Saar-Silverda

Saar-Silverda
City
Nickname:  Port of Empire
Country	Kiravian Federacy
State	Cascada
Countyship	Silverda
Government
• Body	Silverda City Commission
• Provost	Arimathea Asopardin (CRP)
• President	Michael Vick
Population	Big

Saar-Silverda or simply Silverda is the fourth-largest city of the Kiravian Federacy and the largest on the western seaboard of Great Kirav, and is the core of the Federacy's second-largest metropolitan area by population.

Economy

Saar-Silverda's economy relies heavily on shipping, transportation, information technology, and finance. The Port of Silverda, the Federacy's largest cargo port by volume, is the main conduit for commerce between Great Kirav and most of its overseas colonies and possessions, as well as with Kiravia's major foreign trading partners Paulastra, North Amerigo, Heku, and Alkharvia.

Nationwide rail, trucking, and distribution firms operate out of the city, moving the massive volume of goods imported through Saar-Silverda to markets all across the island continent. With the rise of e-commerce, Saar-Silverda has become the city of choice for leading online retailers, most of which have both their corporate headquarters and flagship warehouses in the Silverda metro area.

Silverda Naval Harbour, formerly the headquarters of the Kiravian Navy's Western Fleet, was once a key contributor to the city's economy, employing thousands of dockworkers, contractors, and military personnel. The Western Fleet's command staff and ordinance facilities were relocated to Nevisar, Ilfenóra in 21199, but Silverda Naval Harbour remains in service as a logistics and repair depôt.

The cost of living in Saar-Silverda is second only to Valēka's Ansalon and Tandhurin Islands, a result of high property values, high municipal taxes, and space scarcity due to the area's mountainous topography.

Demographics

Ethnocultural Breakdown of Saar-Silverda

  Coscivians (64.6%)

  National Minority (5.3%)

  Colonial Natives (17.4%)

  Citizens of Foreign Origin (7.6%)

  Foreign Expatriates (5.1%)

Saar-Silverda has a has an extremely diverse population undergoing rapid growth fuelled by migration from all parts of the Federacy. Most Coscivian ethnic and regional groups are represented in the city, and although Saar-Silverda generally lacks the well-defined ethnic neighbourhoods that dominate the cityscapes of Valēka and Escarda, ethnic community life remains vigorous.

Coscivian ethnic groups with strong seafaring traditions, including the Sea Coscivians, Lúnstem, Kostiatem, Keregūlem, Lusem, and Vèuskem, have large communities in the city, as do Grey Coscivians from the countries of the Austroventic Archipelago. The Peninsular Coscivian groups, Ispem, Ardŏniem, and other Southern Coscivians that arrived during the Cascadan mining booms of the 20XXXs have long enriched the city's arts and cuisine. More Kayaki live in Saar-Silverda than in any city outside of Kayakistan. The city is home to several thousand Cærulean expatriates and Kiravians of Cærulean descent, and is affectionately referred to as the "tenth island" of the Cærulean Archipelago. Many Kiro-Kyians resettled in Saar-Silverda and its environs after being expelled from Logan & Ky in 21194 in retaliation against Kiravian support for the separatist state of Rising Tide.

The non-Coscivian population of Saar-Silverda exceeds 35%, the largest percentage for a major Kiravian city. Most of these are native peoples of Kiravian overseas possessions, including Trionem, various Pelagic Islanders, Taormines, East Syvorjins, and Native Arenicans. A significant community of Alkharvis live in the Marvin Gardens neighbourhood in the vicinity of Al-Chousein Mosque, and a significant community of Rhūniks live in the Point Slope neighbourhood in the vicinity of St. Pelagius Arctic Orthodox Church. Echoëse-Kiravians are the largest community of Kiravian citizens of foreign origin living in the city, followed by Indo-Tartarystanis and Woolzi-Kiravians.

A large number of foreign expatriates live in the city, with the largest number hailing from Paulastra, Umcara, and Heku.

Languages

Saar-Silverda is a polyglot city. West Coast Marine Coscivian is the most common language of daily life, and is spoken on at least a basic functional level by most adult residents. Kiravic Coscivian is the language of business and is spoken fluently by almost all native-born adult residents. Saar-Silverda and its environs were historically part of Topolect Zone XXI of the West Coast Marine Coscivian dialect continuum, and Topolect XXI forms the foundational substrate of the modern urban dialect, which has diverged noticeably from its parent dialect since the growth of Saar-Silverda as an urban centre.

Points of Interest

Governmental

• Silverda Naval Harbour - Formerly the headquarters and primary port of the Kiravian Navy's Western Fleet, the Naval Harbour remains in service as a logistical and repair depot. The Admiralty Court for the Western Seas now occupies a group of buildings on the installation's grounds.

Religious

• Cathedral of St. John the Divine - (Coscivian: Ardæglasta Déuvóx Nív-Séask) Cathedral of the Coscivian Orthodox Archdiocese of Saar-Silverda
• Cathedral of St. Aloysius - (Coscivian: Ardæglasta Nív-Alôsiul) Cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saar-Silverda
• Church of St. Pelagius - Seat of the Exarchate of Farravonia of the Arctic Orthodox Church
• Ridvégar Memorial Necropolis - Burials within the city limits having been prohibited since 21086, the Necropolis, a complex of five white granite towers and four lower-lying buildings, serves as a public columbarium. The Necropolis accepts both paid inurnments (with priority given to city residents) and the cremated remains of indigent persons without traceable kin who die in Saar-Silverda. The gardens, the walls of which contain niches for future inurnments, are open to the public for quiet visitation and recreation, and contain an expertly-curated inventory of plants.

Educational & Scientific

• University of Saar-Silverda - Nonsectarian private university, considered one of the premier institutes of higher learning on the West Coast.
• Cascada Management University - Autonomous, publically-funded university specialising in business management, economics, and allied fields. It was chartered by the state government after Kirosocialism to provide human capital for the state's burgeoning high-tech sector.
• Esaroven Senescence Institute - Interdisciplinary institution for the study of aging and for the development of biomedical and policy solutions related to senescence.

Economic

• Port of Saar-Silverda - The busiest Kiravian cargo port for colonial and international trade by annual volume.
• First Maritime Bank - The Federacy's fourth-largest bank, and its second-largest based outside Valēka.
• Sunset Gate Railway Terminal - Named for its status as the westernmost passenger rail terminal in Great Kirav for many years, Sunset Gate marks the western terminus of four different rail lines carrying both passengers and freight. The surrounding Sunset Gate neighbourhood is a vibrant district of shops, restaurants, and high-end hôtels.