Votyoger - City

Summary

The physical embodiment of the Draconic Forum, Votyoger, the city of the self-same name is situated in the western end of Votyoger, the subcontinent also named after the Forum. This understandably confusing arrangement can be better understood with the political body of Votyoger having been made first, the city second, and then the subcontinent attaining the name afterward.
When faced with the need to create an actual meeting place, the decision where to do so was the first contentious matter Votyoger encountered. To do so on any one dragon lineage's lands would be to favor them in particular, and cause political bias the others would not accept. After much deliberation, the subcontinent once known as Velmota was selected. The former homeland of many lineages, the Imperium's ravaging left it an untamed wilderness.
The symbolic meaning of returning to their destroyed home and rebuilding it again proved quite powerful. Though a number of surviving lineages staked their claims, ultimately the pressure exerted by the others convinced them to sit back. Thus, Votyoger sought to make the city that would suffice for its needs. To that end, they selected the Hyulpu Mountains in the northwestern end of the subcontinent as their location of choice.
A once long and prestigious divine mountain range, the Hyulpu Mountains were almost entirely annihilated in the World Gate explosion. What remained was a region once considered remote and dimunitive, suitable for the tailend no one really paid attention to. With it the only section to actually survive the Great Darkness, it swiftly became the largest mountain range in Velmota proper.
With the location in mind, Votyoger spared no expense in finally constructing the Forum's physical housing. All the dragon lineages across Veltrona answered the call to build the Forum, believing in either its message, or wanting to raise their own prestige in helping such an endeavor. The management of such a task proved monumental in and of itself, being a great challenge the Forum itself had to learn how to navigate. Mainly because of the incredible egotism inherent to dragons.
With countless mistresses of the crafts, magical arts, and more on claw to do the work, Votyoger had to carefully balance project goals and personal glory alike. The end results, however, were truly one-of-a-kind marvels never seen before on Veltrona. Dragonkind pushed their technology forward, creating new means of cohabitation, communication, and military power. Governance the likes of which they'd never embraced before took shape, creating a strongly commanding democratic system the lineages upheld.
In its individual parts, it could be easy to say that one lineage or another owned that contribution. Yet, as more added in, and the parts began interacting, something wholly new took shape. Though it galled many dragons to break down cultural barriers and long-standing grudges, the new frontiers they discovered were irresistable to explore. Perhaps, despite all the horrors of the Imperium and its irreparable damage, dragonkind discovered a new way of continuing forward as a result.
What would become of that, many centuries after the Forum's founding, remains a mystery no one is certain of.

Demographics

Dragonkind

Wyvern

Wokma

Lindwurm

Puppetkin (minority)

Ilansu (vast minority)

Petrakin (vast minority)

Votyoger does not make exception to outside species being involved in its affairs unless they do so under the purview of a lineage. Since it exists principally for dragons to work amongst themselves, it does not have the legal authority or capability to engage in politics with outsiders. The city of Votyoger reflects this, as it is almost entirely just dragonkind, their puppets, and a few 'guest species' they allow inside.
Rather than anything resembling xenophobia, it is more like a prestigious club that requires a voucher in order to enter. Aside from any cultural reasons, there is the simple fact that being around so many dragons can be extremely dangerous for weaker species. Manaesia, if not the overwhelming power of dragons in other forms, is a valid concern. If one proves they have the strength and manner by which to conduct themselves to draconic standards, the Forum is far more open to receiving them.

Infrastructure

Under the claws of the best artisanal mistresses on Veltrona, the draconic lineages shaped Votyoger into a place deserving of such eminence. Even tasks normally delegated to puppet mistresses, such as waste disposal, is overseen by enterprising dragons directly. While it can be argued it is to ensure the highest quality service possible, it is also a factor of everyone trying to carve out a niche at the Forum. In other words, justifying their continued existence there, and mingling in the social strata of the most powerful dragons on the planet.
There is a limit even to the most desperate dragons, and so puppets fulfill the role of banal workers for such tasks. In reality, there are far more puppets in Votyoger than there are actual dragons, but very few of them become puppetkin properly. Given that puppetkin themselves are recognized by Votyoger as legitimate sapients, their sudden manifestation tends to be well-received by most dragons. That said dragons are also quite fine with the newly awakened puppetkin overseeing such menial labor is not something they readily point out, either.
Overall, Votyoger's city is sectioned into numerous districts of varying sizes, shapes, and vertical footprint. The responsibility for these districts is split in half: the bare necessities as mandated by the Forum, and then the presiding lineage who rents the district space. This allows the various lineages to sculpt the districts as they wish, and show off their wealth and skill. Quite literally weaponizing draconic arrogance against themselves in a sense.
The Forum does mandate certain types of development in the given districts. It makes little sense to have a manufacturing area in close proximity to a garden zone, after all. Over the centuries, dragons have gravitated toward treating the district locations in a banding system. As long as a renting lineage respects the banding, they're given leave to develop the district as they wish. The five primary bands are:

Amla-Sok

Named in honor of the long-dead Sok lineage, to which the Sokral carry the name thereof, Amla-Sok is the 'lowest' place district insofar as being further down the Hyulpu Mountains. Combining workshop, refinery, educational libraries, and cargo logistics together, it is the foundational bedrock of all engineering and magic craft in Votyoger. The banding zone is meant to make it the most easily accessible region, so the likes of overland transportation can more feasibly reach it.
Being a heavily business oriented banding zone, it is the lowest populated one as only engineers, craftswomen, mages, and the like spend their time there. Puppets almost run the entirety of the zone through complex forms of automation virtually unseen elsewhere on Veltrona. Its location also means that most forms of accidents tend to go 'down hill' and into the lowlands rather than impacting the city itself.

