Sanctuary

Sanctuary is an independent settlement on Epsilon Thorne. Originally founded as a loose coalition of homesteads by the signing of the Three Families' Compact, it is now a dense town of around 2,000 inhabitants. Protected by its stone walls and trained guard force, and possessing the ability to muster a large militia to defend itself in times of crisis, it is regarded as one of the safest settlements on the planet. It also serves as an important waystation on the Old Imperial Road, and many caravans stop in Sanctuary on the way to or from Meridian. Sanctuary is also known for the quality of its firearms, stoneworking, and hospitality.

History

Early years (5097-5125)

Sanctuary was originally founded in 5097 as a loose coalition of three homesteads. At the time, it numbered 18 people among three families: the Cardosos, the Petrovs, and the Grimshaws, all of whom signed the Three Families' Compact. The coalition was intended to serve the purposes of mutual defense and the sharing of resources, and spreading labor across a larger group allowed them to become more resilient. It was only in 5100, after the acceptance of several refugees, that the coalition named itself Sanctuary and formally declared itself as a settlement - however, the settlement recognizes the signing of the Three Families' Compact as its formal foundation date.

The Starving Winter

In 5114, Sanctuary endured the Starving Winter. Several cold snaps in autumn severely diminished the crop yield, and a brutal winter followed. Several residents succumbed to starvation and exposure, and it was only through a shipment of grain from Meridian that Sanctuary was able to survive. However, due in part to their own poor harvest, Meridian's diplomats imposed significant interest rates, requiring Sanctuary to pay the amount off over the following years. This bred resentment toward the Imperial settlement - but more importantly, it fostered a sense of self-sufficiency and independence, which came to define Sanctuary in this era and still lingers to this day.

The Palisade Years (5126-5168)

As Sanctuary grew in size, it became a more lucrative target for raiders, existing as a cluster of homesteads with rudimentary defenses but no organized guard. The Sanctuary Guard was formed in 5126, but was only barely adequate against attacks from pirates. The same year, the decision was reached to build the first of the walls that would come to define the settlement to this day, In their earliest form, the walls were little more than a crude wooden palisade, but they significantly improved Sanctuary's defensive capabilities.

The following three decades marked an era of peace and relative stability. In 5130, the village surpassed 100 people; by 5159, it numbered 300. During this time, more formal leadership became necessary, and the first Council was formed. The three founding families still held significant sway - especially the Cardosos, who had a line of influential matriarchs - but it was the first attempt at a formal leadership group.

The Iron Jaw Raid

In 5166, Sanctuary was raided by the Iron Jaw Gang. This particular raid proved to be larger and much better-armed than any the town had faced so far, breaching the palisade at numerous points with explosives and setting fire to multiple buildings. While they were eventually rebuffed, it came at the cost of many lives and much property - 36 citizens were slain, including a majority of the Grimshaw family, and a quarter of the town's wooden buildings were looted and burned. Though Sanctuary rebuilt, it became clear that the town's old defenses were no longer adequate.

The Stone Walls (5169-5220)

In 5169, construction began on stone walls to replace the old wooden palisade. Initially, the walls were around 13 feet/4 meters tall, encompassing 15 acres. This was the most significant community project during this time; all who could contribute without impacting essential work like farming were expected to do so. As a result, the walls were completed in 5171, and the laying of the last stone block was celebrated as Wall Day.

Alongside the construction of the walls, Sanctuary's Rangers were founded in 5171 as an informal group of hunters and marksmen. They did not replace the Sanctuary Guard, but rather supplemented it: the Rangers could respond quickly and were intimately familiar with the terrain around the town, able to go on long-range patrols, provide early warning, and harass approaching threats.

The Harrow Riot

In 5203, Dominic Harrow was elected to the Council. A charismatic figure who was well-liked by many groups in Sanctuary, he eventually began to gain significantly more influence than any other councillor, and consolidated a significant amount of power.

In 5205, Harrow dismissed a fellow councillor: an action performed not by popular consensus, but instead by leveraging the influence he had gained. This enraged a portion of the population who had been leery of his rise in power, and the Harrow Riot ensued. The riot was not entirely bloodless; six people lost their lives in the fighting, and a number of buildings were damaged. However, Harrow was exiled from the town - a punishment tantamount to exile on Epsilon Thorne - and the dismissed councillor was reinstated. Changes were made to the Council's structure and governing powers to prevent a single councillor from gaining the same degree of influence, and many of these changes still define the Council to this day, reinforcing Sanctuary's preference for communal decision-making over centralized leadership.

The Great Fire

In 5210, the town reached a population of 1,000 people. Though this was an auspicious event, what would otherwise have been a year of celebration was marred by the Great Fire. On a particularly dry day in the autumn of 5210, a fire started by a fallen lantern in a warehouse quickly spread through the town. Many of the buildings within the walls were made of wood, which aided the spread of the fire. While evacuation procedures proved largely successful, and relatively few lives were lost, Sanctuary's fire-fighting capabilities proved insufficientm and a third of the town was burned to the ground.

