Cities:

These are the cities found within this area; each one is marked on the map, and divided by tiers. The larger the tier, the larger the city - tier one may be a small village or town, while tier four may be sprawling cities of grand proportions.

sky cities

Aizari:

RACE: roc'a, dragons. LEADER: Council of Elders (NPC). TIER: three.
LANGUAGE(S): Common. ALLEGIANCE: Gilzelfa.

APPEARANCE: Located on the smallest island and floating mostly northwards of everything else, Aizari is a great city covered in white, tiled buildings with intricate metal decorations off every tower and wall. It gleams like an overgrown crystal, every inch of the island's real estate covered, towers and walls and homes of varying shapes and sizes everywhere. Each door is large enough to let mighty roc'a through unhampered, as well as the many dragons that inhabit the city alongside them - there are smaller rooms set aside for dragonriders, as many of the citizens are bonded. A great central tower rises from the city's hub, housing the council of elders that leads them.

CULTURE: Market days are held on every tenth day of the month; the courtyards, alleyways, and any free space across the entire two leagues of the city-island will be covered in tents, and merchants selling their wares. The dragonriders and rocriders are Aizari's primary military, and a great asset to Gilzelfa against their foes.

Cecil:

RACE: avian. LEADER: Lord Kinnao (NPC). TIER: three.
LANGUAGE(S): Common. ALLEGIANCE: Gilzelfa.

APPEARANCE: A beautiful blue and white city, on the largest of Noctis' inhabited islands. Built like a massive wheel, each spoke a white-cobbled street, it's built to be as perfectly symmetrical as possible. Tall towers have no stairs, and vast, open balconies where avians and other flying creatures may come and go. Feylizards, bright and jewel-scaled, can be found in a number of aviaries all over the city, used as message-carriers and scouts for a variety of purposes. There are guards in platinum armor at each city gate - four on each level, with seven levels in total.

CULTURE: A strictly-ruled city-state with great military power and a citizenry dedicated to their Lord Kinnao, festivals and tournaments are kept to a bare minimum - children begin their training at a very early age, and their acceptance into the military is something to be celebrated. Knightings, and those knights crowned as paladins, are also met with feasts and celebrations; otherwise, the city is rich yet quiet, proud and stern.

Rosa:

RACE: mixed . LEADER: Lord Brathos (NPC). TIER: two.
LANGUAGE(S): Common, mixed. ALLEGIANCE: Yordan.

APPEARANCE: Floating somewhere far below the city of Cecil, hidden in thick clouds and fog, the city of Rosa is one formed of white stone overgrown and covered in beautiful crawling vines. Said to be an abandoned city of avians, others have moved in, including sky-Kin xeriin; demons; humans; elves; and a multitude of others. They travel primarily by skyships, with few being either rocriders or dragonriders.

CULTURE: Led by an angry, older xeriin with a Desert Gold bonded dragon, Rosa is a city that well defends itself from the advances of Cecil and Aizari, using the fog and their skyships to target flying enemies well before they reach the city walls. The regular citizens live in a constant state of wariness, and do not take to visitors well - they are a war-bred people focused on their own survival.

Yivael:

RACE: avian. LEADER: Lord Taroth (NPC). TIER: two.
LANGUAGE(S): Common. ALLEGIANCE: Gilzelfa.

APPEARANCE: Yivael is a dark granite city built into the mountains of the eastern islands, hollowed through the thick stone and rock where the gems they mine for are plentiful. Most are allied with a peculiar subspecies of gemstone-covered dragons, with aeries all along the outermost mountains, with those avians who work with them farther inside. Homes inside the mountain are decorative, yet small, with wooden doors encased in swirling metals, windows made from multicolored gemstone reminiscent of Arrowhead in Millirand.

CULTURE: The avians here are a dark-skinned people, dark-eyed and dark-haired, able to blend nearly seamlessly with their surroundings if the need should arise. Masters of stealth, all citizens are trained in demon techniques to take down threats without notice - though they have no true military, they are very well trained, and able to defend themselves against any that come their way.

Zokkan:

RACE: gryphon. LEADER: Lord Parkoras (NPC). TIER: three.
LANGUAGE(S): Common. ALLEGIANCE: Trinakk.

APPEARANCE: A series of tall, silvery towers carved with many runes rises from a fragmented set of small islets far west of Cecil. These towers have few doors or windows, and glow brightly with spell-wards for a multitude of reasons; the openings are large, disc-like balconies along the upper stories, where gryphons may come and go from with ease.

CULTURE: A city of mages, Zokkan is home to the Zok Flight of gryphons, housing several hundred individuals at any given time. Primarily gryphon, they accept few others into their ranks, seeking magical potential and an interest in scholarly learning over all. They rival Godshome in power, and make no qualms about showing that power off, keeping both Gilzefla and Yordan far from their well-protected borders.

sea cities

Badaj:

RACE: merfolk. LEADER: Queen Milaisa (NPC). TIER: three.
LANGUAGE(S): Common. ALLEGIANCE: Finnarok.

