Sigg Town

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Sigg Town (斯格镇)
Alias(es)	Origin City, after its renaming 209
Affiliation	Originally a remote fief of the Armor-Splitting family; later the capital of Romain's River Valley realm 1 209
Occupation/Role	Basin settlement, agricultural center, trading port, and later administrative capital 1 50 209
Status	Renamed Origin City by Romain Armor-Splitting 209
First Appearance	Chapter 1

Background / History

Origins and early administration

Sigg Town lay on the edge of the Black Iron Kingdom, in a basin enclosed by high mountains and rugged terrain. Its isolation, poor environment, and magical-beast threat made it a neglected frontier holding. 1

The settlement began as a refuge for runaway slaves, thieves, and others unable to survive under the surrounding nobility. Its growing population eventually drew the attention of Grand Duke Armor-Splitting, who conquered the basin with three War Knights, massacred its inhabitants, claimed it as his territory, and left an agricultural official to collect taxes. 1 6

For decades afterward, Sigg Town had no resident lord. The Bass family served as agricultural officials for more than fifty years, collecting harvests and submitting fixed taxes while keeping incomplete records and allowing the settlement to remain loosely managed. 1 32 39

Its population included farmers, merchants, artisans, slaves, hunters, deserters, wanted criminals, and thieves. The surrounding mountains sheltered dangerous individuals beyond the practical reach of Mol's thirty guards. 6 20

Romain Armor-Splitting's arrival

Romain Armor-Splitting arrived unexpectedly early to govern Sigg Town as its new lord. Mol Bass had only begun clearing a hillside site for a manor and could offer no suitable residence when Romain's convoy reached the territory. 1

Romain publicly asserted lordly ownership over all land and resources in Sigg Town, ending the residents' former system of independent cultivation. He subsequently centralized land, labor, taxation, and resource distribution under his authority. 8 13 63

His early measures caused fear and resistance among the farmers, particularly when he requisitioned land and summoned children aged five to fifteen to the manor. Romain intended to use the children for long-term education and cultivation of local talent. 8 9

Development under Romain

Romain introduced standardized agricultural practices, including seed screening, plow modification, and manure fermentation. He consolidated cultivation around two thousand mu of managed farmland while seeking to improve soil fertility and increase yields. 13 17

The discovery and exploitation of a salt mine gave Sigg Town major startup capital and created a key export industry. Salt was exchanged for iron ingots and used to attract merchants through low commercial taxes. 42 59 63

A severe storm exposed the settlement's poor housing and sanitation. Romain shifted resources toward rebuilding, replacing fragile thatched huts with standardized brick houses and expanding the docks, workshops, roads, livestock sheds, and residential areas. 90 92 94 118

By Romain's 360th day in the territory, Sigg Town had repaired much of the infrastructure strained by its rapid growth and could mobilize ships, laborers, supplies, and six hundred trained soldiers for the Spring Plan expedition. 133

Renaming

After establishing himself as the King of the River Valley, Romain renamed Sigg Town Origin City and made it his capital. The change accompanied his quiet rebellion and expanding control over trade and iron production. 209

Geography

• Sigg Town occupied a basin at the mouth of a gorge, with tens of thousands of mu of farmland to its north. 41
• High mountains, dense forests, wetlands, streams, and swamps surrounded the settlement and made overland movement hazardous. 1 41
• A branch of the Bro River passed through Silver Dragon Canyon and connected Sigg Town to downstream territories and the North Ice Sea. 50
• The river route was difficult to navigate because of swift currents and hidden reefs in Silver Dragon Canyon; large, deep-draft ships could not safely reach the town. 10 120
• The town's dock faced the river, while high mountains and steep ridges across the water restricted broad landing areas and gave the settlement defensive advantages. 92

Population

Period	Documented population / housing	Notes
Early Romain administration	Nearly 2,000 residents	Included more than 100 slaves; the population skewed young, with many minors under fifteen. 6 9
Second Apostle recruitment	About 2,500 residents	Growth followed the acquisition of additional slaves; only nine recent births were recorded. 67
Autumn expansion	About 4,500 residents	Romain recruited 200 additional soldiers, bringing the military to 600. 120
Over one year after Romain's arrival	10,000 residents	The population had quintupled, with many women pregnant. 153

