The Upper

## General Overview

The Upper is the last remaining Angel city and is where all currently known Angels originate from. It is located high up on top of an unknown mountain, all the way above the cloud line. While the majority of the residents of the Upper seem to be Third Tier Angels it's not uncommon to see Second and Third Tier Angels going about their business in the city, especially in the Sanctuary. There are also many magical creatures living in the Upper, such as the Pegasus the Angels have been known to use in their work (Ch 160).

As the main hub for all Angel activity, the Upper is a busy and bustling place. Magic is commonly used and can be seen all throughout the city from magical items being sold in the streets to the magical healing water that flows throughout the Upper from the Healing Fountain. Jake describes it as a place filled with happiness and laughter (Ch 160).

### Isaac's Office

Isaac's office is a simple and clean space. There is a couch set against one wall while the other wall is half-filled with cabinets. A nice, plush rug covers the floor. There is a large desk with a large chair for Isaac to work at. It is usually covered with neat piles of folders and papers but there is a framed picture of his entire family and some close family friends enjoying themselves at a picnic that sits facing his chair. There are also two chairs sitting across from the desk for guests to sit in. There is a wide window on one side of the room that overlooks a garden pavilion with a small fountain in it (Inky Extras Series Part 6, Ch 2).

### Mary's Garden

Behind the Angel family home is Mary Angel's greenhouse. The greenhouse is a very large building, constantly expanding as Mary's garden grows. Inside the greenhouse is a variety of different sections split up by different biomes (environments). Some of the biomes included in the greenhouse are a meadow, a jungle and a desert. Inside each environment are plants suited to that biome which Mary obtains from a variety of sources such as her siblings bringing her back plants when they visit somewhere else. Also in each biome is a variety of bugs that help keep the plants within them healthy. The biomes themselves are divided/contained by a mixture of stone, glass and magic (Ch 265).

Also in the greenhouse is a pavilion area that overlooks a fair amount of the greenhouse. In this pavilion area is a carved table and set of chairs with a sun umbrella shading the whole area. It's common for Mary to sit here with any visitors she has to chat and drink some tear or simply rest when she becomes to exhausted (Ch 265).

## The Sanctuary

The Sanctuary is an area located at the heart of the Upper. It is made up of tall layers of towers, lovely climbing gardens and interconnected paths. It is a beautiful area, decorated with art and statues. The carved architecture of marble and pillars dot the Sanctuary. There is also more magic in the Sanctuary than the rest of the Upper, though most Angels only register this as a small increase in magical energy (Ch 250).

The Sanctuary is gated off from the outer city and Guardian Angels stand at the entrances to make sure only those allowed to enter. Only Angels or Non-Angel employees who work within its limits are allowed within the Sanctuary (Ch 250).

### Healing Fountain

The Healing Fountain is located inside the Sanctuary at the heart of the Upper. It is in a pavilion surrounded by beautiful gardens and pathways. The fountain itself is made up of a large pool with a tall fountain in its centre. Several aqueducts connect to the fountain, transporting its water outside of the Sanctuary and throughout the Upper (Ch 250). This water winds its way throughout the city, creating healing streams and pools all across the Upper (Ch 160).

## The Healers Hall

The Healers Hall is the main medical centre in the Upper. It is a long slopping building with many windows, pavilions and a set of towering doors to enter the building. Alice says it looks kind of like "a turtle shell made of jewels with pockets of vegetation climbing in." (Ch 238). The inside is clean and organized, like a hospital.

## The Courts

The courts are where the judges hold angelic trials. The multi-level courtrooms, while elegant, are stark and intimidating to those on trial. The rooms are dome-shaped with circular stained glass windows, tall marble pillars and immaculately clean marble floors. Carvings of nature and inlaid gold give the space some sparse decoration. Booths ring the central court area on all floors, with railings on the higher floors. These booths obstruct the view of the witnesses' faces while allowing them to clearly see to events of the trial. While it is unknown whether the booths on the upper floors are standing only the booths on the ground floor do have seats. At the front of the courtroom, jutting out further than the other booths, is the judge's chair. In the centre is a raised chair with a tall backrest that has the seal of the judges on it, which is where the judge actually sits. On either side of this chair are slightly lowered seats for a recorder and guardian angel respectively to sit at during trial (Inky Extras Series Part 6, Ch 3).

