Heliodor

The city of the Sky, Capital of Laenwalde

Constructed in holy defiance of the Void Gods after The Castle of Bodies destroyed the previous capital, Audran. A wonderous feat of artificing, Heliodor is a floating city that hovers thirty five thousand feet above Gharl’s Strait. It is a small, but fantastical city. It serves as the hub of political power and nobility. It is more of a giant castle than a true city. It is only accessible via Airships or Teleportation Circles due to its high altitude. The city is capable of aeronautical movement, teleportation and performing a terrestrial landing, but it spends most of its time above its sister city Elysium Station where Airship Ferries move passengers and good to and from the city.

# Overview

Aspect	Description
Main Opportunity	Heliodor is a city that feels like it is on top of the world. Figuratively and literally. It is full of hundreds of important people who come and go like the inner working of some great societal machine. Being in the city feels like being inside the heart of society itself. The shops, inns, and other services are of the highest quality, and it is all built to cater to the needs of its guests.
Main Challenge	The city’s original vision was a capital that could be present all over the massive kingdom. A place where the city’s rulers could keep their finger on the pulse of Laenwalde, and the people could feel watched over and cared for. However the tendencies of nobility have altered this vision. Be it consciously or unconsciously, the upper class always tend to push away the common folk to a comfortable arms length. Heliodor has become a place with the infrastructure to monitor and rule over the massive kingdom, or where nobility can live in luxury and ignorance if they choose. The latter is the most common. The city is very exclusive, if you are not a resident you require invitation to enter. Servants require a Flatkey to work within the city. Prices of goods and services are very steep to keep out riff raff, some formal invitations to the city even require cover costs of food, lodging, and provide a per diem if a guest is not well off.
Climate	Artificial Tropical/Temperate
Cuisine	A vast selection of fine imported foods
Export	None
Size	Small
Outer Villages	None
City Leader	King Tatelak II
Primary Language(s)	None
Majority Racial Group(s)	None
Majority Religion(s)	Zolaen-Centric

# Major Features

Feature	Description
Distinguishing Features	Flying City
Architecture	Beautiful metal buildings with intricate detail, Huge windows, Stained glass, Residential streets filled with varieties of different styles and building materials
Color(s)	Purple, Grey, and Gold
Symbolism	A symmetrical floating city with a single arched door in the center
Defenses	Airship fleet, aeronautical flight capabilities, teleportation, heavy artillery, Kingsguard

# People Groups

Group	Type	Description
High Nobility	Social Class	The top of the top within the noble circles of Laenwalde. High Lords, High Ladies, Merchant Tycoons, Guild Leaders, Upper ranking members from The University, Military Leaders, Foreign Diplomats, and people of the like. The kingdom and city look to these people for direction. At the top of their hierarchy sits King Tatelak II and his Golden Council.
Nobility	Social Class	The vast majority of the city’s locals and visitors. Those who are of great import to the kingdom, but do not carry the sway of high nobility. They live in great luxury, and are supposed to conduct very important business within the city. However many only partake in the former.
Servants	Social Class	Those who come from Elysium Station station to serve within the city. These are usually lowly positions such as personal servants, guards, cooks, cleaners, maintenance, shop keepers, and things of the like. Socially, the are expected to keep their heads down and not cause trouble. Controversial sociologists have compared their behaviors to that of slaves. This is understandable because slaves are not allowed within the city for security reasons, and they have taken up the next closes role. The vast majority of servants are required to leave the city and head to Elysium Station after their shift work is completed.
Kingsguard	Occupation/Guild	The military presence responsible for keeping law within the city. Members of this group exist on a spectrum which varies from devout elite (usually from The First Bastion), to lazy oaf who was lucky enough to be stationed in the capital.
The Golden Council	Occupation	Those responsible with counseling the king. They are the most powerful within their domain.

# Goods and Services

Name	Type	Description
Laenkeep	Keep	The city’s main keep, and home to King Tatelak II. It is a valiant and tall structure that reaches far into the heavens.
Heliodor Convergence	Teleportation Circle	The city’s main teleportation circle. Located within the keep.
The Hall of Lenses	Misc.	A structure within the main keep that contains an array of arcane devices, each with a lens that allows a user to peer at an overhead view of each Laenwalde’s cities.
The Hook	Aeronautical Port	A large structure that extends out from the main city which acts as an aeronautical port
The Gem Market	Market	The city’s luxurious market, containing the highest qualities and prices.
Aeordel Wine House	Tavern	A very fine wine house, containing wines and spirits from all over The Three Corners
The Wyvern’s Wing	Restaurant	One of The Three Corner’s finest restaurants. Getting a table at this venue is extremely difficult, and a mark of true importance.
The Gilded Shield	Tavern	A tavern popular with off duty Kingsguard. Located in the shallowest level of The Bellows.
The Bellows	Misc	The infrastructure that maintains the city. A complex nexus of tunnels filled with Imbuement Perpetuum, Apparatum and mechanical devices which keep the city aloft and running smoothly.

