Aurora:Sierra Vista
Sierra Vista was a major town within the southern division of the Republic of Cascadia. Within the region of Arizona, it was the most populous town along with being the second largest by size. The town was built on a large artificial grass plateau, that spans up to the city of Phoenix (north-east of the Sierra Vista city centre). Sierra Vista was known for its active members who sustain its lively population along with its growing farming industry. Furthermore Sierra Vista was one of the most populated cities within Cascadia making it a vital location for the nation acting almost as an outpost for expansion given its distance from the rest of Cascadia's population centers.
History
Sierra Vista was founded on the 19th of Janurary by YoOscar and LiviMotchi, through the generous funding of Xyyz0, former leader of Arizona. As of August 2023, Sierra Vista is now home to over 57 residents, and has claimed over 500 chunks in becoming one of southern Arizona's largest metropolis'. During December, YoOscar initiated a massive overclaim by destroying the town and moving to Siberia, unclaiming over 600 chunks.
Early History
Founding
YoOscar had previously played on Terra Nova, and upon joining Terra Aurora, had no plans of establishing a town. Receiving an invite from nation leader Xyyz0, YoOscar was urged on to create a town East of Phoenix as a way to expand the Euphoria Empire. YoOscar, LiviMotchi and Xyyz0 travelled to the area abeforementioned, establishing the town of Sierra Vista. Upon creating the town, YoOscar stepped out of claims, only to be immediately killed by an unknown hunter garbed in full netherite. This marked the beginning of the presence of hunters in Sierra Vista's territories. A week after expanding at least 20 chunks, it was through the totally inconspicious message of 911Saph that highlighted Sonora's aggression for any towns expanding South (Sierra Vista did in fact expand south).
Prelude
During YoOscar and LiviMotchi's time at Grand Canyon, planning began for their soon-to-be home, the floating circle. As strange as it was, it was a plan soon mirrored from Grand Canyon as a prototype and fully created above Sierra Vista's town spawn, serving as their home. This marked the beginning of activity in Sierra Vista, as both co-mayors agreed to expand the town land into a flat plane of grass. The development of the town spawn and the first residential homes enticed new players to join the town, quickly growing in numbers as Sierra Vista became home to the first few residents such as computergeekpete, kalash, and other names long forgotten. The development of the first roads also served as a prelude towards the formation of the first residential district.
Interlude
On April 15th, YoOscar invited a player named Joe_Hawley, marking the beginning of many events to come. Joe_Hawley expressed interest in owning a plot, but went beyond - travelling into the nearby wilderness to begin a project he called "the castle". Not percieving the extent of Joe_Hawley's constantly activity in the wilderness, his actions were ignored as just another resident's strange antics. However, these thoughts were quickly changed. Just a day later, Joe_Hawley had asked to invite another friend of his, SteelCove. The two got to work in the wilderness, working on their project castle (it was not a castle). Just another day later, their numbers doubled, including the players of Lizapiz and theoryofepic. Now finally noticing what was occuring, YoOscar entered the wilderness, only to be greeted with the largest man-made structure he had ever saw. Located a hundred blocks suspended in the air, the "castle" was actually a floating landmass of a jumble of blocks, one block thick and spanning hundreds and hundreds of blocks North and East. It was essentially the world's largest platform, eye-soringly visible from the EarthMC dynamap. These were the series of events that led to the beginning of heavy hunter presence, as their time in the wilderness most definitely attracted hunters from all over to come and investigate for themselves. In the meantime, Joe_Hawley and friends caused mayhem around the town, trapping a resident in a bubble elevator with an iron golem which they somehow got it to attack the resident, earning themselves 9 gold. These actions at first went unnoticed, but YoOscar and LiviMotchi quickly caught on, warning them of trying anything (foreshadow, it would not work).
It was when the floating land-mass was finally finished that the hunters had finally arrived. Escaping the wrath of the bloodthirsty hunters, YoOscar urged Joe_Hawley and his friends to stay in claims, but it seemed like they either did not care or actually found excitement in being hunted down. The latter proved to be the answer, highlighting an important part of their personalities that contributed to YoOscar's suspicions that they were not normal people. This lead to the creation of the first wither rose trap, situated under Joe_Hawley's residence, yet was only successful in trapping one single hunter. This series of events, coupled with the growing number of Joe_Hawley's friends slowly led to the cataclysmic incidents that followed.
