Spire

Spire is the capital of Tico, a marvelous floating city where the buildings are suspended in the air through complex magical enchantments. It survived the Godbomb and remains a spectacle to behold, as all buildings are inlaid with glimmering gems and precious metals to make the city quite literally gleam in the sunlight. The people of Tico hoard knowledge of all sorts within their many archives, which are said to still run on technology from the Millennial Calm; outsiders, however, are forbidden from accessing these "deep repositories," leading to the conflicting rumors that Tico is hiding something in their xenophobia, or that it is simply trying to maintain its reputation as keepers of knowledge and does not actually have anything the rest of Ealdremen does not.
Navigating Spire requires flight, as there is no ground foundation underneath the city at all. Arcane tethers keep the buildings upright and clustered together in recognizable formations. In ages past, when pilgrimages to Tico were encouraged, various "flight pads" or other means of dispensing flight to the wingless could be found throughout the city. The emphasis on naturally having flight instead is used to keep out outsiders, and unsubstantiated reports claim that the police in Tico will actively dispel flying magic if they spot it to keep rare visitors out of places they shouldn't be.
The city is ruled by a council of professors that specialize in different subjects, who all in turn advise and support a central leader, called the Apex, that has the final say on various city-related matters; this advice tends to take the form of long filibusters and dissertations supporting a certain view or course of action, and the Apex is meant to be so impartial, stubborn, and difficult to sway that only the most compelling of arguments can do so. In effect, the Apex is as conservative and unchanging as possible to provide stability, and the various professors are supposed to push for changes as best they can, leading to equilibrium that tips in favor of change when it is most needed. Laws from Spire tend trickle down to the rest of Tico over time, as various other cities high up on Tico's mountains (and thus are considered more powerful) try to court the favor of the Spire.
Violation of Spire's edicts results in expulsion from the city, never to return. The worst offenders, those that violate the worst but also vaguest law forbidding the "desecration of knowledge," might even have their wings broken before they are literally thrown from the highest reaches of Spire. To be declared a defiler of knowledge requires explicit condemnation from the Apex and a majority of the advising professors. Though it is said to have become rare since the Godbomb, there are nonetheless accusations from the lowest valleys of Tico that the Apex's political enemies and dissenting professors from the majority have been executed in this manner in secret.
Category:Ealdremen Cities
Category:Ealdremen Locations
Category:No Spoilers
Category:Tico