general overview/layout of Anchor
Feb. 5th, 2011 10:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
windhoverBasic reference material for AIMRP logs or whatever else I write that happens to be set here. Might add onto this over time.
a note on portals:
Although Anchor, like other modern cities, is no stranger to cars, buses, and light railways as transportation, the choice method of transport—for those with the capability—is sorcerous portals. Even for those incapable of magic, citizen-issued inter-universal/-dimensional communicators (di-comms) with the right permissions enabled can generate portals simply by keying in the appropriate coordinates, or by selecting a destination from a preprogrammed list. For tourists and other non-citizens, there are several kiosks stationed throughout the city that serve the same function, and are usually located at city-designated portal areas (to which inbound portals, if otherwise unspecified, are automatically rerouted).
i. Districts
⇁ Central district. Named for its geographical position at the very heart of Anchor, where it acts as a “hub” for the “hub city” itself. Home to many of the city’s government buildings, including mayoral offices, council halls, the high court, immigration bureaus and several others. On the outer edge of this district is the headquarters for Orion Research Facilities, which is said to house several laboratories for the purpose of scientific and sorcerous study and research. The presence of such facilities so close to the city’s central government has given Anchor’s citizens no small cause for concern, but officials have refused to comment on the matter.
⇁ Solomon Quarter. Named for this region’s most prominent institution, the Solomon Academy. This district also houses virtually all of Anchor’s educational institutions, at least those sponsored directly by the city, including several public school systems and other academies for higher learning. The Solomon Academy complex is located near the central district, while the public schools are scattered closer to the Gardens, and colleges can be found near Lower Tyches.
⇁ the Gardens. Named for the parks and literal gardens that once dominated this region, but this district has long since been repurposed as a primarily residential area (although there are still some parks and other greenery scattered throughout). High-scale townhouses and mid-range apartments alike can be commonly found here, though their affordability varies by their proximity to the bordering central district, Solomon Quarter, or Arcadia North. Government-run welfare housing and shelter is also based here, as are the refugee-citizen program (RCP), solitary self-support program (SSSP), foster support systems and adoption agencies.
⇁ Arcadia North. Named for the market arcade that used to be this district’s defining feature, but since much of Anchor’s commerce became more centered in Upper and Lower Tyches, it has become known more as a center of cultural pursuits. The largest, most prominent theater and opera house in Anchor is located here, though there are several others clustered around it, as are many historical and artistic museums and galleries, including those sponsored directly by the city. Despite Arcadia North’s strong association with art and culture, however, its most striking and memorable landmark is the Bliss House, home base of the Bliss Syndicate, which easily towers over all other buildings in the district.
⇁ Upper and Lower Tyches. Named for a goddess of fortune, as these districts of western Anchor are the center of virtually all business and trade that occurs in and moves through Anchor. The “upper” and “lower” refer strictly to their geographical placement, as Lower Tyches is most definitely the ritzier of the two, containing several high-class department stores and restaurants, high-fashion retailers, and luxury condominiums. Lower Tyches is also an ideal spot for other businesses and corporations, and is already home to the headquarters of Janvs Trading Assoc., Resnick Realty Partners, and GIGATech Corp. Upper Tyches, on the other hand, has developed to be more tourist-friendly, with budget hotels and other less expensive attractions intended for those who are just passing through Anchor.
⇁ Industrial complex. Located a far distance from Anchor itself, home to rows upon rows of warehouses and factories that once directly supplied the city and businesses based there. However, Anchor’s shifting reliance to outsourced labor led to a drastic downturn in their necessity, and so most of these facilities have been completely abandoned. Due to its distance from the city, it was (and still is) most common to use portals for transport here; however, due to some firms’ desire for confidentiality with their product, supply, or labor, there are still active portal and sorcery wards scattered throughout the complex. Thanks to its abandonment, there is also a distressingly high rate of criminal activity here, but the city seems to have done little—if anything at all—to address it.
