Misato City

Misato (美里区, Misato-Ku) is a special ward located in the Lamtsu Capital City, Sorano. It is the smallest of the special wards in Lamtsu, and is known as Misato City in English.

The current borders of Misato City were drawn from the borders of the old Misato walls, and the other wards were expanded to cover the extra distance. Due to this, Misato is significantly more developed towards the geographical north instead of south due to the Lamtsu urbanisation patterns. (In no small part due to the railways.) Misato is the cultural and economic centre of Lamtsu, although Lamtsu City is the official capital and seat of government.

Misato City is the economic centre of the entire Sorano Empire, housing the headquarters of 43 of the 100 largest companies in Sorano, which constitute close to 20% of it's entire GDP. It is estimated that this single ward produces what is equivalent to 1/3 of the entire national GDP. With a day population of around 700,000 and a night population of just 6,500, Misato City has by far the greatest day/night population difference in the entire country.

Misato City is also the cultural centre of Lamtsu, being the original capital of the Misato Kingdom, which has both significant historical and religious value in the region.

History

Misato Kingdom Era

Misato was once the capital of the Misato Kingdom, from 200AD (religious) or 800AD (recorded history) to 1362AD, when it fell to the Fuka Clan and the Sorano Nation. At the time, the Kingdom had an isolationist policy, refusing to trade or engage with outsiders. There are very few non-religious records of the kingdom's history, and many of them have clear exaggerations in their content. This was likely due to the history being passed down by word-of-mouth, and therefore the records would have gotten twisted and distorted as time passed.

The Capital was briefly moved to Hakone in 981AD, when the possibly mythical Light Emperor (who claimed to be descended from the first Apostle) engaged in a policy of expansionism, pushing the borders to the west all the way to Shirakawa, a neutral City-State at the time. However, with his unnatural death in 1002AD, from what was most likely a heart attack, the superstitious, pious and conservative subsequent ruler withdrew the border all the way back to Tai Hing Island, after much prodding by the 17th Apostle, after which the Capital was once again moved back to Misato.

The Misato Kingdom was forced to break the policy of Isolationism in 1323, when the Fuka Clan and the Sorano Nation began to start a great number of raids on the borders of the Misato Kingdom. With inferior numbers and technology, the Misato Kingdom sent a plea to the Mishato City for assistance. However, the 21st Apostle knew that there would be no way for the tiny Misato Kingdom, even with the magical assistance of the Galdr, to defeat the sheer numbers of both the Sorano Nation and the Misato Kingdom.

(The following section is recorded in only the religious documents of the Mishato City, and the veracity of the following section is under heavy dispute by historians.)

The Misato Kingdom was completely conquered, with the little left of the army left retreating into the Mishato City. Due to the use of Galdr by the apostle, this relatively small force was able to hold off the far larger detachments sent by the Fuka Clan. The detachment retreated, and reported that they were fighting "men who seemed to never die", which led to them leaving the city alone.

Fuka Era

The border was drawn at Tai Hing Island, with the Fuka Clan getting Tai Hing Island and the land East of the Misato City Walls, and everything south to the Sorano Nation, excluding the forest and coast to the north-west of the Misato City Walls, which was granted to the Sorano Nation as an enclave, for them to bury their dead due to the many battles fought in the area. The enclave was granted city-state status, and this high degree of autonomy has been a roadblock to development in the North Misato area ever since then.