Aertam

The next banding zone above Amla-Sok, Aertam is entirely dedicated toward storage, vaults, and other things needing to be put somewhere. Aside from needing a place to store things, it acts like a buffer zone between Amla-Sok and the higher areas. While Votyoger is extraordinarily clean and recycling-efficient, producing near-zero waste as a result, dragons and their powerful senses simply like having more space away from potential pollution.
Due to its transitory nature, most routes through Aertam focus on scenic sights and grandiose statues, reliefs, monuments, and other forms of historical glorification and remembrance. Some lineages took these ideas further and built larger muesums, schools, and academies in the banding zone. It does depend on which lineage rents out the district, but there's more life in Aertam than most would assume at a glance.
If nothing else, it is a rather quiet place to go in Votyoger.

Pallada

The 'third' banding zone from ground-level, Pallada is the beginnings of Votyoger's legendary gardens. Combining nature and architecture together, it is a contained wildland that is built specifically for draconic enjoyment. Some areas are akin to fenced in zoos, containing wildlife dragons find fun to hunt down or farm in some manner or another. Others are dense flora regions, featuring specimens that are even extinct in their own native lands. Most tend to vary between these two types, creating diverse micro-regions well-suited to the draconic sentiments.
Pallada's other main function is where most of the liquid water in the city of Votyoger is stored in some form. The Hyulpu Mountains' natural rivers run throughout the city, then down to Pallada for accumulation. Excess runs off into carefully built aqueducts which then terminate into the natural river systems farther away. Due to its presence among dragons, these waters accumulate high amounts of mana within them.
It eventually resulted in the regions further downstream becoming much richer in their local ecology, both on land and in water. A side-effect is these much more dangerous regions effectively act as a natural barrier for anyone trying to reach Votyoger via the ground. To dragons, the local fauna is a nuisance, but to most others, a most serious challenge.

Ilaral

The heart of Votyoger where all draconic lineages are housed, eat, drink, and enjoy Veltrona's most expensive luxuries. It is a place of vast enclaves, enormous theaters, debate arenas, tournaments, restaurants, and much more. Stretching the breadth of the Hyulpu Mountains, the splendors of its construction are visible everywhere and from great distance. Ilaral's truly eclectic nature is shown with each district built to emphasize the renting lineage's aesthetic and sensibilities to the fullest.
For instance, the Ra lineage are volcanic dragons, and so their architecture emphasizes mountainous construction, efficient distribution of heat, and volcanic materials like ignenous rocks (obsidian, basalt, etc), metalic flora (e.g, Popper), and so on. It can become quite the harsh contrast when their district is next to the Ron lineage, who are principally oceanic dragons. In their case, the usage of proprietary composite materials forms the basis of their structures, which are then decorated with coral, sea shells, and other treasures of the deep.
The seeming dicotohmy between these two, or others, is a constant and ongoing affair within Votyoger. Learning how to confront their conflicting natures and bridge together something cohesive is the essence of the Forum. In the case of the Ra and Ron, by learning to exchange cooling and heat, they can better manage their own needs than they would've otherwise. That and heated spas tend to be the norm in the borders of their districts, which everyone else likes to use anyway.
The exact boundary Illaral shares with Pallada is not entirely clear, as intertwining architecture with gardening is rather important for dragons. Generally, the more it appears 'arranged for luxury' and less 'contained wilderness', it is closer to the Ilaral side of things.

Sooktapa

Originally argued to be a habitation zone similar to Ilaral, the fierce amount of fighting that went on for district renting almost tore Votyoger apart. As the 'highest' band that encompasses the remaining height of the Hyulpu Mountains, the prestige of living up there is truly unfathomable. Bloodwing, Head Administrator of the Forum at that point, grew irate at the inanity of it all.
Instead, she ordained that Sooktapa be made into the libraries, schools, academies, observatories, and other fine, intellectual pursuits of dragonkind. It would also double as the aerial landing zone for cargo-carrying dragons, or other flight capable methods of transportation. As such, Sooktapa is largely where the likes of young dragons, scholars, and those similar spend most of their time in Votyoger. While the lineages grumble, it also means some of their most precious things to protect are at the heights of Votyoger, which does appease their sensibilities somewhat.

Latopoyger

The 'gathering place of the Forum' is analogous to the capital zone of Votyoger proper. It is the district specially set aside for the Forum, where the central complex that embodies the administration exists within. Combining the idea of luxury resort and governmental apparatus together, it is a sprawling district of gardens, recreational areas, meeting places, archival storage, legislation distribution, and so on.
The true center of it all is the Primary Forum, a half-colosseum shaped facility where the Thirty-Six Lineages' representatives, the Head Administrator, and the Senior Administration Staff all do their work. It is where the most politically powerful dragons on Veltrona go to debate, discuss, brawl with one another, and finally, create the impactful decisions that will affect all of dragonkind.
Everything in Latopoyger is made to ultimately serve that purpose, and so tending to the needs of the representatives is a paramount consideration.

Alternative Name(s)

The Draconic Forum

Type

Capital

Population

500,000+

Location under

Votyoger - Geography

Owning Organization

Votyoger

Characters in Location

• Jahulmt-Zahm, the First Deathwalker