Londinium
Londinium is the capital of Victoria.
Background
| “ | Londinium has never fallen ever since its conversion into a nomadic city. | ” |
| —Testimony of Londinium's might[1] |
As the center of Terra's mightiest superpower, the Victorian Empire, a title which used to belong to Lingones before the fall of Gaul, Londinium is the largest city in Victoria and and the seat of power for the Victorian monarchs. It is known for its impressive defense artillery system and massive iron walls, which have protected it for over seventy years and turned it into an invincible fortress. Its massive landship loading ports and and extensive train network are indicative of the city's economic prosperity. While modern skyscrapers have covered most of its surface, it still retains much of its archaic architecture— this includes its extensive underground substructures and the underground mausoleum, which houses the remains of former Victorian kings and is guarded by the remains of the Steam Knights. In the city's heart stands The Shard - the towering monument to the city's prosperity.
A century ago, in the year 998, the "Fire of Londinium" devoured the city's Central District, forcing the royal family and a few surviving nobles to flee to the underground. The story has since been elevated into legend, and many Londinium citizens believe that a magical circle hidden beneath the palace shielded the royal family from the disaster.[2] The capital also witnessed the public execution of the last Aslan king in the year 1072, following a popular uprising incited by the nobles, who opposed his policy of heavy taxation upon them—this also ignited a crisis over who would succeed the throne, creating a decades long power vacuum.[3] Since then, the Victorian Grand Dukes, who once ruled over Victoria's territories outside of Londinium, have seized power over the entirety country and enacted laws to prevent any other nobles from entering the capital freely without permission, effectively ruling all of Victoria without anyone on the throne.[4]
In 1094, the Duke of Stafford led a coup d'état against Parliament, escalating the situation. In retaliation, the Duke of Cavendish, the Grand Duke of Londinium, secretly invited Regent Theresis of Kazdel and the Military Commission to pacify the situation.[5] However, the Dukes of Stafford and Cavendish ended up killing each other in battle,[6] giving the Kazdelians the ample opportunity to invade Londinium themselves. Within a week, they had easily suppressed the Parliamentarian forces led by the remaining Steam Knights, annihilated the Tower Knights, and took control over most of the walls' Defence Forces. It took almost a month to execute the remaining rebellious nobles and suppress any more attempts at insurgence.[7] In present day, Londinium has become a Kazdel military post, an important part of its ultimate plan to launch a world war against the entirety of Terra.
Kazdel has imposed numerous restrictions on Londinium citizens after its occupation. Civilians are completely barred from leaving the city, and workers are forced to produce military equipment for the Kazdelians. The cannons of Londinium's artillery defense system were turned inward to face its own territory and take out threats from the inside. On the other hand, many local resistance forces, such as Eartha, dubbed the "Self-Salvation Corps;" have begun resisting their foreign occupiers. Though the Military Commission has attempted to quell any insurrection, the rebels have made their hideout in the city's complex underground substructures, making it difficult for the Kazdelians to weed them out.
Notable people
- McClaren: The owner of a video renting store in Norport Borough which Baird and Delphine frequented to prior to the Kazdelian blockade. The deteriorating situation during the blockade and being infected with Oripathy which deprived his hearing causes McClared to grow increasingly delusional, fiercely protective of those he holds dear. Amidst the chaos following the battle between Eblana and the Damazti Cluster in the Kazdelian airship over the skies of Norport which caused it to crash, Baird tries to urge McClaren to evacuate, but thinking that she is a thug trying to take away his last food out of his delusion, mortally wounds her.
Places
Landmarks
- Palace of Westhaleg: A royal building in Central Londinium (previously just called the Westhaleg) that was previously the palace of the Draco king and the headquarters of the Parliament.[8] Its construction dates from before Londinium was converted into a nomadic city, and it used to be a regular palace until the Draco royal family decided to reunite their ministers there. The outer walls were decorated with the Dracos' precious gold and rubies, but said decorations were lost in a fire 300 years ago in the year 798. Still, the building's skeleton remained and it witnessed the coronation of the first Aslan King. The palace was later renamed to commemorate the new age that the joint forces of the Dracos and Aslans would bring to the empire, but it was also the plac ehwer ethe last Aslan king was captured during the Coup d'etat of 1072.[8] The palace is currently under the occupation of the Kazdel Military Commission.
- Mausoleum of Kings: A massive underground mausoleum where generations of Victorian kings were buried, built before the capital became a nomadic city. The tomb is also the storehouse of the Kyngasycath ("Sighs of King"), the national magical sword.
Districts
- Auchterigg Borough: Also known as Central Londinium, it houses the palaces where the nobility live and other governmental buildings, such as the Palace of Westhaleg and the Shard. It's also famous for various cultural attractions such as museums and Opera houses.
- Sudean Borough: An area where most of Londinium weapon factories are located. Authority over the factories has been given to the occupying Military Commission, which has turned the area into a center of mass weapons production. Its complex underground structure is also the current hideout of the Self-Salvation Corps.
- Highbury Borough: An area known for its massive military factories. Just like Sudean, the borough is currently under the control of the Military Commission.
- Trenfled Borough
- Norport Borough: An area where the city slums are located. It's also where Glasgow hails.
- Magna Borough: An area famous for its villas and gardens[9]
- Chep Borough: The area where Lt. Colonel Lettou met an elderly Gaulish guard in a sanatorium.[6]
Gallery
The outlying suburbs of Londinium
A port in Londinium
The container area of the Londinium port
The streets of Londinium's industrial districts
Ditto, but in nighttime
The inside of a factory in Londinium's industrial districts
The railway station in Londinium's industrial districts
A factory in Londinium's industrial districts repurposed as a detention camp by the Kazdelians
The inside of a noble's residence in Londinium
Londinium's tube (i.e. subway) network
Londinium's fortified outer walls, complete with defense gun batteries
The inside of Londinium's fortified outer walls
A classroom in the Saint-Marsol Academy
The garden of a Londinium manor, such as House Cumberland's
An avenue in the Auchterigg Borough, with The Shard at the distance
The interior of a factory in Londinium
Ditto, from another factory
The outskirts of the Londinium Defense Force' command tower
A view from the command tower's rooftop, with The Shard at the distance
The hallway of the Mausoleum of Kings, located beneath Londinium
The gates of the Mausoleum of Kings
The Mausoleum of Kings, where the "Sighs of Kings" is located
W's safehouse in Londinium
The ruins of a hotel lobby in Londinium
A street under the blockade of the Norport Borough
Ditto, at night
A blockade wall in the Norport Borough
People
A male Londinier of the Feline race
Another male Londinier of the Feline race
A female Londinier of the Feline race
Etymology
Londinium is the capital of Roman Britain located in present-day London, the capital of the United Kingdom.
Trivia
- Many of Londinium's districts are based on real-life districts in London, such as Sydenham and Highbury.
- The "Fire of Londinium" is obviously Terra's version of the Great Fire of London.
- The Palace of Westhaleg is likely a reference to the Palace of Westminster. It also shares the same function as the meeting place of the Parliament.
References
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