Aerael

*Surveillance photo of Aerael's residential area taken in secret by one of Schillinger's agents in 1970 (Photo credit to Kamil Foatov on Unsplash)*

## History

Aerael began as a concept in 1862 when Kara, Sonya, and Valterius began discussing ways in which they would be able to hunt for the Creature and his Pyrates without having an easily discoverable location, should their enemy turn the hunt onto them. During this time, Allison and Krystal (*still under her birth name of Catherine at this point in time, but will be referred to as "Krystal" in this wiki entry for simplicity*) are still realizing the full potential of their powers and are training consistently. With Valterius as Alice's mentor and Kara as Krystal's teacher, the group decided that a location hidden in plain sight would likely be the prime option, leaving their entrance and exit accessible for feedings, but away from prying eyes. They decided on the basement of a house in downtown Salem, which was purchased using their combined funds and political leverage with the town's mayor. Acquiring the deed to the property, they began excavating a space below the cellar until an area twice the size of the house itself was usable for resting, hiding, and training while leaving the house appearing abandoned to prying eyes.

The group spent the next several several years making small expansions, additions, and refinements, eventually using mortar and brick to seal the walls and floor against moisture as they began to spend more of their time within the space. Sonya briefly referred to it as their "altar," as the phrase "Thank God" was often uttered as they escaped into the crawlspace with Pyrate agents on the streets outside their house, which evolved into christening the more formal name of Aerael. The hall and individual rooms were eventually separated for the sake of dividing common and living spaces. Massive expansion efforts followed during the American Industrial Revolution, taking advantage of new technologies and a growing number of people they had chosen to save from the Pyrates by converting them and hiding them within Aerael's walls.

Valterius eventually became too old on the city's record to reasonably continue owning the home, as his age surpassed the normal human lifespan. While Sonya developed relationships within the United States Government to forge them all new identities, the city sold the home after the guise of Val's death, and the former house became the Frame Shop after Krystal's purchase and renovation. The Frame Shop stood as a sign of the aging nature of the city's concept since food was smuggled to and from the shop in no small quantity without raising alarm. The Counsel, seeing the potentially dangerous nature of the Frame Shop's purpose being questioned, set out to locate individuals that could improve the infrastructure of their city. As its people suffered from a lack of space, basic needs, and freedom of movement, Alice converted two Canadian architects in 1902 and brought them to Aerael. Their arrival marked one of the most significant changes to the city, as it was increased in size by a factor of ten, hardened by concrete and steel reinforcements, and provided basic plumbing for showering and wastewater. Within the span of two years, the city went from just under 500 feet in length with 20-foot ceilings to being almost 3,600 feet long and 575 feet wide (excluding areas "dug into" walls to create additional living quarters/common areas) and ceilings that stood more than sixty feet from the ground.

The city went largely unchanged through the following 75 years, although the number of citizens grew dramatically as both World Wars and the Korean War saw the involvement of both Vampyre Factions. This resulted in an abandoned, sterile appearance within the residential quarters to a cozy, community-oriented feel in the midst of its more than Requesting a private meeting with Eric and Sonya in 2005, Tony showcased a series of blueprints that would bring the city - with its haphazardly-designed upgrades to accommodate for more people and better quality of life - up to par with the modern standards of living to which the world above was so accustomed. Placing his supervision under Valterius and Alice, Sonya approved of the changes in Kara's absence and Tony went to work with Eric to increase the potential of the city. Within two years, new and complex electrical systems were implemented, plumbing efficiency was increased, and the access points for the critical pieces of Aerael's workings were no longer exposed to the general public; small alleyways between residential apartments contained main lines and electrical junctions.

In 2008, three years after Tony was introduced to the city, he revealed to Valterius that there were features he could add to Aerael: concepts imagined in his previous designs but ignored due to a lack of trust in the overbearingly good-willed appearance of the city. Since Tony no longer believed the nature of Aerael's people to be a facade, he discussed building a small nuclear reactor hidden below ground in Aerael that would supply their power independently without the need for the complex manner in which they drew power from the surface. Tony was given a small team of Val's trusted friends and Tony implemented the reactor using components Krystal, Sonya, and Kara gathered from overseas as well as electrical designs made by Eric. The reactor was hidden within an unused apartment in the residential area of the city, shielded against any radiation, and maintained solely by Tony in the following years. Although much of the city ran on its power, the generation of the reactor was stored in large battery-based generators, with massive lithium-ion UPS battery systems installed across the city. This served as over-current protection as well as additional power should the reactor fail (its design made it impossible for a meltdown; the reactor itself would have merely "broken" and been rendered inert should failure have occurred).

The most common source for new Vampyres were families or individuals who had suffered near-fatal tragedy through no fault of their own and were recruited via a visit by a member of Kara's Counsel. An offer would be made to those suffering (if conscious and/or otherwise capable of consent) in vague terms and under the promise of secrecy. After infection, the intelligence and emotional moderation of new Vampyres resulted in the understanding and acceptance that the secrecy of the Vampyre race was necessary to prevent harm or panic within the human race.

Vampyres otherwise lived normal lives, although most felt obligated to serve either Aerael or Kara's Counsel through various means. Seen as receiving a second chance at life after what would have been imminent death, many believed they owed their lives to the Counsel or one of its members, resulting in a voluntary servitude that consisted of connections and networking via the acquisition of a job in the human government sector, financial contributions, or the rare special missions assigned to the "civilians" of the city (i.e., finding new families in need, surveillance of Pyrates, or caring for a new Vampyre during their transition).

