Arbor

Arbor is a rare gem in the world, known for its near monopoly on the creation of magical items and the only place in the world where magic functions as well as it does. This is likely due to its proximity to the Great Tree, whose resources help create the wonders that have helped the city thrive for centuries. In the past, when other nations attempted to control Arbor and its bounty of wonders and magic, they found the locals nearly unstoppable due to their superior magic and technology. This has allowed the small city to remain independent from larger nations that might otherwise have taken control of the Great Tree's resources for themselves.

"Arbor is a city of wonder and beauty, with its elaborate clockwork creations and shimmering magical devices. But it is also a city of darkness, with its shadowy alleys and hidden corners hiding eldritch horrors and otherworldly terrors. Despite this, I am drawn to Arbor, for it is a place like no other, where the miraculous and the monstrous coexist in a delicate balance." - Anastasia "Ana" Davenport (Journalist)

Demographics

Arbor is a cosmopolitan center of trade and a true melting pot of the larger world. There is no dominant people or culture; instead, it consists of four main species: Beastkin, Human, Korrigan, and Goblinnoids. Additionally, small enclaves exist in the city, such as the Yuan-Ti and the Avian. Everyone is welcome in the city.

Government

The Government of Arbor is controlled by The Silver Council and its various government bodies that report to it. However, in some of the more lawless areas of the city, control is deferred to an individual gang or Factory Boss, who decides what is allowed within their territory. In the end, money and influence determine what is allowed or not, and above all, who can visit violence the fastest and most effectively.

Economy and Trade

---

Despite Arbor's self-sufficiency and lack of need for outside goods or services, the city remains a significant player in the world economy. Its unique items, advanced technology, and magical creations make it a valuable trading partner for many nations.

Currency

The primary legal tender in Arbor is the Leaf, represented by green slips of paper stamped with the city's seal and an official mark of the Silver Council. These paper notes are enchanted with powerful magic to prevent counterfeiting, though a few daring individuals still attempt to forge them. The Leaf can be broken down into smaller denominations as follows:

Currency	Seeds	Leaves	Blossoms
Seed	1	1/100	1/10000
Leaf	100	1	1/100
Blossom	10000	100	1

Imports

While the Great Tree provides enough sustenance for the entire city, Arbor still imports various goods, mainly foodstuffs, cheaper clothing, and luxury items. The Great Tree's bounty may be plentiful, but it lacks diversity in its offerings. The middle and upper classes, in particular, desire a broader range of delicacies than the 10,000 ways to prepare Dream Fruit. In addition to food, the city imports cheaper thread alternatives in bulk, a selection of luxury goods, specific stones for construction, and various woods to satisfy the citizens' ever-growing appetite for novelty and variety.

Exports

Arbor's exports are heavily regulated, with strict limitations on raw goods that come from the Great Tree or its surroundings. The city safeguards its resources, ensuring that no items harvested from the tree are exported. Instead, Arbor focuses on exporting the fruits of its manufacturing processes, including completed magical items, armor, and weapons. The city holds back any technology or artifacts that could give rival powers a significant advantage, protecting its own sovereignty and security from potential threats.

Industrial Advantages

Arbor's industrial advancements and magical expertise are highly sought after by other nations. With a near monopoly on magical item creation and superior technology, the city wields significant influence in the global market. Companies and individuals from various regions often seek Arbor's cooperation and trade partnerships, hoping to gain access to the city's innovative products and services.

Black Market

Despite the city's strict regulations and surveillance, Arbor's dark underbelly includes a thriving black market. Here, illegal trades take place, dealing in forbidden magical artifacts, stolen technology, and other illicit goods. The black market operates in the shadows, away from the prying eyes of the Silver Council and other authorities. Criminal organizations, such as the infamous Nightingales, control and profit from these clandestine activities, making the city's economy more complex and multifaceted than it initially appears.

Education and Knowledge

---

Education within the walls of Arbor is heavily influenced by class distinctions, offering different paths depending on one's financial means and innate magical talent.

