Silver-Heights
White cliffs broke over the aquamarine coast. The city, distinct in its many leveled quarters, stretched for miles in each direction. Airships funneled to and from the cities vast airship ports, ships anchored in long rows on a brilliantly gleaming harbor, and above it all sat a beautiful gleaming ivory tower crowned in gold, towering high above the city skyline. A beautiful sight, to be sure, and one I was pleased to call my home even temporarily.The glimmering city on the coast. The Idol of the S'godian Coast. A city sewn with a golden needle. The city of Silver-Heights has a great many names, none of them able to capture the true splendor of the city's many sights. The foremost beacon of trade in the Eastern Sea and its surrounding territories, Silver Heights sits nestled in the beautiful Ivory Bay. This large harbor-bound city, moving up the cliffs and the surrounding hills in layered quarters, creates a wall of white cliffs and gleaming freylian architecture that looks less like a city and more like a living coral reef of men, mer, and all those between. The city is separated into 6 distinct Quarters. These quarters slowly distinguished over time by each section's unique inhabitants and architecture, forming unique communities of thriving people and culture. These quarters are: The Temple Gardens, Rose Row, The Spireway, Harbor Row, Tarnished Heights, and The Carnivale District. These districts generally exist on their own layers in the city's staircase-esque structure, but often bleed into each other and cross over multiple levels.
Infrastructure
The city of Silver-Heights is split into several distinct layers, each connected by roads and teleporters that crisscross through the layers in steep inclines. The teleporters connect through a system of 52 individual teleporters and 12 teleporter stations through the city. The roads leading between levels tend to run parallel to the coast to allow horses and carts to easily traverse without having to go up steep hills, but there is an almost uncountable number of small staircases leading between levels as well.
The city of Silver-Heights also has 3 Incline Trams that run through the city. These trams are often frequented by the people of Silver-Heights, with businesses and culture expanding out from these lines like arteries. The three lines are as follows: The Spire line goes straight from the harbor to the Spireway Quarter. The Carnivale Line goes from southern Rose Row to the city gate. The Segrid Line goes from Harbor Row to the Temple District, stopping distinctly at the Airship Port.
The city has a robust water and waste system, supported by 3 aquaducts pumping water from local waterways. These aquaducts flow into pumping stations which pressurise the water and send it through the city in copper pipes. These pumping stations provide clean water to most of the city, and help remove waste from residential commodes. This waste is pumped to cesspits north of the city, where mages burn the waste and use air magic to keep the pollution from the city. The drinking water of Silver-Heights is renowned for its clarity, although there is some controversy regarding the cities handling of waste in regards to the local environment.
Power is provided to the city through a PSYKE Crystal generator. This power used to charge much less dangerous PSYKE Liquid Mana, which is then pumped through the city using underground pipes that run adjacent to water and waste pipes. This liquid mana is then transferred into electrical energy using rune plates located under or attached to pipes. The power is then transferred into buildings and objects using wires, which provide lighting, heating, and all kinds of other modern conveniences. Smaller, disconnected objects are powered either using small barrels of PSYKE Liquid Mana or a small PSYKE Crystal battery.
Districts
Temple Gardens
One of the more intriguing sights I saw in the Temple Gardens was a small argument between two holy-people. A heavenly Swordsman of Teixla stood redfaced on the stoop of the Thaemalonic Temple, spitting furious words at the Morah while pointing vaguely towards the fountain in the center of the square. With a few quick words, the Morah quickly deescalated the situation and was quickly sat on the stoop with an arm around the Swordsman in a comforting gesture. With the now calm discussion, I managed to overhear what exactly he was so upset about. For all this fury and spit, he had apparently only been upset by a mismatching tile on his side of the square.The Temple Gardens are the second highest layer of the city, and easily the most affluent. Years of graceful and loyal tithing, gifting, and charity to the many temples and public works in Temple Gardens have infused this area with a foundation of wealth. Full of temples, manors, gardens, and quaint cafes, you are more likely to encounter a priest or a rich auteur in this area of the city than an adventurer or laborer. This district is easily distinguished from the rest of the city by clean white architecture, large cathedrals, and themed areas that reflect the values and aesthetics of the temple that upkeeps that area. The block next to a temple to Teixla might focus on water features, wandslinging areas, and blue/gold colored tiles and artwork, whereas an area next to a temple to Thaemalon might focus on vibrant greenery, controlled growth of ivy and other vines, and plenty of cafes and restaurants. These blocks are often fought over between different temples and churches, often in petty disputes that range from arguments over aesthetic choices to petitioning the local city council for extra feet of space. Even with these disputes, areas in the Temple Gardens often look like beautiful mosaics of different religions and cultures. The area also has some of the most famous landmarks in the city, such as the Summer Shrine, the city's first meeting hall, and the old hall of commons before its move to Vision. On top of that, some of the most famous artists, musicians, and writers in recent memory spent at least some time living in the Temple Gardens. Langston Mercutio is one such example, being a writer who famously spent much of his modern works writing about life in Silver-Heights in works such as A Poet's Tale of Salts and Samryla, Silver-Heights Diaries, and The Casebook of Auguste Spade. There are reports in the area of a strange species inhabiting the sewers and catacombs under the Temple Gardens, a race of "Nephilim" as the whispers say. These Nephilim supposedly parasitize off of the faith of those above to build their own power, but the clergy of the temples vehemently deny the claims. On top of this, the constabulary warns of a group of dangerous cultists hiding in abandoned temples and condemned buildings, the worst of which is labeled as The Lunar Cult. While all of this is creeping from the darkness, the clergy of the many temples is constantly fighting demonic, devilish, and daechonic influences in the people of Silver-Heights.
