Althea: Places of Interest
The Volary
A two-floor dining facility located in Central Square which serves regular meals to the public for free. While Atlas Campus contains a small hydroponic farm and even a stockyard, these facilities are primarily there for research purposes and their output is not enough to sustain the whole city. As such, the Volary relies on scheduled food imports from Calava and other city-states, and its staff must plan its menus carefully in order to meet their goals.
Notably, The Volary inspired the development of magical climate controls which it uses extensively for both refrigeration and preparation of institutional amounts of food on a daily basis.
Wellsdawn Sanatorium
Serving as both Althea's primary medical care facility and the site of Atlas University's medical program (under Applications of Practical Science), Wellsdawn Sanatorium was donated by Rika Tsukasa of Kansujian fame just fifty years after Althea's founding. In the time since it has been the driving force behind many improvements in the medical and pharmaceutical fields in the Coast and beyond; it is the main reason the Coastal city-states have adapted a scientific model for human health, though many still practice traditional styles of medicine alongside it.
Wellsdawn, in coordination with the Skysteel Foundry on Atlas Campus, has a burgeoning program for development of Construct-inspired prosthetics. Though they're a long way from being simple and affordable enough to spread elsewhere on the Coast, the small number of people testing their prototypes report extremely favorable results.
Ashimachi Central Strategic Reserve Bank
While officially connected to the actual bank of Ashimachi and thus beholden to its bylaws, the CSRB office in Central Square is to all intents and purposes the official bank of Althea. Given Althea's complete lack of exports and trade, the bank is also attached to the municipal government and handles taxation and allocation of funds for government projects.
Hall of the Cosmos
Housing most of the classrooms, lecture halls, and laboratories used in the Study of the Magical Arts program, the Hall of the Cosmos was itself constructed almost entirely through the use of Sorcerous Workings. Displaying the latest in (specifically) magical technologies set amongst architecture that defies the laws of physics, it is the foremost center of magical study in the Coast.
While many older academies exist, such as Mahoga University in Ashimachi, studying magic at the Hall of Cosmos is equivalent to attending an Ivy League university in the modern day. High Peak Observatory Perched atop the Hall of the Cosmos, the High Peak Observatory contains a wealth of enchanted hardware for observing the stars: telescopes that users can project their consciousnesses into, armillary spheres which accurately and automatically track the stars even in daytime, and other wonders aid students and researchers in their observations of the stars. While this is typically done in support of the belief that the positions of the stars and other such "celestial arrangements" can affect magic, many disagree with this notion. Terran Symposium Where the Hall of Cosmos is the primary building for Study of the Magical Arts, the Terran Symposium is Atlas University's center for studying Applications of Practical Science. A foreboding, institutional structure manually constructed using materials from Dry Pines, the Symposium houses equipment for fabrication, manufacturing, and assembly of tools, machines, and other technological wonders in a much more technical capacity than is available elsewhere in the Coast.
That is to say, other city-states tend to rely on cottage industry and the consistency of production varies accordingly; the Symposium's use of Constructs and other machinery to produce goods eliminates some of the uncertainty of the human element. Skysteel Foundry Frequented by students of both of Atlas University's largest programs, the Skysteel Foundry is a facility dedicated to furthering human knowledge in the practice of artifice. While artifact forges in other city-states are generally state-run ventures, producing such wonders as magical weapons and armor, the Foundry is dedicated to exploring ways through which artifice can enhance the quality of human life in the Coast. Foremost among these is its Constructs program, which produces basic automatons by placing Hearthstones in carefully crafted mechanized frames; these Constructs are utilized throughout Althea to automate many of the basic needs of a city. The Underworld Even among Althean citizens, little is known of The Underworld except that it is an underground research facility made to expand Atlas University without developing past the walls enclosing the city. Most of the university's students will have at least seen its administrative and security wings on guided tours or through one of the many entrances throughout Atlas Campus, but the facilities beyond the security checkpoints are generally forbidden to most except researchers who have the necessary clearance.
Outside of the personnel who work there, not many know exactly how large The Underworld actually is; many agree it's entirely possible The Underworld is as large or larger than Althea itself appears above-ground. Even more surmise it's a place built to control and contain potentially dangerous substances, experiments, or creatures - all, of course, in the name of science. Wolf Yard The primary training ground and residence for Althea's elite corps of Sentinels, the Wolf Yard is run by a detachment of Conservators from Chamatkaar's Shielded Faith. Volunteers for the Ranger program are also trained here, though of course their training regimen is far less intense than that of the Sentinels.
While many older academies exist, such as Mahoga University in Ashimachi, studying magic at the Hall of Cosmos is equivalent to attending an Ivy League university in the modern day. High Peak Observatory Perched atop the Hall of the Cosmos, the High Peak Observatory contains a wealth of enchanted hardware for observing the stars: telescopes that users can project their consciousnesses into, armillary spheres which accurately and automatically track the stars even in daytime, and other wonders aid students and researchers in their observations of the stars. While this is typically done in support of the belief that the positions of the stars and other such "celestial arrangements" can affect magic, many disagree with this notion. Terran Symposium Where the Hall of Cosmos is the primary building for Study of the Magical Arts, the Terran Symposium is Atlas University's center for studying Applications of Practical Science. A foreboding, institutional structure manually constructed using materials from Dry Pines, the Symposium houses equipment for fabrication, manufacturing, and assembly of tools, machines, and other technological wonders in a much more technical capacity than is available elsewhere in the Coast.
That is to say, other city-states tend to rely on cottage industry and the consistency of production varies accordingly; the Symposium's use of Constructs and other machinery to produce goods eliminates some of the uncertainty of the human element. Skysteel Foundry Frequented by students of both of Atlas University's largest programs, the Skysteel Foundry is a facility dedicated to furthering human knowledge in the practice of artifice. While artifact forges in other city-states are generally state-run ventures, producing such wonders as magical weapons and armor, the Foundry is dedicated to exploring ways through which artifice can enhance the quality of human life in the Coast. Foremost among these is its Constructs program, which produces basic automatons by placing Hearthstones in carefully crafted mechanized frames; these Constructs are utilized throughout Althea to automate many of the basic needs of a city. The Underworld Even among Althean citizens, little is known of The Underworld except that it is an underground research facility made to expand Atlas University without developing past the walls enclosing the city. Most of the university's students will have at least seen its administrative and security wings on guided tours or through one of the many entrances throughout Atlas Campus, but the facilities beyond the security checkpoints are generally forbidden to most except researchers who have the necessary clearance.
Outside of the personnel who work there, not many know exactly how large The Underworld actually is; many agree it's entirely possible The Underworld is as large or larger than Althea itself appears above-ground. Even more surmise it's a place built to control and contain potentially dangerous substances, experiments, or creatures - all, of course, in the name of science. Wolf Yard The primary training ground and residence for Althea's elite corps of Sentinels, the Wolf Yard is run by a detachment of Conservators from Chamatkaar's Shielded Faith. Volunteers for the Ranger program are also trained here, though of course their training regimen is far less intense than that of the Sentinels.
Additional Info
Althea: The City of Quills
Althea: Map and Physical Layout
Althea: Notable Factions
Althea: People of Note
Althea: Resources, Technology, etc.
Althea: Flora and Fauna
Althea: The City of Quills
Althea: Map and Physical Layout
Althea: Notable Factions
Althea: People of Note
Althea: Resources, Technology, etc.
Althea: Flora and Fauna
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