Torim Viqalka

Torim Viqalka

Geography
Location	Cadenza, 800 km east of Kelonna
Area	1.48 km2 (0.57 sq mi)
Administration
Cadenza
Kerepaqa	Viqalka
Capital city	Lokar
Largest settlement	Lokar (pop. 1452)
Beriq	Adrahil Kamënus
Demographics
Demonym	Viqalkan
Population	1,503 (2016)
Ethnic groups	79.2% Khadenzi 13.1% Kelonnan 7.7% other
Additional information
Official website	www.viqalka.kh

Torim Viqalka ("the Island of Delight"), historically also known as Horizon in English, is an isolated island in southwestern Astyria, located 470 kilometres (290 mi) away from southwest Teudallum and 1,050 kilometres (650 mi) from Kelonna. With an area of 1.48 sq. km, it is the smallest of the eleven earldoms of Cadenza, and at 1,503 people also the least populous.

Although it had been known to Cadenzan sailors and mapmakers from at least 1100, Torim Viqalka had never been inhabited and was only used for water reprovisioning from the 1400s. The island was first settled in 1667 by Cadenzan merchants as a stopover on the route to Cadenza's colonies in Kamalbia and the Insula Fera. In 1672 it was invaded and occupied by Kelonnan forces who intended to use it as a staging point for an invasion of southern Teudallum, but early in the following year they were forced out by a Cadenzan armada arriving to resupply. After their departure, another Kelonnan fleet arrived and took and held the island for three years. A treaty in 1676 restored the island to Cadenzan control but allowed Kelonna to maintain a garrison on the island and make use of the port. The Cadenzan government reneged on this treaty shortly thereafter, in 1684, and the Kelonnan fleet was burned at anchor. The resulting conflict, confined to the island, lasted three months before the Kelonnan garrison was starved into surrender. A new treaty was brokered which required the Kelonnan crown to pay for mooring rights and removed its garrison. The local tedrem, Callador Lokaran, was congratulated for his tactical prowess and awarded the title of kerep. Torim Viqalka has been an earldom of Cadenza from this time.

Toponymy

The earliest name given to Torim Viqalka on Cadenzan navigational charts is Siya ti'Tojarn, or Tojarn's Rock (after the martyr Tojarn of Miroen), appearing on a 1338 map accompanying the Navigationes Caddenses. Earlier maps had left it either unlabelled or called it Torim tanekh, meaning small island. It was named Siya ti'Tojarn again in Ghorin ti'Sruhin's 1392 Cartographica, a work based on the Navigationes Caddenses, but this name fell out of use again by 1420, when the Kur'zheti mariner and ratafrë Gerebal Jilego referred to visiting an island he called Torme Dacang, meaning Watered Island. Like many subsequent sailors, Jilego restocked on water while on the island before continuing on his journey.

History

Kelonnan occupations

Main article: Cadenzan-Kelonnan wars

Brimstone off Viqalka, a contemporary painting of the Battle of Torim Viqalka (1673) by Rethriq ti'Maspai

Geography

Torim Viqalka is a remote islet, roughly eight hundred kilometres from the nearest land in eastern Kelonna. It covers an area of 148 hectares (1.48 km²) and is as such the smallest inhabited island in the republic. It has a population density of just over 1,000/km² (2,600/sq mi). The island's shoreline, estimated at 4,300 metres (14,100 ft), is mostly sandy, with a low sea cliff around its north and west facings. The ground rises to about 15 metres above sea level.

Sights

Wreck of the MS Queen Natalia I, which ran aground in 1991

Despite its small size, Torim Viqalka has particularly vibrant scenery. Among the island's most notable landmarks is its stone citadel, which remains the earl's residence and was constructed between 1671 and 1678 at the summit of the island's low hill. The wreck of the MS Queen Natalia I lies on the northeast coast. The vessel was a cruise ship operated by Royal Nikolian Cruises, and in September 1991 was sailing its autumn route around southern Teudallum when it was caught in a hurricane. Damaged by the storm, it ultimately ran aground on Torim Viqalka. All of its passengers and crew were rescued by the local coast guard and remained in the town for two weeks before they could be safely transported out.

Demographics

Population by age
Ethnic Group			People
65+			154
60-65			83
55-60			84
50-55			95
45-50			96
40-45			102
35-40			91
30-35			139
25-30			133
20-25			129
15-20			89
10-15			104
5-10			101
0-5			103

Torim Viqalka is the least populous territory of Cadenza, with just 1,503 permanent residents as of 2016. In 2013 it had 1,474, meaning an increase of 2% in that three-year period. Only 51 people reside outside Lokar proper, the only settlement on the island, living along the island's northwest shore a short distance from the town's official limits.