Difference between revisions of "New Arindell"
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The New Day reconstruction of the city center was built roughly sixty feet higher than the old city to preserve the ruins. The new city used a series of utilidoors beneath the surface, allowing many services to be kept out of site as well as providing additional space. This brought the valley floor roughly level with the Keep, changing much of the character of the city. | The New Day reconstruction of the city center was built roughly sixty feet higher than the old city to preserve the ruins. The new city used a series of utilidoors beneath the surface, allowing many services to be kept out of site as well as providing additional space. This brought the valley floor roughly level with the Keep, changing much of the character of the city. | ||
| − | + | ===Districts=== | |
| − | Arindell has | + | Arindell has several major city districts. |
| − | =====Dragontown | + | ====City Center==== |
| + | City Center is home to Arindell's downtown district, [[Valley Gale Keep]], the [[City Center Museum]], [[City Center Sports Complex]], both of New Arindell's universities, and the bulk of major businesses and government centers operating out of Arindell. The [[Alliance Senate]] building is here, along with the administrative buildings for the [[Trans-Draconic Federation]]. The [[Gudersnipe Foundation]] also owns several structures, with one dedicated to communication and liaison with the two major governments. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The City Center can in some ways be thought of as a single, massive building. It sits atop a series of "utilidors", a vast labyrinth of inter-connected basements, utility corridors, and an extensive subway system (with both cargo and passenger trains). | ||
| + | |||
| + | City Center is divided into four sub-districts named for Arindell's ring road: | ||
| + | *North Road | ||
| + | *East Road | ||
| + | *South Road | ||
| + | *West Road | ||
| + | |||
| + | Of important note is no manufacturing goes on within the City Center district. All of that has to be done in the outlying zones. | ||
| + | |||
| + | |||
| + | ====West Side==== | ||
| + | The West Side is the least-formally established of the districts, essentially encompassing everything west of the [[Local Expressway]] and outside of the City Center. Formal boundaries are not well recognized, and the region does not have much in the way of a culture the way some of the other districts due. Despite all that, West Side is home to many very important sites: the [[Tabernacle of the Perennial Colonnade]], the [[Plaza of Sleeping Dragons]], the [[New Arindell Necromancer Temple]], and the great [[Library of Arindell]]. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The rest of the district is primarily suburban housing tracts. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ====Travel Town==== | ||
| + | The unimaginatively-named Travel Town is the portion of the city where the terminus of the railroad ends. This is where much of the freight and nearly all of the tourists visiting the city enter. It is home to a large number of hotels and resorts, and provides easy access to the rest of the city by way of the [[Triumph Road]]. Travel Town has a relatively low resident population and exists as a sort of odd mix of tourist traps and short-term warehouses. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ====Dragontown==== | ||
Dragontown is unique for being the one part of the city with highrise construction. Every where else has bans on building height in order to preserve the iconic skyline, but in Dragontown several very tall skyscrapters were constructed. These house the headquarters for [[High Mountain Bank and Trust]] as well as the seat of power for the human commissioners of the [[Trans-Draconic Federation]]. Dragontown is also home to an array of lavish mansions owned by various dragons, and is conveniently adjacent to [[Dragonland]] amusement park. | Dragontown is unique for being the one part of the city with highrise construction. Every where else has bans on building height in order to preserve the iconic skyline, but in Dragontown several very tall skyscrapters were constructed. These house the headquarters for [[High Mountain Bank and Trust]] as well as the seat of power for the human commissioners of the [[Trans-Draconic Federation]]. Dragontown is also home to an array of lavish mansions owned by various dragons, and is conveniently adjacent to [[Dragonland]] amusement park. | ||
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Conveniently nearby is a section of the city with many hotels and other amenities, as well as housing for employees in the rail industry. This area is affectionately known as "Travel Town" for its association with the rail industry and its role as the first stop for most travelers into the city. | Conveniently nearby is a section of the city with many hotels and other amenities, as well as housing for employees in the rail industry. This area is affectionately known as "Travel Town" for its association with the rail industry and its role as the first stop for most travelers into the city. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ====South Bend==== | ||
| + | On the far side of the [[Mourn River]] and south of the [[Arindell Naval Air Station]] lies the district of South Bend, so named for the bendy road that passes through the center (some dispute exists as to whether the road or the name came first). The road follows the topography of the area and is fairly unique being a major thoroughfare with several twists(the bulk of Arindell's main roads are either arrow-straight or have a single large curve). This gave rise to a common joke of asking locals, "how is the bend?". This is slightly better than the district's other nickname: "The Armpit of Arindell". | ||
| + | |||