Formal Education

For the privileged elite, attending the Silver Leaf Academy is the epitome of education. This prestigious institution molds and trains the future leaders of Arbor, instilling in them the knowledge and skills necessary to govern and uphold the city's status. The curriculum at Silver Leaf Academy covers a wide range of subjects, including politics, economics, etiquette, and advanced magical studies.
Those gifted with raw magical talent often find themselves sought after by the Collegiate Arcanum. The Collegiate Arcanum identifies potential prodigies and recruits them into their ranks. These individuals are either coerced into the Arcanum's employ or, in some cases, leverage their position to enhance their family's reputation and holdings. The Arcanum offers specialized training and access to ancient magical knowledge that few can rival.

Apprenticeships

For those who cannot afford a formal education at Silver Leaf Academy, apprenticeships become the primary means of learning a trade. Various companies and artisan guilds take in apprentices who show promise and aptitude in their respective fields. Under the guidance of skilled masters, these apprentices learn valuable skills and knowledge necessary for their chosen profession. Apprenticeships offer practical training, and many successful artisans, craftsmen, and skilled workers emerge from this educational path.

Lack of Education

Unfortunately, for the majority of Arbor's population, educational opportunities are scarce. The lower classes, struggling to make ends meet, often cannot afford to send their children to formal schools. As a result, literacy rates remain relatively low. Some philanthropic individuals endeavor to establish small schools in impoverished areas, offering rudimentary lessons in reading and arithmetic. However, these efforts also serve as thinly veiled attempts to keep parents employed and engaged in the city's workforce rather than caring for their children. The lack of accessible education perpetuates social stratification and hinders the overall development of Arbor's populace.

Knowledge and Power

In Arbor, knowledge is power. Those with access to higher education and magical secrets often wield significant influence in the city's politics, economy, and society. The Silver Council, in particular, values knowledge and expertise, often seeking counsel from scholars, wizards, and other learned individuals. The quest for knowledge and the pursuit of magical mastery are coveted pursuits, driving many ambitious individuals to great lengths in their academic endeavors. As such, Arbor's educational landscape plays a pivotal role in shaping the city's future and maintaining its status as a powerful and intellectually advanced society.

Infrastructure

---

Arbor has a number of highly advanced pieces of infrastructure that make it one of the most technologically advanced countries on the planet, along with being the only place in the world where magic functions to the degree it does.

Transportation

Within the city walls runs an underground rail system called The Tunnels, which serves the populace in getting around the large city. These rail systems are run by the Black Hands.
In addition to the underground train, there is an above-ground steam train destined for places outside the city that transports Arbor's exports to other places within the region. The train, named The Inevitable, is heavily guarded and resembles more of a tank than a traditional steam train. There is still some room for people to book passage on it. It is run by a subset of the Black Hands.

There are a number of waterways and canals, both within the city walls and outside them, some artificial and some natural, that allow the transport of goods from the tree to processing plants or to be shipped out. While some of those same waterways are used for personal transport. These waterways are controlled by two groups The Ferrymen and The Dockers.
One of the newest methods of transportation is The Dirigible. They float high above the city's walkways and buildings, and there are a number of landing areas in the more affluent areas along with a few locations on top of the larger factories. Though these tend to be private landing pads for the Factory Bosses.
If none of these methods of transportation are of use to you, there is always the taxi services that run throughout the city. Small 2 or 4 person carriages powered by a combination of magic and technology, these small @Steam Cars make use of the city's existing roadways and can navigate almost anywhere in the city. The Taxi service is run by The Checkers.

Water, Food and Waste

While the the Great Tree provides most of the food for the city, along with the Silver Leaf Lake that surrounds it providing water and fish, getting that water to the populace is not as easy. Additionally, the people, especially the rich, have found that having a diet of just the fruit of the tree, while sustaining, can get a little boring.

