The Floating Bands

Description

One of the great Wonders of The World, the Floating Bands are a testiment to artifice and the power of those within Olsíri. A series of three great metal rings, the largest being almost a mile in diameter, hover endlessly over the city serving as the world's only Skyport.
Thousands are employed to work upon the bands, with many hundreds of buildings sat atop the great rings fulfill every purpose from workshop to warehouse to homes and manors, with great bridges connecting the three structures to aid whomever walks along them without the ability to fly or hover across on their own.

People & Organisations

Chief Agamede Xanómenes

Agamede's voice carries more authority than any other on The Bands, for it carries with it the many decades of experience from an entire lifetime spent up in the sky, the power of a well respected mage, and the wealth of one of the richest families in the world. She was well known for being terrifyingly strict in her younger days, and even after mellowing out over the years can still send engineers running with a scowl and is prepared to get her hands as dirty as anyone else who works under her.

Chief Damon Arák

A near permanently beleagured man who has been overworked constantly since the hurricane nearly toppled The Bands several months ago. He might mean well but with a gruff attitude he seems to view those asking for his help or his time as little more than distractions from his vitally important work.

Sailor

Warforged captain of The Pioneer, one of the oldest airships in the world, and the oldest still running. It now serves as a ferry of sorts, regularly taking trips between the land and sky to transport people to and from The Floating Bands. With a flowing jacket and wide brimmed hat, polished bronze skin and multicoloured glass melted into it appearing like healed over burn, Sailor is a difficult figure to miss.
Recent conversations have revealed Sailor's true age, revealing that they did indeed serve in the Archonomachy centuries ago, and still fears the foes they fought in ages past.

Kýra Khedás

A well known but poorly liked engineer on The Bands, Kýra even before her transformation was regarded as strange and unsettling due to her mannerisms, which only grew worse after she began willingly cutting off her own limbs to replace them with magic and metal. Now all of her arms and legs are works of artifice, able to extend and fold and work with great strength - a boon to her tasks but frightening to look at.
In recent times she has been assigned to working on her own within the bowels of the bands, helping to keep them afloat while keeping her out of view for those she used to work with.

Palaemona Khae

Palaemona has been the source of some controversy and conspiracy lately, for after an accident involving an Arc-Light ballista she began accusing all of her coworkers (especially Kýra) of sabotaging her work either due to personal spite or being enemies of Olsíri. She was temporarily removed from her position but never returned, and after outsiders began to investigate it was revealed she may have been kidnapped by The Wheel, and put to work building devices for them.

Kallvar Shipcarver

Friend to Palaemona, Kallvar is a dwarf with great loyalty and was the only one who trusted Plaemona's conspiracies for a while, even investigating some theories by himself for a time.

Sirocco Rétis

An outgoing air genasi reportedly kicked from The Bands for being "reckless and dangerous" with his work. He now spends his time in the Forum of Ascension on the ground, testing out an arcane platform of his design which can blast those standing upon it into the air with magical wind.

The Wheel

A shadowy organisation only recently learned about by investigations from outsiders to the Bands. Reportedly being run by some kind of dark-furred, feline humanoids, its actions so far have brought about some confusion and a little chaos to the bands, with the threat of darker things to come.

Zétes Fal

A young engineer in his early 20s who has apparently been swept up in the manipulations of The Wheel. He once applied to become a shipwright on the Bands but was rejected; someone came to him at his lowest point and offered payment, recognition, and a minor vengeance if he would just help to steal a tool or two. Since then the requests grew bolder, and he became more embroiled in their schemes, only to be caught and found out by a group of outsiders.

Places & Landmarks

Forum of Ascension

One of the many "town squares" in Olsíri, surrounded by shops and gathering places, and filled with people peddling ways to travel to and from The Bands. Most powerful but perhaps least visually impressive are the three guarded teleportation booths - one for engineers and workers to travel up for free, one for visitors to pay for, and one for those returning from the sky.
In addition to the teleportation booths there are mages offering to cast spells of levitation on people, charioteers with flying steeds, and a space for The Pioneer to do its daily rounds. For individual mages and charioteers the space seems unregulated, leading to a few people taking the opportunity to test out their flying machines (to mixed results!)

First Ring

Once upon a time there was only one ring, sent up into the air to serve as a port of call for the five or so airships in the world at the time, with the facilities to maintain existing ships that eventually were repurposed into a place to build new ones. As the other bands were added the inner ring has been retrofitted and repurposed a dozen times, and currently serves mostly as a docking site for older airships which are out of service but still flying, or an emergency backup site for repairs if there is no more space on the outer ring.

Second Ring

The second ring has become a residential town in its own right, with many of those working on the bands now spending their entire lives in the sky in homes or inns on the middle ring.

The Gilded Wing

A luxury taverna catering to the wealthiest visitors and workers in the Bands, with opulent decor and an animated golden statue of a heron often visible flying to and from the building or walking amongst the hungry clientele. Entry is by prepaid reservation only, and passes are delivered by the golden heron only after payment has been made.

The Hammer

One of the most commonly frequented places to eat in the middle ring, The Hammer is by no means a dive but is nevertheless much more affordable to folk, and offers workers discounts to the engineers and artificers who actually work nearby.

Third Ring

The third, largest, and currently final ring of the bands has become the true site of industry, housing all of the major warehouses and workshops and cranes and other such constructions necessary to build and maintain many airships at once.

Pinnacle Spires

There are two towers, each at completely opposite ends of the outer ring, which serve as both observation posts for the ships coming and going from the area, and observatories to study the stars far above.