Atraxia

The Inventor's Committee are the ruling body over the Gnomish nation and are based in Atraxia. They govern the general management of the Gnomish people, and also manage diplomatic relations with other nations.   All Gnomes are required to fulfil some sort of profession that adds value to the nation as a whole, but all are also encouraged to become inventors and tinkerers. Any gnome who invents a new device or other creation that demonstrably improves some aspect of gnomish life can have a portion of their taxes waived for the year, so there is fierce competition to be noticed by the judges of the Inventor's Committee.   Intellectual Property laws are extremely detailed and rigid, and a deliberate violation of IP carries a life imprisonment sentence. Lesser crimes such as murder are also punishable by long prison sentences. Lesser violations may be punished by service on one of the many Terristran patrol ships, although some do choose to serve on these ships willingly.

All sides of Atraxia are protected by a large wall that surrounds the city. However, the wall has been moved and rebuilt multiple times since the city's founding, and much of Atraxia now spreads beyond the main walls, especially to the east. The city is guarded by the Gears, a standing army that mostly uses mechanised suits and firearms to protect the city.

The entirety of Atraxia is built on a series of interconnected tram, zip, train and other gadget devices, many powered by exotic minerals and magnetic materials mined from the many portals to Earth located around the city. The main transport lines through the city are maglev trains that run directly above a perpetually open chain of portals to Earth.    A deep network of tunnels exists under the city, not from mining activities but from gnomes attempting to create more spaces to safely test their creations within the bounds of the city, as due to archaic laws only inventions created within the city are eligible for consideration by the Inventor's Committee Judges. Many collapses have occurred as a result of unknown tunnelling, and if injuries occur heavy penalties may be incurred.   Atraxia also hosts the largest port on Ambion, and the ship building industry is one of its largest industries. The area within 10 nautical miles along the coastline both North and South are considered within the boundaries of Atraxia. The ships designed in Atraxia are mostly for the purpose of exploration, with some intended for patrolling the vast ocean between Terristra and Ambion.   An emerging industry is the Airship trade, with many up and coming gnomes getting involved in this exciting new field of research. There is a newly constructed skyport close to the main docks, with airship trade routes still in the process of being established.

The Inventor's Row is the central district of Atraxia, running through the centre of the city from the docks right to the eastern walls. All gnomes who have achieved recognition for their inventions in the past 5 years are entitled to purchase a dwelling in the Row, although not all recognised recipients may be able to afford it.   The Docks are the busiest part of the city, located on the west side of the city and encompassing the coastline plus a few hundred metres of dense housing. Most trade in Ambion touches the Atraxian port at some point, as the gnomes have the fastest and most secure water transport in the known worlds.   The Slammer is a large prison located below the city in the tunnels. There are some temporary containment areas towards the surface level, but the majority of the prison is a large pit only accessible by several large chutes which are used to deliver food, water, clothing and new prisoners to the pit. No guards work in the pit, and it is understood that nobody will ever be retrieved from the pit. It is assumed prisoners have formed some sort of society down there, but nobody comes back up to confirm it.   Other districts are harder to pin down the location of, as they tend to move as new ideas force people to move around.   There are several areas of the city where various races can be found in small communities, even those who hail from Terristra. Those races tend to congregate in the tunnels below the city, or in otherwise undesirable locations around the city, to avoid attention from the authorities.