The City of Helmerica (Helmerica City)

Helmerica City Map Key

1)      The Imperial Palace.  The Empress Persephone lives here, though it is rumored that she rarely stays.  Advisers, guards, servants, and visiting dignitaries also stay here.

2)      The High Temple of Helm.  All religious affairs in the Empire are overseen from here.  It features a tall tower that looms over all around it; rumor has it the eye at the top is enchanted and can see through all manner of disguises.  All cleric and paladin organizations are housed here.

3)      The College of Helmerican History and Letters.  The many stores of Helmerica are housed here.  Its place in the First Circle (buildings 2-5) indicates how important stories and their telling are to the Empire.

4)      The College of Helmerican Architecture and Defense.  The great engineers, generals, and architects of the Empire are housed here.

5)      The Holy Garden of Heroes.  This garden is, in theory, open to the public, though access to it is extremely restricted.  It is littered with statues, mosaics, and other artworks that detail the great history of Helmerica.

6)      The Second Circle.  This circle houses other important offices of the empire, including the College of Mages and the various Houses.  The great noble families of Hornraven and so on also reside here.

7)      The Third Circle.  This is where various advisers, high-ranking officers of civic and military circles, minor nobles, and wealthy merchants live.  The stores of great craftsmen, including magical craftsmen, can also be found here.

8)      The Fourth Circle.  This is where lower-ranking officers of civic and military circles, mid-level merchants, well-off servants and craftsmen, and various other lower-middle/middle class people live.  Many shops, workhouses, decent schools, and other amenities can be found here.  The primary residences here are apartments, some of them up to three stories high.

9)      The Fifth Circle.  This is where the poor, the wretched, the wicked, and the unlawful live.  The only people of influence who live here are the heads of the crime families, whose influence stretches under the other Circles.  There are many, many tenement houses here, some of them as high as five stories (very few of them safe).  Some people of repute, such as low-ranking servant, soldiers, and so on, do live here, but their place in this Circle tarnishes their reputation.  The seven squiggly lines (A-G) that cut from the outside through this Circle are safe passage points for decent people looking to make a living in the City; they are heavily watched.

10)  The River Stonebreaker.  The Official History states that the Stonebreaker emerged during a great rain, carving through the rough terrain of the Black Plane as if it were by design, which many people think it was.  It cuts south, all the way down to the City of Littlebrook, Helmerica’s second city.  It also cuts through the bulk of the city, but for the First Circle, which rises above it.

11)  The Holy Corridor.  This passage cuts to the First Circle and is heavily guarded.  This is the passage by which visiting dignitaries access the Palace and other First Circle facilities.  The military will also arrange demonstrations down the Corridor to rouse morale.

12)  The Black Forest.  It is said that the divine energy of Helm raised trees up from the soil of the Black Plane.  Many refugees pass through this forest from Laurynvale, looking for a safe haven.  Many people believe that the Wildfires and the Broken Tongue Boy are hidden there.

13)  The Roving Lights of Helm.  These two towers sit at the beginning of the Holy Corridor and face south.  Atop them are two rotating orbs that look over the city and the surrounding landscape.  When active, they can observe activities happening hundreds upon hundreds of miles away, constantly.

Railwalls.  The First and Second Circles are outlined by great walls, on top of which mighty steam engines chug, transporting important people and goods to where they need to be.  Rail lines also extend to the north, south, east, and west, transporting goods to and from the city.

Walls.  The entire city is walled, cutting it off even from the surrounding villages.  Walls are the key feature of the city, rising high above the citizens and protecting them from many a threat.  As one comes to the center, the Circles get higher, increasing the separation between each Circle.  From a distance, the city looks like a massive layer cake, with the First Circle absolutely towering over the rest of the landscape.

The Villages of Trommel, Dahlwinn, Kapperman, and Dragon Wing.  These villages were once well-removed from the city of Helmerica but are now virtually at the doorstep.  They offer a somewhat more rural, somewhat more idyllic life than city life – or at least they did until many of the wealthy started buying up summer homes and driving the poor out.  Many citizens are unable to get decent work in the city.  Most of the commerce comes from shops, smiths, and inns that cater to people who might otherwise be unable to stay in the City (for a variety of reasons).

The “Sixth Circle.”  Various refugee camps are scattered around the edges of the city, including several pseudo-establishments in the Forest.  These, along with the aforementioned villages, are often referred to (derogatively) as the “Sixth Circle.”

The Underweb.  Helmerica City is home to a vast series of tunnels, some of them extending all the way to the First Circle.  While some of these tunnels are secured and are used for transportation, sewage, security, and so on, many have fallen prey to the various crime organizations in the city and are used to smuggle illicit materials (and people).  Some even make a living in these tunnels, carving out large caves that are then turned into homes or even markets.