The Levels of Doramraz
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[edit] The Levels of Doramraz
The Simple Version
The Pit: For pit miners only.
The Mines: For miners and workers only.
The Complex: Above the Mines, under the Streets. Miners hang out here. Freight trains hang out here.
The Streets: Slummy part of the city. Gets a bit better the more central you are.
First Upper: Quite an improvement to the Streets. Partially restricted.
Second Upper: Government and business offices. Restricted area.
Third Upper: Residences for the rich and powerful. Restricted area.
Fourth Upper: More residences, airship docks, fancy retail and restaurants, touristy stuff. Restricted.
Zenith: Kind of like US's White House. Restricted.
[edit] The Pit
Restriction Level PM- Pit Miners only.
The lowest depths of the mining shafts, these are cramped tight places that barely count as part of the city. Miles of scaffolding, lifts and iron cart tracks descend into this dark oblivion. Here lies the furthest reaches of the mining operation but they’re pushing deeper every year in search of more coal and iron ore. This level is restricted to pit miners only due to lethal gas leaks, super heated steam vents, frequent collapses, and a myriad of other hazards. Being a Pit Miner is a job that has a certain degree of pride attached to it, but the pride is hard earned. Many Pit Miners have missing limbs and have had them replaced with clockwork mechanisms instead. The Pit is often rumored to be a dumping ground for bodies and certain areas of the Pit which have been sealed off are also rumored to house deposed of Led Crystals- the essential ingredient in all Led drugs. The Pit Miners use pick axes and shovels, as well as high powered steam drills to cut new tunnels into the depths of the earth.
[edit] The Mines
Restriction Level MW- Miners, and Workman
Not as deep as the Pit but covering a wider area. The Mines are one of the main places of employment in Doramraz. The Mines produce coal, natural gas, water, iron ore, bronze, and brass, in various quantities. (In order of rarity from the most common to the rarest: Coal, iron ore, natural gas, water, bronze, brass, various precious metals, Led Crystal). The Mines are reached from the Freight Complex by a series of massive lifts, powered by steam engines and clockwork gears. They descend into the gloom through grated scaffolding. Carts race along metal tracks and lanterns flicker. The lanterns in the Mines are well sealed within thick glass to prevent fires. While working in the Mines is a great deal safer than working the Pit, it is still a dangerous occupation. The primary tools of all miners are pick axes and shovels.
[edit] The Complex'
Restriction Level- GA; General Admittance, various locations of higher restriction
The Complex is the city beneath the city and above the Mines. Think of it as a large open hanger or mall, dotted with support structures. Located in the far West End of the Complex is a large bank of lifts that descend into the Mines- the archway that leads to them is often covered in graffiti stating things like “All Hope Abandon, Ye Who Enter Here” or “Welcome to Hell.” Around this lift bank are several canteens, and the miner dormitories that miners live in during their shifts (shifts last several months at a time; during this time the miners live in the dormitories and are not allowed to return home until their time is served). The West End of the complex has the largest concentration of Freight Trains. There is a large train yard very near to the Miner Camp. All of the businesses that revolve around Freight shipment are in this area. The Freight Yard is slightly cleaner than the Miner Camp but very noisy. There are many buildings, some of them several stories high that house offices and packaging rooms. These buildings are actually connected to the skyscrapers above them by cargo lifts- these are express lifts that send cargo, either from the Mines, or from incoming Freight, up to the higher levels of the city to be distributed within the city, or to be loaded on ships, or air ships for global delivery.
The North End of the Complex is basically a large hanger door; this is where the freight trains enter and exit. The South End is completely covered in buildings. The further toward the East End you get the cleaner things become, including restaurants, low income housing, open air malls, etc…. At the very edge of the East End of the Complex is a large bank of elevators that ascend to the street level of the city. There is also a locked bank of elevators that goes directly to the upper levels. (For more information, see also: Elevators)
[edit] Street Level
Restriction Level- GA; General Admittance, various locations of higher restriction
The Street Level is by far the most extensive level of Doramraz. It is further subdivided into rings. The outer most ring, around the mountains and flanking the massive sea port, are large coal burning steam power plants. These plants extend down into the Complex below them where they are loaded with coal directly from the Mine. These smoking titans provide the raw steam power necessary to keep the intricate lift system of the city moving. Large and intricate networks of clockwork devices extend into the city from the power plants. These massive gears can be seen beneath glass- stained by soot –beneath the feet of the citizens on street level. Always turning, always moving. The keep the water running and control the timed release of gas into the street lights to ward away the darkness caused by the smog. Most buildings have at least one wall which, behind a large plate of glass, contains an intricate network of gears that power the building.
The next ring in is the Industrial ring. This ring is responsible for the production of ships, freight trains, air ships, windmills, scaffolding, the processing of metals and ore and manufacturing. They are the closest buildings to the power plants because they require the most energy to work. They employ most of the citizens living above the Complex level, including women and children.
The next ring in are the slums. People packed in together in makeshift houses, ramshackle contrivances made of wood and metal- some aren’t even buildings at all. They are stacked and sorted and leaned up against, and piled and crammed. As you progress toward the center, they become more and more like real housing. Apartments in which a family lives in one room and shares a bathroom and kitchen with several other families. The closer you get to the center, the better the housing becomes. Nearest to the center are businesses, such as restaurants, banks, lending facilities, shady entertainment. These businesses are situated in multi-level buildings with housing on top. The owners usually live in the floor directly above the business while cramming tenants into the higher floors. The inner most ring is walled off from the rest of the city. Within it are the ground floors of the towering skyscrapers, the centers of commerce and politics, the heart of the city. Large gates are guarded at all times, and only those who have proper identification are allowed to enter.
