Lexport
A bridge of shining jade arced above, the ancient watchtower ringing the hour. I counted them: one, two, three... There I lost count. For the city lights twinkled over the horizon, and then they were gone, like the stars at sunrise, and I found myself on the ocean, buoyed up by the waves, leaving my homeland behind.The largest city in Crathlia, Lexport saw the beginning of the Colonization, the birth of the Alderley dynasty, and the rise and fall of the rebel Donovan Fletcher. For the past few centuries, it has been the center of innovation and progress in the islands. It is thus one of the most important cities in Crathlia and has earned its place in history.
Demographics
Lexport is primarily occupied by Crathlian Amalgams of a variety of socioeconomic statuses. Middle class Amalgams, particularly on the upper end of the income range, tend to live in the suburbs and commute to the city proper via hovertrain. Some do live in the nicer apartments of the southern neighborhoods. Lower middle class and lower class Amalgams live primarily in apartment complexes, though some live in the suburbs in older developments.
Dregs form the next major group. Many live in apartments owned by the factories in which they work.
Paragons are a minority, but some non-nobles live in Lexport or its suburbs. The percentage of Paragons does include the significant portion of Healers required for such a dense population (Lexport's hospitals are some of the best in the kingdom) and the Drainers manning its prisons.
Additionally, Lexport has the highest density of Paragon immigrants from Avium and the Lumen Empire in Crathlia. Masthead and Blackyard have a higher overall immigration density, but its immigrants tend to be Dregs or Amalgams.
Infrastructure
Lexport is well-known for its arteries and veins of hovertrain lines, connecting the city's sprawling neighborhoods and suburbs.
It was discovered in the late 1000s that Amalgams working in teams could move carts quickly down tracks, leading to the construction of manually-powered hovertrains. The jobs created by these innovations contributed to Lexport's booming growth as a city.
In the mid 1100s, experimentation by magnetism-wielding Paragon scientist Fergal Skymarch Stelcraft led to the development of a hovertrain powered by magnets rather than telekinesis-wielding human beings. His prototypes did still require certain types of Paragons to charge the magnets, but the overall human workload was much smaller. When vast amounts of electricity became easy to produce without Paragon power a decade later, Lexport's hovertrains were rebuilt using Stelcraft's designs. When those were successful, Stelcraft's hovertrains were built all over Crathlia.
Today, one can take the train and walk anywhere in Lexport or its suburbs, and indeed in much of Crathlia, due to Lexport's success.
History
The history of the Lexport we know began after Chéad Caisléan's fall. The ruins of the old capital of the Colony were still occupied after the Crathlian Revolution, controlled by powerful men and women formerly ruled by the shapeshifters.
This system was not to last. Only seven years after the Revolution's end, the newly-formed Empire of Neuhafen conquered the old city and renamed it Alexander's Port after its emperor. The Leutishmen brought their language, architecture, and culture. For the most part, they looked down upon native Crathlians, though they married them.
After a hundred years of foreign rule, two Lexporters would lead their city--and later their country--to self-governance under the kings and queens of the Alderley Clan. Matthew Alderley and Alastair Colbreak were both born to Leutishmen and Crathlian young women. Matthew would go on to become the first king of Crathlia, and Alastair is the patriarch of the Colbreak Clan. Lexport is thus the founding place of the Kingdom of Crathlia itself.
Alexander's Port was offiicially renamed Lexport, then a common nickname for the city, after the overthrow of the Empire of Neuhafen in an attempt to distance itself from the old regime. It remains a bustling port and has always been the largest city in Crathlia. Thus it has long been a center of technological development, a tradition that continues to this day. New, innovative companies such as Reeve Corp are headquartered in Lexport.
Lexport also has a long history of rebellion, starting with King Matthew the Great, following through the revolutionary Donovan Fletcher, and continuing to the present day with the riots protesting the Second Notian War's draft and other aspects of Amalgam treatment.
Tourism
Lexport attracts tourists from all over Crathlia and the rest of the world. They visit Alastair's Watchtower, walk over Jade Bridge, and shop in its squares downtown. There are even tours of the remaining ruins of Chéad Caisléan, the first compound of the colony.
Architecture
Depending on the part of the city, one might amble through old Leutish arches, then take the hovertrain and end up dwarfed by newly-built skyscrapers and glimmering holographic advertisments. One of the oldest cities in Crathlia, Lexport boasts buildings from every era of Crathlian history.
Geography
Lexport is located near the mouth of the Rorusk River where it meets the Cosaun Ocean. Built around the river, the landscape has long been altered by Paragons to suit the growing needs of the population. Paragons part of or hired by the Colbreak Clan have raised sinking lowlands and constructed new lands where once there were only salty marshes.
Written by Cordelia Colbreak Evenbrook
Founding Date
1 DA (technically)
618 DA (more correctly)
618 DA (more correctly)
Alternative Name(s)
Chéad Caisléan (formerly)
Alexander's Port (formerly)
Alexander's Port (formerly)
Type
Large city
Population
8.6 million
Inhabitant Demonym
Lexporter
Location under
Owner/Ruler
Ruling/Owning Rank
Owning Organization
Dregs: 13%
Paragons: 1%
Native Crathlian: 95%
Leutishmen: 1.5%
Aviumi: 1.5%
Tellian: 1.2%
Jade Bridge
Alastair Colbreak
Donovan Fletcher
Fergal Skymarch Stelcraft
Duncan Colbreak Whitewave
Clarisse Alderley Feyrock
Marcus Whitewave Colbreak
Cathleen Whitewave Colbreak
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