Emerrez

Emerrez is the capital city of Crosteron, the home planet of the Crestantos, and is one of the oldest settlements in the galaxy.

History

Emerrez was built shortly after the Hunt, when the Crestantos defeated the wargarogs, and grew rapidly over the years. A residential district was planned first and then the main square and the palace behind it. Most of the buildings were made from either Crosteron's crystals or those of the Crestantos who built them. The city continued to expand from there as the market district began and the residential district grew, separated into precincts, and grew even more.
After almost a hundred years, most of the city was built. The outer district slowly came

by Lilliana Casper

together, with more buildings added every year as corporations started and were shifted to the outskirts of the city to protect local businesses. As the years passed, most of Emerrez remained unchanged. The buildings rarely needed repair and as other cities sprang up across the planet, fewer homes needed to be built. Occasionally a building needed to be rebuilt or a shop was

added, but most of the city, especially the royal district, has never been replaced.
When Crestantos began to leave Crosteron to explore the galaxy, the rulers at the time installed five defense towers to protect the city in case of a planetary invasion or another attack. The towers were used only during the Charcoal War, which came almost a century later when the Dieganins attacked. Emerrez survived the war with no damage thanks to both the towers and the brave sacrifice of General Charcoal, who powered his superweapon with his own life force to destroy the Dieganin fleet.

Infrastructure

Emerrez is a primarily residential city with many roads. Most of the streets connect to

each other and end at the central square in front of the palace. The palace is the largest building in the city, with grounds even larger than the building for the royal family and their council to enjoy. Just after the square is where the majority of the businesses are placed. These stores sell almost everything in the galaxy, most of them family-run businesses. Before the edge of the city is an enormous ring of residential districts and houses of every color. The very outer ring of the city is a mismatch of large and small buildings. Crosteron's few large corpora-

I'm surprised you haven't explored the city. It's magnificent. You can find anything here. Cafes? Just take a walk down the main street. Restaurants? There's an entire district of them. Want to see a concert or play? Theaters perform every night. Anything you want to get is here.

— Prince Pyrite to his fiancée

tions are located here, interspersed with houses, theaters, and smaller stores.

Districts

Emerrez is divided into four general classes of district: royal, market, residential, and outer. The royal district is the center of the city where the palace is located, as well as a few smaller buildings like the Grand Hotel (for visitors) and the homes of some council members (those who do not live in the palace). The general market district is just outside the royal district and is where most businesses are found. The market district is actually several smaller districts classified as the general market district.
The smaller market districts are the entertainment district, the restaurant district, the clothing district, and the central market district. The entertainment district is where theaters, bookstores, flower shops, gift shops, arcades, technology stores, and similar stores can be found. The restaurant district is where food is found, including not just restaurants, cafes, and ice cream stands, but also markets, fruit stalls, and snack stops. The clothing district has clothing stores of all kinds, with corporation brands, thrift stores, and custom handmade outfits. The central market district is the one found just beyond the royal square and has stores and stalls of all kinds.

Similar to the market districts, the resid-ential district is separated into precincts. Dividing the residential area like so makes it easier to count the population and keep track of voting, law-breaking, and infra-structure failures. There are seventeen precincts in the residential district. The wealthiest precincts are 7, 13, and 5, while the poorest are 6, 12, and 15. Hotels and temporary residences are found mostly in precinct 10, but occasionally in others.

by Lilliana Casper

The outer district is exactly that: the section of the city right at the edge. The outer sector is by far the most varied, with homes, stores, warehouses, and other locations placed almost on top of each other. The buildings here are made of crystal from both Crosteron and Crestantos as well as wood, stone, and metal from other parts of the planet and from the moons.

Defenses

The Crestantos have no natural predators and as such have no reason for major defenses. However, once Crestantos began to leave their planet more often, the rulers chose to build five towers with their strongest weapons and parts of a shield generator attached. Four of the towers were placed at each side of the city and the fifth is on the palace grounds.

They built a city, a grand city, the greatest city in the world, and they named it Emerrez. It was the pride of the Crestantos. Never has there been a city more beautiful and varied than this one. It is the oldest city that we know of still populated.

— from "Pitch and the Wargarogs"

Alternative Name(s)

The capital; Crosteron City

Type

Capital

Population

Approximately 3 million

Inhabitant Demonym

Emerrezans

Location under

Crosteron

Government

The royal Crestanto family rules the entirety of the planet, including the city. However, especially in ruling Emerrez, the royals take advice from appointed officials and often delegate governance of certain areas and topics to members of their council. Most laws must be approved by the king and queen before they can be passed and certain issues must go to the rulers for judging.

We've been ruling for thousands of years. Mom's ancestors built this city from the ground up. It's kind of mind-boggling to think about, honestly.

— Granite, Forsight

Industry & Trade

As probably the biggest settlement on Crosteron, Emerrez always has visitors coming and going and doing business. Tourists particularly enjoy the central market district, while residents have their own favorite places to go. Many Crestantos enjoy making things and many others enjoy buying them, providing the city with a constant hum of commerce.

You have to go to one of the bookstores here. They're amazing. I've heard that Jaque is good too, but you have to at least visit one here.

— Rose

Architecture

Crestanto architecture is rather simple to look at, but the addition of crystal to any building makes it appear far more impressive. The royal palace is the only building in Emerrez (and possibly on the entire planet) where the architecture itself is stunning. Most buildings in Emerrez are made with a frame of wood, metal, or stone and then covered over by layers of crystal from Crosteron. Many residences or family businesses will also include crystal from the owners.

The palace was much different than he remembered. The perfect columns were cracked and several listed to the side. Looking around the city, he could see similar disrepair.

— Comeback