Old Highton

Old Highton was once the most fashionable district of Caelester. However, since the Caelester Earthquake, it has been largely left uninhabited, its buildings toppled in the earthquake and their wealthy residents - those who survived - have mostly moved to cities that were not as badly hit by the earthquake.  

History

Old Highton is the second oldest district of Caelester, second only to the Abbey. Built atop the ruins of the Asurian city of Caestor shortly after the fall of the Asurian Empire, this district stands at the peak of the tallest hill in the city and overlooks most of the city. Originally, this high position was selected for defensive reasons, but as the city grew, the sweeping views and separation from the docks and other working-class parts of the city soon made Old Highton an attractive place for the city's wealthy elite to build their homes, many of which were built on a scale occupying what was once an entire city block housing dozens of families.   Since that time, two great fires have swept through the district, one originating from a bakery nearby and the other started from carelessly dropped candles. Because of a strong preference for wooden construction, both fires swept through large segments of the city, and both times saw Old Highton nearly levelled.   After the Second Great Fire, many in Caelester started favouring stone or brick construction, particularly in the upper class. Even so, buildings in this district rarely stayed the same for long - where most can only follow the trends of fashion in their wardrobe and furnishings (if even that), most of the families of Old Highton could afford similar reinventions for their whole estates. As a result, it was not uncommon for several homes in Old Highton to be undergoing rennovations at any given time.   Eventually, the entire city was rocked by a devastating earthquake, and with its elaborate stone structures already pushed to their limits by countless rennovations and remodelings, Old Highton was hit worst of all. Much of the district is now little more than a tumbled ruin, a peculiar echo of the ancient ruins of Caestor below.