Meloria

Meloria, also known as the City of Metal, is a city of strict divisions and rules. Ruled by a Council since the fall of Pinar and the dark times that followed, Meloria is most well-known for its metal work and innovative systems of energy.
Meloria is split into 8 major sections, called Sectors.

Mercantile Sector

The M-Sector comprises the majority, if not all, of the shops and trading halls of the city. Usually organized by type of goods, it is the primary hub of traders and visitors looking for things to buy. Shops often display intricate metalwork depicting the goods sold on the outside of the building, even when multiple shops are found in a building. M-Sector borders on the main entrance to Meloria and its train system, known as the Furloin.

Communal Sector

C-Sector is where the majority of Melorians live, particularly those who work in factories, shops, or entertainment. Most of the sector is made of tall apartment complexes that can house many people at a time, with intermittent taverns or shops that sell food. Furnishings range from large homes with plush surroundings, to one-room metallic accommodations. Most Melorians pay a stipend to the city twice-yearly in order to upkeep the buildings. The only area where this is not true is called the Runs.

The Runs

A small but densely packed area of C-Sector, the Runs is so named for the winding long sections of train tracks that criss-cross the area. As the oldest portion of Meloria, it is one of the deepest-tunneling areas of the city, going down an estimated 35 stories. Trains here are magically-run, as opposed to the steam-based trains found elsewhere in the city. As a result, they often multiply, resulting in a nest of tracks.
The Runs is a cheap place to live, as no major upkeep is done by the city: as a result, it has attracted many of the poorer folk of the city, as well as illegal squatters and stranded visitors.

Entertainment Sector

One of the major tourist attractions of Meloria is E-Sector. Owing up to its name, it is mostly composed of taverns, gambling halls, concert halls, and other entertainment venues. It also houses the city's libraries and schools, and the majority of its temples are found here. E-Sector is notable for having a wide spread of races, second only to M-Sector, with gnomes and halflings commonplace workers. A secondary entrance to Meloria is found here, known as the Gate of the Gods, which leads directly into the Way of the Souls, along which the major temples can be found. Portions of E-Sector are currently closed or walled-off due to the Melorian Riots that began 2 weeks prior to writing.

Neighborhood of Fellows

The secondary residental area of Meloria, the Neighborhood houses many of the artisans, politicians, and retired guards of Meloria. It boasts slightly more space than C-Sector, and the majority of its train system is constructed as to directly link to the houses, so that many politicians and members of the Council never step outside. It borders on Guard's Way, the artery that leads out of Meloria and into the Academy, where Guards are trained and housed while in service.

Factorial Sector

F-Sector is the most widely spaced area of Meloria, and also the newest. It boasts 6 separate factories, each of which produce goods such as metal parts, foodstuffs, electricity, and more. The majority of Meloria's working class procure jobs here.

Artisan Sector

A-Sector is the home of most of the guilds of Meloria, including metal-smiths, glassblowers, tailors, cobblers, and more. Although most of their goods are sold in M-Sector, tradespeople of Meloria take pride in their works, and occasionally will invite eager traders and caravan leaders to view them at work, giving them special passes into this sector.
However, A-Sector also holds the magic workers of Meloria. Often seen as going against the ideals of Meloria as a technologically advanced civilization, wizards and learned magic are commonly seen as a "necessary evil". Sorcery is viewed as downright dangerous, and Meloria keeps a tight watch on its people to watch for signs of a budding sorcerer. Sorcerers are, under law, property of the Council, and as such must work and live solely in the A-Sector. Other magics may mark one as an outsider to Meloria; clerics and paladins from Meloria are few, mostly found bound to one of the temples in E-Sector, and warlocks are whispered about, but few ever surface.

The Barrens

The former Factorial Sector, the Barrens were sealed away in the 960s, after a demon was found to be leaking corruption into the factory workers. The sole entry to this sector is in the tunnel system that underlies Meloria, and many of the tunnel entrances are heavily guarded.

The Citadel

The Citadel rests in the middle of Meloria, and is the center of law and government for the city. It is surrounded by a zone, called the Zone of Integrity, where nothing is permitted to be built and ordinary citizens are not permitted to cross. Entrance to the Citadel is either through a special section of the Furloin - originally for foreign dignitaries - or through the Guard's Way. Since the Guard's Way is closest to where the majority of those who work in the Citadel live, most travel occurs through this entrance. The Citadel also rests directly over a portal to the Infernal Plane.
Each sector owns a complex inside the Citadel, where the sector's leaders gather and work and where sanctioned organizations may have headquarters. Each organization also has headquarters located in their respective sectors, so that average citizens may access the organization. Depending on the organization, one of the two headquarters may be larger or smaller.
As of the 35 of Myst, the city is in turmoil, following a major earthquake that centered in this sector. Other sectors were impacted, however none so badly as the Citadel, which was almost completely reduced to rubble.

