Helios

A large, bustling city built on a chunk of land in the Astral Sea between the plates of Avistym and Flostym. The city itself sprawls across the land, built into and around large and mostly preserved ruins of a society that came before. Many of the buildings bear a pattern akin to circuitry called “mana channels”.

Helios, being in the Astral Sea, has no sun or moon; instead, a radiant, protective light shines from the Sol Sanctum, a tall and majestic tower near the city center with a half dome of uneven construction at its base. Instead of traditional day and night, Helios observes Kindling when the tower shines with light, and Quietus when the light is hidden away. Despite the darkness, Quietus is when the city comes alive, as festivities are held in a different section of Helios at the end of each day.

As would be expected of a city in the Astral Sea, it has dedicated infrastructure for flying vessels. A large and well staffed port is the main gateway into the city, with signals to guide ships in and an ever ready crew of workers to help them dock.

The population of Helios is primarily made up of Solarians, the people of the sun. It was once also home to the birdlike Frellians, but the species has been considered unwelcome in the city for some time. A leftover clutch of Frellian eggs, however, has grown into a young thieves guild living under the city, joined by some Arathans who fell onto Helios after the Cleaving. The presence of these hidden thieves, coupled with the merciless fundamentalism of the Meridian Faith and their uneasy relationship with the city-defending Stormchasers, give Helios a strong undercurrent of bubbling tension.