Aelyria Prime
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Old Prime is the name of one of the four major districts of
Aelyria Prime, and its name is in reference to the original spot upon which the capital city was founded. The fortified old walls of the original city of
Colonia surround the northeastern enclosure of Aelyria Prime, while the classic traditional architecture of castles and walls are flanked by towers and wooden homes. Established as the new site of the rebuilt city a good distance away from the old ruins, Old Prime was host to the original ministerial buildings for officials and guild halls of adventurers, but not much foresight was put into planning the city and instead it emerged organically with tight streets and labyrinthine housing on its outskirts. The dark and dangerous alleyways of Old Prime have swallowed many a crook whole. A haven for cutthroats and thieves, the Old Prime of today is a nest of sin within the capital of the realm.
The Old Prime district is organized into the five wards of
Lion Parish,
Unicorn Parish,
Ostward,
Portalis Esplanade, and the
Highport Autonomy.
Lion Parish
An earlier version of the great
Forum, Lion Parish was originally settled by the adventurers and explorers who travelled across the world and converged upon the city of
Colonia in its earliest days. The
Guild Hall rests majestically across the courtyard from the crowning jewel of the ward, the
Palace of Light. Smaller marble towers can be found in the east, previously offices of the old governments that inhabited them, and now subsidized housing for city and provincial bureaucrats and public servants. In the north side of the parish can be found
City Hall and the
Parthenon of the Province, side by side, separated by a magical shimmering lake with floating candles. The roads in Lion Parish are paved with fine cobblestone and refined gravel, the same that built the great
Via Ioannes and
King's Road.
Races
Human,
Elf
Social Classes
Aristocracy, Nobility, Politicians, Bureaucrats
Common Housing
The Marble Towers are a rennovated group of towers that used to house the old city government offices. After the city's first major expansion during the
First Empire, the Marble Towers were refurbished into common dwellings for the servants and lowly employees of politicians. Each of these tower rooms measure twelve feet by ten feen, contain fireplaces and provide access to a common dining area. Bathing and latrines can be found on the ground floors. Denizens of the Marble Towers must be physically fit as their homes are accessed only by long runs up stairs that spiral around towers just inside their massive walls. The top of each tower has been turned into an observation point and meditation spot, where grass has been planted and trees are placed in enormous potted containers. Old heraldic shields and flags from the Old City government still can be found throughout these historic homes.
Prominent Features
City Hall
The Provincilia 
The Aedile's Office
The Senior Aedile's Office
The Constabulary Headquarters
Militia Precinct Watch
Aelyria Prime Hall of Records
Lion City Park
The Palace of Light
The Amethyst Atrium
The Trade Embassy
Guild Hall
Haven
Featured Businesses
The Black Lion Bistro
The Noble Commissary
The Spirit Well Bathhouse
The Pungeant Leaf Cigar House
The Lion's Roar Gentleman's Club
The Aelyria Prime Unarmed Combat Society
Unicorn Parish
The first scholars and mages to arrive in Aelyria Prime joined the
Royal Court to the northeast of the city on the hills and bluffs overlooking Aelyria Prime with breathtaking scenic vistas of the Great Sea. Unicorn Parish is where the nobility and aristocracy chose to build their sprawling estates and lavish mansions, and on the massive fields near the grassy knolls and windy beaches, they erected the world-famous
Tourney Fields where great competitions and tournaments have been held throughout Aelyrian history. Today, the oldest and most provincial (though not necessarily stylish) of the noble families hold court in their villas to the far northeast, considering it a retreat from the riff-raff of the rest of the city. The renowned
Crown Inn, arguably the most famous social spot in the realm, to the south greets the old summer residence of the monarchs,
Crown Castle, from across the
Avenue of Kings. At the heart of this ward can be found the beautiful
Unicorn Square flanked by once-used ministerial offices and popular hangouts for the rich, now occupied by the well-funded militia precinct watch and various historical museums.
Races
Human,
Elf
Social Classes
Royalty, Nobility, Aristocracy
Common Housing
The Crown Inn (officially, "Crown Inn and Tavern") is one of the most famous and popular hotels the world over, and citizens and adventurers from both throughout the city and the realm convene here to exchange news, trade gossip, share in the intrigues and mysteries of court life, and perhaps even plot and scheme. Originally an elegant manor belonging to none other than
Prince Rynus von Oreskovich, crystal chandelliers and golden candelabras greet the patron at the prestigious Grand Lobby. To the west wing is the refined and elegant Queen's Hall restaurant where only the privileged and well-connected will be served some of the most expensive and rarest cuisine ever to befound. To the east wing is the immensely popular and rustic King's Table, where the primary tavern of the establishment exists, serving the general public the classic staples of Aelyrian cuisine with a hint of the exotic, and of course, the richest ales and greatest brews. The upper floors contain lodgings of all sorts, ranging from the outrageously lavish and ridiculously opulent, to the bare and basic. Housing in Unicorn Parish is extremely expensive, and the Crown Inn measures its stays by the hour. To the north, expansive gardens rush down upon the slopes to the sandy beaches below.
