Aerialis, the home of the three winds, is one of the five capital cities of the Middle Lands. It lies to the east of the Tower of Five and to the south of the Northern Waves of Yamato on the eastern banks of Lake Ripploch. Surrounded by wide tracts of cultivated farmland, made arable by windmills that pump water out of the deep underground, the city of Aerialis is large and prosperous. It is encircled by great magic engines named wind catchers, which, when powered, can call forth strong winds. These are used to power the many windmills that surround the city and to create a near impenetrable wind wall around the city proper at night or when the city is under siege. A strange and wondrous metal named Nubium is created here. It is made out of aluminum, which the Aerialingers (often called just 'Aerials' by outsiders) import from Fulgrath, and is worked with secret spell ink mandalas to allow those who touch it to significantly reduce its weight. Aerialis artisans too designed that most unusual weapon of the White Lancers of Aerialis: the drill-like terebra, which overcomes its own weight by spinning quickly around its center using a spell ink mandala of the wind. Since it lies closest to the Yamato Kingdom, much of the trade between the Kingdom and the Middle Lands is directed through Aerialis, which has a direct line to Yamaseki via the Sun Road. Via the North Way, Aerialis connects to the Longing Route, which connects Arda and Aquaris. The flourishing trade between Aerialis and Fulgrath takes places via the Tower of Five, going over the Long Roundabout, western Ark Road, and Estroad, and many tonnes of aluminum and grain pass over these well maintained trade routes every year. The city was founded out of the small lake town of Ripplington around 250 GE. Ripplington, which was ruled by the margrave of the east at the time, was often raided during the Age of Heroes and before, and in the latter days of that age, the Leeuw Family built a Yamato-sytle castle to its side to make evacuation easier, seeing how the margrave was located on the opposite side of Lake Ripploch. In this hall, the first son of the family, Rickard, began to educate the children of the town on old philosophical texts of the Yamato folk and whatever books he could get his fingers on. The grown-ups he taught the secrets of wind magic to help them defend against the invading Nordmen. In time, the hall grew into the old hall of the Rickard Leeuw Magistorium, one of the five great Magus Academies of the Middle Lands. A shut-off royal city was eventually constructed around the hall and the heart of Ripploch and the city of Aerialis constructed around it with the help and money of the founding families and the margrave of the east, who then became the margrave of Aerialis. Today the main hall of the Rickard Leeuw Magistorium is built almost entirely out of nubium and can be floated high into the sky if need be. A final defense mechanism that can keep at least this part of the city safe for a while, should the outer wind wall and inner city walls fail.
Religion
Like the people of Arda, Lumina Aka, and the Yamato Kingdom, the Aerialingers have a strong belief-system built around the ancestral souls of the elements integrated into their culture. There are many small shrines dedicated most commonly to the soul of the wind strewn about the city. Shrines of other ancestral souls are more difficult to find, but they do exist. Most commonly people pray at wind shrines for good fortune, fertile lands, fertile households, and positive change in their lives. While there are plenty of general wind shrines, often there will be those that are dedicated to one of the three winds. The three winds in Aerialian culture are 'the wind of the land', 'the wind of the sea', and 'the wind of change'. Shrines for all three winds abundantly exist in Aerialis and usually represent the following values:Wind of the Land
- Fertile soil
- Discovering new things
- Good weather
- Fertility (child bearing)
- Souls of ancestors
- Rebirth
- Magic and the arcane
- New opportunities
- Breaking with bad habits
- The new year and the new moon
Three winds' blessing (on you).
Three winds guide you / three winds guide your path.
Three winds speed you.
The wind of the land is harsh/pleasant this season.
Seek the third wind.
The sea wind smiles upon you.
To find one's second wind.
(looks like) A second wind is (seems to be) blowing.
A wind for the son, a wind for the daughter, a wind for the parents.Regular festivals and celebrations are held at varying shrines around Aerialis and people often donate grains or luxury goods as offerings to the ancestral souls of the elements and the souls of their own ancestors. These donations, among other things, keep the religious community afloat, which tends to the maintenance of the shrines and organizes celebrations.
Government
Aerialis is run by the margrave, the Van Haag-Taira Family, and the Lord of Wind.
The city is divided into 10 special wards, each of which have quasi-municipality status. They are governed by a head family or guild but part of the taxes payed to these is diverted to the three ruling bodies of the city.
Defences
The wind catchers around the city are usually directed towards the fields and windmills, but during night time, they are turned into a circular shape, creating a tornado-like whirlwind around the city which makes approach almost impossible.
When the city is attacked, instead of creating this wind wall, the wind catchers are sometimes directed against attacking armies, making projectile attacks against the city nearly impossible while significantly empowering the cities own archers.
There are also military encampments around the city, where infantry, cavalry, and archer units are trained and stationed. They are under the control of the margrave and the Lord of Wind.
The margrave himself controls the Gravensburg Special Ward, which has training grounds and housing for the Second Irregular Force of Aerialis, containing powerful magic and mundane cavalry units as well as the city guards.
The First Irregular Force of Aerialis is trained and housed in the Flathedge Special Ward and is commanded by the Van Haag-Taira Family.
Additionally, the margrave has a fortified mansion on the other side of Lake Ripploch, where he maintains barracks for the White Lancers of Aerialis, which are his direct vassals.
Industry & Trade
Wheat and Corn
There are vast wheat and corn fields around Aerialis. The grain harvest would almost be enough to supply the city on its own, but parts are traded off to the Yamato Kingdom for rice and nantama fruit and to the Tower of Five for rye, oats, and hops.Flour, Water Pumps, and Desalination
The windmills around Aerialis are used to grind wheat and corn flour and to pump water up from deep underground. The water, which is believed to stem from the Secret Ocean below the Great Land, has a high salt content and requires desalination before it can be used as drinking water. The desalination process is achieved using magic engines imported from Aquaris, which separate water and salt to a sufficient extent. The produced salt is sold all over the Great Land.Fishing
Lake Ripploch has been overfished many times in the past. In recent centuries, after several repopulation campaigns for the fish, the city has managed to strike an equilibrium of sustainable fish farming. In the 17th century GE Aquaris eels were successfully introduced to the lake.Aluminum Smithing and Nubium Forging
Large quantities of aluminum and aluminum alloy are imported from Fulgrath on a regular basis and formed into tools and household appliances as well as sheets and roof-parts for housing. A portion of the aluminum is treated with special spell ink mandalas to create nubium, a metal that becomes lighter when fed with soul power.Mining
The Middle Lands's largest silver mines are located in the Northern Waves of Yamato and are owned in large parts by the Van Haag-Taira family of Aerialis. The silver is worked into jewelry, silverware, and medicine and is sold around the Great Land for minting.Lumber
Lumber is produced from trees in the Willowood and used for construction, furniture, and other applications.Magic Engineers
High quality magic engines, mostly such that employ wind magic, are constructed in Aerialis and sold into some parts of the Middle Lands and rarely the Yamato Kingdom (as their trade is highly regulated). The Magic Engineers of Aerialis also produce silverlight, one of the five base components of spell ink.Infrastructure
The city is surrounded by farmland, which is mostly focused on producing wheat and corn. There also many windmills which are used mainly for grinding flour and pumping up ground water for irrigation and the canal system.
A formidable number of large wind catchers are placed around the city, allowing for the creation of continuous wind in controlled directions. These magic engines are employed both to consistently power the windmills and to serve as a defensive installation.
