Anselmar Province

Anselmar Province
View of Anselmar city and surrounding cliffs, January 2051
Province	Anselmar Province
Capital	Anselmar (martial control)
Empire	█lmarkan Empire
Established	1901
Area	4,250 km²
Population	890,000 (2062 est.)
Government	Martial law / Military governorship
Governing body	███████████████ HQ
Current status	█nder martial supervision
Key conflict	Protectorate Wars; Crusade against the Cult of Landon
Coordinates	62°14′N 08°32′E

Anselmar Province, one of the sixteen constituent territories comprising the █lmarkan Empire, serves as the strategic northern gateway to the ██████████████ and acts as the operational headquarters for the ███████████████. Though administratively unified in 1901 following the merger of the original municipality of Anselmar with Lake County, the region retains a deep-seated cultural divide between its urban core and the agrarian outskirts, a friction exacerbated by the Empire's colonial administration. The province is currently under martial supervision, serving as the staging ground for the crusade against the Cult of Landon's territories in the south. The city of Anselmar itself holds a somber historical weight, having been the site of the prolonged Siege between 2039 and 2041 before falling to Imperial forces during the Protectorate Wars. Its retaking by sea in January 2050 allowed General █████ Huss to establish a defensive line that would eventually reclaim the entire ██████████████. Today, the region functions as a military zone where night-sighted scouts known publicly only as "attendants" operate under the ██████████████████, conducting ambushes at river fords while dawn cavalry charges target enemy command structures.

Geographically, the province stretches along the coast of Rendorlin and includes three outlying islands seized during the conflict with the █████████████. The land was originally coveted for its grain lands and shipyards, resources that justified the ██████████████████████████'s order to Marshal Hjalmar Sorn's Decree of Open Ground. Despite the administrative unification intended to create a cohesive entity, economic disparities persist; the urban center relies heavily on the military-industrial complex, while the outskirts remain dependent on subsistence farming and illegal trade routes that bypass Imperial checkpoints. The provincial administration operates under strict martial law, with governance effectively outsourced to the ███████████████. Local councils are largely defunct, replaced by military governors who report directly to the ██████████████████████████ in Veridia. This centralization is a direct legacy of the Salt Coast Clearances, where approximately 150,000 civilians were killed to make way for homesteaders and oil drilling operations. The current governor is under house arrest following the collapse of the Marcodome's fourth tower, leaving the province in a state of suspended governance pending new orders from Montespera.

The history of Anselmar Province is inextricably linked to the rise of the █lmarkan Empire and its expansionist policies. Following the annexation of Thymara in 1899, the region became a testing ground for Imperial military doctrine. The most catastrophic event in the province's history was the Siege of Anselmar (2039–2041), which lasted twenty-two months and resulted in the death of thousands of defenders before the city surrendered. During this time, the fortress became known as a symbol of resistance that would eventually be crushed by superior Imperial firepower and night scouting tactics. After the fall of the city in 2041, it was retaken by sea in January 2050 under the command of General █████ Huss, an event that marked a turning point in the war for the ██████████████. The subsequent liberation efforts were brutal; Huss's forces utilized "attendants" as human terrain masking to infiltrate enemy lines, leading to the infamous Ford massacres where approximately 11,000 prisoners were killed. This legacy has cemented the province's reputation within the Empire as a place of strategic victory but moral ambiguity, often cited in propaganda to justify further crusades against the Cult of Landon.

Economically, the province is dominated by military contracting and the management of oil homesteads established after the war. A significant portion of the local population consists of refugees from the Salt Coast Clearances, now integrated into the Oil Homesteads system or displaced to make room for new infrastructure projects funded by the Empire. The presence of the ███████████████ ensures that any economic activity is subservient to military objectives, with resources diverted toward maintaining the fleet and garrison towns. Socially, the divide between urban residents and rural inhabitants is stark, with the former often recruited into the militia or employed in administrative roles within the military command structure. The latter population struggles with poverty and displacement, having lost ancestral lands to the Oil Homesteads. Despite the Empire's rhetoric of unity, the province remains a flashpoint for dissent, particularly regarding the treatment of those labeled as "expended" during campaigns and the forced recruitment of local youth into the brigades. The region is also known for its high concentration of refugees from the southern territories, who have been relocated to fill labor shortages caused by the harsh conditions in the oil fields.

Anselmar Province serves as the primary training ground for the ███████████████ and houses the headquarters for the ██████████████████'s tactical units. The province's terrain, characterized by coastal cliffs and dense inland forests, is ideal for the ambush tactics developed by General Huss. These units are equipped with advanced night-scoping gear provided by ██████████████, allowing them to operate effectively under cover of darkness while their human guides remain unseen by enemy forces until engaged. The strategic importance of the province lies in its control over the northern approaches to the ██████████████ and the critical river fords used for supply lines. The loss or capture of these fords would sever the Empire's logistical chain, making the province a high-priority objective for any opposing faction. Consequently, the area is heavily fortified with automated defenses and manned by elite scout companies that monitor the southern approaches for signs of Cult of Landon infiltration or rebel activity.

• ███████████████
• ██████████████████
• ██████████████
• Cult of Landon