| + | The lower part of the bend, on the valley floor, was originally subdivided into low-cost housing for military personnel stationed at the naval air station. Specifically the enlisted men, with officers usually being houses either on base or in nicer neighborhoods. This means a lot of the lower part of the district is made up of small economy apartment buildings and various forms of attached housing. Eventually a new housing subdivision was constructed on the north side of the base, and the lower parts of South Bend saw a transition into entirely civilian housing. While by no means a slum, the section between the river and the main road is home to a large number of economically disadvantaged and working-class people. Most of the low-level workers at [[Dragonland]] live there. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The district has something of a unique culture. The cheap housing attracts a lot of young people seeking to live on their own. The young people who learn trades or attend higher education typically move away after a few years, so there's a lot of turnover in that regard. Practically everyone in Arindell lives in South Bend for a little while. This is alongside the low-income families, who tend to stay there sometimes for generations. Among the locals long-time residents are known as "lifers" while the short-timers are called "Benders". Note that its generally considered bad-form for anyone who hasn't lived in the South Bend neighborhood to use these terms. | ||
| + | |||
| + | However, on the eastern side of the main road, the terrain gets hilly, and was unsuitable to the kind of medium-density, low-cost housing that dominates the district. This area had been uninhabited up until around [[N.D.]] 480 when the housing block moved. Technically inside the [[Dragon Fence]] it saw little usage and was thus opened to development. Land parcels were quickly bought up and the construction of million-wingbeat-mansions began. | ||
| + | |||
| + | This presents a very interesting economic dichotomy. Wealthy families not good enough to live in the [[Flight Heights]] build expensive homes in the hills above South Bend, but in turn have to make use of the same amenities as the locals. This blending of the rich and the poor creates some very serious class-friction, but also gives rise to a few unlikely friendships. | ||
| + | |||
| + | =====South Plus===== | ||
| + | At the extreme eastern-end of the neighborhood, closest to the Dragonland, is a region known as "South Plus" (owing to the intersection of the two largest roads). This is primarily a low-density suburban district originally built to provide housing for Dragonland employees. It has, over the city's history, instead become something of a hotbed for [[Necromancers]]. Various economic factors contributed to this. South Plus is geographically close to the chief [[Necromancer Temple]] (though one has to take many surface streets to get there), and the single-family homes when renovated are nicer than some of the closer neighborhoods. The unusually large land plots in the area also make expanding the houses easier. With the necromancer focus on family, it's not unusual for children to buy houses as close as possible to their parents, so the population simply grew organically over time. South-Plus is regarded as the bougie necromancer neighborhood where all the moderately wealthy, conservative necromancers live. | ||
==Museums== | ==Museums== | ||
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==Culture== | ==Culture== | ||
| − | [[Rec Center Network]] | + | The [[Rec Center Network]] is a major institution and facilitates sporting, arts, and leisure through New Arindell's urban and suburban population. |
===Education=== | ===Education=== | ||
Education is important in New Arindell and significant public funds are invested in it. Most children attend small neighborhood schools, and in the suburban areas there is typically K-12 education available within walking or bike riding distance. | Education is important in New Arindell and significant public funds are invested in it. Most children attend small neighborhood schools, and in the suburban areas there is typically K-12 education available within walking or bike riding distance. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===Sports=== | ||
| + | Soccer, Swimming, and Swordsmanship are the three official sports of [[New Arindell]], and far and away the most popular forms of recreation. Only soccer draws much in the way of spectator crowds, but neighborhood swim teams are found at every rec center and sword clubs and sword gyms can be found on every block. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===Food=== | ||
| + | |||
| + | ====The Shield Shack==== | ||
| + | New Arindell is home to The Original Shield Shack, a chain on of fast food eateries described as "Slayer Dragon-themed". In fact the Shield Shack chain does not pay for licensing to use the Slayer Dragon intellectual property, and instead relies on the sort of generic armored knight and princess-theming as is seen in the Dragonland amusement parks. The Shield Shack is not a particularly noteworthy culinary experience but is rather relied upon as a cheap, fast, and tasty meal choice. The signature burger is The Shield Wall, a double cheeseburger with grilled onions and barbecue sauce. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The chain began in Arindell and extended to [[Border Watch]] and the [[Sword Coast]], but found itself unable to compete in the market around [[Sun's Beacon]]. | ||
==Unique Laws== | ==Unique Laws== | ||
Latest revision as of 15:42, 30 September 2024
Officially called "Arindell" some scholars use the colloqual "New Arindell" to describe the city as it was reconstructed following the Long Night. Only four original structures survived: the Arindell Necromancer Temple, the Tabernacle, the Library, and parts of Valley Gale Keep.
