Lighthalzen

Overview

The city of Lighthalzen is one of splendor, scientific research and advancement, and general economic prosperity. The Rekenber Corporation's influence can be felt nearly everywhere in the city as the corporation's headquarters are located here. The corporation employs a large portion of the population to work for them, especially at the Regenschrim Laboratory, providing a significant portion of the city's revenue. Of course, there are other businesses and groups located here as well, such as the Alchemist's Guild, the Merchant's Guild, various weapons and armor shops, and even a hotel. This burgeoning city seems almost idyllic. Almost. (picture of location)

As prosperous as this city is, and as much as the Rekenber Corporation wants everyone to believe, there are also significant problems with the city. The original villagers that settled in Lighthalzen's territory have been pushed aside and forced into economic poverty, living in the slums. And perhaps even more disturbing, recently there have been rumors of the poor and sick people in the slums just mysteriously vanishing. There's talk of strange things going on at the laboratory but most rumors are quickly dispelled by Rekenber.

Background and Lore

A long time ago, a small mountain village sat nestled in between the valleys of the Republic of Schwarzwald. Its only feature worth noting, at the time, was the Lighthal Scientific Research Center.

Approximately 500 years ago, the Rekenber Corporation gained ownership of the village area and the adjacent land and quickly began building the grand city of Lighthalzen that stands today.

The city-state of Lighthalzen has become famous for being the location of the Rekenber Corporation's base of operations and the location of the Regenschirm Laboratory. Lighthalzen itself can attribute its wealth and prosperity directly to the Rekenber Corporation, which had invested significant amounts of money in order to build the city and its research center. Many technological innovations came out of that center, including the Strahlenstein steam engine, which has helped to improve the quality of life across the Schwarzwald Republic, and the Airship, which has become a major form of transportation across all of Midgard.

Over time, however, the original villagers and their homes were pushed out of Lighthalzen. The corporation began adding various restrictions to both the citizens of Lighthalzen and to travelers, claiming that such restrictions were necessary "security measures." Only those that the corporation deemed eligible to live in the city were allowed to do so; the rest were denied entrance. As a result, the city proper has become a picturesque location of innovation, prosperity, and urban development. The citizens that live there tend to live wealthy lifestyles, with more upscale clothing and housing than the rest of the Republic. There is no civil unrest on the streets; everything is orderly and seems nearly perfect. Exactly as the Rekenber Corporation wants it to be. Any sort of unruliness tends to be quickly taken care of by the guards posted around the city's walls.

The original remnants of the village that once sat in these quiet rocky hills seemed small and fairly impoverished in comparison to the vast city. The poor soon started selling their land to the Rekenber Corporation in attempt to be able to provide for their families. Those that were denied permission to live in the city proper were forced to join the impoverished ranks of the outer city. Living conditions quickly worsened outside the main portion of the city. Starvation, pollution, and overcrowding turned the quaint mountainside area into nothing more than shambled shacks and those that lived there became that much more impoverished.

Further security measures were established and no citizen could travel between the slums and the city proper. The corporation erected a wall between the city and the slums and posted guards at the gateways to enforce the divide. In addition, every Rekenber Corporation employee's movement and travel is strictly regulated by the corporation.

The Rekenber Corporation extended its success to all of its citizens, providing them with opportunities to work for the corporation. It is not an unreasonable claim to say that the overwhelming majority of the population works for the corporation in some way. In a show of good faith, even the people that lived in the slums were allowed to work for the corporation--but they still are prohibited from traveling between the city and the slums, except for work-related purposes.

Trivia

The name "Lighthalzen" is composed of two parts: "light" and "halzen." Halzen comes from Old High German halzen, meaning "to limp, be lame, or hesitate." The city's name literally means "Light Halting" or something similar.