—CROATOA, September 10, 2005

Amidst a crowd of both protestors and supporters, the Croatoa Spur of the Green Line railway opened last Wednesday. At this time, only residents of Salamanca and registered heroes are allowed to take the extension north of Independence Port.

The Croatoa Spur: Making Salamanca safer or endangering Paragon City?

The Croatoa Spur has been a contentious issue since plans to build it were publicized last fall. The main opponents of the rail line are the Citizens Safety Council, a group that has worked over the years since the Rikti Invasion to secure Paragon City from destructive forces. “It’s just too early to try to bring Salamanca back into Paragon City,“ said Grady Hall, a spokesman for the CSC. “There are many forces there that we just don’t understand.”

City Representative Brighid Moreira disagrees. When asked about possible dangers to the rest of the city presented by a closer connection to Salamanca, she said, “Salamanca has always been and always will be part of Paragon City. Just because the area is mostly farms instead of skyscrapers and thrives on mysticism instead of science doesn’t make it any less worthy of protection or access to city resources.”

Representative Moreira continued, “There are many things that the land of Croatoa has to teach us. After the Rikti Invasion, when Salamanca was cut off from the rest of Paragon City, the Salamancan campus of Paragon City University began concentrating on studying the mystical arts. It’s the best resource we have against enemies such as the Circle of Thorns and the Carnival of Shadows. I have been working closely with Dante [Freeman, Interim PCU President] to make the Salamancan campus part of the Paragon City University system once again.“

Even supporters of the Croatoa Spur concede that the land remains a dangerous place. Currently, the area is inhabited by a strange mix of Salamancan citizens and creatures from groups that call themselves the “Fir Bolg” and “Tuatha de Dannan.” These names come directly from Irish history and legend, which tells of two mighty clans that fought for control of the country around the turn of the 20th century BC. Mystical research is currently being conducted at the Salamancan PCU campus to determine if these spirits are actually related to the spirits that fought that war almost four thousand years ago.

In addition, the magical nature of Croatoa has drawn a group of followers of the mystical arts who call themselves the “Cabal.” Members of this group have been spotted with increasing frequency inside Salamanca. Some believe that the Cabal are a splinter group from the Circle of Thorns who reject the magical teachings of the Oranbegans. There is also speculation that the Cabal was formed specifically for the purpose of overthrowing the magical influence of the Circle of Thorns, but that they have found a more dangerous enemy in Croatoa. Their true motivation will likely remain hidden until more of the group are captured and can be persuaded to give information to heroes or city officials. At this time, the actions of the Cabal have been highly secretive, and some believe that their ranks actually include some of the heroes of Paragon City.

The Croatoa Spur was planned as a response to a major incursion into Paragon City of the Fir Bolg last fall. City officials decided that the best way to prevent such an attack again was to build an easy means of transportation to their point of origin so that heroes could take on the mystical problem at its source. Supporters of the Croatoa Spur quickly point out that the bold plan has worked to a large degree. Since the spur opened, hero presence in Salamanca has increased by orders of magnitude. Theresa Benton, a Salamancan citizen, says, “I used to never be able to walk down the street without being terrified by these weird jack-o’-lanterns. Now, I am visiting friends that I haven’t seen since before the Rikti War.”

Dragen Ironclaw, a hero who received the Hallow Spirit badge from Statesman for his role in defending Paragon City from the Fir Bolg last year, sounded confident in heroes’ ability to make Salamanca safer. “We’ve made the city safe against worse before. Don’t worry, we’ll do it again. After all, they’re called Salamancans, not Salamancan’ts, you know.” Corny jokes aside, Salamancans and the rest of Paragon City are counting on heroes to “do it again” and make the city safer—including Croatoa—now more than ever.