APPEARANCE: A great city found well beneath the waves, with four strong silver-blue towers that rise up at each of the points of the compass. Each of these towers has a ball of metal that encloses the top, shimmering with their own light, as suns or moons in their own regard. Within, sharply-pointed buildings with orbs of metal at their peak house a variety of merfolk, with a dome at the center controlled by Badaj's royal family.

CULTURE: A peaceful people, Badaj is a city of art and inspiration, where merfolk specialize in music and bards are trained everyday. Some of the artistic classes are even spoken of in the halls of the skies, and those teachers may agree to meet landbound or skybound visitors upon the surface of the ocean, beneath Noctis' mighty moons. They welcome any and all, despite their Queen's warnings, and are left alone in the battles between Finnarok and Kain.

Golbezz:

RACE: humans, elves. LEADER: Queen Mirawa (NPC). TIER: three.
LANGUAGE(S): Common, Elven. ALLEGIANCE: Finnarok.

APPEARANCE: Golbez is a city built of blue stone and stained coral, with round houses and rune-covered stone. It's built far below the sea, protected in a bubble of air miles long and wide, only accessible by three tunnels that lead up to the Outer Ocean far above. Statues of great beasts, representing the elements, line the trees, and totem poles filled with dragons, gryphons, and other such creatures can be found outside of every house. Two great temples are at the center of the city, one dedicated to the elements, and one to Albion and Seiten.

CULTURE: A ritualistic and religious people, those of Golbez hold all elements as gods in themselves, alongside the twin gods that curl in the starlit sky. Prophets and spellcasters are held in very deep regard here - Seers are sacred, as are those who tell stories. To kill a bard, a Seer, or an elder of the many tribal clans that fall under the rule of , is to coax a death at the teeth of one of the oceanic leviathans beneath Noctis' many waters. Lawbreakers of any serious kind will be banished, and subjected to be the foodstuff of any creature outside of Golbez's protection that may happen along.

J'nova:

RACE: sea dragons. LEADER: Lord Darthrok (NPC). TIER: three.
LANGUAGE(S): Common. ALLEGIANCE: Kain.

APPEARANCE: The largest city of Kain, J'nova is nevertheless a collection of caves along a dormant volcanic ridge, home to sea-serpents and water-dragons, as well as aquatic saurians who live alongside them. The light of magma is the only thing that shines down in the blackness of the ocean here, as sunlight expires many miles high above.

CULTURE: Little is known about J'nova, save for it's home to a host of deadly creatures. Those who wander close find themselves eaten, mauled, or otherwise left for dead.

Rydia:

RACE: merfolk, ocean-kin xeriin. LEADER: Lord Quesad (NPC). TIER: two.
LANGUAGE(S): Common, Lai'sen. ALLEGIANCE: Finnarok.

APPEARANCE: Rydia is a city built from solid coral, bright against the teal ocean waves. its tallest tower breaks the surface of the sea, glimmering with a large gem spelled against theft, one that allows vision into the sky, and early warning should enemies be coming from above. A large, spiraling castle twists its way around black rock and waving seaweed, with sprawling coral homes tossed like precious stones across the ocean floor.

CULTURE: Ruled by a smaller royal family of merfolk, Rydia is accepting and kind, held as one of Noctis' most beautiful places. It's home to a corps of light mages and healers, and those who actively seek knowledge about living things and the cures to incurable diseases, mortal injuries, and all things having to do with the saving of lives.

Landmarks:

These are the landmarks and important places scattered through this area. They can be anything from forests and rivers to special caverns, monuments, ruins, and more.

Crystalline Silza

A long and thin floating island completely covered in gemstones and crystals. A sacred place to all of Noctis' countries, it's considered an island of magic and beauty, sparkling in both sunlight and moonlight. Any skyship that comes near loses its power to fly; dragons and roc'a have reported a weakness in their wings, should they attempt to get close.

Isle of Kerberos

One of the few real islands, and a place where one of the standing portals sits, the Isle of Kerberos is the largest true island in all of Noctis. Fires of many colors burn here and there, at random, and it's said a great lion can be seen on the darkest, moonless nights... but this has yet to be proven. The lion has never been seen.

Ridarsis Range

A sky-island wild and free, and a mountain range filled with a multitude of saurians. Untouched by civilization, not only do dinosaurs roam here, but also veldryn and deathcats who populate the jungles beneath the towering peaks.

Tratekos

A near-mythical city built upon one of the few islands that once rose above the surface of the great ocean of Noctis, long before the first war between people of sky and sea ever raged. The island it once stood upon has long since sunken beneath the surface, and the scattered ruins of the ancient city lie beneath the waves. Legend has it the city was destroyed by Albion when the chaotic god unleashed a massive storm upon the Realm.

Wova Cliffs

An undersea range of sharp cliffs where the current is very strong. Avoided by all merfolk, and most dragons, for its danger - one caught in such a current will be smashed up against the rocks, and sent to the far darkness down below.