Etsval

''This page refers to the city. For the geopolitical region, see Etsval (Province).''

Etsval is a fortified city and expansive urban settlement in western Siris. The fortified city proper (known by its inhabitants as "Inner Etsval" or the "City Within") lies on the northern bank of the mouth of the Firda river, where the river empties into the Crescent Sea. Beyond the walls of Inner Etsval, the urban sprawl of Etsval extends for several miles to the north and east. As of FSK 513, Etsval had a total population of 230,000 residents, with just under 5% (11,000) living within the walls. Etsval is the capital and center of governing affairs of the Ethin Province, and is ruled by an elected governor.

History
Historically home to the Vikhlaa ethnic group, the location of present-day Etsval was claimed by the Toen Empire in FSB 1671 after a drawn-out military conflict known as the Rift War. The end of the conflict coincided with a series of natural disasters which destroyed much of the existing Vikhlaa city of Itir. The city was rebuilt and resettled from FSB 1671-1681, at which time it was officially founded as Itisval, a protectorate of Caraasha.

After the fall of the Toen empire in FSB 1891, Itisval suffered from a lack of Caraashan financial support that it had relied upon in the years of the empire. Over-land trade in northern Siris was expensive and harrowing throughout the first century of the Storm Era due to changing weather patterns, so Itisval turned to the coastal shipping lanes in the south. Tariffs and trade conflicts with the southern port city of Iara further suffocated Itisval, leading to an extended economic depression. After two decades of floundering trade and near-famine conditions among the populace, six families of old pre-Storm wealth combined their fortunes to rebuild the city's economy from within. Within ten years, this oligarchy succeeded in revitalizing the region's economy, and in FSK 86, the city was rededicated as Etsval under the guidance of the Sixblood, ruled by a governor elected via representative electorate council.