Isale Way
About the District
Isale Way is home to a population of roughly 1.7 million sea-dwelling denizens of The City. It was the fifth of the The City's districts, planned and developed in the year 129 P.U.
The design of Isale Way is by far the least cohesive, and appears to the average visitor a cluster of buildings and vague structures: some made of coral, some made of stone, some made of seashells, and some homes owned by wealthier residents even made of nimbus crystals imported from New Nimbus. (Big shoutout to Kelas for this!) As some Isale Way residents enjoy the light of the surface more than others, the city's layout takes a top-down approach, with the majority of homes possessing roofs that nearly reach the surface. This allows residents capable of walking on land to do so quickly and easily, or simply sun themselves underwater if the mood ever strikes.
Visitors are encouraged to visit the upper layer of Isale Way, and it became a major tourist hotspot after the Friends Not Food Act of 429, a Council-led initiative intended to welcome humans into The City as, well, friends, not food.
History
Binloke Harbor, which serves as the border between Serenity Meadows and Gone Street, at the easternmost end of The City, helped assuage the angry leaders of Serenity Meadows, who were still furious about the placement of Gone Street directly next to them five years earlier.
The beautiful beach, known for its deep blue, magically enchanted waters that soothe the mind and pain, caused the district to appeal to humans who were new to the world of monsters more than any other, save perhaps The Amalgamate and the accessible parts of Serenity Meadows and New Nimbus. Because Serenity Meadows has strict rules and regulations that restrict the movement of humans within the district, and because most humans cannot access the nimbian crystals that allow one to tread the clouds, Binloke Harbor became the first location within The City to truly welcome humans until the founding of The Amalgamate.
As a result, the surface and shallow waters of Isale Way became known as the "synthetic distict," giving human visitors an idealized version of The City, complete with luxurious resorts, high-class restaurants, friendly merfolk, sirens, cecaelia, and mami wata, and few of the monsters deemed truly monstrous and repulsive.
Humans today tend to avoid the depths of the district, where the more dangerous and, ironically, more authentic version of Isale Way exists. Despite the harbor's favorable reputation among humans,, Isale Way is in fact noted by researchers to have one of the highest recorded human deaths, behind Gone Street and slightly above The District of the Dearly Departed.
Facts about the neighborhood
- (Thanks to Kelas for this!) One of the biggest draws to Binloke Harbor for visitors is to hear the tidebells when the ocean's current is strongest. The bells were original intended to serve as a warning for those on the shore if an angry water elemental, serpent, or sea monster caused the tides to grow too strong, but today it usually serves as a pleasant musical accompaniment. :)
- Tourists looking for a good time would often go to concerts, musical festivals, and clubs where sirens were featured performers, despite lacking the magical resistance to avoid becoming addicted to their dream-like compulsion. After a number of incidents, including one where a human prince threw himself into the sea and drowned himself hours after attending a festival, the Council placed restrictions on humans, forbidding entry into such events.
- Common occupations on Isale Way (from most to least common):
- Fisherman
- Aquaculturist
- Lifeguard
- Marine Mammal Trainer
- Hydrologist
- Aquatic Veterinarian
- Marine Researcher
- Marine Biologist
- Marine Engineer
- Singer
- As noted above, despite its beauty and draw to human visitors, Isale Way is one of the most dangerous districts for humans within The City. Most recorded fatalities are missing persons whose deaths went unconfirmed. Annual statistics as recorded by the Bureau of Lifetime Management and Statistics are as follows:
- Gone Street: 3,786
- Isale Way: 3,054
- District of the Dearly Departed: 2,897
- The Amalgamate: 897
- The Red Wastes: 564
- Serenity Way: 43
- New Nimbus: 5
- Each district (aside from The Amalgamate) is represented/celebrated for two months out of the year. Isale Way is celebrated the ninth and tenth months (September-October), the Months of the Tides.
- The monster inhabitants of The City have never agreed on an official name. As a result, the locals of each neighborhood know The City by their own names. Isale Way's name for The City: Binloke
"So below, as above."
129 P.U. - Present
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