Kolya

Overview

Kolya is a coastal harbor on the icebound northern shore. It is named by sledge drivers as a destination for those avoiding inspection at the inland sledge port, with the next icebreaker from Kolya described as departing in roughly a day. From Kolya, travelers can buy passage to Mahsht, the home port of the icebreaker fleet.

Notable Features

• Icebound harbor with a lane gouged by an icebreaker that begins to close behind it as the pack re-forms.
• Piers capable of berthing large transport ships; a few civilian vessels are also noted.
• A rough landing strip near the shoreline where military aerocraft stage and take off.
• Basic services in town, including a charity clinic operated by the local Kelx community (named but not otherwise described here).

Associations

• Military presence and logistics dominate the approaches when described; soldiers are observed providing transport to town and directing an injured migrant to a charity clinic, behaving as operational support rather than law enforcement under the broader umbrella of the Saecular Power.

Recent Activity

• A very large convoy of military vehicles—headed by a mountain division and followed by many flatland units—moves up the valley toward the passes above Kolya. The concentration saturates wireless bandwidth normally used by sledge operators to exchange trail reports.
• At the port itself, multiple military transport ships are moored and aerocraft operate from the nearby strip. Civilian passage out of Kolya is available; a traveler buys a berth bound for Mahsht.
• En route to the coast, navigation relies on dead reckoning because the Cousins are credited by travelers with jamming navigation satellites.

Status/Access

• Reached from the inland plateau by taking one of several passes through the coastal range down to the ocean. Small, short-range smugglers use the passes to bypass inspection at the inland sledge port and drop passengers at coastal harbors such as Kolya.
• Outbound sea travel follows icebreaker lanes; from Kolya a common route continues to Mahsht and then overland toward the Sea of Seas.