Gatsby
"New money! Young, rich, and wild, reveled, reviled, don't you want that new money filling your pockets? Spend it while you got it, heaven knows if it'll last!"Starting as a farm colony, Gatsby in Magnum Opus was totally reinvented after The Exile's Din by the eponymous Selig Gatsby. It became a city of relaxation, of oppulance, and as time marched forward one known for being at the cutting edge of new styles, new businesses, and most importantly New Money. It now sits as a still popular city for many vacationing and enterprising nobles new and old the world over, and this comparatively small city has reached heights of economic cache and strength that many could only dream of. Hopefully that dream still continues for ages to come.
Demographics
The islands to the south of Magnum Opus as a whole are more populated with Humans and Elves, and Gatsby is no different. While it's modern state and appeal have brought in a whole slew of other demographics along species and cultural lines, those two species still make up the majority, especially among permenant residents.
Many of the residents are in the young adult to middle aged range, with only a handful of older citizens or travellers. This mostly is thanks to the new age, new money appeal of the city. On that topic, a majority of the population are in the middle to high class, with second highest being state-assisted low class, I.E. near poverty.
Government
As with all cities of Magnum Opus, Gatsby is run by an Earl, more specifically Earl Eric Fitzgerald who only recently began their term. In theory, the district spokespeople are still voted on yearly by the people of that district, but given the cultural environment and vibe of the city they tend to be whoever is most well-liked by the rich and aristocratic of the city.
Defences
Gatsby doesn't have much for structural defenses, instead relying on a series of outside factors. First and foremost, the seas around the Roaring Isles are notoriously choppy, and only the familiar or the prepared can make the trek without damages. Secondly, Gatsby is the most inland settlement on the island, meaning there's a lot of ground to cover for any potential enemies and a lot of ground for the national military to stop them. Lastly, despite being a smaller city, Gatsby is still an economic power and trendsetting capital. Any amount of financial retaliation could be ennacted on their enemies, and many such crashes were caused during The Border Wars, when resources were already scarce.
Industry & Trade
Gatsby's greatest trade is the art of the trade. Many socialites and young CEO's live in the area, and so while their various businesses are making sales and commisions far away, they're sealing deals and making bargains with their fellow well-to-do's that really push their businesses forward. It's a city built on networking, and therefore it is built on the events and presentation that goes into that kind of networking.
Hotels for visitors, gowns and suits for the new occasion, the hottest new jewlery or magical accessory, elegant chateaus and dancehalls, more fine liquor than you could ever survive drinking, it's all the staples of the greased palms that shake in this city.
In a less dramatic style, the city is also known for having various prodigal artists, and their agricultural sector is nothing to sneeze at.
Infrastructure
From the local Green River, Gatsby has a well-made and maintained irrigation system, and has recently incorporated a mana-power grid fueled and cleaned by water mills along the rivers flow. It also has immaculatley paved roads throughout the main streets of the city, and even the lower income districts have well maintined buildings at the very least.
Districts
Residential Districts
These districts are primarily for housing or hospitality, although these are commonly intermingeled with personal businesses throughout Magnum Opus.- Gold Hills - A high-end district towards the north of the city. You'll find many luxrious villas, condominiums, small mansions, and full-blown estates once you go outside the tight city limits. Least likely to have mixed-use buildings, but many of the affluent do take personal meetings in their homes, or throw networking parties.
- Riverbend - A housing district aptly along a large stretch of the Green Rivers bend, with various illustrious riverside villas and artisian businesses throughout the area, especially small yet chic hotels and inns.
- Silverheart - Smack in the center of the city, Silverheart is a middle-high district and the most mixed-use district within the city. You'll find many nice homes or apartments, more commonly rented than bought, as well as plenty of businesses of all types, especially food service and general stores.
- Copper Pouch - The lower income district of the city due east, past the river bend. It is mostly full of state-provided housing, but there are also many privately owned rentals of...various qualities. You can also find plenty of less advertised forms of business here, especially from those despratley trying to cross the river into something greater.
Commerce Districts
- The Ramble - To the west side of Silverheart, The Ramble is the key shopping and nightlife district, with boutiques and clubs, jewlers and taverns, stylists and theaters, the whole nine yards and more. It is generally said that the Ramble is the beating heart of the city, never stopping even in the dead of night.
- Greenmakers - To the West and Northwest of the city, it is the humblest of the cities districts, keeping older pastoral architecture and mainly being used for crafters, food sellers, and various other artisans of the less glitzy variety. There's some pastoral housing here, and some farm workers live within this district as well. Speaking of:
- The Farmsteads - Outside the city limits, mostly to the west, there are the large patches of farm fields that supply much of the cities crop intake. The ones closest to the city are primarily vegetable or grain fields, but the further out you go you'll find orchards, vineyards, and animal farms as well along with the collectives of farmsteads that these farming communities have set up among each other.
- New Gatsby - To the due south of the city, this is the newest district to be expanded in the city. It's full of hospitality busineses for tourists or newcomers and brimming with up-and-coming businesses of all stripes, trying to succeed and grow to the high-earning establishments known worldwide. It's the dawn of New Money, and New Gatsby is the first gateway into the city at its core.
- The Citadel - To the central-north of the city, The Citadel is where Gatsby Manor lies, as well as City Hall and several municipal buildings. It also incorporates the two areas known as Platinum Park and Milk Hill, both natural parks full of gorgeous gardens right outside of the citadels walls.
Assets
Gatsby has a wealth of wealth, both active money flowing from hand to hand in the great web of commerce that is Magnum Opus, but also hoarded and historic wealth. While the higher houses get taxed a pretty penny, especially under King Diomedes' specific reforms, they still have plenty of gold to go around, making Gatsby a rather powerful economic entity even for a smaller, distant city.
