Ostolfo: Doorway into the void.
At it's peak Ostolfo was the pinnacle of technological achievement, a city amongst the clouds held aloft only by turbines and bags of gas. It was a display of prowess, a monument that exemplified the potential of modern science. It's people lived off nutritious gasses and the flesh of great avian beasts, hunting both with dirigibles and mage-bred wings.
When the great minds of Ostolfo set their sights on defense they created the most advanced warships the world had ever seen. When they looked to the eldritch possibility beyond our realm they forced open a rift in the Membrane, and unleashed the unfathomable riches the void contains.
Ostolfo was made prosperous by the intellectuals that flocked to it, but in the end they would bring about it's slow ruin.
As the world below began to degrade Ostolfo to started it's descent. It hid the damage well at first, concealing signs of eldritch corruption with grandeur and extravagance. When a portion of the city became too dangerous to inhabit the Techrarch built another one. When wild and malignant creatures started consuming citizens in the night the Ostolfi began glorifying the use of blades and firearms, inventing increasingly extravagant variants and fighting styles to go with them.
The situation's true nature was lost on Ostolfo, and many would say it has yet to see it.
Government
The system of government in/on Ostolfo is almost an exact copy of that in Gernot, where the most brilliant and enlightened inventor, scientist, philosopher, or other great mind is elected by a counsel of peers, and is placed in charge of managing the city and its multitudinous proceedings. Except in Ostolfo, the counsel of peers is replaced by the people of Ostolfo, and each would-be ruler is required to publicly present a plan explaining how their influence would benefit Ostolfo as a whole. It is not uncommon for members of the enlightened upper class to bolster their chances by specifically appealing to particular guilds and organizations within Ostolfo, as such groups tend to control large numbers of votes via their members and underlings. Once elected, the technocratic leader of Ostolfo will be consulted on all manners of import, but may delegate many of their duties to representatives, so they might find more time for their books and laboratories. It is highly improbable for a single leader to remain in power for more than one session of seven lunar years, seeing as each is often more occupied with the running of the realm than they are with preparing the knowledge required to win the next election.
Defences
When it comes to defense Ostolfo typically relies upon its fleet of airships, which although advanced is also alarmingly ancient. This armada was built whilst trade with the world beneath still thrived, allowing for lumber and steel to find their way to Ostolfo's shipyards. Now these proud warships slowly rot amidst the interminable fog, saving what vigor they have left.
Curiously enough, Ostolfo does not possess a large standing military. Instead it urges its citizens to take up arms in their own defense, complementing what few professional soldiers the city has with a surprisingly capable citizen militia.
Industry & Trade
Ostolfo is the primary resource for all manner of eldritch and mystical items and substances. For though Ryth specializes in providing products tied to magic mystic Ostolfo sits directly beneath a man-made rift in the membrane that separates the mortal world and the shadowed, murky void beyond. As a result it is ideally situated to provide substances from that realm, as well as items that include them. There is also quite a strong market for the bits and pieces of the monsters that so often haunt the city, a market that Ostolfi are all too willing to oblige.
Infrastructure
Ostolfo is home to a great many tanning houses, workshops, and warehouses, the last of which is used to store both the equipment and findings of the various groups that mount expeditions into the membrane between worlds, as well as the void beyond. There are also a great many shipyards, factories, and foundries.
Assets
Ostolfo is home to numerous explorer's guilds, thousands of bone and wood carpenters, numerous high-quality shipyards, a university (founded by Colattra and Kurrabo) which teaches many different fields of learning, a great many establishments that create items from materials ripped from the Membrane and Beyond, and more.
Guilds and Factions
The Autromeri: Named after an order of celestial guardians from Gernotian mythology, the Autromeri are Ostolfos professional soldiers and law enforcement officers. They provide a bulwark against foreign invasion and supernatural incursions, but also serve as guardians and enforcers of the upper classes. While some among them do still hold to the old ideals of justice, and equality, but as a whole the Autromeri value payment more than any honor they may have had.
