Lighthalzen

The Prosperous Garden Capital
The newest city in the Republic, Lighthalzen sprung up as a planned "city of the future," designed to incorporate as many Schwarzwalden enhancements as possible to create the most modern of cities. Even the architecture and fashion of Lighthalzen is different than the cities around, as the planners wanted the city to stand out as much as possible to form a beacon of the modern age.

While the city had been in construction for seventy-five years, its actual completion date was only twenty-five years from the end of the Runic Era, and the capital of Schwarzwald was moved from Juno to be housed here instead. Many were against the change, stating it held a hidden message that the old ways were to be forgotten, and forward to the future was the only way Schwarzwaldens turned their eyes anymore. Pleas fell on deaf ears however, and the proposed move was completed without difficulty.

Lighthalzen quickly met its goal of becoming a modern-age city, and many citizens flocked to find home in this new, fanciful land of new beginnings and hopeful dreams. Like Aldebaran, numerous corporations soon called the city home, from the biological-based Rekenber Corporation to companies working on the cutting edge of alchemical advancement.

The city does have a dark side, though. Numerous feline therians in the area were pushed out of their homes in the creation of Lighthalzen, and what little land they have left forms a poor, destitute district in the Eastern side of the city. The therian population is often derisively referred to as ferals, given their poor lifestyle and uncivilized culture. Crime is also high in Lighthalzen, thanks to both therians that pass the guards as well as the average thief aiming to target the type of well-off citizen that can afford the high living costs of such a city.

Velare invaders easily took over the city once the planar barrier fell, and now control all major facilities and organizations--though due to the sheer size of Lighthalzen, many mortals remain in the city's poorer districts. Rumor holds that the Dark Court calls the city home as well, though few seem to know just where it may be.