Prominent Features
Unicorn Square
Tourney Fields
Marchant Manor
Lorelan Hall
Crown Castle
The Tower of Abar
Featured Businesses
The Crown Inn
The Regal Libreria
LaurylCo. Gemshoppe
Dances and Masques
His Majesty's Porter
Proudhoof Stables
The Joustery
Stu's Candy Shoppe
Ostward
The sheer inequity of Old Prime is personified in the working streets of furthest east. Ostward is a parish connected to the first civilian docks as one enters the city in the upriver direction. The oldest, and thus smallest, merchant dock is also the most rundown. Suffering from the proximity of Old Prime to the rest of the city, the docks nevertheless benefit from being able to receive new produce, and where new traders will initially dock. Nearly dilapidated but formal, chaotic but adhering to strictures of protocol from the Aelyria Prime Harbor Master, who maintains his offices here, this neighborhood is a peculiar mix of the frenetic and aristocratic slowness. Buildings are reminiscent of the
Forum in style, though marble is often replaced with plastered and painted walls. Old merchant families typically maintain a presence here purely for access to new traders and ship masters. However, the overall feeling in Ostward is one of decay, as the Ostward simply cannot handle goods in the quantities that Aelyria Prime demands. Ostward is famous for its fruit pastries, as merchants and traders go to great lengths to import fresh fruit into the city year round.
Races
All common races represented.
Social Classes
Merchants, Traders, Craftsmen, Laborers, the Poor
Common Housing
Houseboat Row - This odd flotilla consists of large four-room houseboats moored all in rows along one of the oldest civilian docks in Aelyria Prime. Each of these twelve foot by ten foot 'rooms' contain fireplaces and access to a tiny latrine off the stern of each boat that empties directly into the river. The upstairs rooms are accessed by stairways that lead up either side of the ships connected to walkway around the entire vessel. A small private five by ten patio adds - the ones upstairs having a great view - to the total floorspace of this common housing.
Prominent Features
Harbormaster's House
Shipwright's Guild
The Nagri Shipyards
The Baker's Guild
The Temple of Aslan
Featured Businesses
The Pastry Kingdom
Dante's Delights of the Mind
The Light House
The East Wind Fine Dining House
La Cochina Vulgar Cuisine
Chasing the Dragon
Portalis Esplanade
The
Great Gates of the Old City loom over a majestic but aging courtyard of stone, gravel, and cobblework. Oak doors open and portcullis forever raised, the Gates are a reminder of the rich past of the Portalis Esplanade. A quaint neighborhood that transitions gently from a series of unsuspecting streets and alleyways near the
Forum, pine and oak trees grace the ancient battlements while immense stone and marble statues of the Founders and Heroes of Aelyria flank
Procession Way. To the north, the
Arch of Triumph leads the stone path towards the Solum Promenade in
The Castle military district. Numerous small specialty shoppes and bookstores litter the great walkway, and a few rare antiquities traders sell hard to find pieces in the south. Buildings here are classic multi-story tenemants and apartments, with the occasional
High House. Tucked away in a corner is the smallish castle housing the
Guild of Heralds and the Royal
College of Arms. Though showing its age from a time of chivalrous marches and glorious homecomings, the Portalis Esplanade is a monument to Aelyria's past and reminds visitors of their heritage.
Races
All common races represented.
Social Classes
Traders, Soldiers, Adventurers, Merchants, the Wealthy
Common Housing
High House - A tall redwood countryhouse rises nearly ten stories into the sky, seemingly out of place at the end of
Glory Boulevard at the south of this neighborhood near the banks of the
River Ioannes. Presenting with flags and crests of old noble families from times gone by, the High House is an affordable, spacious inn with a hallmark common room on the first floor behind an unassuming wooden high table, and has a long tradition of hosting travelers leaving from or arriving in Aelyria Prime. With reasonable rates, the airy high-ceilings of the bedrooms create an almost luxurious feel for a traveler, while the sensible cuisine at the inn's boardhouse both comforts and nourishes. A small garden enclosed by a black-iron high-fence completes the patron's experience.
Prominent Features
The Arch of Triumph
Procession Way
Temple of Ioannes
The Great Gates
The Park of the Pass
The Glory Obelisk
Fountains of Festivity
The Royal College of Arms
Featured Businesses
High House
The Royal Bank
The Antiquity Emporium
Rho Rho Rho Society
Riverbooks Library
Highport Autonomy
As the menacing batteries from
Fort Candace and
Fort Charisma peer off from the north and south respectively, the high bluffs of Aelyria Prime descend down into a small forest that reveals a wooded clearing, and within it, the suburb of
Highport. Though its own village, Highport has come to serve so much traffic from Aelyria Prime, especially the nobles dwelling in Old Prime's Unicorn Parish, that these days it is entirely indistinguishable from the rest of the city. A pristine and modern sandywood sunwashed boardwalk places the dozens of shoppes and production houses in direct access of revelers and boaters alike. Artisans wishing to specialize in woodwork will often flock to this pricy suburb for a much-sought apprenticeship in one of the crafts guilds that call Highport their home. The Royal Ferry has recently expanded service to Highport due to high demand of travel from there.
Races
Human,
Elf,
Katta
Social Classes
Artisans, Craftsmen, Traders, Aristocrats, Nobles, and the Wealthy
Common Housing
Beyond the often-rented beach houses, closer inland but within a small jaunt of the boardwalk, is a splendid little inn called the Happy Harpy. Bards and musicians are known to swap sea-songs with travelers and tradesmen, who make temporary scenic moorings in Highport, making the atmosphere within the inn enticing and enchanting. Fresh seafood is cooked in a variety of styles from throughout the realm, mimicking with great efficacy the cuisines of other provinces and lands. The bedrooms are simple grey-wooden smallish rooms with breathtaking views of the bay and the sea.
Prominent Features
The Ferry
Highport Boardwalk
The Maritime Guild
Fort Candace
Fort Charisma
Featured Businesses
The Blue Parrot
The Fishmonger
The Happy Harpy
Highport Yacht Club
Tackle and Bait
Old Prime
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