Approximately a week after the group joined, it was when disaster struck. Given YoOscar and LiviMotchi's limited activity on the server, Joe_Hawley and their friends saw this as their chance to strike. It was unknown to YoOscar at that time, but residents were able to break blocks at t spawn and it's surrounding chunks due to YoOscar's mistake in forgetting to turn off resident perms there. Joe_Hawley and their friends exploited this, blocking up to the co-mayors' floating circle home and destroying everything. Pets were not spared, and at least 50 thousand blocks destroyed as they broke chests, set blocks alight, and blowing up the home before leaving the town with a few ominous messages. The fact that they did not take any valuable possessions lends to the fact that they were maniacs in nature, who found joy in causing pain and suffering for others without gaining an advantage for themselves. YoOscar and LiviMotchi later logged on EMC that day, finding themselves a town they had built for the past few months, on fire.
Postlude
It was simply said that YoOscar would not let such a severe town grief go unanswered. As LiviMotchi tended to recruting new residents and rebuilding the town with the help of mods rolling back, YoOscar began hunting down the four individuals responsible. Tracking them down to South America, YoOscar geared up, taunting them to enter the wilderness in what they thought was a winnable 4v1. This was a mistake, as all four individuals entered the pvp zone, the fight began. YoOscar quickly potted, immediately targetting an undergeared Lizapiz who was killed seconds into the battle. Within that particular town, there was also a chunk next to the pvp zone dug to bedrock. YoOscar utilised the pit by hitting one of them down the pit before finishing off the remaining two, taking Joe_Hawley's armour as a prize. Later, the battle was followed by cheating allegations that YoOscar was using cheats to win the fight, which were quickly denied after investigations. This marked the end of the Postlude I Era of Joe_Hawley and his friends, as they promised to never bother Sierra Vista again (that was a lie).
Partition
Around the 19th of April 2023, Xyyz0 quit EMC. Since Sierra Vista had ties with Xyyz0 and Arizona, they were given permission from Xyyz0 to leave and join the Republic of Cascadia. Frankly, RawrYoutube was miffed that Sierra Vista left after he became nation leader, demanding that Sierra Vista join back as treaties needed to be abided by. A week long of negotiations between the now-called Aztlan and Cascadia begin. During this timeframe, Rawr was in the middle of a war with GreedEagle, and interests of conflict between Sierra Vista and Arizona/Aztlan were temporarily forgotten as Sierra Vista officially joined Cascadia.
Urbanisation
May the 7th, 2023. The iconic giant floating circle and original spawn are knocked down, even though they were rolled back by mods. Losing all their resources from the Joe_Hawley incident, YoOscar and LiviMotchi decided it was too painful to remain in their home given the destruction that had occured. And thus, construction of the new Sierra Vistan mayor home began, with LiviMotchi taking responsibility on the build. Meanwhile, YoOscar begins construction of the public bank and library that would prove integral to the heart of the town. The town's resident count reaches 30.
On the 15th of May 2023, a slight hindrance halted the mayors' efforts in rebuilding the town. A new resident, by the name of Alorg1, had griefed the axolotl tank and a few surrounding chunks. It was unsure how they managed to grief, as town perms were turned off. Even though it was a slight hindrance, it was evident to YoOscar and LiviMotchi that trust was an important concept in keeping their town safe.
We Do Things
On June the 10th 2023, the first McDonalds is created, marking the beginning of the numerous franchises that would appear around the now-city. On June 16th, with the help of resident CanTheSoup, the first Burger King was created, establishing a rivalry between the two franchises directly opposite to each other. At the same time, LiviMotchi finishes construction of the new town spawn.
On June 20th, Sierra Vista's claims officially connect onto Phoenix's claims, highlighting the rapid growth of the town in just 5 months. Rapid development of the town followed, with the Sierra Vistan mayor home being completed, along with the first NYC style townhouse for resident computergeekpete and the iconic amethyst garden created on June 29th.
The New Resident
A new resident, PhantomXYZ_ joins the town. With high insistence that he has the ability to contribute to projects around the town, YoOscar and LiviMotchi were at first highly doubtful, given the incident with Joe_Hawley and friends. Although PhantomXYZ_ expands his insistence by requesting /trust perms, his new presence is not trusted. Instead, he is given projects around the town that limited his ability to access the entire town, such as building the first 7-11, KFC, and most notably, his temple which would later become the main storage vault in Sierra Vista housing the gold vault. PhantomXYZ_'s presence marked the end of the early history of Sierra Vista, as the town reached 50 residents in becoming one of the largest cities in Cascadia and one of the most populous cities in North America. His contributions to Sierra Vista were unparalleled, suggesting that he could in fact be trusted to create decisions around the town.
