Nulinvermark

Nulinvermark is a town of stoic people who have long-since resigned the duty of expressing their feelings to creation and that shows in the architecture. Most districts range between large and ostentatious representations of station and the subtle lamentations of a long-humiliated people. The buildings line up on the jagged rising cliffs that cause natural segregation between districts and yet, the first thing any visitor would see when traveling to Nulinvermark by sea would be Vetorri Plaza.

Appearance and Landmarks
Sitting upon the second stratum, Vetorri Plaza is the largest and perhaps most insufferable evidence of Kherran control that exists in the city, overtly lauding the Dohrnish and Kherran conquerors of the city in the form of statues that both mark the entrance to the plaza itself and the Halls. The Halls of Vetorri are the central location for lawmakers and judgement, a tall building with the look of a small keep has been dropped in the centre of the city. Immediately flanking the plaza are the major banks of the city and beyond the Halls is the Streyn Market, a place where the good things from lower districts are brought high enough in the city.

The Lowest Districts

In the lowest levels are the districts by the shore, districts for trade, fishing and naval encampments. The westmost district is Sveljafn, where the fishers and the dockhands live. The houses here are functional and acceptably maintained, but they are antiquated, close-packed and still bearing steeply sloped wooden roofs in stark regards to the slate of the upper city. The most obvious landmark to those that look from outside the district is the tall lighthouse, known as the Tower of Vaka, a simple cylindrical structure that stands in symbolic poor repair. Known to the residents but less by the outside are the gangs that run the district, bringing in smuggled goods from Dyloka and storing them in their compound of connected warehouses known as Egrund Varakaup.

Heading eastwards is the Harbein district, a large district of more trading vessels and warehouses to house their goods. Whilst these official boathouses and warehouses have slate roofs, in line with the rest of the city, the smattering of residences and wharf-side inns maintain the wooden tops of the surrounding districts. The trading wharf itself is neatly organised and official, though recent times conspire to make it less so.

Across the Rauirmyr, the great river that splits the city, is the military district of Kveykva. Altogether a uniform district in a much more Dohrnish styling than the other side of the river with a large military compound composing much of the upper district, extending to the docks. The only thing that escapes the unwelcoming aesthetic of the district is the Star's Beckoning, a beautiful lighthouse gifted to the city by the college that functions using arcane light rather than fire, the building itself adorned with mesmerising patterns of spiralling runic notation.

Heading south from here leads to the last of the inner-city districts on the first plateau, Amrinn. This district is most immediately recognisable by the miasma it expels, as it seems like not much care has been taken to allow space between each of the workshops with furnaces blazing and the surrounding residences. This district is meant to be a supporting district for the Kveykva military compound; providing weapons and armour, amongst other things. It borders the Rauirmyr and there are many pipes and sluices that allow for waste to be deposited into it. There are two main sights to see in the district that are held at opposite extremes in terms of both aesthetics and location. In the northwesternmost point is the Amrinn-side entrance to the Great Deyvan Bridge, a tower built entirely for the stair that leads up to the bridge that crosses into Vetorri Plaza (that now contains various resting areas for those coming through, including a small eatery). To the south of the district lies a building known simply as the Great Workshop, a large and blocky blight upon the landscape, it is almost as though the architects refused to give it any characteristic that could be thought of as endearing. Indeed, it is hard to be endeared to this smog-spewing monolith even without its fitting exterior.

The Central Plateau

Crossing the Deyvan Bridge to the second level would bring us to Vetorri Plaza. There are many directions which one can travel from here, to the southeast is Trasant. This district is a blend of the newer slate roofs and the sharper inclines of them, many baring stylised interpretations of serpentine dragons. The district largely follows the Yrkja road, which leads to the city gate of the same name. Along this road are many fine storefronts and inns, including the New Uskeir and the lonely Nibley Embassy, very far away from other countries own representation but within what has become known as the Halfling Quarter. The northern edge of Trasant is quite a bit lower and many roads wind down towards the shore, including to the Olran bridge over to Amrinn.

Further east is the district that sits by the Yrkja gate, Lamja, which has a similar pattern of houses and connection to the Rauirmyr as Trasant, but in worse repair and closer proximity. There are also quite a few warehouses in Lamja, due to its nearness to a city gate, including the Aramka Belfry; the Belfry was once a Church of Iumos and still bears the hammer symbol upon its doors and the great silver bells above, but for the most part it has been converted into a storage facility when it had to be sold during an economic slump. Another noteworthy part of the district is a dense copse of woodland near the Rauirmyr called the Grazer's Hollow, which has a rather dire reputation.

Back to the west of these two is LongYaFeng, this section of the city has a stark change in architecture, changing from the steeply slanted, dark coloured roofs to shallow roofs that curve upwards at the corners, with more distinguished buildings seeming to have multiple layers of these upward-curved corners. Between many of the buildings are long and colourful decorative silken ribbons, especially in one of the most visited areas of LongYaFeng, the Crescent's Bazaar; a large cluster of individual permanent tent stalls with large amounts of padding to help deal with the cold. In the southeast corner of LongYaFeng is the Temple of the Jade Bell, a large and incredibly ornate building that built around the central aforementioned bell and is set upon a mountainous protrusion from the plateau which the rest of these districts sit upon.

