Skylight City

Slicing through the Blackfields, smashing through waves of black sargassum, is the Skylight City. It is famed for its architecture - a blend of hyper-brutalism and constructivism, the city is formed on hundreds of pre-constructed blocks and fit together to form this floating monolith.

Skylight City is Norrab's biggest Sea Cell, with a population of just over six million. It is also the globe's most pollutive settlement, having devastated local ecosystems with metal poisoning, air, and sea pollution.

The city gets its name from the abundance of skylight buildings that run along the edge of the city, providing extra housing as well as protecting the inner city from breaching waves.

Population

Native Norrabian by Mochi
Alright students, let's take a look at this building. What can its architecture tell us about this city? That's right! It's one of youngest cities in the region.
— School trip from the University of Algola

Skylight City's inhabitants are situated in three vertical sectors, divided by class. The city is just a mile off the coast of the Blackfield's beaches, with many inhabitants commuting from the mainland. Its permanent population just creeps over six million, with over half in the lowest class.

Over 90% of Skylight City's residents are either adamnans or norrabians. The other ten percent are comprised of various sophonts native to other planets - a small community of rubidians, from planet Rubrinea.

The city's population has skyrocketed in recent years. With tourism becoming a bigger trend around the Sian Lowlands, many visitors end up finding a home in Skylight City. Its free education and emergency services is uncommon in this region, drawing in tends of thousands of new residents in recent years.

Norrabian populations have massively decreased in recent years, thanks to better workplace opportunities elsewhere. Skylight City's regional policies and legislations benefit adamnans, as opposed to norrabians, and as a result many have migrated to other cities.

History

Initial blueprints for this city were drafted in 1715, exactly two hundred years ago. They were designed by Sal Soogloss, an adamnan architect who previously designed several other Sea Cells. The city was designed in favour of adamnans, through simple and subtle architectural choices. Door and pathways were designed solely for adamnan use - larger norrabian bodies struggle to fit through.

These structural choices were overlooked in the initial drafts and construction. They only became an issue months after the city publicised and residents moved in. Many norrabians voiced their concerns with the local council, however nothing was done. After many pushbacks over thirty or so years, the council was forced to address these issues, and Soogloss was pressured into redesigning certain parts of the city.

Reconstruction took several years, with entire districts of the city shut off, forcing residents to seek temporary housing. It was a difficult time for the city, as civilians and the council were all at conflict with one another. Things eased once reconstruction was complete, however an underlying tension still exists between adamnans and norrabians in the city.

Economy

Skylight City is one of the biggest producers of rare magical items on Norrab. With massive factories full of the most modern machinery available, this city can pump out hundreds of thousands of products a day.
— Snippet from a documentary
Burning Mote by Mochi

Skylight City's main export are magical items and resources. With five factories built into the city itself, thousands of magical products are manufactured daily. Cargo ships drop off raw resources at extraction points built into the city, and these factories employ around two thousand workers.

These factories are some of Norrab's biggest producers of burning motes, magical items that create everlasting fires. They are also important producers of turbulent shards, creating artificial hurricanes in closed environments to generate these magical items.

Founding Date
1715
Type
City
Population
~6.25 million
Location under

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Cover image: by Mochi

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