⇁ Sanctia Park. Another significantly large area geographically distanced from Anchor, originally developed by Richard Resnick as an “alternative living” complex. His intent was to create a self-sufficient, near-utopian “daughter city” for those who had grown weary of Anchor’s overcrowding, welcoming policy towards immigrants and refugees, and emphasis on trade and entrepreneurship rather than the people. However, lack of interest (and investors) forced Resnick to sell off most of the property, and what had already been built was either reconstructed or repurposed into centers for leisure and entertainment. The Park is now home to escapist and luxury resorts, cinemas, inter-universal markets, concert/sporting arenas and coliseums, and even a racetrack and amusement park. The remaining land owned by Resnick Realty Partners has remained largely undeveloped, but—despite Richard Resnick’s notoriously fierce possessiveness of it—rumor has it that an unknown party has bought much (if not all) of the property with the intent to change that.
ii. Notable institutions
⇁ Orion Research Facilities/Orion Guild. On the outside, Orion appears to be a scientific research corporation, and has numerous labs in its building for that purpose. However, this is merely a front for Orion’s true identity: the Orion Guild, a group renowned across several universes, consisting of specialized agents available for contracted hire. They are required and able to perform a variety of tasks, including (but not limited to) assassination, capture, and data retrieval. Their most important trait is their anonymity, as their work tends to garner many enemies, and the knowledge of their “secret base” could prove fatal; for this reason, only the top brass in Anchor’s government are aware of the Orion Guild’s existence within the city limits.
⇁ Solomon Academy. As is generally expected of most cities, especially ones with such large populations, Anchor does have a public education system, which is guaranteed free of charge to every citizen. However, Anchor is also home to a much more well-known school, the prestigious Solomon Academy. Having existed since the birth of Anchor itself, it was named after the famed sorcerer Solomon, one of the original founders of Anchor and a pioneer in many sorcerous arts, most notably demonology. The Academy does not discriminate against potential students with a low or non-existent income, or those with no family background, but it only accepts those with extraordinary talent in any field of sorcery or academia. Any student who graduates from the Academy’s rigorous program is assured fame and a secure future.
⇁ Bliss Syndicate. A wealthy firm notable for its numerous business, scientific, and technological ventures, as well as the fact that its founder and namesake, Balore Bliss, nearly single-handedly controlled the government of Anchor while he was at the height of his power. Granted with strange powers by the legendary bow-lion, Bliss quickly rose to power as a crime lord on Malkar, and fell from power just as quickly. But he had amassed a great amount of wealth, and used it to found the Bliss Syndicate in Anchor. The Syndicate, centrally located in a formidable building known as the Bliss House (itself situated in Arcadia North, with proximity to the central and both Tyches districts), has a wide range of interests, from philanthropic to questionable to just plain shady; for a short time, however, its activities came to a complete halt with the disappearance of Balore Bliss himself. Though he has since returned and resumed his position of power, the Syndicate no longer holds quite the same stranglehold over the whole of Anchor as it once did, thanks in part to the founding of rival firms and other similar groups in his wake.
⇁ Janvs Trading Assoc. One of the aforementioned “rival firms,” and also the only one that Bliss has not yet managed to successfully shut down. Although the company does specialize in inter-dimensional trade, as its name would suggest, its public business is a front for its dealings with and oversight of a black market that spans multiple worlds and universes; almost any good that passes through this market is bound to bear the Janvs mark at one point or another. The company is headed by a man called Jan Vierste (the alias of Bifrons, a man of no small relation to the bow-lion himself), though he is hardly its original founder. Rather, he took control over the group by force, and singlehandedly built it from a loose-knit circle of petty merchants into the powerhouse that it is today, the only firm still able to rival the Bliss Syndicate in might, influence, and wealth.
⇁ Resnick Realty Partners. One of the oldest business groups in Anchor, with stakes in the majority of land, property, and real estate throughout the city and outlying areas. Although its profits suffered some decades ago with former head Richard Resnick’s failed Sanctia venture—which is still regarded as a joke among other entrepreneurs and business enthusiasts to this day—it has since recovered and continues to be an iconic presence in Anchor’s commercial scene.
⇁ GIGATech Corp. A corporation that has made many significant advances in technology, privately owned by Ari Niiran. It is easily seen as one of the most profitable companies in Anchor, and almost all technology that can be found in Anchor was produced or developed in part by GIGATech. It’s a wonder they haven’t come under fire for any anti-trust lawsuits yet…
⇁ CioCio. A tiny, out-of-the-way coffee shop in Solomon Quarter that is completely unremarkable in every way except for the fact that it is the bow-lion’s “home base.” Given Anchor’s strict anti-deity/-superhuman resident policy, as well as the interest of his own safety, this fact is hardly publicized, least of all by himself; however, that won’t stop him from meeting potential clients there under the guise of his own alias. But don’t be fooled—his coffee really isn’t all that great.