Contents
Construction
When Stormreaver Valley was being surveyed for resettlement, it was discovered that signficant portions of the old city were largely intact beneath 30 feet of accumulated hard-packed earth.
The New Day reconstruction of the city center was built roughly sixty feet higher than the old city to preserve the ruins. The new city used a series of utilidoors beneath the surface, allowing many services to be kept out of site as well as providing additional space. This brought the valley floor roughly level with the Keep, changing much of the character of the city.
Districts
Arindell has several major city districts.
City Center
City Center is home to Arindell's downtown district, Valley Gale Keep, the City Center Museum, City Center Sports Complex, both of New Arindell's universities, and the bulk of major businesses and government centers operating out of Arindell. The Alliance Senate building is here, along with the administrative buildings for the Trans-Draconic Federation. The Gudersnipe Foundation also owns several structures, with one dedicated to communication and liaison with the two major governments.
The City Center can in some ways be thought of as a single, massive building. It sits atop a series of "utilidors", a vast labyrinth of inter-connected basements, utility corridors, and an extensive subway system (with both cargo and passenger trains).
City Center is divided into four sub-districts named for Arindell's ring road:
- North Road
- East Road
- South Road
- West Road
Of important note is no manufacturing goes on within the City Center district. All of that has to be done in the outlying zones.
West Side
The West Side is the least-formally established of the districts, essentially encompassing everything west of the Local Expressway and outside of the City Center. Formal boundaries are not well recognized, and the region does not have much in the way of a culture the way some of the other districts due. Despite all that, West Side is home to many very important sites: the Tabernacle of the Perennial Colonnade, the Plaza of Sleeping Dragons, the New Arindell Necromancer Temple, and the great Library of Arindell.
The rest of the district is primarily suburban housing tracts.
Travel Town
The unimaginatively-named Travel Town is the portion of the city where the terminus of the railroad ends. This is where much of the freight and nearly all of the tourists visiting the city enter. It is home to a large number of hotels and resorts, and provides easy access to the rest of the city by way of the Triumph Road. Travel Town has a relatively low resident population and exists as a sort of odd mix of tourist traps and short-term warehouses.
Dragontown
Dragontown is unique for being the one part of the city with highrise construction. Every where else has bans on building height in order to preserve the iconic skyline, but in Dragontown several very tall skyscrapters were constructed. These house the headquarters for High Mountain Bank and Trust as well as the seat of power for the human commissioners of the Trans-Draconic Federation. Dragontown is also home to an array of lavish mansions owned by various dragons, and is conveniently adjacent to Dragonland amusement park.
Gate House is the terminus of the Triumph Road and scene gateway to the city of Arindell. It is one of the denser populated areas outside the city center, home to an enormous train station and rail yard. This is where nearly everyone comes or goes from the city, with trains departing for Boarder Watch roughly every five minutes.
Conveniently nearby is a section of the city with many hotels and other amenities, as well as housing for employees in the rail industry. This area is affectionately known as "Travel Town" for its association with the rail industry and its role as the first stop for most travelers into the city.
South Bend
On the far side of the Mourn River and south of the Arindell Naval Air Station lies the district of South Bend, so named for the bendy road that passes through the center (some dispute exists as to whether the road or the name came first). The road follows the topography of the area and is fairly unique being a major thoroughfare with several twists(the bulk of Arindell's main roads are either arrow-straight or have a single large curve). This gave rise to a common joke of asking locals, "how is the bend?". This is slightly better than the district's other nickname: "The Armpit of Arindell".