Over the course of the next two years, many of the burned buildings were replaced by new ones, made of the same stone blocks that formed the walls surrounding the town. Many of these buildings still stand today, as the first one or two floors of taller constructions. Sanctuary also developed and implemented more robust fire-fighting procedures, and modified the layout and width of its streets to serve as fire-breaks.

The Trade Hub (5221-5269)

By 5221, Sanctuary had become one of the largest settlements in the region, second only to the city of Meridian. Because of this, it came to occupy an increasingly important role in the region's trade network: while it had long served as a waystation for caravans to rest and recuperate when coming from or heading to Meridian, the markets of Sanctuary became important in their own right, and Sanctuary's exports became increasingly valued in the region.

Part of this was due to the work of Gavin McKay, who served as Sanctuary's master gunsmith from 5217 to 5251. During this time, he designed several of Sanctuary's most legendary firearm models: particularly the "Sidekick" pistol in 5231 and the "Lookout" rifle in 5244, both of which still make up the bulk of guard loadouts to this day. His most influential design, however, was the "Thunderbolt" anti-armor rifle in 5240 - a weapon capable of defeating light-to-medium mechanoid carapace. Precious few of these rifles were produced, all at great expense, and they are maintained closely in the town's armory.

Additionally, the quality of Sanctuary's quarries and the skill of their stoneworkers became renowned - both in their ability to efficiently produce stone blocks of standard sizing and high quality, honed during the construction of their stone walls, and in their ability to decorate stone with intricate engravings. While stone is difficult to transport across long distances, outlying settlements became increasingly willing to deal with this fact in order to have access to Sanctuary's stonework.

The Wall Expansion

By 5244, the town had reached a population of 1,500. The influx of wealth from trade allowed the Council to allocate funds toward the expansion of Sanctuary's walls. This doubled the height of the walls from 4 meters to 8 meters, and expanded the area they encompassed to 25 acres. Though a significant undertaking, the larger labor pool and the lessons learned from the previous phase of wall construction proved significant. The construction began in 5244, and concluded in 5249 - while construction concluded earlier that year, the final ceremonial brick was not put in place until Wall Day, to honor the builders of the original walls 78 years earlier.

The Overcrowding (5269-5304)

The new space afforded by the walls did not last long. By 5269, Sanctuary had already expanded to fill the empty space, and the town increasingly relied on densification and vertical construction. However, as the new century approached, even that strategy started to reach its limits; immigration had accelerated with the failure of some smaller outlying settlements, and a four-story limit had been set in place after the completion of the walls to limit exposure of buildings protected by them. Though Sanctuary had always been dense, it was during this time that it truly became packed with people.

The Council enacted policies to reduce immigration: longer probational periods, stricter requirements for entry, and staged phases of citizenship. These were not put into place out of a distrust of immigrants, but rather out of necessity - those turned away were provided with provisions to ease their travel to other settlements.

In 5303, Sanctuary reached a population of 2,000. By this time, nearly every square foot in the town was in use, and the Council faced a dilemma: expanding the walls again, at significant cost that would threaten the delicate balance of the town's silver reserves, or permitting the construction of residences outside the walls - something long avoided due to reasons of safety and security, as well as concerns over formations of classes (those living within the walls, versus those living without). By 5304, no decision had yet been reached on the matter.

Physical features

Sanctuary is most notable for its walls, and its dense town core. Its walls are made of stone - a craft for which the settlement is known region-wide - and average eight meters (26ft) in height. Each corner of the roughly-rectangular wall layout hosts a watchtower, and each of the four gates is guarded by an imposing gatehouse. Parapets ring the walls in their entirety, along with strategically-placed embrasures and gun-ports.

The town core is one of the most densely-populated places on the planet. Though the town is not the most populous in the region, all 2,000 of its residents sleep behind the walls at night for reasons of safety on a dangerous Rimworld, and the 25 acres encompassed by the walls are packed to near-capacity. Buildings within the town average between two and four floors in height, with a cap placed at four floors to maintain a degree of protection from the walls. Because of this, the walls are the settlement's greatest asset as well as its strongest limitation; though the residents are afforded a high degree of security, the town is starting to struggle with overcrowding, and expansion of the walls to relieve this pressure would be an expensive, time-consuming endeavor for which the political will has not yet manifested.

Outside of the walls, the town has a significant amount of farmland, taking advantage of its location in a fertile river valley. The farmers who tend to these fields commute to and from the town daily; therefore, other than watchtowers and storage sheds, there are few structures placed in the town's immediate vicinity.

Government and politics

Economy

Quality of life

Health

Education

Safety

Culture

Holidays & festivals

Notable establishments

Other Info