The Silver City

Description
The Silver City is an independent city-state located on the beaches at the edge of the Rohad deserts.

Most of the city is formed from or plated with stainless steel, from the massive central spire to the protective walls that surround the entire city. The shape of the city is a perfect circle with one gate in each cardinal direction. The more affluent parts of the city sit closer to the central Citadel with the warehouses and less wealthy residential sectors sitting closer to the outside. Adorning the cities' buildings are tracks to Aether Rails that provide transportation for the citizens.

The cities' main export is crafted artisan goods and Aether. The culture and governance of the city revolve around the seven guilds.

History
The Silver City is an extremely young city, placed into existence in 107 3E after the Infinite Mage event. Although this information isn't confirmed by the wider population, the City was originally created by Ertai Branwen. It was placed into position and left abandoned, however many groups of refuges fleeing from the war-torn world found the city as their home. Following instructions placed within the Citadel, the refuges were able to create a stable government, economy, and military at a miraculous speed.

In 137 3E, the city lost all power during Ertai's Ascension ritual and was soon under attack by the orc horde. The Silver Tones adventuring group managed to return an Aether core to the city which was used to defend the city until the Freedom of the Orcs.

The Academia
The Academia focuses on training new academics, from scholars and loremasters to wizards. They publish hundreds of papers on the studies of Aether, race psychology, weather, etc. The overwhelming majority of wizards find their home here, although any in the pursuit of knowledge would be welcome here.

The Academia has a good relationship with The Grand Aesthetic and Scales. The Scales procures many magical items to research and The gives historical documents to the play writers of The Grand Aesthetic. They often have political conflict with The Force of Many, who distrust the high magic of the Arcanium, and the Consulate of Faith, which avoid discussing deities and powers in such objective ways.

Some whisper rumors that the Arcanium is host to numerous unethical experiments that could destabilize the entire city if they ever become set free.

The Grand Aesthetic
The Grand Aesthetic is all about the arts. Any play, novel, or media produced in the city is cleared by them first, and usually funded too. Troops of bards, acrobats, jesters, fools, and plenty of illusionists call The Grand Aesthetic home.

The Grand Aesthetic gets along well with the Hearth, who often supports the events The Grand Aesthetic puts on, and the Arcanium, who openly trades information about past events for writers to use. They often have political conflict with The Scales, who heavily charge and tax the luxuries used in the arts, and the Gray Watch, who finds the revelries to be irritating.

Some whisper rumors that The Grand Aesthetic controls a host of rogues and spies, using their control of the media to sway the minds of the people away from such thoughts.

The Force of Many
The Force of Many is the guild of the laborers and workforce. The common, uneducated citizen has a good route into a stable life by working with The Force of Many. Ranging from those moving boxes at the docks to those building new buildings or cleaning the streets, The Force of Many functions to protect workers and provide benefits for the common people.

The Force of Many works well with The Hearth and The Grand Aesthetic. The Hearth provides support for the home life for many worker while The Grand Aesthetic provides entertainment on weekend and evenings for the tired workers. The Force of Many has political disagreements with The Scales, who often attempt to horde wealth to themselves, and the Arcanium, who studies suspicious magics that aren't always practical.

Some whisper rumors that The Force of Many intends to cause political strife and perhaps even push for a revolution among the guilds.

The Hearth
The Hearth is the guild of home life and hospitality. They organize events giving food to the poor, teaching home education classes to refugees, and putting on events at schools for children. The Hearth's goal is to ensure that anybody, of any status, has access to a stable and welcoming home in the Silver City.

The Hearth gets along incredibly well with The Grand Aesthetic, who often make joint ventures into public events together. In addition, the Hearth often supports the lives of The Force of Many, providing benefits while the workers are away. The Hearth has political conflicts with The Consulate of Faith due to clashing ideologies about how to create fulfilling lives, and The Scales, who often make the lives of common people more difficult.

Some whisper rumors that The Hearth purposely create systems that make it almost impossible to leave The Hearth.

The Consulate of Faith
The Consulate of Faith is the guild of religions. They organize all the temples and events of worship, along with many of the religious holidays that occur within the Silver City. The Consulate ensures that most faiths are allowed to be worshiped safely within the city.

The Consulate of Faith works well with The Gray Watch, many of which are paladins to various faiths. In addition, The Consulate of Faith interacts often with The Scales, purchasing vast quantities of incense, cloth, gold, silver, and art pieces. The Consulate of Faith has tense relations to The Arcanium and The Grand Aesthetic, both of which don't hold religion in a serious light.

It's rumored that the Consulate of Faith extorts worshipers to build up a massive horde of wealth.

The Scales
The Scales is the guild of commerce and funds. Every shop, ship, and business enterprise has to shake hands with the members of The Scales. They check the ledgers, make the deals, and ensure that the gold in the city flows smoothly from hand to hand.

The Scales often work with The Consulate of Faith and The Arcanium, supplying them both with the resources they need to continue their grand works. The Scales is often held in contempt by the working class guilds, such as The Force of Many or The Hearth.

It's widely rumored that The Scales ensure that most things in the city come at a high price, maintaining a balance that they feed off of to create a profit.

The Gray Watch
The Gray Watch is the guild of protection and military. They serve at the walls and on the streets, acting as soldiers, detectives, police, and defenders of the peace. Their signature Gray Armor and Gray Robes can be seen every other block while walking through the Silver City.

The Gray Watch often work with the Consulate of Faith and the Scales. Many Gray Watch members are paladins to various gods of justice, warfare, or protection and serve with the Consulate during their free time. The Gray Watch comes to odds with The Grand Aethetic and the Arcanium fairly often due to both of those guild's flights of fancy.

It's rumored that the Gray Watch is waiting for an even large enough to declare martial law and gain full control over the city.