Slagfall

At the heart of the Free Colonies' manufacturing industries sits a shining island, metallic stalactites constantly dripping with industrial waste and slag clinging to its rocky underside. Slagfall represents the core of Free Colonies industrialism: gleaming city on top, factories churning out high-quality and consistent product, and an underside composed of waste and lived-in by those who make it all possible. While the top rung of the city is a center for trade and travel, factory workers and laborers of various stripes call the lowest, most dangerous parts of Slagfall home, with the poorest of the bunch living in homes clinging to the edge of ustable stalactites.

Districts

Ledlath/"The City"

Slagfall is technically a nickname, one given to the city decades after its creation. Originally, the city was called "Ledlath", a Dwarven word referring to innovation in metalwork. That name only remained until the spires of metal began to protrude from the city, after which the workers' nickname of Slagfall quickly spread to the masses. Despite this, the name of Ledlath is still used to refer to the upper portion of the city, the nicer bit which, despite occasional issues with smog, is accessible to travelers and those positioned above the lower class, acting as a hub for trade due to taking in mass amounts of raw materials and selling off the products. Many choose to ply their trade in Slagfall due to its size and its location as a prime place for travel: close enough to the edge of the Colonies to be a prime destination for ships returning from scavenging and mining expeditions while far enough in to be at a safe point along several trade routes; as a result, Ledlath is occupied by many a merchant and entrepreneur in addition to the corporations that control the majority.

The Undercity

Slagfall is a relatively tall island even without considering its namesake, so it was only natural that the area beneath the city itself would be quickly hollowed out into roads and squares that could be used for buildings once space ran out above. The Undercity is where most of the residents of the island proper do business and live, spurred by its more affordable prices and the availability of space. Its crisscrossing network of tunnels mostly has rhyme and reason to it, designed by the industrialists who built the city in the first place for practical use. Below a certain point, though, this order is lost, replaced by hastier, more recent construction of sub-districts called home by immigrant communities and those with a shared culture. These "pods" are often referred to by name, housing unique cultural elements taken from various histories.

Notable Pods of the Undercity

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The Talons

Even with the more affordable nature of the Undercity's real estate, a constant hunger for ever-increasing growth and a widening wealth gap ensured that a large number of Slagfall's necessary residents would be without homes. A group of innovators - Strix and Tengu, those called "birdmen" - came up with a solution: attach small homes, accompanied with appropriate heat-resistant roofing, to the stalactites of slag and metal waste that hung beneath the city. Originally, only those capable of flight constructed their homes there, but a growing need convinced the birdman community within Slagfall to expand their construction efforts using their unique capabilities. The districts that hung from these became known as the Talons over time, with rickety bridges, covered walkways, and rope-ladders becoming the main means of traversal.

Each Talon has its own nickname, but the stalactites are generally referred to by number in official business, numbered from oldest (1) to newest (23). The denizens of the Talons each maintain their own unique community among other residents of the same, and these communities are often the most multicultural in the city, with people from all walks of life living there as long as they're poor enough.

Homes on the Talons must be carefully maintained, with excess slag needing to be trimmed regularly lest buildup bury the house entirely. Older homes will need to be extended as needed to prevent the stalactite from growing to surround their home entirely, and walkways and bridges need to be reconstructed as well from time to time. It's a precarious life, but it's often the only one that residents of the Talons can afford.

Corporations of Slagfall

Slagfall is ruled by factories and the companies that run them, and almost all of them operate in traditional corporate models with one notable exception.