## The Hall of Records

The Hall of Records is a large tower in the Upper in which all the information and records collected by the Angels are stored. The Hall has many different rooms, each of which are dedicated to a specific subject. Each of the rooms is styled to match the subject of records they have. For example, the global history room is covered in maps while the chamber of history has brick walls and artifacts displayed within it (Ch 238) Some of the known rooms in the Hall of Records are-

* The Chamber of History
* The Global History Room
* The Art Room
* The Economy Room
* The Biology Room
* The Medicines Room
* The Magic Room
* The Cultures Room
* The Languages Room
* The Species Room

### Chamber of Sealed Records

This chamber is where the most secretive of all the Upper's knowledge is held, as all of it has been hidden from the public records for one reason or another. It is filled with shelves of scrolls, spelled drawers and lockboxes that are stacked so tall that they require tall ladders to be fixed around the room in order to reach everything. There are also balconies scattered around the room with desks and reading lamps for use by those who do manage to gain access to the room. The sealed items in this room are on a variety of topics from spell books to judicial and medical records. Any of the Angel branches are able to have a record sealed if they see fit. The information in this room is first organized by what branch had the records sealed and then within that subdivides by the topic of the sealed record. For example, when Alice and her companions were looking for Cuphead's medical records they first had to go to the Oracle branch section and then search through that section to find the shelves within it dedicated to medical documents. It should be noted that just because a record ends up sealed within this chamber does not mean it will stay sealed. There are items within that actually have the date at which they will be unsealed attached to them. The extremity of the seal and the time with which it is meant to stay sealed directly corresponds to how dangerous the Angel's believe that information would be if released (Ch 238)

## Shopping District

### Candy Shop

The Upper's candy shop sells a variety of Angel candies such as Lolli-twists, snap tastes, sour straws and pixie puff. Some of these candies also have minor magical abilities such as chocolate birds that can sing simple songs and cloud candies that make the user lighter (Ch 236)

### Plant Shop

The plant shop sells many unusual species of Angel plant life such as glow flowers and snapdragons, which is a carnivorous plant that usually eats insects such as flies (Ch 236)

### Toy Shop

Many of the toys sold in this shop have simple charms or spells on them which allow them to do more then a normal Surface toy can. Some of the toys in this shop include a tea set that makes bubbling noises, tops that make moving pictures when spun and little gems that can make soft nightlights (Ch 236)

## Seraphine Family Book Shop

The Seraphine family lives and operates this bookstore. The shop itself is cozy and inviting, filled with shelves of books and some display tables of the latest releases from various Surface authors. The front of the shop has bay windows that let in warm light and a door with a bell on it to alert the family when customers arrive. In one corner of the shop, hidden from immediate view by a large shelf, is a sitting area with a plush rug and cushions scattered about around a low table. There is also a long bench against one wall that provides additional storage for cushions on shelves underneath it. Over the bench are pictures from well-known books such as "The Princess and the Frog" and "Hamlet". This corner also holds a supply closet with cleaning supplies, separated from the seating area by a curtain. The whole shop smells of paper and hot chocolate (Ch 246).

Behind the same curtain as the supply closet is a set of stairs that lead up to the Seraphine family's apartment. The stairs lead directly to the kitchen area. Leila's room is off to one side of the kitchen and can be entered by activating an invisible rune array on the wall next to the door. Three large bookcases line the wall across from the door while a bed with a big headboard sits against the wall on the opposite side. The headboard has shelves built into it that have runes for good sleep and a couple of stuffed Demon dolls on them. The other wall has a window covered with gauzy curtains, though there are also a pair of black-out curtains that can be pulled over it, and Leila's closet. On the other side of the window that the closet sits a sturdy wooden desk with a free-floating shelf mounted to the wall above it that has a few leatherbound books on it. These books are decoys for Leila's notebooks and are booby-trapped with mild curses in case anyone tries to take them. Her real notebooks are hidden inside a secret space inside her bed's headboard. There is a difficult to see seam in the wood separating the top half of the headboard and the lower half. On the lower half of the headboard is another invisible rune array that, when activated, opens up a panel into a compartment filled with Leila's notebooks (Ch 246).

## Harper Family Home

The Harper house is a cute two-story home with a porch that has a swinging bench on it. At the front of the house is a gate before the path up to the front door. There is also a little roundabout area out front for flying Angels to land in. The backyard is fenced in though the fence doesn't seem to be very high as someone at the front of the house is able to see the plants growing in the back. The backyard is filled with plant life such as flowers, trees and leafy plants. There are so many plants around the Harper house that they climb up the home and trail all across the right side of the roof, hanging down off its edges (Inky Extras Series Part 6, Ch 2).

## Trivia and Notes

### Trivia

* Jake claims that the fruit grown in the Upper is the best in the world (Ch 160)
* In the Hall of Records world history wing there are multiple statues, the tallest of which depicts Sir Nicholas Reinhardt of Petrushohi. It was broken by Leila at age 6 when she attempted to climb it (Inky Extras Series Part 13, Ch 5)