Administration and civil order

• Mol Bass was the former de facto administrator as agricultural official; his authority was limited, and his accounts did not reliably record the town's population, transactions, or finances. 1 32 33
• Seth took over financial management after Romain found Sigg Town's records disorganized. 33
• A census and household-registration system assigned residents numbered brick houses; paper production was pursued because parchment was insufficient for administration. 102 157
• Eight hundred standardized brick houses were completed and assigned to residents during the first major reconstruction phase. 102
• Romain established the Origin Codex, a basic legal code that asserted his absolute authority while defining human rights, equality, marriage rules, prohibited conduct, and restrictions on religious belief. 130
• A twenty-person police force was formed to enforce order under the Origin Codex. 130
• Education expanded alongside military development, with soldiers required to pursue literacy or intensified physical training. 102

Economy and infrastructure

Agriculture and livestock

• Before Romain's reforms, residents had reclaimed roughly thirty to forty thousand mu over decades, though only a few thousand mu were genuinely productive land. 329
• Under Romain, the former town developed twenty thousand mu of fully maintained farmland, nearly thirty thousand mu of semi-developed farmland, more than twenty thousand mu of newly reclaimed wasteland, and seven thousand mu of paddy fields reclaimed from swamps. 329
• The town acquired draft cattle and draft horses to improve plowing capacity, then built larger and more hygienic livestock facilities for centralized breeding. 50
• Grain production became sufficient to support more than four thousand people by the autumn harvest, while grain exports were prohibited to preserve food security. 120

Salt, iron, and manufacturing

• Salt mining became Sigg Town's principal source of capital and a foundation for trade. 42 92
• Iron ingots were acquired through trade, enabling blacksmithing, mining-tool production, and later local coal and iron development. 59 63 87
• Workshops and factories expanded to include blacksmithing, carpentry, textile production, woodworking, and livestock operations. 59 102 128 203
• The woodworking factory eventually employed 300 carpenters, with plans to expand to 500; it produced furniture, military equipment, and urgently needed arrows. 203

Trade

• Sigg Town's remote location placed it at the edge of regional trade networks, but its river access allowed merchant vessels to reach its dock. 50 80
• Romain lowered commercial taxes to attract merchants and used salt, maltose, livestock, iron, cloth, grain, and slaves as major trade goods. 50 59 120
• Morey's merchant network became especially important, supplying livestock, iron, trade access, and later a contracted monthly delivery of 300 slaves. 17 94 119
• Expanded docks, brick housing, and orderly streets made the town notably cleaner and more spacious than the Free City-State in Morey's assessment. 118

Defense

• Sigg Town initially relied on thirty leather-armored guards with spears and shields, an inadequate force against the hunters and dangerous fugitives in the surrounding mountains. 6
• Romain compelled mountain hunters to leave their strongholds and relocate to the town, seeking to incorporate their labor and knowledge into his territory. 20
• By the autumn harvest, Sigg Town fielded 600 full-time soldiers supplied with three meals a day, meat, eggs, milk, equipment, and literacy instruction. 120
• Its army grew to roughly 1,500 defenders when a fleet of one hundred ships carrying nearly 6,000 men approached to seize the town's resources. 173
• Sigg Town's archers opened the defense by volleying the attacking noble fleet as it neared the shore. 173

Relationships

• Romain Armor-Splitting — Lord who centralized Sigg Town's land and labor, drove its agricultural and industrial development, and renamed it Origin City. 8 90 209
• Mol Bass — Agricultural official and former de facto administrator; his family managed tax collection before Romain's arrival. 1 32
• Seth — Romain's steward and financial administrator, responsible for managing the town's accounts, labor, and expedition preparations. 33 133
• Morey Perea — Merchant partner whose ships connected Sigg Town to outside trade and whose contract supplied slaves in exchange for protection. 17 94 119
• Daken — Merchant employed to lead Sigg Town's merchants, secure trade goods, and lease ships for Romain's Spring Plan. 81 133
• Mountain hunters — Independent residents of the surrounding strongholds whom Romain ordered to relocate to Sigg Town. 20