Gelsord

Geography
Gelsord is located in north western Kavergraith. The city exists near the beginning of the central Kavergraith river at the base of the central mountain range that runs along the entire Kodiak Republic. Gelsord is known for its stunning mountaintop vistas and its abundant riverplains. Due to its strategic location on the river and being between the capital Rykkburgh and the large port cities of Robingrad and Crystal City to the east, Gelsord naturally became an important pitstop within Kodiak's interregional trade.

History
There is no existing record of when Gelsord was founded but the city has existed all the way back in the Bromannikha Dynasty. Gelsord initially started off as a small trading outpost established by sheep and goat farmers. A decent amount of trading activity was conducted between Rykkburgh and the eastern coast of Kodiak but Gelsord largely stayed as a small trading town for several decade until Kodiak's golden era. The humble town quickly grew in prominence during the peak of Kodiak's history, eventually growing into a medium sized city. The large traffic of people and goods coming from foreign trade greatly boosted Gelsord's economy and cemented its role as an important interregional commercial hub. However, in the year 533 a massive earthquake occurred in Rykkburgh and an epidemic disease followed up catastrophe with catastrophe. A nationwide quarantine was enforced by the global community, destroying Gelsord's previous prosperity. A hundred years after the initial outbreak, the quarantine was released by the international community, but Kodiak was in ruins with Gelsord hit especially hard. Gelsord has been slowly recovering within the past few decades but the war with The Great North severely hampered any meaningful recovery.

Economy
From the origins of its upbringing, Gelsord was always primed for trade. Starting off as a small trading outpost operating primarily in wool, cotton, salt, and seafood, it expanded into a moderately significant and varied trading town during the last days of the Bromannikha Dynasty. After the fall of the monarchy, the first century of the Republic saw Gelsord shine as the premier interregional commercial and logistic hub. With laxer government restrictions and the construction of the eastern railway, many stores, restaurants, and entertainment centers sprung up within Gelsord. This success prompted further investment with the construction of canals, more railways, train depots, and public infrastructure. Soon, Gelsord became a melting pot of people and goods from all over the world. Gelsord hosted exotic food and spice markets, a plethora of vast and varied shopping centers located along and within gigantic malls, a multitude of attractions and events for holiday and leisure, including the famed Crysler Ski Resort and the Gelsord Winter Fairgrounds. The city is often affectionately referred to as "a mall with a city hall attached". Gelsord was listed as one of the fastest growing cities in Kodiak in the Kodiak Gazette, experiencing GDP growth of 756% and a population growth of 536% within a 30 year span of time. At the peak of Gelsord's life it had a population of over 450,000 thousand and a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 33.6 billion florins. However, the disasters of 533 and the century long quarantine following marked not only Gelsord's, but the entire nation's dramatic decline. When compared to Gelsord's peak, during the lowest point in the lost century Gelsord suffered a 85% decline in total trade volume. The movement of people and goods stagnated, foreign investors pulled nearly 2 billion florins out of Gelsord's economy, people were afraid, the future looked bleak. The philanthropy of the Crysler Group and the formation of the Gelsord Business League (GBL) helped prevent the total collapse of Gelsord. After the international quarantine on Kodiak was lifted, Gelsord was left with approximately 350,000 residents and a GDP of 13.7 billion florins. Post-quarantine economic growth has been slow and marginal with infrastructure still being in ruins and trade volume having not recovered to pre-quarantine levels.

Politics
In the early years of its existed, Gelsord politics has largely been dominated by the interests of rural conservatives and merchants. During the first century of the Republic however, Gelsord grew exponentially and the interests of commercial enterprises and the tourism industry took over. Large corporations were the main players in Gelsord's politics moving forward as they held the largest amounts of capital to lobby the General Assembly (GA) with. During the lost century however large corporations were heavily downsized and lost their total dominance in Gelsord politics. The formation of the Gelsord Business League (GBL) was an initiative led by large, medium, and small businesses within Gelsord to ensure economic stability and combine all the businesses capital to lobby and influence the General Assembly with the Crysler Group as the figurehead of the GBL. In the decades after the quarantine was finally lifted the people and businesses of Gelsord are largely concerned about the economy and desperately want to return their city to its former glory. Liberal or conservative, it doesn't matter to them as long as the economy is righted back on track. A line of GBL backed Crysler CEOs have occupied the constituency seat of Gelsord in the GA since the year 596. Currently Erich Crysler serves as Gelsord's representative in the GA.