Gladeside

Gladeside is a suburban woodland community within Petalcap Vale. Centered on the famous Ivy Glade Park near where verdials are believed to have first emerged into the Manifold Sky at the end of the Curved Time, Gladeside is a relatively quiet community primarily known for playing host to an outsized collection of private research facilities, including the headquarters of the Ghostleaf Foundation.

Demographics

Almost all permanent residents of Gladeside are Vale Verdial, though there is also a small Blackthorn population. Visitors from across, and even beyond, the Verdial Arc come for work and research, but don't often fully integrate into the community; compared to other parts of the Manifold where war and technological innovation are reshaping society at a breakneck pace, Gladeside might be considered a boring place.
Most residents are traditional Forgists. The population has no strong lean in terms of age, as young academics fresh out of PVU and old farmers who definitely weren't in cahoots Asbestos Boys during the Cull of '64 are just as likely to call Gladeside home. Gladeside residents do tend to be more educated and more wealthy than their peers elsewhere in the Vale, but only slightly so.

Government

Gladeside constitutes its own political district under the broader Vale's legislative system. The town has a modicum of self-governance in the form of seasonal polls and a local council of representatives. Politics in Gladeside largely serve to preserve the status quo, many policies serve to gently encourage those who would 'rock the boat' to seek residence outside of the community.

Defences

Falling within the boundaries of the Vale 'voxel state,' Gladeside enjoys the benefits of military defense under the umbrella of the Petalcap Vale Department of Defense. The important research being conducted in laboratories at Gladeside draws extra attention from the Petalcap Vale Customs Authority, as these industries present a risk of environmental contamination, importation of invasive species, and industrial espionage by external powers. Being that the town is interwoven with a deciduous forest, the local fire department is well-funded and equipped.

Industry & Trade

Gladeside's economy consists primarily of equal parts industrial research, agriculture, and industries to support these activities. Root vegetables grow well in Gladeside, with ample groundwater reserves in the mycorrhizal catacombs below and topsoil enriched by constant and diverse fungal activity. Scientists interested in plant and fungus biology travel to Gladeside to conduct research because of these rich resources, and academics interested in the history of the verdial people flock to the ruins and monuments of pre-Classical history scattered around town.

Guilds and Factions

The Navigator's Guild maintains a guild near the outskirts of Gladeside. The town has only a single airship pad, but researchers regularly travel between Gladeside, the sky lattice in the inflection layer above, and the Distal B layer beyond.
Members of the Burning Hearts Social Club do claim residence in Gladeside, but there is no Burnheart pub in town. Local members commute to the nearby community of Northvale to carouse among their peers, but many are also content to come together in non-affiliated local pubs for more subdued gatherings. Flopps' Canteen is a popular spot for Burnhearts, not the least because it has the only tournament-sized Vyozha table and the most Vyorollan dealers in town.
The Verdant Order has made only limited inroads into Gladeside politics despite the infusion of funds and outside influence brought on by well-moneyed research firms operating in town. Unfortunately for the Order, the landed Gladeside gentry was firmly aligned with the pro-rural Asbestos Boys during the Cull and, in time, those individuals and their children made their way into the local council chambers. These local elements, along with the expansion of the research sector to nearly eclipse the agricultural sector, have also worked to displace the Vale Toil Front which, until a century ago, had been growing in influence in the region via occupational solidarity. Actual street crime is low in Gladeside despite the presence of all three members of the so-called 'cruel trio,' the most vicious exchanges between these groups occuring in the form of political intrigues in the town council rather than the bladefights of old; native Gladesiders have shown time and again that they will set aside their differences to run those who would disrupt the peace and quiet of their antique community out on a rail, and all three of these groups know this fact well.

Tourism

The quiet, cozy nature of the Gladeside has attracted increased tourism in recent years. As dieseltech stirs up noise and uncertainty towards the future in more developed parts of the Vale, many visitors come to the community seeking to commune with the remnants of a simpler time in verdial history. Visitors can take a stroll in the historic Ivy Glade Park, visit the Gladeside Museum of History, or partake in the seasonal farmers' markets.
During the warm months, visitors might travel to the nearby Terraceball fields to play pickup games or watch the occasional professional match. The Gladeside Gliders and Ghostleaf Foundation Lab Rats have a sports rivalry that is entertaining to watch, though the Gliders are by far the more impressive team in terms of IPTL standings.

Architecture

Few structures in Gladeside are more than three stories tall. Gladeside architecture is squat, sturdy, and often concealed beneath layers of lichen and climbing vines. For human visitors, the town gives the impression of being half reclaimed by nature already, but verdials understand that the goal is to be intertwined with nature from the beginning. For outlying structures, where the deciduous trees give way to towering giant petalcaps, the buildings are often integrated with the dessicated stumps of felled mushrooms or utilize the petalcaps overhead as additional shade, allowing for a more open style.

Geography

Gladeside sits in a lowlands on Caudal D4 near the base of the corner mountain range adjacent to faces 2 and 4. The Ivy Glade itself is one of the few places in town where the elevation has remained consistent over time, as the firmer mineral substrate beneath it prevents the incursions required to create the overgrown mat of mycorrhizal tendrils that define the terrain elsewhere.

Climate

Like the rest of the Petalcap Vale municipality, Gladeside is surprisingly temperate given its location within the normally chilly Caudal Tesseract. The teeming fungal growth and immune conflict between terrestrial and Distal life that defines the Caudal D ecosystem creates a warmer micro-climate. Moreover, the daylight spectrum is shifted towards the extremes in Distal locations, so the Vale recieves greater infrared illumination overall than more Medial-aligned portions of the tesseract, making it slightly warmer.

Alternative Name(s)

22,000

Type

Town

Inhabitant Demonym

Gladesider(s)

Location under

Petalcap Vale (municipality)

Owning Organization

Petalcap Vale