Location from The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen
The Bridge Kingdom — a nation built on an island chain connected by the only bridge between two continents, where controlling the trade route IS the kingdom and defending it is the only job that matters.
Ithicana exists because the bridge exists. It's a kingdom whose entire economy, military strategy, and political identity are built around controlling the only land route connecting the northern continent (Maridrina) and the southern continent (Valcotta). Trade tariffs fund the kingdom. Bridge defense is the military's sole mission. Secrecy about the bridge's fortifications is the most important state secret. The kingdom is small — its population is limited by the island chain's carrying capacity — but wealthy from trade revenues and fiercely independent. Ithicana's people are raised knowing that their survival depends on the bridge staying in their control and their defenses staying secret. This makes them insular, suspicious of outsiders, and absolutely committed to their king. The bridge's strategic importance means Ithicana has no friends, only customers and would-be conquerors. Maridrina wants to seize it. Valcotta wants to control it. Ithicana's entire political existence is the art of keeping both continental powers at bay while extracting maximum value from the trade flowing between them.
An archipelago of rocky, jungle-covered islands connected by the massive stone bridge that is the kingdom's reason for existing. The islands are defensible — sheer cliffs, hidden harbors, fortified positions that use the terrain as natural walls. The climate is tropical and harsh: storms, heavy seas, dense vegetation. Settlements are built into the islands themselves, often half-hidden, because visibility is vulnerability when everyone wants what you have.
Also known as: Ithicana, The Bridge Kingdom, The Kingdom of Ithicana