Asigea

The People of the City of Asigea, long since isolated from any other population, have been forced to repopulate from a small pool of villagers. This combined with living in a high-density magic field for several hundred years have led to variations in traits compared to those who live in the lands below. The people of Asigea are shorter than the average human, fully-grown being only five feet on average. They are more slender, and their hair tends towards lighter shades; blond, rose, yellow, light oranges and reds. They also tend to get streaks of color in their hair that are unnatural in any form, such as blues or greens.   Most of the population is a 'serf' class, serving the High Court. There are a few smaller rungs below them and between the general populace, but these people are very few in number, and the benefits of their station are not much better than the bottom rung. The population has declined suddenly, possibly in response to the slowly crumbling outer edges. However, it's not known if this is a gradual response to limited resources, or a more drastic measure against collapse.

The City of Asigea is run by the High Court, a collection of Wizards and Witches who have run the town since time immemorial. There are Six Seats in total, although there are rumors amongst the peasantry of a secret 'seventh' seat. This High Court passes down all laws and judgement in the city. A policing force is present, but mostly a formality; why hire men to be deterrents against crime when one's command over the very elements is enough to do the job?

Anyone wishing to attack the City of Asigea first has to find it; the city has been lost to the ages ever since the fall of Wizards in the late Marble era. Those who do find it must then fight their way past the stormclouds that both shield and plague the city, preferably in one piece. Even after that, one must contend with the Witches and Wizards who have called the city home, and would be none too pleased to share their little slice of the heavens.   From internal strife, however... defenses are far fewer. Magic is great, but in the face of pure anarchy and riots even it can only do so much.

Most of the city is dedicated to keeping the city alive, in any way they can. However, dwindling resources and shrinking land have made that nigh impossible. Still trade pushes on as citizens share what little they can make and grow to keep the Great City alive. Should trade open up again with other cities, it is not yet known what Asigea, in her poor state, could offer potential traders.

The city was built in the Dark Ages of the Mortal Lands, and little has changed even after the city vanished from the pages of history. There is no energy source other than magic; waterwheels, gravity and fire are what drives the city's infrastructure. Over time a carefully-constructed aquaduct system passes what water the city has through its systems, running its waterwheels and cooling its iceboxes. Magical solutions to otherwise mundane problems have become the norm as both limited land and no trade industry have caused their own myriad of issues. Everything is reused down to a T, from the remnants of old privies to the scraps of scraps of what were once clothing being used to bind the pipes that pass the city's water and steamworks around.

Aisgea has not built new buildings in a couple centuries; they haven't needed to, and even if they did there is scarcely room left to build any more. What has remained over the centuries are easily divided into four districts, in a series of rings starting from the Grand Fortress in the Center. This building is the home of the High Court, the Wizards and Witches who rule the city with their iron fists. Surrounding that is the Merchant and Mercantile District, where goods are both created and traded, although currency as it was not known has not existed in the city for centuries. Outside of that are the slums where most of the city live, in continually-smaller houses as families grew but the city could not. Furthest out are the farmlands, barren strips of land dedicated to raising the few animals the city can sustain.   Rumor has it the city was once much greater in size, but time and the constant storms around the city have chipped away at the outer borders, leaving the citizenry to wonder when their food supply will finally run out.

Compared to the surrounding lands, Asigea has nothing. It is, at heart, a Wizard's Hold. While it was once a shining city in an age when few could be described as such, much of its shine has been worn away by time, neglect, and the tumultuous storms that plague the city. Resources are finally running out, and not even magic can replenish what has been taken away.

Asigea was founded in a Magic-rich area of the Begoria mountain range in the middle of the Marble era. Although no Source could be easily seen the land was still rich in Magic, and soon a few Wizards who could colloquially stand each other called it home, building a village based on the trade of rough mountain stone and wool sheared from the mountain goats that lived nearby.   At the end of the Marble Era, the descendants of these Wizards, now seven in number, could sense the end of their reign; Mage magic was on the rise, and no one had come to them wishing to learn the old ways. Desperate, they severed Asigea from the mountain it sat on, vanishing into the clouds. There they chose worthy successors to pass their magic to, and the cycle continued.    Over time, dark thunderclouds developed and shrouded the city, shielding it from the outside world. While legend claims that the Wizards are the ones who summoned the clouds to protect it from invaders, the full truth is not yet known to them; The Thunderstorms developed as a symptom of the misuse of magic, and are as much of a threat to the city as they are a protector. Even now they buffet the cliffs, shearing away strips of land and even buildings.

While on a clear day, should the city ever have one, the view of the Begoria Mountain range is enough to be a major tourist attraction on its own, the one great feature the citizenry speaks of fondly (and somewhat fearfully) is the Great Fortress. A grand castle in the middle of town, this building is the home of the High Court, and the center of all dealings and judgements within the city.

As the City has been isolated for hundreds if not thousands of years, there is no tourism to speak of, although citizens love to go for a walk around the city to stretch their legs. Should the city be introduced to the outside world again, it would become a marvelous tourist attraction, assuming they can rebuild the missing portions of their great city.

The architecture style has, at a glance, changed little from the Dark Ages of the Mortal Lands. However, the buildings have adapted to be more enclosed, streets covered with ceilings and protective walls to keep citizens from being dragged away by the winds that both protect and threaten the city. The houses that line the residential district have been sub-divided into smaller apartments to accommodate the slow rise in population.

The city is built on what was once a part of the Begoria mountain range. Hard stone permeates every building and cliff face, although the Wizards used their great magic to create a field to raise crops and animals when it ascended into the heavens. This field has become much smaller since the old days as the city slowly falls apart.