Alto

The largest city on the snowy fields of Laputa, Alto is a necessary city for the rest of the nation, being directly over the vast mines of copper, silver, and the iron that fuels the inventive minds of the nation, along with being home to 8/10ths of the metal processing plants in Laputa, and chemists assisting with the invention of new chemicals all the time.
Most of the city works around and depends on these mines and workers, leading the public works and government to favor them greatly, but there are also a large number of smiths and arcanists within the city that provide helpful artifacts and items to both worker and normal citizen alike.
Alto is sometimes referred to as the Black Snow City, as the soot and ash from mines and processing plants can get mixed in with the constant snow of Laputa. However, there also exists a number of filtration systems within those sources, and an airborne enchantment over the city to prevent toxins from running amok, leaving the snow tinted but not tainted.

Demographics

Most of Alto is populated with Humans and Shifters, along with a noticeable amount of Dwarves and Goliaths, and the occasional Dragonborn. Unlike most of Laputa, there are few Aarakocra in the city, as it's mostly a city of manual labor and intense conditions.

Government

The Chancellor of Alto keeps an eye on all the proceedings of the towns and makes sure to appoint Observers who oversee certain functions, such as town stores and mining safety procedures. At the end of the day, it's up to the Chancellor to make the difficult and final decisions.

Defences

The city has no wall outside of the anti-toxin barrier, but between the Snow Knights granted by the royal military alongside the powerful workers and crafters of the city, they remain well protected.

Industry & Trade

Mining and processing are the two greatest industries within the city and its surrounding area, and because of that crafters and creators who utilize those materials come second, right above those inventors, crafters, and artificers who create the items that benefit the workers and the citizens of Alto. And, of course, the local farmers who grow the hardy Frost Harvest to feed what the town cannot import.

Infrastructure

Alto has several city-wide air filtration systems, along with an airborne magical barrier that keeps out foreign intoxicants. Many arcane minds have tried to modify it to keep out germs and diseases, but haven't been able to fine-tune it enough. Additionally, the city has a coal-based power system to get rid of excess materials from the mine along with a powerful arcane power system.

Assets

As such a prolific mining town, Alto has a great wealth of materials from the mine, along with technological developments and smithing creations.

Guilds and Factions

While there aren't any hard factions within Alto, there is a trio of families when it comes to Mining that each claim to have the rights to a legendary part of the mine, known as "The Dragons Horde" which has remained untouched due to their squabbling.

History

The city first began as a mining operation for Atalanta, before the Border Wars broke through the nation, and when the fighting began served as a weapon production city, whether they liked it or not. When the technology behind Castle took off, and the Aarakocra scientists declared their intention to secede, Alto suffered the greatest casualties, as the Loyalist and Sececcsion factions did battle with one another, but as the creation of Laputa proves, the Sececcsion faction won in the end. Afterwards, the city moved from making strictly weapons to making materials and products for the flying city of Castle, along with necessary technology for those on the ground as well. In fact, Weapon production barely makes up 3% of the industry within Alto in the modern-day.

Architecture

Alto mainly uses metal housing, with some slight wooden attachments from sparse nearby forests, and mainly uses a hardy stone for support from the nearby mines.

Geography

The city is paved and processed of stone and steel, but there are still many portions that are built on the natural snowy fields that Laputa is known for, but outside of that the horizon is mostly taken up by metal processing plants and beyond that merely open-air and snow.

Founding Date

950 AC

Alternative Name(s)

Black Snow City, The Frozen Pick

Type

Metropolis

Population

98,000

Inhabitant Demonym

Alto's

Included Locations

• Frost
• Ice

Ruling/Owning Rank

Chancellor

Owning Organization

Laputa