Water

---

Water in the First Ring and the Second Ring is pumped directly into homes and to several factories in the Third Ring. Additionally, there are several wells in the Third Ring that seem to feed from the lake or underground rivers, though these wells are often contaminated. The operation of the pumps and the sale of the water to the homes that it services come under the jurisdiction of @The Silver Council. However, the day-to-day operation is handed off to a single factory boss by the name of Miyo the Serene.

Food

---

There are a number of farms that exist outside the city's gates that provide a variety of luxury goods for the citizens who can afford them. Growing food that does not come from the tree is very hard, as the soil is almost unsuitable to grow anything. Some more exotic fare is brought in by the train, but the prices for these rare treats are truly eye-watering. Most people survive on a staple diet of Dream Fruit, diluted into a kind of gruel along with some simple grains.

Waste

---

Underneath and, in some cases, running parallel to the city's subway tunnels are a series of sewers that remove much of the waste of the metropolis for processing in huge treatment plants located outside the city's walls to keep the smell away from the upper crust of society. This, like the water provisioning, is handled by Miyo, though with some assistance from The Plague Rats and a horde of oozes that live in the city's sewers.

Power and Energy

There are three main power sources in Arbor, each one has different uses and applications and is a product of their time of discovery and energy density.

Steam

---

Using a combination of technology, magic, and tree materials, most notably @Great Tree Sap, water is heated using the Sap that has been processed into Star Light by the The Pipemen in a boiler to incredible levels of heat and pressure and transferred to containers made out of a combination of Great Tree Bark and Steel. This steam is either piped to the various factories that use it or, in the case of the smaller Steam Cars , tanks are filled up at any number of stations throughout the city.

Electricity

---

A newer form of energy in the world of Arbor, electricity is quickly taking the place of continual flames in the city's night lighting. Most of this electricity is generated through a secret refinement process of the Great Tree Sap known only to the Bonded that produces a crystal called a Levin Stones, which are the sole creation of the Bonded.

Heat

---

The oldest form of power in the city is simply burning things for heat directly. What you burn depends on where you live and what you can get hold of. At first, though, Great Tree Leaves were burned for warmth; the leaves would burn for weeks before sputtering out, so very little from the tree needed to be taken during the winter months and cold nights.

Districts

---

The city is split up into Rings separated by walls, and each of these Rings is subdivided into Branches, which before those branches were split up by the major roads and pathways that ran through the city. However, with the advancement of steam technology, each of the branches is split up by the rails that run underneath the city rather than above it.

The Inner Ring

---

The Inner Ring, dominated by the majestic Great Tree at its heart, holds a special significance and is designated as a restricted zone due to its utmost importance. Access to the Great Tree is limited, with only the The Great Tree Workers, particularly The Seekers, granted permission to traverse its massive trunk in their duties. Additionally, in the event of significant deaths within the city, limited passage is allowed to inter the deceased.
Despite the restrictions, there are a few daring individuals who manage to find alternative routes to access the island. However, approaching the Great Tree comes with inherent dangers, as its proximity causes unusual and unpredictable phenomena to manifest in the surrounding landscape. Thus, the Inner Ring remains a mysterious and awe-inspiring location, reserved for those with specific responsibilities and exceptional determination.

Notable Landmarks

• The Great Tree
• The Knothole

The First Ring

---

The First Ring of Arbor boasts opulence and grandeur, housing some of the wealthiest individuals within the city. Here, the unbridled force of capitalism is on full display, rewarding those who prioritize their personal gain over the well-being of their fellow sapients. The streets are immaculately paved and brightly lit by electricity, with no trace of dirt or soot in sight, a testament to the affluence present in this district.
In this prosperous enclave, the elite pay a high price to maintain their privileged lifestyle, ensuring a pristine and secure environment for themselves. The powerful presence of the Green Cloaks further reinforces the sense of security, keeping crime and its elements at bay.
Alongside the high society residents, some of the oldest and most established businesses and companies in Arbor also call the First Ring their home. This concentration of wealth and power creates an exclusive and formidable domain, symbolizing the heights to which ambition and fortune can ascend within the city.