# Authority

The city is ruled by King Tatelak II himself. Crown of Laenwalde. He is charged with running the city and kingdom, with the help of his Golden Council. The king is able to choose his council, and none are allowed to deny the call of council. Members come and go, and are usually assigned by merit in the kings eyes, but some stations are usually filled by direct associate with some other position.

The Golden Council are as follows:

King’s Advisor - Kings Advisor Edmond Vaultry, A wise old elf man. A position that is only outranked by the king himself.
Council of Arms - Blade Lord Kive Bidell, A proud human man of moderate age, and great tactical skill. Charged with maintaining all terrestrial military. Head of The First Bastion.
Council of Navy - Lord Wilton Reeves, A young, but promising lord. Charged with maintaining all naval military.
Council of Aeronaut - Lady Gale Windstrom, an Aarakocran woman of many years of experience. Charged with maintaining all aeronautical military.
Council of Coin - High Lady Uraka Jirona, a halfling woman with a silver tongue and deep pockets of her own. Responsible for maintaining the crown’s coin. Also ruler of Kahdinacht.
Council of Arcana - Grandmaster Whiles Gennador, the famed Human Arcanist. An aged human man, and head of The Brass Hall. The most prestigious institution of the Arcanum, a branch of The University. Brother to High Priest Tarsin Gennador. Charged with providing council in ongoings involving the arcane.
Council of Viridescence - High Se’kir Fjor Mizella, a tabaxi woman of great wisdom. Head of The Conservatory. Charged with providing council in ongoings involving the viridescent.
Council of Observance - High Priest Tarsin Gennador, the head of the Zolaen Church within Laenwalde. An aged human man. Brother to Grandmaster Whiles Gennador. Charged with providing council ongoings involving the Gods.
Council of Citizens - Lord Zernbin Kilt, a soft spoken dragonborn man. Known to keep a finger on the pulse of the whole kingdom. Charged with monitoring, and maintaining the people and resources they need.
Council of Diplomacy - Lady Vetra Fildaeo, a very well educated dwarven woman. Charged with maintaining relationships with foreign powers.

# Laws

The city subscribes to the Laenwalde Laws as well as enforcing its own laws.

Law	Severity	Description
Disallowment of Slaves	Medium	Salves are not allowed within the city. Also individuals are not allowed to bring slaves within the city. Slaves are considered convicted criminals and a security threat to the capital.
Illegal Entry	High	If one does not have the proper invitation or certification to enter the city and they manage to enter somehow, they can be met with serious charges.

# Modern Importance

Heliodor is considered to be almost mythological by outside views. If it weren’t for its fame, many would doubt its existence. It is a floating city, a marvel of technology and magic. It acts as the hub of all important ongoings within Laenwalde.

# Historical Importance

Heliodor is a very young city. It was constructed to replace the old capital, Audran which was destroyed by The Castle of Bodies. Its make resembles the appearance of the horrible void god in an effort to defy the destruction the kingdom once faced.

# The Creation of Heliodor

Long after Laenwalde had recovered from the The Castle of Bodies attack on Audran, the kingdom was still without a clear capital.

To remedy this, the nobility came up with a frivolous design that Artificers of The University made into reality. A floating golden city, almost defiant of The Castle of Bodies. While having obvious issues, like alienation of lower classes in the capital, Heliodor does seem to offer a beacon of hope to the people of Zol.

Built outside of Ryze, Heliodor is capable of both vertical and lateral movement at a slow pace. It has many failsafes in place ensuring that the city will land before it crashes. The city is small in comparison to its terrestrial cousins, but this is by design. Its primary function is a political headquarters for Laenwalde.

# Societal Effect of Separation from the Surface

Initially the city served its function very well, however after many years some nobility have had their altitude cloud their judgment. A divide has formed between the everyday people of Laenwalde and the ruling powers of Heliodor.