History
It all started with a handful of silver-tongued scholars and a vast mob of discontented peasants, all dwelling in and around the great city of Gernot (pronounced Gehr-no). You see, Gernot had recently born the death of its much respected High Engineer, Trebya, third of her name, and the next most brilliant inventor (Geralli the fourth) was doing a horrendous job of running the place. Every envoy sent to her was mistrusted and mistreated, every dispute met with disproportionate force and brutality. Geralli was a woman with a mind made for gears, pistons, and swirling salt-wraiths, she wasn't familiar with the finer concepts of compromise and consideration. This ineptitude soon led Gernot and its numerous dominions into a downward spiral of blundering self-destruction. With a broken peace treaty here and an execution of rioters there, Geralli's popularity melted away, replaced by a simmering animosity that could be felt in every level of Gernotian society, even amongst her closest friends and advisers. This horrendous abuse of power made for an extremely uneasy, and difficult to control populace, a populace that would rather be anywhere besides Gernot, and in any place besides the underside of Geralli's thumb. This desire for a fresh start soon brought them into contact with the likes of Pottril, the Mad Cosmologist, Colattra, the Prodigy of Sky, Basker, the Outcast Architect, and Kurrabo, a Gernotian general turned salt-enhanced chemist. Every one of the afore-mentioned individuals (as well as the other rogue academics that joined them) preached of finding (or building) a new life, of escaping the rotting carcass in which they stood, and moving on to fresher pastures. Needless to say, their ideas gained traction rather quickly, and it wasn't long before the under-cover construction of Ostolfo was underway, sketched out by the brilliant minds of its creators, and brought into being by thousands of eager hands. Eventually (as its architects knew it would) the project grew too large to conceal, and they were forced to convert some of their workforce into rowdy, and impenetrable mobs, restraining the capabilities of the city watchmen, and safe-guarding Ostolfo until it was finally ready to take flight. That's about it, really. After Ostolfo's completion, it was launched into the sky, to build, survive, and adapt to the formerly unknown dangers of dwelling so perilously close to the membrane between worlds.
Architecture
Ostolfo was built in stages, with numerous architectural styles on display, some belonging to the Ostolfi, and following the evolution of their society and financial/technological situation throughout the years, and a handful of others belonging to different cultures that have since made their presence felt in the Floating City. Originally, Ostolfo was little more than a sturdily built timber town filled with clusters of gas bags, propellers, and primitive salt-powered engines. Back then, houses were strong but simple, with timber frames made from poorly cleaned logs and hammered through with iron spikes to secure them during the ascent. These original buildings (particularly the larger, more opulent ones belonging to the cities founders) have previously become a point of contention due to their impractical weight, and the extra fuel required to uphold them.
Later on, as the number of citizens rose and the stock of building materials was exhausted, there appeared many structures cobbled together from the cured hides and colossal bones of the avian wildlife. Though these domiciles were often a touch unsteady, and necessitated a regular replacing of entire houses as the materials they were made from gradually disintegrated, they kept the citizens sheltered throughout their darkest days, and have since been (for the most part) replaced by longer-lasting stuff in this time of prosperity. Nowadays, Ostolfo is made primarily from circular buildings and walkways crafted from otherworldly alloys and exotic timber from the crumbling earth-surrogate of the realm beyond, with all concerns in regards to weight put paid to by advances in propeller technology, and the discovery of new levitation-related gasses.
Geography
Ostolfo sits amongst the clouds, lashed invisibly to the membrane separating our world from the chaotic void beyond. It is enveloped by rolling fog and the emissions of venerable machines. Moss and rot cling to every portion of the city, a reminder of Ostolfo's decay.
Ostolfo is also affected by a great many organisms and distortions born of or tainted by chaos. Much of Riftwatch Square (the region directly beneath the tear in the Membrane has been overgrown by Starry carpet, a curious mold-like fungus containing mesmerizing patterns that resemble stars. Bellaroch Avenue (a prominent roadway) has become so thoroughly bewitched that it is impossible to navigate without some form of navigation magic.
Natural Resources
Hides, bones, and rare organs are stripped from the various predators and other creatures that roam the sky at such lofty heights, providing those down below with a taste of the pre-historic world above. Ostolfi also specialize in wringing all manner of unnatural and miraculous materials from the alien and esoteric barrier between worlds, as well as the idiot omni-matter beyond.
Alternative Name(s)
City amongst the clouds, world's crown, etc.
Type
Metropolis
Related Ethnicities
Inhabitant Demonym
Ostolfi
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