The Docks District

Overall Identity & Feel

The Docks District is the industrial and logistical heart of Leolin Bay — a place defined by movement, labour, and constant exchange. It is the city at work. Where other districts trade in ideas, culture, or power, the docks trade in weight, distance, and time.

This is Leolin Bay’s oldest continuously occupied district. Long before the city was crowned the Shining Capital of Cezorus, ships were tying off along these shores. The modern Docks reflect that layered history: ancient piers reinforced with newer stonework, traditional maritime trades operating alongside carefully regulated mana-tech infrastructure, and generations of dockhands passing down knowledge that never appears in ledgers or schematics.

The district feels dense and kinetic. Everything seems to be in motion — ropes sliding through gloved hands, cranes swinging cargo, water lapping against hulls, Zephyrships descending with a low mechanical hum. The air is thick with salt, pitch, oil, smoke, and cooked fish, often accompanied by mist rolling in from the bay. Sound carries strangely here, echoing between warehouses and across water.

The Docks are not inherently lawless, but they are practical rather than polite. Deals are struck quickly. Reputation matters. People are judged less by their titles than by whether they pull their weight. Outsiders are neither welcomed nor rejected — they are assessed.

Despite its grit, the district is vital, proud, and fiercely loyal to its own. The city cannot function without it.

Geography & Layout

The Docks District stretches along the western curve of Leolin Bay, following the natural shape of the shoreline and the cliffs rising above it. Rather than a single flat plane, the district is vertically layered, divided by elevation, access routes, and function.

Sea Level

At the waterline lie the primary working docks:

• deep-water piers for cargo vessels
• fish landings and auction platforms
• smaller craft berths
• tidal walls and breakwaters

Warehouses cluster close to the water, built for speed and access rather than beauty. Narrow canals and mooring lanes allow small boats to move cargo between piers.

Mid-Level

Above the shoreline, raised quays and reinforced walkways connect:

• shipyards and repair slips
• cargo sorting yards
• broker offices and customs facilities
• taverns and sailors’ lodgings

These areas form the social and commercial spine of the district. Ramps, stairways, cranes, and lifts link them to both the water and the upper levels.

Upper Levels

Higher still, cut into the cliffs or built out on pylons, are:

• Zephyrship docking platforms
• air-freight handling towers
• engineering facilities
• patrol routes and watch stations

These structures are more regulated and tightly controlled, particularly where they overlap with mana-tech systems.

The Bay

Offshore, within the bay itself, lies the Aether Reactor, positioned far enough from shore to mitigate risk but close enough to integrate with the district’s infrastructure. Restricted lanes on the water and in the air surround it, patrolled continuously.

Connections

• East: The Gate Ward, via broad trade roads and cargo routes
• North: Cliffside paths and service routes
• South: Lower residential and industrial spillover zones
• West: Open water and shipping lanes

Movement through the Docks is deliberately channelled, with heavy traffic routed away from pedestrian areas where possible.

Daily Life & Culture

Life in the Docks District follows the rhythm of tides, arrivals, and departures. Time is measured less by bells than by schedules — docking windows, auction hours, and shift changes.

The People

The district is home to:

• dockhands and longshore crews
• fisherfolk and net-menders
• shipwrights and engineers
• Zephyrship pilots and sky-deck crews
• cargo brokers and customs agents
• Peacekeepers of the Harbour Division
• transient sailors and foreign crews

Many residents live close to their work, often in compact housing stacked into the cliffs or above warehouses.

Social Norms

• Work is respected above all else.
• Outsiders are tolerated if they contribute.
• Favour trading is common and remembered.
• Superstitions about weather, tides, and luck are widespread.
• Practical knowledge carries more weight than formal education.

Alcohol flows freely after shifts, but drunkenness during work hours is harshly judged.

Food & Leisure

Meals are hearty, portable, and designed for long shifts. Fish stews, grilled catches, dense bread, and spiced broths dominate. Taverns double as meeting halls, hiring points, and informal courts of reputation.

Entertainment tends toward storytelling, music, dice games, and competitions of skill rather than spectacle.

Beliefs & Attitudes

While the Church of the Lifestar maintains a presence, many dockworkers also honour older maritime traditions — offerings to the tide, charms against storms, and quiet respect for the sea’s moods. The Aether Reactor inspires a mixture of gratitude, caution, and unease.