Belrynna, The City of Steam and Magic (Bell-Reena)
"Progress is the name of the game in this city. No matter the cost, or who gets hurt. The sheriffs do what they can, but half of them are corrupt and the other half are too scared of those in power to do anything about it. The Brass Conglomerate makes the rules here, so I suggest you keep your head down. Welcome to Belrynna kid." ~Orphelia Davenport, Sheriff of King's Crossing.
Belrynna is the youngest of the three major cities in Vanigraad, due to it also being the capital of the youngest kingdom. It rose to prominence at the end of the Second Age when the Twilight Accords were being signed. During this council between the surviving mortal kingdoms, a group of researchers and mages agreed that magic should be measured and controlled. But disagreed with the outright restrictions the Accords would place on practitioners, claiming that the Accords would bring magical learning and betterment to a standstill. The group argued that magical advancement can be tempered by technological advancement and that the melding of the two fields would result in a new renaissance for Vanigraad. The other members of the council outright denied their pleas and the Accords remained unchanged. Undaunted by this, the group formed the Steamwork Assembly, and construction on Belrynna began on Vanigraad's western coast, 25 miles from the Emerald Tide Marshlands that would come to support Belrynna's crops and farmland.
The Steamwork Assembly became the ruling entity of Belrynna, and eventually Belrynd at large. It is a group of mages, artificers, and tinkerers that are committed to magical and technological progress for the betterment of mortal kind. This resulted in a progressive focus and a flipping of societal structure within the city. Money does not equate to influence within Belrynna. Knowledge, curiosity, and what types of innovation you have contributed to the kingdom became the keys to lofty living and power. Artificer's became celebrities, their investors became the backers of their lifestyles.
The city itself is marvel of ingenuity and innovation. A multi-tiered iron, stone, and glass construct built into a cliff face rising 20 miles above the crashing waves of the Irristal Sea. A massive elevator moves cargo from the Sky Docks up through the inner rings to be distributed to the city's inhabitants, research labs, and testing facilities. Entrance to the city seaside is only possible via airship on Belrynna's western side. To the east, towards the marshlands and the Dead Sand Sea, the Emerald Express Sky Line services the outlying settlements and farmlands. The Sky Line being the pride of Belrynd and its people, serves as the main connection to Belrynna and the rest of the world. With stations at several major way points in the kingdom, the trains are easily accessible to residents and many take them to work in the capital.
Belrynna is broken up into four inner rings, or districts. The lowest district, King's Crossing, is home to common folk and artisans. While the district isn't in abject poverty, it has a much lower standard of living than the upper rings. Brothels, taverns, smithies, gambling houses, and markets of questionable legality are located in this district. It's poorly maintained cobblestone streets and iron mesh bridge ways are crowded with carts, workers, and street kids trying to lift valuables off of passersby. Close packed houses and apartment complexes rise 2 miles above the streets to meet the plate of the ring above. Access to the district, and those above it, as well as to the Sky Docks and the Emerald station below, is granted via elevator. The machinery powered by a mixture of steam and enchantments within the crystalline arrays above and below the elevator cars. King's Crossing, as with all of Belrynna's districts, is policed by the Alabaster Concord. Its sheriffs tasked with monitoring the flow of goods to the upper rings, as well as peace keeping in the district. Recently however, there has only been one Sheriff in King's Crossing. As many of her deputies have been moved to the upper rings for other duties. This has resulted in an uptick of thefts from shipments and illicit goods being moved through the district.
The second ring, New Belra, is home to more middle-class folk. Silversmiths, enchanters, and the Artificer's guildhalls reside within this district. While the standard of living is higher here, with better maintained streets and green ways, it is by no means lavish. The residents of this ring are not housed in close proximity, like those of King's Crossing, and the streets are lined with trees and hanging gardens that are nourished by a combination of natural and artificial sunlight provided by the artificer's guilds. More comfortable inns, bakeries, and magic stores also find their place within this ring. The most popular store being Vanya's Cabinet of Curiosities. A store funded by the Steamwork Assembly in return for enchanted items, armor, and potions for Belrynna's army and airship fleet. Also housed here are the law masters and the Court of Eight, a group of community selected judges that hold final say on the rule of law inside Belrynna's walls.
The final, upper ring, is home to the Steamwork Assembly and their investors. Access to the Cloud Deck is heavily restricted. With all visitors required to be on official business AND possess the appropriate clearance documentation to even board the access elevator. Upon entering the Cloud Deck however, visitors are met with glare of the sun reflecting off polished brass spires and the crackling of lightning magics sparking into the sky from the research halls of the Artificer's guilds. It is here, on the Cloud Deck, that they are allowed to freely conduct experiments and tinkering under the watchful eye of the Steamwork Assembly and the elite of the Alabaster Concord. The Cloud Deck is also home to the Shimmergold Bazaar, a marketplace through which all manner of curious gadgets, items, and trinkets are sold to only the most discerning of clientele. Personal airship docks, lavish brothels, and sprawling estates dominate the sunlit streets. Warforged also find their home here. Creations of the Artificers by binding a soul to a suit of armor, the Warforged are a curiosity among Vanigraad's multitude of peoples. Often finding themselves the subject of stares and gossip, these souls still seek to find their place within the world. Many of them loving music, battle, and gold just as much as any flesh and blood mortal.
Type
Large city
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