Kronwerk

Oldest of the Clockwork Cities

Kronwerk has the distinction of being considered the oldest of the four clockwork cities in two regards. One, its ruins were the first to be discovered by the Dhulwinite settlers that would later become the Ilkatan Confederation. Two, historical records of The Parch indicates that both the Yarren and Etani Kingdoms built cities in the exact location that Kronwerk stands today. The city got its name from the single standing weight tower that the settlers first saw peaking over the horizon. They initially mistook its purpose for a clock tower, but even after discovering its true functionality the name stuck, and as the ruins were restored and expanded clocks would serve as the unifying decor across the whole city, right down to its design.

A Living Clock

Kronwerk's city design is radial in nature, with the weight tower in the center. The districts are also radial, resulting in their shorthand name being different hours on a clock. 12 o'clock is the market district, 2 o'clock is the garden district, 4 o'clock is the artisan district, 6 o'clock is the financial/government district, 8 o'clock is the University district, and 10 o'clock is the residential district (note that residences are across the entire city, but are clustered at 10 and 2 given their proximity to the market. The city is also divided along inner and outer rings, marked by the Trolley lines that run around the radius of each ring. While the innermost ring is largely government and Tower maintenance buildings, the closer a ring is to the center the wealthier its residents tend to be.

Speaker of the City

The city government uses a parliamentary system, with the largest party appointing a Speaker that serves as the Executive of the city. Therefore, the legislative and executive authorities in Kronwerk tend to be closely tied, leading to greater efficiency while in office, but a tendancy for policies to be reversed just as quickly when a new party wins the majority. The current Speaker is a Loxodon man by the name of Bayev Gomel. He's been in office for almost a decade as his focus on education and residential infrastructure has been overwhelmingly popular. Known to be soft-spoken and well-articulated, few have ever seen him publicly angry or upset, a noteworthy feat when in a position of looking after several million people.

To Study Infinite Power

Of the many schools in the 8 o'clock district, none have the prestige and world-renown as the university known as Vi Infinitum, or V.I.U. for short. The university offers a wide variety of study, from medical to legal, even pushing the boundaries of alchemy and science, but it is most well known for its study of magic. Offering courses in both the divine and arcane, it is in their mission statement to better understand all aspects of magic, including the Starstone that helps keep the entire city running. The current Headmaster is a human by the name of Varseeg Kaan, an incredibly driven man who is also regularly called upon by the Ilkatan Council for research both imperical and historical.

Repurposing Ancient Structures

Beyond Kronwerk, the other notable city within the region is Gravitier, city of the fallen island. One of the first fallen islands discovered by the Confederation, it was soon discovered that within the rubble that made up the mountain was the ruins of a clockwork city. When the Confederation sought to create their own cities, the island ruins were used to reference as well as be stripped for usable parts and materials. After several decades, all of the ruins were picked clean, but rather than try and remove some of the support beams and risk the mountain collapsing everything, they elected to keep them and serve as the bones for a newer, smaller city to be built within the fallen island itself. Today, Gravitier has become a popular alternative for those weary of the city life while still having some of its more modern comforts.

Population: ~9 million
Common Demographics: Human, Loxodon, Aarocockra, Orc, Gnome, Kenku
Territory: Everything South of the Express and Abdiel Rivers, the Plains surrounding Kronwerk and Lake Roth
Number of Synchronized Clocks in the City: A Lot
Number of Clocks off by Five or More Minutes: Even More