The lower part of the bend, on the valley floor, was originally subdivided into low-cost housing for military personnel stationed at the naval air station. Specifically the enlisted men, with officers usually being houses either on base or in nicer neighborhoods. This means a lot of the lower part of the district is made up of small economy apartment buildings and various forms of attached housing. Eventually a new housing subdivision was constructed on the north side of the base, and the lower parts of South Bend saw a transition into entirely civilian housing. While by no means a slum, the section between the river and the main road is home to a large number of economically disadvantaged and working-class people. Most of the low-level workers at Dragonland live there.
The district has something of a unique culture. The cheap housing attracts a lot of young people seeking to live on their own. The young people who learn trades or attend higher education typically move away after a few years, so there's a lot of turnover in that regard. Practically everyone in Arindell lives in South Bend for a little while. This is alongside the low-income families, who tend to stay there sometimes for generations. Among the locals long-time residents are known as "lifers" while the short-timers are called "Benders". Note that its generally considered bad-form for anyone who hasn't lived in the South Bend neighborhood to use these terms.
However, on the eastern side of the main road, the terrain gets hilly, and was unsuitable to the kind of medium-density, low-cost housing that dominates the district. This area had been uninhabited up until around N.D. 480 when the housing block moved. Technically inside the Dragon Fence it saw little usage and was thus opened to development. Land parcels were quickly bought up and the construction of million-wingbeat-mansions began.
This presents a very interesting economic dichotomy. Wealthy families not good enough to live in the Flight Heights build expensive homes in the hills above South Bend, but in turn have to make use of the same amenities as the locals. This blending of the rich and the poor creates some very serious class-friction, but also gives rise to a few unlikely friendships.
South Plus
At the extreme eastern-end of the neighborhood, closest to the Dragonland, is a region known as "South Plus" (owing to the intersection of the two largest roads). This is primarily a low-density suburban district originally built to provide housing for Dragonland employees. It has, over the city's history, instead become something of a hotbed for Necromancers. Various economic factors contributed to this. South Plus is geographically close to the chief Necromancer Temple (though one has to take many surface streets to get there), and the single-family homes when renovated are nicer than some of the closer neighborhoods. The unusually large land plots in the area also make expanding the houses easier. With the necromancer focus on family, it's not unusual for children to buy houses as close as possible to their parents, so the population simply grew organically over time. South-Plus is regarded as the bougie necromancer neighborhood where all the moderately wealthy, conservative necromancers live.
Museums
Culture
The Rec Center Network is a major institution and facilitates sporting, arts, and leisure through New Arindell's urban and suburban population.
Education
Education is important in New Arindell and significant public funds are invested in it. Most children attend small neighborhood schools, and in the suburban areas there is typically K-12 education available within walking or bike riding distance.
Sports
Soccer, Swimming, and Swordsmanship are the three official sports of New Arindell, and far and away the most popular forms of recreation. Only soccer draws much in the way of spectator crowds, but neighborhood swim teams are found at every rec center and sword clubs and sword gyms can be found on every block.
Food
The Shield Shack
New Arindell is home to The Original Shield Shack, a chain on of fast food eateries described as "Slayer Dragon-themed". In fact the Shield Shack chain does not pay for licensing to use the Slayer Dragon intellectual property, and instead relies on the sort of generic armored knight and princess-theming as is seen in the Dragonland amusement parks. The Shield Shack is not a particularly noteworthy culinary experience but is rather relied upon as a cheap, fast, and tasty meal choice. The signature burger is The Shield Wall, a double cheeseburger with grilled onions and barbecue sauce.
The chain began in Arindell and extended to Border Watch and the Sword Coast, but found itself unable to compete in the market around Sun's Beacon.
Unique Laws
While never a government official, Conri Jusenkyou made a number of edicts during his life which were essentially treated as laws. These are mostly known as "The Conri Laws" and cover many things related to education and youth.
Magic Guilds of Arindell
New Arindell has three major magic guilds founded when the city was rebuilt. These are the Mages' Guild, the Wizards' Guild, and the Healers' Guild.
Healers' Guild
Healing magic is the most common, with a few thousand mage-healers working in the city. The guild works mostly as a sort of union and legal governing body. In more recent times, the guild also provides collective bargaining, organizes blacklists, and helps mages obtain health insurance (and no, the irony of this is not lost upon them). Guild dues are quite low, with the guild employing on three full-time paid employees and as of N.D. 288, owning no property. The entire guild operates out of a single rented office in Travel Town.