Vampyres in Aerael are highly multicultural, with many speaking multiple languages and occasionally originating from countries outside of the United States (due to missions carried out by the Counsel that took them around the globe during their endeavors). Because of this highly diverse community, personal traits such as native language, race/ethnicity, religious preference, and sexual orientation were usually overlooked or entirely ignored in light of personality and experience reigning dominant as the defining factors of a Vampyre's personality. Although they don't discredit the legitimacy of a person's origin or individuality, very little of a person outside of moral compass or demeanor mattered to most Vampyres looking to make friends or connections amongst themselves. One such example was the acceptance Violet received upon her arrival in Aerael as a human with an injury-induced stutter. While the disability was noticed, it was disregarded as "who she is" while favoring other aspects of her personality and talents. Same-sex relationships were commonplace and often unnoticed due to a lower inclination of couples to have children, although the ratio of same-sex couples to heterosexual couples closely matched that of humans'.

Due to the wide-spanning sense of acceptance, the imagery of Vampyres in Aerael and Vanaheim were often colorful. With judgement and discrimination being near-nonexistent, individuals felt free to express themselves in the manner that best suited their preferences. Punk, Goth, business casual, and vivid clothing styles often accompanied alternative makeup styles and expressive hairstyles that provided a unique atmosphere within the residential portions of Aerael and Vanaheim. While some adopted modest or muted appearances, it would be a common and unremarkable sight to witness a woman wearing a gothic or neo-punk outfit speaking casually to a man in a freshly-pressed suit and tie.

Aerael saw its defeat at the hands of the Counsel itself, who - during the Outbreak - spent little time with its citizens because of the increased need for liaison with the United States Government. Under no guiding hand, Aerael's citizens had little comfort from the panic and fear resonating from the world above. Whether afraid of being persecuted by humans, infected by a new strain of the Vampyre Virus, or injured in the prolific looting and rioting, they all shared this fear in equal parts with resentment toward the Counsel for keeping the threat of Schillinger, Kilkovf, Raven, and their projects a secret. After an incident between Valterius and a deceased citizen's family resulting in two deaths, the people of Aerael abandoned hope in the Counsel and left en masse for a hope at an independent future. While Tony and Eric's nuclear reactor kept the city powered, it was eventually decommissioned in favor of generators (due to lower risk) in the remaining years that Krystal was comatose.

After the Battle at Washington, D.C., Aerael was guarded as a potential location for restoration, but Amelia declared it federal property until a decision for its use could be made. During this time, Sonya grew increasingly close with Eric in the years following the events of *Despair*, helping him cope with the disappearance of his brother and starting the working for what would become the Kane-Hudson Center for New Dawn Vampyrism (colloquially referred to as "The Center", but formerly known as the Kane-Hudson Charity Teaching Hospital). Once Amy was elected as President of the United States in 2038, Sonya was appointed as the Director of the Center, taking over the operations of the center while Eric was assigned chairman of the board of directors.

Although Sonya's main focus was the daily operations and high-level functions of The Center, she frequented Vanaheim (being only a few hundred feet below her office) and assisted Rachel with the daily workings of their city. In 2048, the potential of restoring Aerael to its former glory was recognized, and after raising the private funding from her partner corporations, Sonya passed her role at The Center to Andrea Scott (the company's military liaison), and took over the Aerael Restoration Project. After only eight months, the city's renovations were fully completed, with modernization efforts made with the intent of becoming a living, educational, and working space for those with environmental, psychosocial, personality, and mood disorders. Alice, in one of her last acts as Chief of Medicine, established a partnership with The Center to provide potentially high-performing behavioral psychologists to Aerael.

Sonya was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2071 for her efforts in aiding sexual trauma, domestic violence, and PTSD survivors, all of which had a place in Aerael to feel at home and at peace. Eventually, Rachel and Layla would end up working alongside Sonya, aiding in cementing Aerael as a world-renowned gold standard for psychological trauma care.

## Features, Sections, and Locations

**Dimensions, Statistics, and Measurements**

* City (interior) - 3,550 feet in length (750ft for common areas, 2800ft for residential)
* City (interior) - 575 feet in width (excluding "carved-out" spaces such as infirmary, Archangel, and restaurant interiors)
* City - 63 feet high with lights hung 1.5 feet below ceiling
* City - Total area (including carved spaces) 2.55 million sq ft

**Infirmary**: 225ft x 125ft (28,125 sq ft)

* 6 Intensive Care Units
* 2 Standard Care Rooms
* 1 Long-term care/recovery suite
* 1 Radiology/Lab section
* Nursing/Support staff admin office
* Medical Storage
* Alice's office

**Arboretum**: 500ft x 40ft

**Archangel**: 100ft x 75ft

* Live music stage
* Dance/performance stage
* 2 Well bars
* 1 VIP section with bar

**Training Room**: 125ft x 75ft

* City entrance located on west end; roughly 250ft tunnel from Aerael to Frame shop

**Chapel**: 100ft x 75ft

**Conference Room 1 (main)**: 50ft x 50ft

**Conference Room 2 (residential)**: 25ft x 25ft

**Residential Apartment Units**: (250 units at 800 sq ft each)

**Counsel living quarters**: (8 units plus one utility room at 1,200 sq ft each)

**Bistro (*Bizzy B's*)**

**Coffee/Pastry Shop (*La Vapeur*)**

**Fine dining restaurant (*Chanterelle)***

**Fast-food restaurant (*Big Bear)***

**Buffet - multicultural cuisine (*Basmati)***

**Pizzeria (*Pizza Jim's)***

**Convenience store**

**Grocery store/Pharmacy**

**Clothing outlet**