a note on portals:
Although Anchor, like other modern cities, is no stranger to cars, buses, and light railways as transportation, the choice method of transport—for those with the capability—is sorcerous portals. Even for those incapable of magic, citizen-issued inter-universal/-dimensional communicators (di-comms) with the right permissions enabled can generate portals simply by keying in the appropriate coordinates, or by selecting a destination from a preprogrammed list. For tourists and other non-citizens, there are several kiosks stationed throughout the city that serve the same function, and are usually located at city-designated portal areas (to which inbound portals, if otherwise unspecified, are automatically rerouted).
i. Districts
⇁ Central district. Named for its geographical position at the very heart of Anchor, where it acts as a “hub” for the “hub city” itself. Home to many of the city’s government buildings, including mayoral offices, council halls, the high court, immigration bureaus and several others. On the outer edge of this district is the headquarters for Orion Research Facilities, which is said to house several laboratories for the purpose of scientific and sorcerous study and research. The presence of such facilities so close to the city’s central government has given Anchor’s citizens no small cause for concern, but officials have refused to comment on the matter.
⇁ Solomon Quarter. Named for this region’s most prominent institution, the Solomon Academy. This district also houses virtually all of Anchor’s educational institutions, at least those sponsored directly by the city, including several public school systems and other academies for higher learning. The Solomon Academy complex is located near the central district, while the public schools are scattered closer to the Gardens, and colleges can be found near Lower Tyches.
⇁ the Gardens. Named for the parks and literal gardens that once dominated this region, but this district has long since been repurposed as a primarily residential area (although there are still some parks and other greenery scattered throughout). High-scale townhouses and mid-range apartments alike can be commonly found here, though their affordability varies by their proximity to the bordering central district, Solomon Quarter, or Arcadia North. Government-run welfare housing and shelter is also based here, as are the refugee-citizen program (RCP), solitary self-support program (SSSP), foster support systems and adoption agencies.
⇁ Arcadia North. Named for the market arcade that used to be this district’s defining feature, but since much of Anchor’s commerce became more centered in Upper and Lower Tyches, it has become known more as a center of cultural pursuits. The largest, most prominent theater and opera house in Anchor is located here, though there are several others clustered around it, as are many historical and artistic museums and galleries, including those sponsored directly by the city. Despite Arcadia North’s strong association with art and culture, however, its most striking and memorable landmark is the Bliss House, home base of the Bliss Syndicate, which easily towers over all other buildings in the district.
⇁ Upper and Lower Tyches. Named for a goddess of fortune, as these districts of western Anchor are the center of virtually all business and trade that occurs in and moves through Anchor. The “upper” and “lower” refer strictly to their geographical placement, as Lower Tyches is most definitely the ritzier of the two, containing several high-class department stores and restaurants, high-fashion retailers, and luxury condominiums. Lower Tyches is also an ideal spot for other businesses and corporations, and is already home to the headquarters of Janvs Trading Assoc., Resnick Realty Partners, and GIGATech Corp. Upper Tyches, on the other hand, has developed to be more tourist-friendly, with budget hotels and other less expensive attractions intended for those who are just passing through Anchor.
⇁ Industrial complex. Located a far distance from Anchor itself, home to rows upon rows of warehouses and factories that once directly supplied the city and businesses based there. However, Anchor’s shifting reliance to outsourced labor led to a drastic downturn in their necessity, and so most of these facilities have been completely abandoned. Due to its distance from the city, it was (and still is) most common to use portals for transport here; however, due to some firms’ desire for confidentiality with their product, supply, or labor, there are still active portal and sorcery wards scattered throughout the complex. Thanks to its abandonment, there is also a distressingly high rate of criminal activity here, but the city seems to have done little—if anything at all—to address it.
