Part of the world behind The City Series, Alan Chow's corporate fantasy universe.
Peace District Archive
The City Series World Guide
Peace District
Located in the western part of the City, it is the most populated district. The City's Founders aspire to make it the primary residential area, where the Major Races can live in harmony. They set a goal to build enough housing for 70% of the population. In hindsight, it was too ambitious. It is akin to building a house while everyone is moving in. Reality trumps architectural and planning objectives, forcing the Founders to abandon their approach. The Peace District that emerged is a vast sprawl of buildings, like a statement of defiance.
Planned residences hit problems as soon as they started. Speed is often determined by prior wealth and resources, and is further bogged down by the Major Races' insistence on their preferred aesthetics. Those who cannot wait, or are less discerning about appearances, construct makeshift shelters wherever they can. Efforts to bring them into an orderly construction system prove futile, like building sandcastles on the beach that washes away with each wave. The founders eventually struck a compromise by allowing construction within designated zones. Subdued chaos is preferable to an unhindered one.
Vermilion Camps
The Vermilion Camps are a balm for Orcs to ease their transition into City life. The eventual hope is for them to move into modern residences, but like most temporary measures in the City, it ends up being permanent. 70% of Orcs still live in the Vermillion Camps. The culture of living in camps proved too ingrained for Orcs to abandon. Orcs favour camps for their ease of expansion (subject to their neighbours' approval, of course). They allow married couples to merge their camps to form larger homes, making it common to find massive communal camps housing multiple Orcish families.
The City names the place after early incarnations of tents, which all feature identical structures and colours. They have abandoned the uniformity, but the name stuck. A residential camp is a contradiction. It is a permanent structure with complete utilities and modern amenities; some even feature indoor pools. Some remain simple, like a single tent with austere living conditions. Others morph into massive luxury clusters. Early tents with sparse decoration and furniture have given way to more extravagant features. Camps of wealthy inhabitants feature furnishings that rival mansions in sumptuousness. In a surprise development, even non-Orcs are moving into the Vermillion Camps to embrace the camping lifestyle.
The Lok'tar Ogar
The City's first fighting club did not originate in the Vermillion Camps. But the first Lok'tar Ogar club did. The Lok'tar Ogar, Orcish for "Victory or Death," is a string of innovative fighting clubs that dominates the industry and is synonymous with fighting clubs today. Lok'tar Ogar's choice for its inaugural venue is unsurprising; Orcs represent almost two-thirds of its patrons. Their signature venue is The Lok'tar Ogar Premier. It is the most exclusive fighting club in the City. The Lok'tar Ogar Premier is also the largest tent structure in the City, with a sprawling complex that includes several popular Orcish restaurants and gaming venues.
The main fighting ring is in the centre tent of the Lok'tar Ogar Premier. As the place for all championship matches, contestants consider it hallowed ground. Strategically placed lighting illuminates the rows of seating surrounding the fighting ring. Two large screens on either end allow focused camera views that can catch even a single drop of blood. The cameras link to a central control station with dedicated live-streaming capabilities, and like every powered item, they have their own independent power generators. Nothing may interrupt a match. For the well-heeled audience, they can book premium booths in prime viewing spots, which include a luxury lounge and a dedicated concierge.
Fields of Silver
The Fields of Silver is the largest outdoor market in the City. A massive sheet of silver cloth protects the place from the elements, keeping rain out and the temperature crisp and cool thanks to silver's excellent reflective properties. The Fields of Silver never cease in activity. Merchants and traders from the City and the Wastelands haggle with customers over wares of every kind imaginable. Folks claim you can always find whatever you seek within the Fields of Silver. That is, if you have enough Gold Coins.
Food is among the most common goods in the Fields of Silver. Small bites and treats in particular are very popular. Customers sample delicacies from all races and experimental cuisines not available anywhere else in the City. Many famous chefs apprenticed in the Fields of Silver before starting their own restaurants, who emphasised aesthetics together with taste. A beloved treat, especially during summer, is the Flavoured Snowflake. It is a chocolate or strawberry ice cream treat, and the process to make it generates a random, unique appearance. Just like actual snowflakes, no two Flavoured Snowflakes share the same look.
Direbull Farms
Direbulls, the larger and meaner members of the bull family, are a feared but revered creature in Orcish culture. They never stop trying to escape when confined, but, somewhat bizarrely, become docile when wrestled into submission. The instinct to escape also dissipates. But their docility is fleeting, lasting about a week before they attempt to escape again. Orcs prize Direbulls for providing the key components of their favourite dish, Maush. No other substitute even comes close, according to the Orcs. Since no other race consumes Maush, every Direbull farm and its associated facilities are near the Vermillion Camps.
Flanking the farms are massive processing plants that produce Direbull feed, a mixture of Harsh Iron Grain and tiny pebbles. Tiny pebbles are a modern addition after research showed they aid digestion by grinding the food in a Direbull's stomach. Direbull feed is extraordinarily dense, making it hard to transport. Orcs thus build the processing plants as close to the Direbull pens as possible. They cultivate the primary ingredient for Direbull feed, Harsh Iron Grain, in fields beside the processing plants. Harsh Iron Grain is a natural oddity that contains bits of iron, and no animal eats it other than Direbulls.
