Ashcliffe

One could have either Ashcliffe or Vermillion as one could have a sword and no shield, or perhaps just one left boot. Though technically different cities and contained in different geopolitical regions, the twin cities resemble humanoid twins; separated only by scant farmland and insubstantial snow plains, the cities only narrowly avoid colliding, and their layouts may give first-time visitors a sense of deja-vu. Nearly perfect mirror images of each other in layout, Vermillion and Ashcliffe hold each other and the small Night's Pass region strong. The two premier (and oldest) magic institutes dwell in the twin cities: Adaventus Academy claims Vermillion, and Adamantus Academy claims Ashcliffe. Each institution focuses on different magical schools and functions. As such, the schools frequently work together and transfer students between them.   Ashcliffe, the westmost twin, has the slightly lower population of the two cities. It has a slightly different mercantile focus than Vermillion as well, splitting their food cultivation between river fishing and mining, as well as winter-region produce. Adamantus is widely considered the less exciting of the two academies, but their focus on abjuration and transmutation serves Ashcliffe well. Ashcliffe is moderately more successful in botanical and agricultural endeavors than its sister, and much of the city's prosperity draws on it trading such desirable, rare produce.   This success and rarity, though, has naturally caught the eyes of the Xoriats in recent years. Eager to dip into Ashcliffe's wealth, the Andrells and the Vectors have been trying to wriggle into the fabric of the region for decades. Ashcliffe and Vermillion are different than other cities, though, and have yet to yield to their demands. Both cities operate in a socialist fashion, including a small Universal Basic Income for residents. The youth of the twin cities are encouraged into a diverse set of trades and skills in the hopes of maintined self-sufficiency in the face of growing plutocratic overreach. Goods from here are pricey from the various taxes and fees they have imposed, but the twin cities always primarily traded with each other, anyways. The Xoriat-funded magic insitute in Taunport has been scrabbling to catch up to Adamantus and Adaventus's popularity and renown to little success. This snowy region has been freezing out the Xoriats for years now, and they give no signs of ever stopping.   Adamantus Academy primarily studies in and teaches Abjuration, Divination, Evocation, and Transmutation magic. It sees more locals than it does other students, but it has a noticeably larger dragon-touched and dragon-blooded population than Adaventus, despite being uncommon for the area. Many dragon-touched are encouraged to pursue transmutation and abjuration in an effort to balance out their negative reputation, though the biased rarely notice.