To the north of this is Husksa, the religious hub of the city for more Kherran-centric religions, such as that of Luma and Iumos. The largest temple within its bounds is the Patriarchate, a large Isken temple of Dohrn, sitting to the northwest corner and dominating the majority of the cluster of temples. To the south is a more modest collection of affluent housing, with one of the large eye-catches being the mural of a magnifying glass inspecting a hefty tome that brings folks to inspect what may be offered by Gladstone Inquiries.

The Upper Reaches

Uphill to the west is Skyvdral, home to the Oyoa road that contains most of the embassies to the city and Asgeir generally. Each of the buildings have small features that make plain their allegiances, largely in their crests, such as the impressive golden laurel that surrounds the white and purple Peryton of the Kherran Empire and the Blackened Eye of the Gan Súil. At the precipice that overlooks the Harbein district below, is the Perch; the foremost place of letters and a tall structure that resembles a manor house more than the official residence of Nulinvermark's Minister of Propaganda.

Going as high as you can go without reaching the castle itself is Blixtlod, the area of the city devoted to the nobility and the most wealthy, many of the houses surrounded by greenery and perimeter walls, especially in the sections surrounding the foot of the castle. Areas like the Vale Manor are considered intimidating, clad in the severe Dohrnish iconography of hammers and scales and far taller than would be necessary to look down upon the lower districts from atop the cliff. Unlike the northern section, where houses are fortified and heavily guarded, as you head south in Blixtlod, you come across the colloquially named Pleasure's Parish, filled with casinos and clubs. Two that stand out in most people's minds are the Carousel Cabaret, a tall building and sleek building with what appears to be golden lining on both doors and windows; and the Herrin Casino, a squat building that has been painted a dark grey with a flat roof and flamboyant pillars providing a structurally unimportant outline.

Finally is Castle Fang, an incredibly imposing four-towered keep that seems built to be so. Each of the towers is largely unadorned with anything that could detract from its particularly unattractive brickwork and seems to also be topped flatly, that it may also be used as a watchtower. The main keep's maw of an entrance is guarded by moat and portcullis that must be raised before the bridge may drop. There is little greenery that surrounds the keep within its walls, perhaps for fear that such things may be used to help infiltrators navigate the moat or walls. This keep speaks not of kingly authority, but of a constant wartime watchfulness that is maintained by one who deeply fears loss.

Outside the City Walls

There are five smaller settlements outside of the city walls, of which most of the population of Greater Nulinvermark  lives in. Of these, the most populous is the settlement outside the Yrkja gate, Gjalda, due to it having the laxest restrictions on the gate and its adjacency to the Rauirmyr. The houses are an eclectic collection of many different styles, but the majority is the steep slanted roof, though they switch between using wood and slate as the material. One of the major attractions of the town for tourists is the Spor-Hamarr, a large inselberg that juts out from the surrounding hillscape. There are stairs that have been carved into it and a rough viewing platform hewn out of the top.

Across the Rauirmyr from Gjalda is Yfarabyg, a wide settlement that follows the Rauirmyr, containing docks for boats that aren't quite going all the way to Nulinvermark proper and it's foremost landmark, Gnaefalla Bridge, an old watchtower that fell across the Rauirmyr river that has been transformed into a bridge (though cynics would say that little of the original bridge remains). The district as a whole has large clusters around the river and the road that leads away from it, with smaller clusters that trail of from the larger ones. The houses are much the same as in Gjalda.

To the west of Gjalda is the more militarised Atrostbyg, the second largest sub-settlement of Nulinvermark in terms of size and population with a significant amount of the northwest of the town being dedicated to a large military outpost of the Asgeirn military. This leads to the gates of this district (especially the western Asjandr gate) being much stricter with would-be entrants. This is also thanks to its closeness to the upper district of Blixtlod. A large amount of Atrostbyg (especially on the western side) was designed by the military and thus has become quite uniform, with any differentiation between housing added long afterwards. However, creativity has not been stifled entirely, the market known as Loka's Kaup is still performing strongly, even managing to acquire a large hall near the centre of the town to do trade in, though when the weather allows it they still bring out their wooden stalls to trade from within. Sjónri, the eastern gate is less severe with its inspections, but is still strict in enforcing them.

The northwest settlement of Greater Nulinvermark is Dyloka, a small fishing hamlet that has no gate to enter the city proper with and sits in the shadow of the mountain Castle Fang is built upon. They do their trade with Sveljafn and the Vareior gang that operates their through the cobbled together Grey Wharf, which most of the city folk they live beside would believe is falling apart, considering the detritus it appears to be made from. Below the mountain sits the town hall, the Hall of Hyg, named for the founder of the town and a the only building in Dyloka that appears to be a whole piece, being made from one of the old greatships that sailed under Ulvar Drakodlatand, or at least a very convincing recreation.

Finally, to the east is Vagraet, a town built around the arcane Shorelight Tower and upon the generosity of its owners. Vagraet is maintained by the Collegiate and as a result, all of the houses are of sturdy design, most houses have glass windows and are well-insulated against the cold. The Shorelight Tower itself is a magical marvel, affixed with spiralling magical script that seems light and maintain it and the area surrounding it. The majority of the town is built not too high above the ocean level, but despite the cold of the ocean, many move down onto the pebbled beach to inspect one of the strange artefacts the Collegiate supposedly moved to the city to investigate, simply known as the Northern Altar (due to similar such relics being discovered elsewhere in Asgeir), it is a large brazier-like structure composed of eight serpentine drakes which sprout forth from a golden basin to converge at the top, leaving the whole thing in almost an egg shape.