Highburg

The largest city in all of Astagua, Highburg houses The Unified Council, the famous library Academia, and one of the only stable nested-demi-plane structures created after the Great Sacrifice, The Tardis Hotel. It is a mesmerizing metropolis, replete with merchants, thieves, worshipers, sinners, good, evil, and unaligned. Truly a cultural tableau, it is the heart, home, and hope of Astagua.

Districts

Highburg is separated into six districts with boundaries drawn (mostly) by economic capacity. The enforcement of this caste system is performed by the districts' guards as there is no unified city watch. This only creates more drastic differences between the residents of Highburg; the rich and affluent live perfectly safe lives, clear of the claws of the criminals of the city. In contrast, the poorest districts are often left to fend for themselves, with few volunteer guards who are liable to look the other way for the right price.

Cobbled Square

Cobbled Square sits in the center of Highburg and is a densely-packed urban marvel. Every structure in this part of the city sells either goods or services, and the boisterous competitive climate of the market ensures the prices never get as high as the volume. Other than a couple of staples found throughout the city, it is anyone's guess as to which stores will be in business one week leading into the next.
This dramatic economic feud that stretches across the district has borne several nefarious organizations who can be hired to put shops out of business or worse. Viscount Elvric Emberbasher has done little to stop the rise in mercenary coercion, insisting that a free market which pays its taxes is the best market to have.
Cobbled Square also has a row of stockades not far from the main district well, ensuring that criminals are both mocked and kept alive for as long as possible.
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Forged War

Duin'dianta

Alcoduct

Vundel's Valuables

Jagged Dragons

Maiden Voyage

Village Alterations

The Mountain District

The Mountain District covers a large swathe of land within the original walls of Highburg, and most of the grounds are meticulously well-maintained parks and nature reserves for the unfathomably rich to walk through at their leisure. The status of the district's long-term guests precludes the opportunity for the city rabble to go in.
While there are less than 20 structures in the whole district, the entirety of the Highburg Aristocracy, a number of The Unified Council, lavish travelers, and other wealthy persons reside within the uniquely-stable, nested-demiplane structure known as The Tardis Hotel.

The High Keep

Home of the Viscount of Highburg and the operational headquarters of The Unified Council, the High Keep towers over the rest of Highburg and is protected by the first walls ever built for the city. Unless one is either invited to attend the Council or condemned to rot in the dungeons beneath the Keep, access is strictly prohibited to commonfolk.

The Unified Council uses a unique magic to trap those accused of serious crimes. They place a rune on the accused until the end of their trial; should one attempt to leave the city, they will die a gruesome, explosive death from the magic contained in the rune as fleeing is seen as an admission of guilt. Few wizards know the spell, Glyph of Imprisonment.

Academia

The largest library in Vals'kar, Academia is an educational and historical marvel second only to The Grave of the First World. It has several wings devoted to the historical archive of hundreds of topics, including famous Celorians, mythical locations, artifacts of grand power, biology, geology, trade routes -- if one can think of it, there's likely something about it there.
Countess Karrakir Indala of Dhacha owns the library itself, but the district is open to the public. Access to Academia is restricted to researchers, academics, the rich, and the royal; still, if one desires access, they can submit a writ to the Countess.
Surrounding the library is a massive garden with various enchantments cast upon it, that plants from entirely different climates may survive. Highburg may be worth visiting simply on the beauty of the Garden of Academia.

Rosewood Burrow

District of the modestly affluent in Highburg, Rosewood Burrow spans the south-western side of Highburg. While generally kind to one another, those who can afford to live there are typically condescending to those of lesser fortune and groveling to those who surpass them.
In addition to paying taxes to The Unified Council, those in Rosewood Burrow also pay a 'District Association' fee, which is spent maintaining the grounds, providing a militia-style security to "encourage" the rabble to stay out, and to ensure no one's residence is particularly out of line.
Without any mercantile buildings, the residents of Rosewood send servants to purchase anything they need; because of this, many people in Rosewood haven't seen outside of the district in years. There are plenty of taverns and stages though, which provide entertainment and the only glimpses to the outside world many in the district will ever see.

"I don't like the folks in Rosewood Burrow, and they don't like me. Far as I'm concerned, that's a perfectly agreeable arrangement. Can't trust the folks anyway; were it not for the mountains and the moon, they'd argue there ain't nothing else in the world but Highburg. Hell, some of 'em do anyway."

— Unknown

Thatchroof Quarry

Carved into the Cairnbrow Mountains against the north-eastern border of Highburg, the Thatchroof Quarry is, as its name suggests, a district for the poor. While the Cobbled Square, Rosewood Burrow, and other districts enjoy stone structures and tiled roofs, the Thatchroof Quarry is comprised of thrown-together huts, densely-packed with paupers and beggars.
It's not for lack of care that Thatchroof Quarry fell into disarray; rather, Highburg was in the process of expanding the city when Vescania attacked. Resources were diverted from the expansion of the city and put towards the war effort; then, when the war was over, efforts went into reconstruction of the cities and places across Astagua.
Thousands of people were displaced from the war, however, and Highburg offered a temporary solution: housing those displaced in the quarry. Ramshackle houses were built as temporary homes until more funds and resources could be put towards constructing proper housing; tragically, this never occurred.
With such a high-level of poverty, Thatchroof Quarry is the heart of most crime in Highburg. Predatory loan sharks, shadowy thieves, and thugs-for-hire are a silver per gold there and there are simply too many ways into and out of the district to contain its misaligned residents.

Type

Capital