Arx Firmus
Demographics
Arx Firmus is home to two-hundred-seventy-nine Sky Elves, demi-elves and half elves, the largest single population of their people remaining on Khthon. It is also home to 18,000 aarakocra created by and in service to those 279 elves, and so its culture is entirely monolithic. The prince stands at the top of their hierarchy, as does noble House Cirrus, but apart from these exceptions every sky elf and their descendant is the equal of every other and above all aarakocra until and unless they depart the city in which case military rank takes over.
Government
Though they retain the name and associated titles from their ancient days as a principality of the Kingdom of the Sun Elves, in practice the government functions as a military dictatorship with absolute power centralized in the person of the general. The current prince is also the general, but this is by no means a permanent relation between the titles. With so few of their people remaining and in the face of eternal conflict with one of the greatest powers in the known world, the Sky Elves have do not have the luxury of any form of governance but absolute meritocracy, and that merit must be entirely military and administrative. The rights of each citizen as sovereigns of their own person are respected as often as possible but are at every moment subject to complete revocation in the face of necessity.
Defences
Apart from the defense inherent to "being a flying city" Arx Firmus boasts every defense common to its landlocked counterparts, though its small population means its walls ans seige engines are chronically undermanned. Luckily, it has another defense uncommon even among its flying contemporaries: the great storm constantly generated around the city and powering its flight can also be controlled to wield wind, rain, hail, and even lightning against potential attackers.
Districts
The last city of the Sky Elves is gargantuan, especially as compared to its small population. Despite this, the people of Arx Firmus are spread across all five wards and the citadel itself, no portion of the city is allowed to lie fallow.
1 - Arx - the great keep at the heart of the fortress-city is constructed entirely of a near-forgotten crystalline material sung into being by the greatest songsmiths of the Sky Elves at the very height of their power. It is nearly indestructible and is fully capable of growing back into shape to recover from any damage it does suffer. It can comfortably house a much larger population than the entire city boasts, and is kept supplied to do so should needs must. Only one gate and a drawbridge facing south allows access from the inner circle.
2 - Inner Circle - in its original military purpose the inner circle would have housed any present civilians, artisans, camp followers, and support staff required by the garrison and stationed forces. Today it serves as the home of noble House Cirrus and primarily a park and green space for the rest of the population.
3 - North Ward - each ward originally served as a primary defensive edifice and housing for the garrison and stationed armies, today the north ward is home to the majority of the Aarakocra population, Sky Elves are rarely seen in the district.
4 - West Ward - each ward originally served as a primary defensive edifice and housing for the garrison and stationed armies, today the west ward is home to a significant Aarakocra population and its south-central area houses some of the more adventurous demi-elves and Half Elves.
5 - East Ward - each ward originally served as a primary defensive edifice and housing for the garrison and stationed armies, today the east ward is home to a significant Aarakocra population and its south-central area houses some of the more adventurous demi-elves and Half Elves.
6 - South Ward - each ward originally served as a primary defensive edifice and housing for the garrison and stationed armies, today the south ward is home to the city's entire pureblood Sky Elf population, excepting only the prince and noble House Cirrus, as well as the majority of the demi-elves and Half Elves.
History
Arx Firmus was created to be flagship, forward operations base, and final redoubt for the Sky Elf forces during the heights of the War Against the Giants. The colossal undertaking incorporated the best and brightest among the two great allied nascent civilizations of the Sun Elves and the Dwarves and despite that incredible workforce it still took nearly twenty years to construct. It served in a relatively small number of engagements, but acquitted itself admirably in each, including the battle that saw the death of King Yhond. Its sister cities were eventually mothballed early in their construction due to the winding down of the war, and no war afterwards saw such prolific usage of flying cities or fortresses, making Arx Firmus the most advanced ever constructed, despite its ancient pedigree. Very little is known about its location or disposition between the disappearance of the Sun Elves and the flight of the Sky Elves, and even its status since is more rumor and conjecture than fact; its population has no intention of operating openly on the world stage.
Founding Date
809 Light
Type
Citadel
Population
18,279
Related Ethnicities
Inhabitant Demonym
Firmites
Ruling/Owning Rank
Owning Organization
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