Notable Landmarks

• Ironbark Station
• The Living Pillar
• Silver Leaf Academy
• The Vision Concert Hall

The Second Ring

---

Nestled between the grand opulence of the First Ring and the bustling industrial heart of the Third Ring, the Second Ring of Arbor offers a unique blend of mercantile prowess and residential tranquility. As the city's burgeoning middle-class haven, this district is graced with elegant townhouses and adjoined properties where families of factory managers, merchants, craftspeople, and shopkeepers call it home.
Wandering through the lively streets of the Second Ring, visitors are treated to an array of shops, pubs, and merchants, each offering the delightful wonders that only Arbor can provide. From exquisite trinkets infused with magic to delectable treats derived from the Great Tree's bounty, the Second Ring thrives as the pulsating heart of commerce and entertainment in the city.
However, amidst the vibrant hubbub, the Warehouse Quarter stands as a silent witness to the city's secret treasures. Here, the precious goods harvested from the Great Tree are meticulously stored, awaiting distribution to the various factories and craftsmen who will shape them into magnificent creations. In this bustling district, one can sense the heartbeat of Arbor's trade, the intricate dance of commerce and craftsmanship that weaves the very fabric of the city's prosperity.

Notable Landmarks

• The Arcanum
• The Brass Hall
• The Gilded Cage
• The Grand Arcade

The Third Ring

---

The Third Ring of Arbor emerges as a sprawling industrial powerhouse, a realm devoted to ceaseless labor and ingenuity. Its somber blackened streets, adorned with antiquated coal and oil lamps, resonate with the tireless toil that defines the city's soul. Factories stand as sentinels, scattered throughout the district, while supportive industries hum harmoniously in their shadow.
In this industrial heart, the air is laden with a palpable symphony of soot, smoke, fog, and steam, weaving a shroud that often obscures the immediate surroundings. Powerful magics, etched into the Walls guarding the Second Ring, strive to contain the pollution within the Third Ring, contributing to the thickened atmosphere. Yet, amidst the industrial hustle, the pulsating rhythm of trade echoes from The Docks, where large boats enter and depart, ferrying goods and wealth to the city.
Housing in this realm is scarce, reserved primarily for those whose lives are interwoven with the machinery and mechanisms of the factories. Rows of simple row houses line long alleys, their unassuming facade a stark contrast to the labyrinthine maze that lies within, where workers find solace amidst the clattering symphony of industry.

Notable Landmarks

• The Long Aisle
• The Starlight Refinery
• The Starlight Sanitarium

The Twigs

---

In the sprawling realm of the Twigs, a teeming mass of humanity finds its home, comprising the poor, downtrodden, and those seeking refuge from the iron grip of authority. A haven for the desperate and the daring, this district teeters on the brink of chaos, swathed in crime, and ruled by the law of force. Street fights are commonplace, and law enforcement's presence is but a faint memory, tainted either by corruption or fear-induced paralysis.
Yet, this unfettered chaos also breathes the air of freedom, as the iron fist of the Green Cloaks and the watchful eyes of the Silver Council do not stretch to this farthest reach. In this volatile landscape, pockets of resistance emerge, formed by determined groups seeking to challenge the ruling class and usher in change.
Amidst the labyrinthine arrangement of row houses, the Twigs hold an air of mystique, a web where getting lost is effortless, and escape an elusive endeavor. Here, the tangled structures serve as both shelter and trap, while any spark of fire transforms the winding alleys into fiery funnels, the fierce winds spiraling heat and ash at breakneck speeds, threatening to engulf all in a dance of untamed destruction.

Maps

• 

  Arbor City Map from Above

Founding Date

TD 0

Alternative Name(s)

The City of Twilight

Type

Large city

Population

4,164,000

Inhabitant Demonym

Arborites

Included Locations

• First Ring
• First Spinner Home
• First Walls
• Inner Ring
• Second Ring
• Third Ring
• Twigs
• Warehouse Quarter

Owning Organization

The Silver Council

Characters in Location

• Ava Isolde Sterling
• Clara Maxie Sterling

Related Materials

• Great Tree Leaves