Late History
Fall and Rise
During late July 2023, the town of Augustine directly North of Sierra Vista finally fell, allowing expansion of claims North. This was juxtaposed with the founding of Canterlot founded south of Sierra Vista, unknown if it was a threat. The rapid expansion of Sierra Vista also marked the moment it became double the size of neighbouring town Phoenix.
Gold Rush
Having gained significant trust within Sierra Vista, PhantomXYZ_ founded the Gold Vault of Sierra Vista, taking on the role of treasurer. As treasurer, PhantomXYZ_ would deposit 100% of his mined gold into the vault allowing for communal access between him and the mayors, going on a series of mining campaigns in confidential locations. He was able to obtain up to 200 G per mine, using the majority of gold to claim plots allowing for the expansion of more than 100 chunks in one month. This allowed Sierra Vista to exceed 450 chunks, and eventually, 500.
Battle of Sierra Vista
At the same time during Late July 2023, RMF member OnlyPico visits friend LiviMotchi at Sierra Vista, marking the beginning of the first and currently only battle at Sierra Vista. OnlyPico had the mistake of bringing another RMF member as he claimed, "protection". Feeling threatened as LiviMotchi had requested he come alone, LiviMotchi called the fighters of Cascadia to arms, with numerous PVP'ers immediately teleporting to Sierra Vista to help. Overwhelmed, the other unnamed RMF member with OnlyPico calls for reinforcements, as RMF and Cascadian fighters flock to Sierra Vista alike, commencing a battle North of Sierra Vista's borders. During the battle, OnlyPico is eventually killed by Bachinuni and other Cascadian fighters and his armour placed on display, whilst the remaining RMF fighters escape.
Prelude II
On the 21st of August 2023, Steelcove and Theoryofepic_, also known as theoryofawesome_ returned with a few of the griefers. After Joe_Hawley was banned, they had miraculously decided to return and once again, cause trouble, this time with new friends such as Bonkabop and EndorsedBird. It began with ominous threats towards LiviMotchi that were promptly ignored. Prior to the incident, an embassy plot is set up for friend Gunt123, which was in fact he had not claimed, catalysing the oncoming events that followed.
Interlude II
Logging on to EMC, PhantomXYZ_ and YoOscar find the griefed embassy chunk Steelcove and friends had purchased, creating an abomination of a tower made of all sorts of blocks, reaching maximum height limit. A message was left for YoOscar, confirming that they were in fact, absolute psychos that were alienated from our functioning society. During the mayhem of the griefers running amongst the town, PhantomXYZ_ attempts to fight a RMF hunter in the wilderness and is killed, losing gear and a trident worth hundreds of gold. Later, an anonymous player hints at YoOscar that Steelcove and friends are plotting to create alts in order to infiltrate the town.
Postlude II
Everything is rolled back, and the individuals warned. This however, does not stop them from returning to taunt. The lava bucketing continues, as the comayors and PhantomXYZ_ hunt down those that return. Construction of the grand cathedral and other farms begin, and Sierra Vista officially becomes a metropolis. The threat of the griefers are over, for now.
The End
After the over-claim feature was introduced YoOscar and LiviMotchi decided to unclaim the whole town and move to Siberia to create a new nation, St Pierre. This marked the end of the town's 2 year reign as a mega city of Arizona. Goodbye.
Buildings
A number of notable buildings were constructed throughout the lapse of Sierra Vista's eventful history. Most buildings made during the beginnings of Sierra Vista were solely used for the purpose of diplomatic relations for befriending foreign nation leaders such as Masutu, Vantacrus, Rainbowld4, MattieMirakel, and later, Kloton.
Notable People
- YoOscar, Mayor of Sierra Vista.
- LiviMotchi, Co-Mayor of Sierra Vista.
- PhantomXYZ_, Governor of Sierra Vista.
- Computergeekpete, the first resident of Sierra Vista.
City Subdivisions
There are currently 4 main subdivisions of residency within Sierra Vista.
1. The Townhouses Reserved for only the oldest and most trusted residents of Sierra Vista, the NYC-style townhouses opposite the town bank were built by YoOscar and PhantomXYZ_ and line a garden behind them.
2. District 1 Located South-East of Sierra Vista town spawn. It was the first resident district created, currently housing 12 residents.
3. District 2 Located South-West of Sierra Vista town spawn. It was created after District 1 exploded with activity, and was unable to accomodate any more residents. It is the smallest district, housing just 4 residents today. It is where the gold vault is located along with many of the fast food chains.
4. District 3 Located North-West of Sierra Vista town spawn. It is the newest district created, housing at least 10 residents today. It is notably the location of Ottodogx's Rattlesnake Bar and Grill which has attracted over 15 customers.