Street level rises from the cobble stone streets up five floors.
[edit] Upper Level 1
Restriction Level- GA; General Admittance, with the exception of the Central City
Consisting of floors 5 to 10, the First Upper Level holds higher level housing and shopping establishments. Generally, to reach the upper levels one simply has to enter an adequately tall building at street level. On the fifth floor there is generally a locked and guarded stair well that leads to the further levels. One must simply procure the proper papers to proceed upwards.
The First Upper level begins to show some of the hall marks of the highest levels. There are floors (notably the 6th and 10th) which have nothing on them but large lobbies in every buildings. These floors provide access to bridges which extend around the city to the other buildings at this level providing easy access to every First Upper building, without having to descend to the street and come up again every time. Various theatres and retailers inhabit First Upper.
Central First Upper in the Central City can be accessed from any of the other First Upper establishments (First Upper is above the wall mentioned in the Street Level blurb). However, the establishments in Central First Upper are generally too high end, too expensive, and too exclusive for most residence of First Upper to enjoy. Central First Upper is home to a variety of moderately high end retailers and centers of entertainment, most of which are run by various mafias.
[edit] Upper Level 2
Restriction Level- G&B; Government and Business
Second Upper has very few establishments outside of Central Second Upper, but there are a few. In general the air on Second Upper is easier to breathe and there are more bridges (so much so that it is often hard to look down into the lower levels of the city). These bridges are often adorned with lights and various pleasant looking vegetation. Second Upper consists of floors 11 to 15.
Second Upper is reached in the same way, generally speaking, as First Upper. However, Second Upper also has access to the Elevator system that runs from the Complex up. Second Upper is home to most government buildings and offices, as well as higher end business (like ‘corporate offices’). Generally, lots of reception rooms, offices, people working, the daily grind of office life. Lots of employees live on First Upper, or even the Street level. While there is no residential area of the Second Upper it does have a Level Orchestrator that is elected by the business owners, or maybe the workers, (this matter remains undecided). There are inns and similar establishments on the level for those that work there, and some might choose to stay there during the work week and go home on the weekends.
[edit] Upper Level 3
Restriction Level- RO; residence only
Upper Third has only the Central Upper Third element and consists of floors 15 to 20. The air here is easy to breathe. These are mostly high end apartments of business executives and government officials. The bridge system here is also extensive, but not so much as to be ugly. The bridges are almost akin to parks in that they have lots of potted plants and things. The bridges at this level also have the clockwork devices embedded within them (now powered from above); these devices run the elevators at this level as well as provide irrigation for the plants and things and bring water up from street level aqueducts. Upper Third also has an extensive network of rain catches to collect good water from the sky before it is polluted by the smog level below it. There is a great deal of profit to be had in bottled water.
[edit] Upper Level 4
Restriction Level- RW; residence and workers
Once you ascend to Central Upper Fourth, the buildings are almost entirely glass, their clockwork insides gleaming bronze in the sunshine. There are elevators that go from the Complex directly to Central Upper Fourth, and from Upper Second (which bypasses Upper Third). Upper Fourth is home to the Airship docks. Fleets of zeppelins piloted by spunky airship captains, and all that manner of goodness, come and go every day. Upper Fourth has many entertainment amenities, shopping, and dinning opportunities. The outer layer though is reserved for the movement of goods to and from the air ships. This is the level of the city that most visitors by Airship (which is the main mode of travel) get to see. Rarely do the tourists get to descend below or above this level.
[edit] Zenith
Restriction Level- Private
The Zenith is the highest level of Doramraz. Originally built as the private home for the Mraz family. There are only three buildings that extend this high up (floors 25 to 30). They are at the very heart of the city. The first building extends from floor 25 to floor 26, the second from 25 to 29, and the last goes all the way to 30, producing a staggered pattern. The three buildings together are connected by a network of covered bridges giving the appearance of a single united structure. Essentially, it resembles a large mansion resting atop the city itself. The Zenith has it’s own private facilities and Airship dock, as well as express elevators that extend to all the major levels of the city, and its own private police task force. It is the home of the elected Chairman and his cabinet who run the city, as well as their myriad of servants and secretaries. It is the center of power, and is highly secure; the outer walls are all made of glass to provide a breathtaking view of the mountain scenery.
Above the Zenith floats a small fleet of miniature zeppelins, tethered to the city by large metal cables. Each of these is equipped with a windmill turbine that provides the newest alternative fuel to the upper levels of the city, running their clockwork devices. They call it ‘electricity’.
[edit] Notes on the Appearance of Elevators
They’re all rather large, with big brass outer doors. The things are powered by clockwork and some of them are made of glass. They are hoisted by cables up long shafts, by clockwork, from steam power on the lower levels, and electrical power on the upper levels. (There’s some way that the electricity moves the clockwork engineering, I’m just not entirely sure how.)
Also, citizens may temporarily ascend to the higher levels with proper paperwork for work, appointments, etc. Legal paperwork is acquired through various high security offices on most of the levels and is quite difficult to obtain for various obvious reasons.