Demographics

Humans hold the majority of the power in Meloria, followed by half-humans (usually elvish), then elves and the (increasingly rare) dwarves, and lastly followed by gnomes and halflings. Tieflings, while somewhat unusual in this day and age, are often regarded by the people of Meloria as being of their parent race: as most tieflings are part-human, they commonly are seen as divergent humans, and are treated as such.
The rare elemental being that finds their way into Meloria is often regarded with fear, suspicion, and in rare cases hatred.

Government

The major governing body of Meloria is known as the Council: a group of majority humans who oversee the writing, codifying, and implementation of laws and restrictions. The Council is assisted by many smaller organizations, who must be sanctioned by the Council as legitimate. The major organizations represent each sector, and under them are smaller organizations that represent the interests of different members of the sectors.

Defences

As the capital and center of Pinar, Meloria enjoyed many years of peace. However, as the kingdom is no more, the need for defense has come up again. As a result, many of the ancient fortifications have been shored up in recent years.
The major fortification is the wall, an enormously tall construction of heavy stone and metal, which can be seen from quite a distance, shining in the light. It was first constructed in stone by one of the major Orc clans over 500 years ago, when Pinar, at that time a city to the south, began its forays into the Plains region. When Meloria eventually fell to the Pinarians, the wall was reconstructed, and has been repaired and added on to many times through the years.
The wall also winds its way through the city, separating the different sectors and the Citadel from each other. This came into being in 915 M.E., when the discovery of a demon in the former Factorial Sector led to the entire sector needing to be walled off to protect the rest of the populace from its corrupting nature. The sector is now called the Barrens, and has no aboveground entrances. Now, the only official way to move between sectors is sanctioned trains, which can be shut down to protect individual sectors during conflict. Unofficial tunnels are only used in times of crisis, as the underbelly of the city plays host to many different creatures.
The city also has 3 gates, which can be sealed in the event of emergencies or the need for quarantine. The first gate, located to the South, leads into the major train station and system artery called the Furloin. It is the largest, and the only gate which can be partially opened at need to let foot traffic through, but not larger caravans. The second gate, in the Northeast, is also called the Gate of Gods, and leads directly into the Temple District of the Entertainment Sector. It is only open to those who can prove their dedication to one of the gods at the best of times. The third gate, in the Northwest, is the Guard's Gate: it leads directly into the Academy, a separate entity from the city that is also walled off. The only sanctioned exit of the Academy is into Meloria. As of the date of writing (1 Vor 1015), the gates have been opened, due to the immediate need for supplies to rebuild and feed the city. The gates had been shut for 3 weeks prior to re-opening, following a break-in of an as-yet unidentified half-elf to the Citadel, and the riots that followed.

Industry & Trade

Meloria is a city of industry. Many of the populace work in the major factories that Meloria boasts, generating parts for trains, buildings, or working to contain and harness enough energy for the electric lights that brighten the city's often-gloomy areas.
Those who do not work in the factories often apprentice under various artisans, who work in the adjacent Artisan Sector. There is where things are put together, from trains and automatons to small toys and delicate clockwork. A portion of the sector is set aside for magic users to create potions, spell scrolls, and other magical items.
Although the Artisan Sector is where the things are built, they are not sold there. Instead, they are sold to one of the many merchants who make their homes in Meloria, permanent or otherwise. The Mercantile Sector is always bustling, full of traders, merchants, and visitors to the city. As the major public face, the buildings here are some of the largest and most ornate, and may boast multiple shops to a structure.

Infrastructure

An extensive and half-alive train system runs throughout the city: a large tangled web of the decomissioned trains runs through the oldest region of the city, also known as the Runs.
The train system in each sector works slightly differently; for example, while the trains in A-Sector run on aboveground overhead tracks connected to the buildings, the trains in M-Sector run directly on street-level, with hydraulic elevators connecting stations to major buildings.

Assets

Meloria once sat on a wealth of metal: mines, far below the surface, would fuel the metal industry above. Now, however, the mines are mostly depleted, and were sealed off in the panic surrounding the Expunging of a greater demon from the city limits. It now receives its metals from the foothills of the Fiery Summits.
The city's main source of outgoing wealth now is the electricity it produces, which it bottles into batteries made of various materials. It is also a purveyor of metalworked goods of all kinds, as well as boasting a thriving potion industry.

