Vytelian

Vytelian is the largest city in the whirlpool reefs, inhabited by the coralite kuuyikar, along with a mix of other species. The city is effectively cut into two sections: the upper and abovewater portion, and the lower and underwater portion.
The city is open to and mostly welcoming of outsiders, and many of its citizens take great pride in this. It is ranked as one of the most outsider-friendly cities on Etharai, and its central district is particularly tourist-friendly.

Type

City

Location under

Whirlpool Reefs

Beautiful Coral Reefs Underwater by adiprayogo liemena

Welcome to the City of Unity

— Inscription on the city's entrance arch

Demographics

Only 30-40% of Vytelian's population are coralite kuuyikar - there are a good few people of other species that have made their home in the area. It is one of the most welcoming cities to outsiders, both for trade purposes as well as people moving with the intent to live in the city.
For this reason, the inhabitants of the city like to call it the City of Unity. Whether or not this is a misnomer is up for debate - while the coralites certainly are friendly to most everyone, the other cultures represented within the city's large population often have trouble leaving their grievences at the gate.

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Industry and Trade

The majority of what Vytelian has to offer is in the form of corals. Foods made from coral, minerals or materials made or harvested from them, and the corals themselves - all are fairly popular to offer up for trade both within the city, and with people outside of it. Citizens of Vytelian will often trade with outsiders for less obtainable goods, such as root vegetables, minerals that can only be mined on land, and more. Such goods are often considered to have a bit more value in Vytelian's trading system between citizens, due to the effort required to find them. However, bartering is always subjective.

Districts

There are five different districts: two abovewater, two underwater, and one crossing between the two parts. These districts are known as Katakhal, Rhyzhor, Heiathel, Luria, and Ouria.

Luria

Luria is one of the two fully abovewater districts of Vytelian. It accounts for the majority of the abovewater part of the city, and is full of bridges, arches, and stations for flying vehicles to stop or park. It is also home to the well-known and highly-acclaimed University of Vytelian.

Ouria

Ouris is the second of the two fully abovewater districts of Vytelian, and is almost entirely a technological/scientific district. The buildings in this area become much more metal and coralglass than coral itself, and it is much less navigable to most.

Heiathel

Heiathal is the district spanning both the above- and under-water sections of the city, and is located almost directly in the centre of Vytelian. The entrance to the city is also included within the district, as well as the abovewater street that bisects the city. This district is the hub of the city's trade and other sociality, with a wide offering of open spaces for people to collect, set up markets or trade booths, and interact with one another. This district is also the most open to tourists in terms of its actual arcitecture - signs are posted on every street corner and translated into at least 5 different langauges, and a wide selection of hotels and restaurants are based in Heiathel.

Katakhal

Katakhal is one of Vytelian's two fully-underwater districts. It encompasses around 2/3 of the underwater section of the city, and goes a bit further underwater than Rhyzhor, including some underground construction - mainly for mines and farming. This section of the city is almost entirely inhabited by kuuyikar, save for some other aquatic sapients living in the district.

Rhyzhor

Rhyzhor is the second of the two entirely underwater districts, and is much smaller than Katakhal. The majority of the buisnesses in this districts are those of arts, with many artists, potters, and those in other creative professions. Rhyzhor is known to be very difficult to navigate, with its buildings close together, its streets feeling more akin to tunnels, and its lack of any form of signage.

Infrastructure

Abovewater

Rising above the surface of the water are pillars of coral and metal, forming skyscrapers of buildings with many arches crossing between them. Terraces and balconies jut out from these towers, some even connecting to multiple and forming squares for people to gather, trade, or simply be.

Underwater

From the ocean floor to the water's surface, buildings are woven between and inside of the natural coral growing in the whirlpool reefs. The underwater areas of Vytelian are known to have smaller streets and more tightly-knit buildings - though to the coralites living here, this is a bonus rather than a negative.