Cairune

Population: 215,000

Cairune hovers above the ground, held aloft by ancient Drak'hai magic and engineering. The floating city maintains a strict vertical hierarchy where altitude determines status. Noble families occupy the highest districts while merchants buy their way up through wealth, and war refugees crowd the ground settlement below.

The city can raise or lower itself as needed, though such adjustments require days of preparation and careful coordination. Great chains and mechanical systems managed from the central Windspire control these movements, while Sky Gardens provide fresh food and help distribute the city's weight across the magical suspension systems. However, the vast majority of food is imported, mainly through skyship deliveries from Illyndra and Ecleptara.

Districts

Old Scale: The highest noble district where ancient Drak'hai families maintain ancestral estates. These bloodlines claim authority through age and magical knowledge, though their actual understanding of the city's systems varies considerably.

Merchant's Crown: The new-money district where banking houses and trading companies compete for altitude through wealth. Successful merchants here often possess more practical resources than the nobles above them, leading to disputes over authority and influence.

The Commons: The central district housing shops, markets, and middle-class residents. Most of the city's daily business happens here, from guild meetings to public ceremonies. The district includes the main market squares and the administrative buildings that keep the floating city functioning.

The Undercroft: The lowest district of the floating city, containing workshops, storage facilities, and dense worker housing. Despite its lower position, residents here still look down literally and figuratively on the ground settlement below.

Groundtown: The overcrowded refugee settlement beneath the floating city. Originally temporary camps for war displaced populations, these communities have become permanent but remain poorly planned and under-resourced.

Key Features

The Ascent: A great ramp connecting Groundtown to the floating city proper. Guards control access, and the climb itself serves as a daily reminder of the city's social divisions.

The Windspire: The central tower managing elevation systems and housing primary airship docking facilities. This structure represents both the city's greatest achievement and its most vulnerable point.

Sky Docks: Multiple airship ports essential for trade and communication. Cairune's position as an aerial hub makes it crucial for maintaining contact between distant settlements across The Crescent.

Cloud Markets: Open-air commercial districts that take advantage of the city's unique position. Merchants here trade in goods from across The Crescent, with skyship crews bringing news and exotic materials.

The Skyreach College of Magic

The Skyreach College of Magic is an inclusive academy providing comprehensive magical education within Cairune's Commons district. Though not as prestigious as specialized academies, it offers accessible magical training to a diverse student body.

Specialization: General magical education with practical applications

Notable Features: Spacious lecture halls, aerial laboratories, community workshops

Key Faculty: Dean Arlen (academy leader), Professor Elara (elemental magic specialist)

The college emphasizes practical spellcasting and real-world applications over theoretical research. Its graduates often serve as local wizards, town healers, or practical enchanters throughout The Crescent's smaller settlements.

Regional Characteristics

Cairune serves as The Crescent's primary hub for aerial transport and communication. The city's fleet of airships maintains contact with distant settlements and provides rapid deployment of personnel and resources, making it essential for coordinating responses to wardstone failures and other regional crises.

Politics revolve around gaining access to higher districts, controlling airship operations, and deciding how resources get divided between the floating city and Groundtown.