Guilds and Factions

Major guilds and organization must be sanctioned by the Council. Unsanctioned guilds are prohibited, and will be disbanded if caught.
Notable organizations under the purview of the Council include: the Metalworker's Association, under F-Sector; the Glassblower's Guild, under A-Sector; Arcana Bene, a magical organization for wizards under A-Sector; and the Gnomish Defense League (not just for gnomes), under M-Sector's province.

History

Meloria was originally founded as a small fishing and trading town in the crook of a river, which was dubbed Melor by the Orc clan who originally lived there, in the year 418 P.C. Its construction into the city of today began 5 years before the Pinarian Era, when the city of Pinar began to conquer the surrounding territory. Meloria was eventually subsumed into the developing kingdom, and due to its strategic positioning on the river and its more central location to trade and usable farmland, was crowned the Capital of the new Kingdom of Pinar.
Meloria fostered an era of prosperity and technological advancements under Pinar's rule; many of its most well known inventions were created in these years, including automatons and trains driven by steam. It became known as the City of Metal, and encroachment on the nearby Dread Forest seemed inevitable.
Eventually the corruption from demons and devils, historically used by Melorians as grunt workers, bled out into the factories, poisoning the minds of the populace. Rumors abound as to whether this corrupting force, or the famine as the Plains began to dry up, were the root cause of Pinar's eventual end.
After Pinar fell, many years of history were lost to the chaos that enveloped the countryside. However Meloria, as it is wont to do, eventually rose as a beacon of civilization. The Council, founded in the year 865, ushered in a new era- the Modern Era, which began first with the sealing of the demonic portal that had plagued the old kingdom. The discovery of ways to harness the power of lightning storms and fire into energy spurred a new growth of prosperity.
On 35 Myst 1015, a major earthquake struck the city, leveling the central Citadel and in the process taking out the seat of government. The city as a whole recovered well- while the natural disaster was devastating in scale, the Citadel held no factories, shops, or homes, due to the city's segmented design. However it soon came to light that the old festering wound that was the demons had been the cause of the disaster; a deal had been made between the Council and the demon hordes, that fresh humanoid workers would be supplied in exchange for demonic workers, and that the seal would remain untouched otherwise. Outrage spread as it became known that the earthquake had been the direct result of the Council reneging on their promises, although opinions were divided as to whether the deal itself or the withdrawal was the worse crime. Emergency elections were held, and the new Council found itself sitting in the old guild hall of government, long ago abandoned for the Citadel.

Architecture

Meloria is known as the City of Metal for a reason. The majority of its buildings are made of different kinds of this material, molded and shaped into towering complexes. Older buildings are only faced with metals, with inner constructions of stone or wood. In the more public areas of Meloria, buildings are decorated with motifs that declare what is to be found in them: measuring tapes and spools for a tailor, anvils and hammers for a smith. Otherwise, the outer faces of buildings are left bare, to spare the cleaning of delicate work. Many of the older buildings seem almost painted in blacks and grays, from years of industry.
Second to these gleaming buildings is the train system, which runs through the entire city in a network. The Furloin is the start of most of the lines, and the Guard's Way the end, but many of the tracks meander in the middle. Older trains ran on magical power, giving them a semi-sentience and the ability to run without a conductor. However, as the enchantments wear off, the trains tend to develop memory loss, and can even forge new tracks to get to where they think they should go. The enchanted trains were decommissioned, and the ones that still run are exclusively in the Runs district. Other trains are now run on steam power, and require conductors.

Geography

Meloria is located in the crook of the river Melor, which was rerouted to flow all the way around the city in a loop long ago. It is considered to be part of the Plains region, in the once named Sea of Planting, despite its close proximity to the Dread Forest.
Most of Meloria is built tall rather than flat, and in the older sections goes deep underground. Tunnels are shored against the nearby river through ancient long-forgotten charms and sheets of metal.

Natural Resources

Most of Meloria's natural resources have been depleted over the centuries in underground mines. It currently receives most of its metal ores and wood from Bastion and Daverne, and its water is from the river Melor.

Maps

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  Meloria

  A general map of Meloria, the City of Metal.

Alternative Name(s)

City of Metal

Type

Large city

Population

150,000

Location under

Plains

Owning Organization

the Council

Characters in Location

• Lolly Gangrenous
• Richard Nadira