The healers' guild does have a formal guild-master; however this is largely an honorary/ceremonial position. It is awarded to the oldest-serving member of the guild.
Wizards' Guild
The Wizards' Guild (not to be confused with the old Alliance era Wizard's Guild of Aren) is unique in that stunningly few members of it posses actual magic. The most decadent of the guilds, they own a grand (and decrepit) hall where meetings are held, with satellite halls all around the city. The Wizards' Guild began, as the name implies, as being open only to wizards. The founders conceived of a guild based around the ancient traditions of tower magic, in which members would be ranked by Magical Potential and the strongest wizard would always be in charge.
The guild was founded in N.D. 52 the year after the city opened to residents. They beat the Mages' Guild by about six months and obtained some prime real-estate in the city center. Many wizards favored this guild over the competing Mages' Guild specifically because positions were based on power. The Mages' Guild favored a more democratic approach, and in its early years did not even have a guild master.
Many wizards opted to hedge their bets and simply join both guilds. The founders of the Wizards' Guild schemed to devour all the wizards in the city, hoping there would not be enough sorceresses to maintain a competing guild.
Things came to a head, however, when Naomi Jusenkyou arrived in the city around N.D. 55, and very publicly requested to join the Wizards' Guild. Her petition was based on the simple fact that she had more power in her little finger than their entire guild combined. She also brought with her about six hundred magic users from The Citadel, many of whom were themselves quite strong. The guild denied her application, pointing to the name, and declaring their guild "wizards only". Naomi responded to this by forbidding her own people from joining, and instead all of them joined the Mages' Guild. Once inside, Naomi quickly passed a resolution barring members of the Mages' Guild from being members of the Wizards' Guild, and membership in the latter dropped by 95% overnight.
Desperate to maintain some level of membership, the Wizards' Guild opened its door to any man with a relative, no matter how distant, who could perform magic. Their basis was that if someone in your bloodline had the spark, then you could learn it too, and they could teach it to you. This did not work out particularly well for the guild as most petitioners were either related through marriage or fabricated their wizarding relatives altogether.
Over time, the Wizards' Guild transformed from an actual group of mages into a fraternal order. The meeting halls acted as exclusive clubhouses. Though the guild did carry out rituals and indoctrinations, most guild meetings were just an excuse to play cards and drink. By N.D. 150 they had dropped the requirement to be related to a mage entirely.
The modern iteration of the guild remains in place due to its strong fraternal ties (and generates revenue from properties owned all over the city). However the original guild laws still apply, meaning that the strongest wizard who gains membership is automatically the leader. This leads to regular dust-ups whenever a wizard joins; there are rarely more than one in the guild.
Mages' Guild
The Mages' Guild is the only functional general-magic guild in the city, and is partnered with the guild in Sun's Beacon. Being able to perform magic is the only requirement for entry. Most mages joke the rulebook should say "Perform magic and pay your guild dues", as one is often harder than the other. The guild is primarily comprised of healers who join both guilds, as they are easily able to afford membership in both. There are a large number of general-purpose mages involved; however the lack of work for mages and high guild dues mean most of them have to work mundane jobs to live and pay their dues.
Like the Wizards' Guild, the Mages' Guild does own a guild hall ostensibly to be used for formal meetings. Unfortunately by N.D. 250, the membership had outgrown the hall and they could not afford to construct a new one. Since then the guild has used a hotel conference center for their annual meetings. The hall is still used for smaller meetings and houses the guild's offices.
Magic Schools
Under Conri Jusenkyou (with help and advice from Naomi), the Mages' Guild passed a law stipulating that no mage could teach magic in the city without holding a membership in the Mages' Guild. The law originally meant to curtail the power of the rival Wizards' Guild by barring them from operating formal magic schools. It proved unnecessary, as within a few years that guild had very few wizards still paying dues.
The law, however, has had a very interesting ancillary effect. It does not bar non-members from teaching, but rather broadly applies to anyone who can do magic. Within the guild there is also a rule stating members can only teach at the guild-accredited school. As a consequence, the hundreds of magic schools dotting strip malls throughout Arindell's suburbs are guaranteed not to have a single magic-user on staff.