⇁ Sanctia Park. Another significantly large area geographically distanced from Anchor, originally developed by Richard Resnick as an “alternative living” complex. His intent was to create a self-sufficient, near-utopian “daughter city” for those who had grown weary of Anchor’s overcrowding, welcoming policy towards immigrants and refugees, and emphasis on trade and entrepreneurship rather than the people. However, lack of interest (and investors) forced Resnick to sell off most of the property, and what had already been built was either reconstructed or repurposed into centers for leisure and entertainment. The Park is now home to escapist and luxury resorts, cinemas, inter-universal markets, concert/sporting arenas and coliseums, and even a racetrack and amusement park. The remaining land owned by Resnick Realty Partners has remained largely undeveloped, but—despite Richard Resnick’s notoriously fierce possessiveness of it—rumor has it that an unknown party has bought much (if not all) of the property with the intent to change that.
ii. Notable institutions
⇁ Orion Research Facilities/Orion Guild. On the outside, Orion appears to be a scientific research corporation, and has numerous labs in its building for that purpose. However, this is merely a front for Orion’s true identity: the Orion Guild, a group renowned across several universes, consisting of specialized agents available for contracted hire. They are required and able to perform a variety of tasks, including (but not limited to) assassination, capture, and data retrieval. Their most important trait is their anonymity, as their work tends to garner many enemies, and the knowledge of their “secret base” could prove fatal; for this reason, only the top brass in Anchor’s government are aware of the Orion Guild’s existence within the city limits.
⇁ Solomon Academy. As is generally expected of most cities, especially ones with such large populations, Anchor does have a public education system, which is guaranteed free of charge to every citizen. However, Anchor is also home to a much more well-known school, the prestigious Solomon Academy. Having existed since the birth of Anchor itself, it was named after the famed sorcerer Solomon, one of the original founders of Anchor and a pioneer in many sorcerous arts, most notably demonology. The Academy does not discriminate against potential students with a low or non-existent income, or those with no family background, but it only accepts those with extraordinary talent in any field of sorcery or academia. Any student who graduates from the Academy’s rigorous program is assured fame and a secure future.
⇁ Bliss Syndicate. A wealthy firm notable for its numerous business, scientific, and technological ventures, as well as the fact that its founder and namesake, Balore Bliss, nearly single-handedly controlled the government of Anchor while he was at the height of his power. Granted with strange powers by the legendary bow-lion, Bliss quickly rose to power as a crime lord on Malkar, and fell from power just as quickly. But he had amassed a great amount of wealth, and used it to found the Bliss Syndicate in Anchor. The Syndicate, centrally located in a formidable building known as the Bliss House (itself situated in Arcadia North, with proximity to the central and both Tyches districts), has a wide range of interests, from philanthropic to questionable to just plain shady; for a short time, however, its activities came to a complete halt with the disappearance of Balore Bliss himself. Though he has since returned and resumed his position of power, the Syndicate no longer holds quite the same stranglehold over the whole of Anchor as it once did, thanks in part to the founding of rival firms and other similar groups in his wake.
⇁ Janvs Trading Assoc. One of the aforementioned “rival firms,” and also the only one that Bliss has not yet managed to successfully shut down. Although the company does specialize in inter-dimensional trade, as its name would suggest, its public business is a front for its dealings with and oversight of a black market that spans multiple worlds and universes; almost any good that passes through this market is bound to bear the Janvs mark at one point or another. The company is headed by a man called Jan Vierste (the alias of Bifrons, a man of no small relation to the bow-lion himself), though he is hardly its original founder. Rather, he took control over the group by force, and singlehandedly built it from a loose-knit circle of petty merchants into the powerhouse that it is today, the only firm still able to rival the Bliss Syndicate in might, influence, and wealth.
⇁ Resnick Realty Partners. One of the oldest business groups in Anchor, with stakes in the majority of land, property, and real estate throughout the city and outlying areas. Although its profits suffered some decades ago with former head Richard Resnick’s failed Sanctia venture—which is still regarded as a joke among other entrepreneurs and business enthusiasts to this day—it has since recovered and continues to be an iconic presence in Anchor’s commercial scene.
⇁ GIGATech Corp. A corporation that has made many significant advances in technology, privately owned by Ari Niiran. It is easily seen as one of the most profitable companies in Anchor, and almost all technology that can be found in Anchor was produced or developed in part by GIGATech. It’s a wonder they haven’t come under fire for any anti-trust lawsuits yet…
⇁ CioCio. A tiny, out-of-the-way coffee shop in Solomon Quarter that is completely unremarkable in every way except for the fact that it is the bow-lion’s “home base.” Given Anchor’s strict anti-deity/-superhuman resident policy, as well as the interest of his own safety, this fact is hardly publicized, least of all by himself; however, that won’t stop him from meeting potential clients there under the guise of his own alias. But don’t be fooled—his coffee really isn’t all that great.
