Airship Above Erelang

Chell Capital City of Erelang

At the base of the Nur’Wren Mountains stands the ancient city of Erelang, capital of Chell. Erelang is massive by any standards, with a population of nearly one million souls housed within and above its towering walls. The city is also one of the oldest in Palingdore, having stood now for 2,000 years. Situated in a bowl in the mountains and fed by two large tributaries that flow into Lake Kawataka, it has stood the test of time and remained invaluable throughout its history for its strategic importance. It is little wonder then that it was chosen to serve as capital when the Chell Empire was first formed and remained so even after the Empire fell and became the broken states of Palingdore that exist today. The city is naturally defended by the jagged cliffs of mountains on all sides except the south, which is guarded instead by the Shanguo, the stout, outer, defensive wall that stands fifty feet high and twenty feet thick, stretching across the city’s face. Beyond the Shanguo lies the Tienlong Steppes and the countless farms and fields therein, which feed the great city. Within the mountains themselves is a latticework of caverns that are mined for the ever-valuable lambenite stones that drive the modern societies of Pernasas today. Due to a vast richness of blue lambenite in particular (they allow modern airships to fly), the city also houses a unique natural phenomenon in the form of its floating islands, great hulks of rock and earth held aloft by the lambenite contained within. Largest among these is the island of Uri, its surface covering just more than six square miles. All together, Erelang consists of seven such islands and the basin below.

Erelang itself is organized into city wards, with the upper wards being reserved for the noble houses, the royal palace, and the courts. The middle wards are home to most of the merchant houses and guilds, the military facilities, and the universities. Below these, the lower wards are for the artisans and craftsmen, skilled laborers, and many of the cities shops. Lastly, the ground wards are used for industry and manufacturing and house the city’s manual laborers and poor. The exception to this is wards one through five near the city’s gates which offer a more presentable face to visitors and access to several transport hubs (filled with portals, sky lifts, and aircoaches, both public and private) to reach the wards above. The architecture of the city remains very traditional, preserving much of its ancient heritage in stone and wood. Its buildings are characterized by heavily articulated, revealed stone structure enclosing wooden planes and a copious use of columns and piers to imitate the feel of the forest. While the older buildings were strongly horizontal in plan and articulation, newer construction has partially abandoned this in favor of vertical articulation and higher buildings. Most buildings also possess steeply sloping roofs with deep overhangs to protect the decorated walls and interiors from the heavy snowfall the region receives every year.

Due to its size, Erelang is one of the busiest cities in Palingdore and one of the most crowded. The streets are almost constantly filled with people going about their business. It is a great rarity to ever find oneself alone, and even then, such moments are generally short-lived except by those with the money to afford private residences. As such, it is a very good place to go if a person is looking to disappear, and almost anything that could possibly be wanted can be found there. As one might expect, crime rates are higher in the lower and ground wards and these areas are kept largely in shadow for much of the day, the sun being blocked by the islands above. While guard patrols are seen in every part of the city, bribes are not an entirely uncommon thing and can go a long way towards earning a blind eye when needed. Within the last two years of the Council of Houses’ rule, just after the War of Retribution, each of the families began to grow increasingly paranoid of treachery from one of the others and so they took great strides to try and gain influence with the Sentinels (the city’s law force) through the generous donation of “gifts” to them. Among some of the changes that they brought, and one that the Paeonarch has not tried to overturn in his five years of ruler, was the introduction of the Occulators, shadowy, floating constructs designed to “record” their surroundings (with multiple sensory inputs) and convey these recordings to the Watchers linked to them. Such advancements have gone a long way towards securing a far greater level of control over the city and its citizenship, a change that the population has largely embraced in the same of improved security and happiness.