Leighton

Layton is the Westernmost of the large cities in The Empire, famous for airships and inventors.

Description
The people of this region are innovators and independent thinkers. They were incorporated after all of the surrounding territory had already been occupied, but without any messy conflict. Indeed, the state annexed itself quite willingly and the Empire has always been quite popular within it.

Unlike many parts of the continent, Leighton has no history of mageocracy. The monarchy was never tightly bound up in magical ability, and for the better part of its history the country has in fact been run by a pseudo-democratic oligarchic council, headed by monarchs who were brought up in a tradition of keeping their noses clean and well out of their neighbour’s messy political affairs. The trade-off was a firm foothold in the continental economy – the area isn’t exactly poor, due in no small part to the great minds this area is somewhat famous for producing, but its wealth is internally concentrated and efficiency out of necessity is a chief virtue in its development.

This, coupled with the fact that Leighton took an interest in developing technology before everyone else, has made it a land of many firsts. Technology may look sleeker and better developed in other parts of the world, but much of it originated in Leighton – and was put together with half the resources. Leighton’s general aesthetic can seem dated, rustic or out of sync with the rest of the world, but that is only because the tremendous innovation concentrated in this area means that everything has been in use for much longer. Money made from the distribution of new technologies tends to go towards funding new, useful-looking ventures rather than shining up the old (but still functional!) tech already in place - leave that to the builders of other nations. Indeed, it’s often said that Leighton’s chief export is not technology but ideas.

Probably the most prolific and unmodified piece of technology to come out of Leighton is the airship. The rest of the continent is thoroughly dependent on airships for local and intercontinental transportation, and though development of many other technologies that originated in Leighton have taken off in other places, the best airships still come out of the region’s capital, all of them produced in signature Leightonian style.

The collapse of the empire is not good news for this region – they have prospered under the Empress’ rule, developing trade infrastructure that simply wasn’t practical before and loosening protectionist policies. The Empress was a friend to technological and theoretical development, and with her gone, they can no longer depend on the more financially-oriented Arca to keep their treasury stocked. They’ll face the coming challenges the way they have every problem in their history: by putting their heads together and adapting.

Additional Info

 * Key concepts: Steampunk, innovation, inventive reasoning
 * Virtues: Ingenuity, scholarship, prudence
 * Vices: Utilitarian, overrational
 * People who would live here: Sherlock Holmes, Nicola Tesla, Charles Darwin, Albus Dumbledore, Tali, Most FF Cids