Wings of Fire: Dragons, Steel, and Pom-Poms

IV - First Contact

>Excerpt from the memoirs of Lord Talem, Acting Mayor of Safe Harbor_

~

I often like to think that every major human settlement had something that they are colloquially known for.

For the Indestructible City, it is for being the largest, most heavily defended settlement in existence, carefully built into a defensible location up a mountain slope and bristling with weapons.

Hence the name.

For smaller towns like Talisman or Valor, they are known for being relatively quiet, peaceful places where dragons rarely encroach. Also for being the residence of the famous Dragonslayer, for the latter town's case.

Safe Harbor, on the other hand, is largely known for two things. Perhaps three.

The first was that it is generally known for being, well, safe.

Although I, and many other residents, might contest that point. At least on a technicality. Safe Harbor is not really a very defensible city. It is easily visible from the sky. There is little benefit from the physical terrain the city was built on; Rather than being built under a dense forest, or into a massive cliff overhang, or even underground, Safe Harbor was largely built on a shallow hill. And onto the shoreline, of course.

And other than Safehold, the large castle that makes the city so distinct and the defense provided by both it, the light ballista and the archers it housed; There isn't much that the city has to offer in terms of direct defensive capability.

What truly makes Safe Harbor safe is mostly its geographic location, and a little bit of luck.

You see, the principal dragon territories that Safe Harbor is situated nearby are the Ocean, Rainforest, and Great Swamps. Which in turn are known to be home to the Sea Dragons, Rainforest Dragons, and the Swamp Dragons respectively.

None of the dragons on that list are particularly known for venturing far from their habitats.

The Swamp and Ocean dragons seem content with their traditional hunting grounds, and no one has even reported seeing a Rainforest Dragon for centuries.

That is the true reason Safe Harbor is safe. Because it is ignored.

Which really isn't all that reassuring, and a little depressing, I sometimes think.

The second facet that Safe Harbor is known for is also a source of pride for the locals, a pride that I myself admit to share. Though it is less known colloquially among those that do not regularly interact with us. (Which is a lot of people these days, to be honest)

Safe Harbor was, and still currently is, perhaps, a very industrious city.

Safe Harbor has been known for its adept blacksmiths for a long time. It is with the sizable and considerably powerful HarborForges from which they forged the majority of quality tools and weapons of bronze and iron found everywhere on the continent!

Not only is Safe Harbor known for its metalworks, but it is also known for its aptitude in the invention and production of masterful contraptions.

...Boats that sail couldn't exactly be cobbled together by monkeys, after all.

Not only that, but the huge ballistae that defend the Indestructible City, and the more modest downscaled versions that adorn the Safehold, were all designed here.

However, being able to design impressive machines and forge exquisite tools of metal are feats of expertise that are all well and good, but simply being able to only do those things would be of little use if you had no materials to work with, and no practical use for them after you made them. As it would seem, by far the easiest way to remedy those problems is through trade.