A map of Vienda

[Runcible Spoon]

A Map of Vienda

Here is the more-or-less completish map I have made for Vienda


(warning, large image)


It does need more labeling to make certain areas clear such as demarkations of what exactly is 'Uptown' (the area around Ro Hill), the Dives (north of the river and south of the canal from Grimesby to the Painted Ladies) and Soot (Fly-Ash, Clatterings, Collier's Faire and environs).

I do plan on making a neighborhood overlap map (working on that now)

[Runcible Spoon]

The Dives

The oldest and most storied of the lower class regions of Vienda. In its way, it is the mirror of Uptown and contains just as much history, intrigue, and above all civic pride as its elegant neighbor across the river.

In Grimsby in the west are found many shops and artisanal businesses, glassmakers, cobblers, cabinet makers, luthiers, stationers, and upholsterers. In the east, in the Painted Ladies, a more gaudy scene of mixed commerce, trade, and residences as old as any on Ro Hill. Colorful and alive, proud and dangerous.

Slice away all the rest of the conurbation of Vienda, but if either Uptown or the Dives are lost, then what remains in no longer Vienda.

[Runcible Spoon]

Uptown

Built upon rising hills and the valleys between them, Uptown forms the greater part of the ancient core of Vienda. It is the political and commercial center of the city, the hub of culture, and one of the two pillars of civic virtue.

Upon the slopes of Ro Hill, many a fine old house can be found. Most began lives as the city homes of the landed elite. High society makes its home here, and higher intrigue comes with it. On the hill of Smike's End and on the Clockhouse are more modest dwellings, terraced houses and courtyards, rows of townhouses intermixed this shops and offices. Bellington is full of fine houses, of art galleries and theaters. It is a prime place to see and be seen. Around Crosstown Court, the ancient civic heart of the city, are the houses of Parliament, the courts and their nests of lawyers, the offices of politicians and departments, shot through with shops and stalls, and here and there a temple or a shrine. And in Kingsway, commerce holds sway, the great market there is a labyrinth of trade with shops that sell nearly all that can be imagined, and much that cannot be conceived.

Much of Uptown's luster derives for its antiquity, its shine the produced of long polishing and use. Grand in history, grander still in the antiquity of its scheming.

[Runcible Spoon]

Marshfield

To the east of Uptown and beyond the ancient boundaries of the old city, Marshfield takes it name from what it uses to be: the fields and marshes along the Arova. It has been centuries since any field has been seen, or any marsh trodden in these streets.

A mixed portion of the city, less grand than Uptown, less full of dash and danger than the Dives, it nevertheless has a character and history all its own. Before Vienda swallowed it up, a greater integration of all races was to be found here, and there remain to this day, temples and shrines that offer sanctuary to criminals and those who claim the ill-use of the law.

Cranesby and Redlocke pride themselves upon the education of their population, and many publishers, printers, and learned professionals make their home here.

[Runcible Spoon]

Soot

North of the Dives and short through with canals, the Soot district, as it has come to be known, is the most prominent center of heavy industry in Vienda.
From the factories and warehouses of Taphlowe, the foundaries and smelters of Colier's Fair, to the great manufactories and slaughter houses of Fly-Ash and beyond, Soot is a constant hive of activity. Every day black smoke rises from great chimneys, foul runoff washes into the canals, and thousands upon thousands of laborers go to their work in factories great and small, churning out the goods to power a civilization.

Between the great engines of industry there are residences and markets, just as there are anywhere in Vienda. Here, they tend to be cramped tenements covered in the the district's namesake, and the markets a strange mix of third-rate goods, and some of the freshest meat and newest products available. A cunning buyer can find luxuries hiding among the refuse, if they have to stomach to contend to the reek of the place.

[Runcible Spoon]

Swansborough

Swansborough, centered upon the elegant and desirable neighborhoods of Queen Daphne Hill and Swansford, lies just to the south of Uptown. In the neighborhoods of Venering, Swansford, and Queen Daphne Hill, the crowded and antique dignity of such places as Ro Hill is diminished, but here the elegance is more expansive. The streets are wider, lined with tulip and plane trees, the houses of the elite more often stand in their own grounds. It is a brighter, more open place, and one in which many a country family maintains a desirable city residence.

To the south, in Mantid Common and upon Middleswithe Hill, the tone is less haughty and more commercial. Merchants and traders of all races can be found here, shops are common, and markets abound. There are canal-side shops and dwellings, and small boats are a common sight.

In the east, in Rose Gate and Thorncaster, workshops and small industry abounds. Nothing like the heavy industry of Soot, but neither is it dainty. Glassmakers, potters, weavers, and dyers can all be found here, along with a thriving community of cheese makers, bakers, brewers, and small distillers. The people of Rose Gate claim, with some evidence, that the finest perfumeries in Anaxas are found on the Street of the Lilacs. The Company of Perfumers in Muffay would, however, strong disagree with this case.