Gatsby is also rich in reputation. Glitz and glamour is fine, but if you don't have the social prestige to pull it off you just end up looking gaudy and bloated. Gatsby isn't just a city for the rich, it's a city for the fun, the worldly, the inventive! In the public eye it's a revolving door of fresh ideas and loads of money, enough for many people to try and buy in on the dream of it all.
History
Gatsby, or the land that would become Gatsby anyways, started out as a farming community set up by Atalantan nobles during their occupation of the land pre-Exiles Din, and worked almost entirely by prisoner labor. It was actually a very key location in the revolution to come, as during The Strike of Exile Gatsby was the location of a massive protest intended to not only spread the message, but distract the Atalantan forces enough to stage the Exile's first strategic act of war.
That protest turned to riot as the Atalantan soldiers retaliated, and were then summarily beaten back by the Exiles and Tanguy the Reaper. While it's grander aspirations wouldn't be realized just yet, there was a revolution to win afterall, one key mind got to thinking ahead of time, Selig Gatsby. She was technically Atalantean, born to a nobleman family but with a mother local to the Roaring Isle and therefore found her loyalities leaning more towards the Exiles, but also to oppritunity.
Once the dust settled and Magnum Opus was founded, Gatsby got to work. What was once prison farms for noble sustenance would become the feasting ground for upper-class intent because of one thing: the nearby town of Ritz. Ritz was founded during the occupation by a famed aristocratic family of wizards from Atalanta, and as such had become a point of high-culture cache for Atalantans, Afallonians, and their high-class allies in other nations as well. But, when those nobles were sent packing and their oppression of the Seated People became very socially gauche, that left an easily tapped market. Dozens of old money types looking for a scenic land to have their lavish vacations at.
And so, Gatsby's Home-away-from-Home plan began, starting the settlement by fixing up the Atalantan Nobles chateaus in modern Magnian styles, as well as incorporating various other rising art techniques of the time. Then came setting up the basic appeals and amennities. Luckily there were many craftsmen, merchants, and farmers looking for home and work at this time, so getting the right people for the job was easy.
It took very little time at all for the money to start rolling in, as supporting the newly liberated country was socially haute, and Gatsby had an eye for advertising plus a few reputational strings due to her family. Charming beaches, lush greenlands, hearty and noble people, all from the comfort of fine maisons and lavish refreshments. Soon, tourism would attract citizens, which would attract business, which would attract money, which would attract more tourists, and the cycle would begin.
Even when the social trend turned away from philanthropy, the wheel had started rolling enough that the land of Gatsby had enough appeal on it's own. But, Selig's vision didn't stop there, it wasn't her endgoal to make some vacation tourist trap. She wanted to make an epicenter.
In the Melting Winter of 841 EE, a petition was raised and quickly accepted to make Gatsby it's own township, and once that passed next was a ferocious grab at Ritz's luxury businesses and appeals. By 850 EE, Gatsby had tripled in population and new construction was through the roof, even as Selig was reaching the twilight of her human years. By the time she passed in 869 EE, the city had been named in her honor, and even though her family would not go on to be the Earls of the future, they have always been a key point of influence in the city.
By the time the Border Wars came, Gatsby had enough high-class cache around Edda that it was stressed to be a non-target, helped by the fact that Magnum Opus was a neutral country, providing humanitarian aid mostly. With the end of the war and more eyes on Magnum Opus for it's part in ending the brutal conflict, Gatsby got a resurgance same as the rest of the country, but theirs led to rise in power and status for the New Money crowd, those who reached untold success without the buildup of generations to back them.
The new money crowd were ravenous children, knowing how and when to take every opportunity with vices for jaws, but they also felt none of the hoarding strings of history keeping them to professional or measured responses. The New Rich run Gatsby now, even as the Old Money watch and plan their parties.
But, Gatsby is ever going to grow richer and richer no matter how or by who that money flows. However, one question is always going to be raised. For all the ups that've been the history of Gatsby so far, what'll happen if it starts going down?
Architecture
The architecture styles of Gatsby can be split into four groups. First you have pastoral Magnian farmhouses, usually found by, well, the farms and the Greenmakers district. These are wooden usually with stone foundations, plenty of windows and exposed rustic framework, and sloped rooves in various formations. Then there's the state housing in the lower income areas, of similar composition but with simpler, smaller, more squared designs.
The rest of the city takes on mostly the look of Gothic architecture but with extra bits of color, flair, and drama. This is most obvious along The Ramble and New Gatsby, where entire blocks will have connected storefronts showing veritable murals of building architecture along their eaves or doorways. A newer trend intermingling with this involves the Artistic Decorative style, which involves similar aspects with strong geometric shapes and striking colors.
Geography
The central part of the Roaring Isle that Gatsby sits on is raised high enough to not be buffeted by the waves, even in harsher storms, and sits gently on the bend of the Green River, influenced more by the nearby Green Lake than the outside sea. While Gatsby itself is mostly paved and developed with cobblestone roads and foundations, it sits on a lush tall grass plain, and many of the people adore its gentle vibes, especially on a cool breezy day.
Climate
While rather temperate and cool, as the rest of Magnum Opus, Gatsby and the rest of Southern Magnum Opus is a fair bit warmer due to being closer to the warm air front that keeps Afallon to the east so dry and arid. It's enough that their winters have comparitvely less snowfall, but not enough to make them too distinct from the rest of the nation.
Founding Date
3/15/841 EE
Founders
Alternative Name(s)
Festivius, Party Town
Type
Large city
Population
about 109,000
Inhabitant Demonym
Gatsby's
Location under
Owner/Ruler
Ruling/Owning Rank
Owning Organization
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