The City of Peace Abiding

The City of Peace Abiding is the oldest city in the world, sole center of all society and trade upon Polaris. The Placid Lord has dwelt here for ages, along with his order of The Knights of the Silent World.

Location
The City of Peace Abiding is the capitol of The Reasonable Folk, and the largest city on the continent of Polaris. The City is placed upon the high cliffs of the continent's northern coast.

Geography
The City is on the coastline, but that places it upon the cliffs almost half a mile above the seas below. Its placement defies ordinary reason, lacking any of the benefits of the hardwoods in the forests on all other sides of Mountain's End Range, with no rivers for quick travel or even valuable mineral deposits to mine. In fact, the city guards only one treasure- the one and only safe pass through the southern mountains and to The Starlit Sea.

Layout
The City of Peace Abiding was carved out of the pale rocks of the cliffs at the end of the First Age of the world, and the buildings remain a solemn mix of blues and pale grey. Massive spiked outcroppings of rock form natural walls around the contours of the city, unworn by erosion.

The City itself fills the space from the cliffs to the two mountains which mark the Starlight Pass, the gap entirely filled by The Shrine of Reflection. The poorest and least-influential Reasons dwell to the north, nearest the cliffs, along with foreign traders situated in the Seaspray District. Elevation decreases sharply as one moves through the city and into the more wealthy districts, and three seperating walls span the mouth of the valley to cut the city into three parts: The Tendril Wall, The Silent Wall and The Starwall.

The City has a port- a series of huge stone shafts are bored down through The Seaspray District and reach into a large cavern beneath the city. On a stone shelf around the shielded quay, the docks are illuminated by foxfire above the water, causing sailors to call the port Starry Quay. A few outcaste societies dwell here, criminals and pirates who fled civilization to escape their crimes, or strange and accursed beings who fear the bright southern lands.

All of the City's trade and much of the training of young Reasons are done in the Seaspray District, which extends from the clifffs of the north to The Tendril Wall to the south. While the citizens dwelling here are either young, foreign or of subpar success, the district is often full of wealthier and more successful Reasons from the inner city, come to shop or sell at the established markets there. At the very tip of the cliff, the highest point of the city is a tower which doubles as a lighthouse and a port for the rare elven or human airships which arrive- the Lonely Tower.

South of The Tendril Wall, the land slopes and the mountains rise, darkening the Second Chance District, which employs a series of magical lights to simulate the time of day and keep the streets well-lit during the non-Noon hours. This district is the home of the more successful Reasons, as well as the bulk of the dojos and Halls of Mastery. This is also the district where the swordsmiths practice their arts, and shipments of Trollish steel are sold at auction at high-end auction houses here rather than the chaotic markets of Seaspray. Foreigners and other races are permitted entry to this district, but only if one of The Reasonable Folk vouchsafe their legitimate business there.

Second Chance reaches to The Wall of Silence, an imposing structure which muffles all sound as well as blocking entry to the innermost district. South of it, the Kairos District waits, so deep in the narrow valley that enchanted foxfire is suspended everywhere, giving the place an eerie look. The largest buildings lie here, carved into the sides of the mountains, as well as the Grand Temple of Cynosure, the noble houses of the elder Reasonable families and landmarks such as The Placid Pool or the enormous, sunless park filled with creatures extinct throughout the rest of the world.

At the end of this district, The Starwall stands, a mystic wall crafted by Commendatore Akasha in the second age. Those authorized to pass the wall reach The Shrine of Reflection, dwelling place of The Placid Lord and fortress-temple of The Knights of the Silent World. The first floor of The Shrine is accessable to any member of The Reasonable Folk, and contains vaults, training halls and facilities supplied by the Shrine's majordomo. Two more important public facilities may be accessed- the closed hall in which the knight trials to enter the Knights are held and the passage, carved into the mountain, leading to The Starlit Sea.

Facilities
The City of Peace Abiding has all of the amenities one might expect of a large metropolis, but it also provides a near-unique market for the valuable Reasonable Swords, as well as an exclusive market for the irradiated stones, water and plant-life from The Starlit Sea, which serve as valuable reagents.

Also within The City are The Bladesinger's Order, a group of master swordsmiths who seek inventive uses for swords. While this is not an attraction per se, they do maintain a museum in the Seaspray district of their more interesting results (of especial note: a reverse-vampyric sword which can stab your own life force into an injured man, a sword which continuously casts random iterations of Prestidigitation on nearby objects and a sword which rapidly turns the flesh of the assaulted to stone and then dispells the effect, purportedly serving as an excellent form of massage).

Societal Order
In theory, The Placid Lord controls The Knights of the Silent World and the Knights control the rest of the city. In practice, the city is run by The Council of Custodians, representatives chosen by the seven most powerful Elder Families in the city. The Council controls the police and creates civic regulations, and their power is checked only by The Court of the Heavens, and the inferior courts and magistrates it ordains.

When a new Reason is born from metamorphosis, if they choose to dwell in the city (and nearly all do, at least for a time), they are given a year-long course in the nature of themselves, their race and the city, then advised to choose some useful avenue of study. Seeking camaraderie, these newcomers are often approached by Families, extended groups of associates who swear to treat with one another as though they were relatives. As one grows in achievement and gains marks of mastery, that Reason becomes more and more attractive to the most powerful and ancient Families. While a Family rages that leaving one home for another is betrayal, the social consequences are light for those who only change their allegiences every few decades.

The most powerful families (and most of the younger ones, though it is just a title) are managed by a Doyen or a Doyenne, and these are some of the eldest and most skilled members of the race outside of the Knights themselves.