Rose Row
Cramped piping and brickwork buildings leaned overhead like a pointed roof. Beautiful mosaics and murals painted the walls of the alley, and several smaller bars and apartments sat either a few feet below street level or a few feet above with both connected by stairs to the street. In my exploratory mood, I thought to turn into one of these bars to test the quality of their food and drink. At each bar I encountered however, there seemed to be an impassible wall of bargoers preventing any kind of entry. I checked my notes, before slapping my forehead. I had come to the row during a festival, like an idiot.Rose Row is the cultural center of the city, located right above Harbor Row. Full of bars, tradespeople, craftsmen, and people showcasing myriad mixtures of cultures that create a beautiful tapestry. People, rich and poor, weave between bars and shops while going about their unique lives. Festivals make a common sight for those traveling to and from the row, with each of these festivals attracting entire throngs of people to the row to celebrate the only way they know how: drinks and parties. A hodge-podge mixture of brickwork, plaster siding, tight alleys, and crisscrossing piping, Rose Row is renowned for architecture that blends an almost mind-bogglingly diverse amount of styles. Buildings constructed in masonry and plaster sit mighty and proud next to steel-frame dwarvish-style buildings. The quarter stands out from the rest of the city with this, being closer to a gorgeous architectural mosaic than any one homogenous identity. The only true throughline in each piece of architecture is the extremely cramped nature of the row, with buildings leaning on each other and over the street due to material stress and age. Landmark-wise, this area of the city is less known for major public works projects than the other parts of the city. A constantly shifting population and ephemeral building style makes cohesive public works projects a nightmare to plan and produce. Through this nightmare of planning and budgeting, however, several prominent landmarks have risen. One such commonly frequented location is, oddly, the Graveyard of Saint Asteria. This graveyard is the final resting place of famous artist Persoleus Seahtsle, and tourists are often told that visiting his grave and kissing his headstone gives them good luck, a rumor said to have been started by Persoleus himself before his death. Due to the fact that all three tram lines run through Rose Row, it also acts as the main residential center for workers, laborers, artists, and others of non-nobility. This area of the city is much denser as a result, and guides are often hired by tourists to help them navigate this area of the city. Often residents of the area give conflicting directions to tourists, an act they call "mixing the pot". Some claim this tradition is to help tourists get a "more real" perspective of the city, some claim to just "do it for fun". This often gives the citizens of Rose Row a hostile reputation, something which few from the Row actively dispute.
Harbor Row
In all my time in the city, there is only one district I would describe as more of a chaotic streetfight than a cohesive urban section. Usual walks along the damp cobblestone tile of the row, ships on my left and cramped warehouses and offices on my right, can on average involve dodging at least 4 brawls between captains, 3 heated arguments between a harbor manager and a trader, and more than a few actual magic spells being tossed at carts. Between all of this you would be forgiven for thinking that this district consisted of no actual trading. Under all of this punch and pomp, Harbor Row remains one of the most populous and primary trading hubs in the republic. As for me? I wouldn't trade it for anything.Harbor Row is the main trading port of the city, located on the lowest level of the city and closest to the shoreline. This district is a dense web of docks, ports, warehouses, and offices that form the backbone of trading in the republic. Beyond this, the area is filled to the brim with guild offices and stores that keep travelers and tourists stocked up. It's so large and frequented, that Harbor Row is often what people think of when they think of Silver Heights itself. For people in the city, however, it's much more of an annoyance. Dense, confusing layouts of similar brick buildings make traveling to the row by tram more difficult than needed while a lack of places for those in the city to find recreation or social activity makes it unappealing for the average resident. Many only come to the row for employment in one of the many shops or warehouses, while others actively avoid the Row for a myriad of reasons. Those who somehow live in the Row are thought of as "not really Silver-Heights", a reputation gained by the high number of transplants in the Row. Despite its density and economic focus, the Row is full of famous locations and landmarks defined by years of tourism and economic growth. Next to some of the major guild warehouses sits the Greater Heights Tram Station, a large tram connection station full of local art and business that forms the beating heart of the row. Across the row, the Stesera Museum forms one of the largest collections of artifacts and art in the republic, a beacon of tourism and culture for all of Freymoor. Even for its supposed lack of culture, the city cannot survive without the Harbor. The Row provides essential economic and material support for the rest of the city, and many Guilds start in Harbor Row before moving deeper into the city. Harbor Row also provides political power to the city as a whole, allowing the voices of the rest of the city to be amplified on the national stage in a way that many other provinces cannot quite acquire.
The Spireway
"No area of the city matches the pompous arrogance of the Spireway. A whole city section full of aristocrats, beaurocrats, and politicians all of whom can only think of various ways to polish their dragon-like gold hordes" Auguste Spade said this to me while we walked through the ivory and marble streets of the Spireway. The acid in his voice was obvious, with lived experience compounding foundational principles of his psychology. As we past mansions and guild halls, each more gilded and audacious than the last, I began to agree with him.
Tarnished Heights
Whitewashed stucco walls
The Carnivale District
Architecture
The architecture of Silver Heights is primarily a mixture of masonry, metallic embellishment, marble, and stucco. The specific architectural style varies quarter to quarter, with older areas such as Harbor Row and Tarnished Heights having older Freylian-styled buildings with white stucco and white brick/marble walls and newer areas such as the Spireway focusing on a modern mixture of brick and metal Moorenna style buildings and older style buildings.
Founding Date
6E2500
Alternative Name(s)
The Staircase City
Type
Metropolis
Population
1.55 million
Inhabitant Demonym
Height'ser
Location under
Owning Organization
Characters in Location
Comments