defence.
Banking, electrical power and social services fall under the purview of the Ruby Cats, who also run the city’s many communal kitchens & diners.
All four of the Houses have a joint and equal 24% share in every factory, workshop and manufacturing plant in the city, but handle wages and expenses. The “Factoria Capo” gets the remaining 4% making them sort of a middle class.
What is the City nickname?
“The Three Rivers,” “The Triple Towers” or derogatorily “Gangster Central”
What are the City’s inhabitants called? Any nicknames?
“Salleys” or “Fordians” historically depending on if you ask someone from north or south of the Frison River respectively.
Any notable inhabitants?
The underground resistance to the criminal regime has grown chaotic and divided over the fifteen years since The Crimson Coup, and now largely falls into two factions.
The more extreme faction, which can not decide on a name for more than a month at a time, swings between inciting outright violence at sporting events and writing endless, ENDLESS “protest songs” that have found little traction in the bars and homes of Salemanford, but are becoming strangely popular in the cities to the south and east. Its leader, pictured left, is the inexplicably successful womaniser, Miklos Huxol. A sizable price has been placed on his head by both the Bronze Blades and the Ruby Cats.
The more moderate faction is mostly made up of former members of the Salemanford Worker’s Collective & Brotherhood Union, or SalWoCoBU, who had long attempted to stand up to the gangs slowly taking over their industries. They favour industrial sabotage, though often find themselves pained as they destroy machines and engines with which they have lovingly toiled for decades. They are openly led by Federico Di Bahna, former alderman and lead builder on the city’s famous Three Towers, pictured right. Former childhood friends, he and Alexei of the Kaiser Sevens are now sworn enemies.
While there are dozens of casinos, cabarets and cathouses Downtown and throughout South Riverside, no cabaret club is so exclusive as Die Kaiserin’s Cafe, located at the bottom of Coronationstrasse, in the East Banks. While the club has many exotic acts to wow its patrons with, no one commands the stage like the so-called “Little Kaiserin,” Salemanford’s own Eliza Stantsfelder.
What is the City Flag ?
Previously a simple field of red and blue divided diagonally by a white stripe, the Crimson Coup saw a new flag for the city, incorporating previous elements but also introducing stars representing the Four Houses of The Crimson Council and the Kaiserin.
How is the City policed ?
While many in the force were already on the payroll of various gangs, the Bronze Blades assumed control of the Salemanford Municipal Police Force during the Crimson Coup and have consolidated officers into one unified force.
They focus their efforts entirely on unsanctioned smuggling, and crime that isn’t organised by the Four Houses. “Honest” policemen still get to put the hours in solving the few violent crimes perpetrated by “unlicensed” citizens, and investigating revolutionary activity.
“Beat Bronzes” who walk patrols do genuinely care for and look after their assigned districts; after all, the free kaffe and pastries will dry up if the diner is robbed or burned out.
There are five Police Precincts across the city, Northside West, Northside East, Southside West, Riverside and East Banks.
City Military
The Four Houses each tithe one in ten of their paid up and made up gang members to serve in the City Militia from ages 20 to 25, with the guarantee of a “nice, easy job” at the end of their service.
As with other government functions and facilities, cronyism is rampant in the City Militia, severely hampering the promotion of good leadership and discipline.The flip side is that the crony-riddled officer corps wants to be seen in only the best vehicles, sporting the finest modern weaponry.
The result is a small but exceptionally well equipped ground force, with a focus on motorised cavalry, who perhaps lack the training, discipline and preparedness of other regional powers to take full advantage of their equipment.
However, this is somewhat offset by the sheer number of gang members among the citizenry. Well armed and motivated to defend their way of life, they would make any invasion and occupation of Salemanford a living hell, if not an outright impossibility.
The sole exception to this cronyism crisis is to be found in the Kaiserin’s Air Corps.
Formed around a core of Red Hilda’s Crimson Corsairs, the KAC is highly motivated, expertly trained and thanks to the city’s industry and technical know-how being put at their disposal, in possession of some of the most cutting edge aviation technology to be found across the entire continent.
Pushing the boundaries of monoplane development, aeroplanes of the KAC are some of the fastest and most manoeuvrable yet seen, easily outperforming equipment fielded by other regional powers in the few aerial entanglements seen in recent years.
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