Aaqa

The Citadel of Ice and Steel, also known as Aaqa is unfathomably old and is the central hub of sapient life on the Plane of Air. Millenia ago, when mortal life first found itself cast onto the Plane via a Convergence, Aaqa is where they sought refuge. As the eons passed, a great city was formed on the weightless rock plummeting through nothingness.
Over time, more and more creatures found themselves calling Aaqa home: genasi, Aaracockra, Sky Elves (essentially elven genasi), mephits, Vaati and the immortal Djinn, who hold a place of rulership in the city.
The arrival of the Djinn is what truly elevated the status of Aaqa to that of a great city like its sisters on the other elemental planes. With their reality-warping abilities, they shaped the stone and ice into great palaces and temples. They were also responsible for implementing a quasi-class system within the city, placing themselves firmly at the top.
Hierarchy The Djinn are the undisputed rulers of Aaqa, though they themselves follow their own hierarchy, with the Grand Wind Dukes residing at the very top of the city within the Silver Citadel itself. These are the most ancient and powerful of the Djinn; those that can bend reality to their will and were responsible for building the city in the first place. Beneath them are the Wind Dukes, the lesser Djinn and their households, who occupy the upper terraces of Aaqa in gleaming mansions made of intricately carved ice.
Beneath them are the vanguard of Aaqa's population, the Vaati. These beings are unique in that their bodies are only semi-corporeal; largely composed of air. As such, they require no food or water to survive, simply absorbing energy from the Plane that gave them their form. On Aaqa, they are the upper-class: artisans and artists as well as knights and scholars. They spend most of their days in service to their Djinn lords, perfecting their crafts, or attempting to reach enlightenment, for it is said that a precious-few Vaati can entirely transcend their physical form and become a djinn in their own right.
On more or less the same tier are the Sky Elves, who similarly require little to no food to survive on their home plane and are similarly as the Vaati considered to be Elemental rather than humanoid. In this way they are quite similar to their cousins the Eladrin: elves who found themselves forced to another plane of existence but were able to adapt and thrive.
At the bottom tier are the Genasi and Aarakocra; the mortal races of Aaqa. These are the people who spend their lives in service of the Vaati and the Djinn. As mortals, they tend to verdant farm fields that yield a vast variety of fruits and vegetables that have slowly but surely been sourced from the material plane. Others of this class also work as charters and explorers of the Labyrinthian Winds; seeking new motes of land falling through the endless nothing and other bastions of civilization.
Society. With the bulk of Aaqa's citizens requiring no food nor water to survive, the culture of the city is very much centered around opulence.

• Many spend their lifetimes in pursuit of higher meaning in art and magic.
• The djinn specifically constantly seek to increase their knowledge of history and lore as well as increase their power. To that end, there's a surprising amount of politicking and machinations within the Heights, as the djinn attempt to maneuver themselves closer to the King of Gales.
• Vaati are generally fiercely curious creatures and free spirited. They split their time between their own pursuits and service/apprenticeship to the djinn. While seemingly counter-intuitive, the Vaati gain a great deal from interacting with the ancient djinn.
• Genasi and Aarakocra live self-sufficient lives in the undercroft, but those that make their way into the upper levels often work as servants, soldiers, and explorers for the Vaati and Djinn. There's a small guild of sorts for those that venture out into the Labyrinthian Winds and map their channels.
• When it comes to trade, most things are based on bartering and quid pro quo arrangements. However currency has a place, especially gold and other rare mineral denominations, as they are exceedingly rare on the Plane of Air.
• Food is only substantial in the Undercroft, where it is grown and farmed like on the Material. The Vaati and Djinn also eat, but the "food" they consume is conjured literally from thin air. It is delicious, but insubstantial; unable to actually feed a mortal who requires nourishment to live.

Layout

The city is organized into four main tiers carved into the near-perfectly ovular mote of earth and ice. With the exception of the Undercroft, the free-falling nature of the city makes it so that there is no real gravity within the city, unless the individual wind duke decides that their territory will.
The Undercroft. The oldest section of the city, it is inverted in comparison to the rest of the city, allowing the plummeting rock to generate its own gravity. The kilometer-wide sheaf of verdant land is crisscrossed with farmland, small pockets of forest, and stone and steel dwellings.

• A massive cone of crystal-clear ice arcs over the Undercroft like an umbrella, directing the raging winds away.
• The lower reaches of the Silver Citadel, which makes up the main spire of the island dominates the center of the field, with the cone emanating from its central tower.
• Two massive funnels containing an up and down breezeway, respectively, offer access to the rest of Aaqa.
• Here can be found temples (some dedicated to Aer, others to Faenya (an elven goddess of the skies), others still to Anemos; the King of Gales and leader of Aaqa), communal dwellings, amphitheaters, and taverns

The Rounds. The bulk of Aaqa: a spiraling band of streets and structures that snake their way around the island. Each level is also easily accessible by way of the breezeways.

• Here live the Vaati and Sky Elves in posh, idyllic manors forged from glass, ice, and steel. Artists and craftsmen ply their trades in the streets, while servants continuously fashion increasingly intricate décor and embellishments in an attempt to emulate the great djinn who live above.

The Heights. The estates of the lesser djinns reside here. Buildings are no longer accessible by road and branch off from the main core of the island

• Vaati and other servants can often be found flitting to and fro, answering to the beck and call of their djinn masters who are unable to alter reality like the higher djinn.

The Silver Citadel. The glistening jewel atop the island. Home to the High Wind Dukes who each claim their own spire of the keep. It is accessible via the breezeway, but only those invited by the Grand Wind Dukes are permitted entry.

• The King of Gales resides within the massive central spire; very reminiscent of the Mithral Spire in Eodur. This is because it is the sister tower of the one on the Material Plane. Currently, the tip of the tower is obscured in swirling clouds that occasionally bristle with thunder.