Mourn

Mourn
Nation:	Ciric Confederation of Wrighthaven, Hemsford, Paroka, and Minh-Cong
Population:	1.3M (est)
Predominant language:	Common Tongue, Parokan, Minh
Main roads:
Major districts:	Factorum Centrum, Residential Ward, Workshop Yards
Current mayor:	Charles Banwick
Map versions:

Mourn: The concentration of all inadequacies expressed by the confederacy, distilled into a sprawling city filled with intentional indulgence. It is good for this, otherwise this would spill over into the surrounding unspoiled countryside.

—Edward Coldstone, Cira: A Legacy (1675 AN)

Mourn is the capital and largest city of the Ciric Confederacy, and functions as the meeting point for all government dignitaries, as well as the headquarters of the Cult Tecnologica and the Ciric armed forces.

Structure

Mourn is a young city, in grand terms, having only existed since the beginning of the seventeenth century, and as such suffers from a number of in-built design flaws; these, though obviously having a strong negative effect on the quality of life in the city, have yet to be corrected by the authorities in command. These problems, including a woeful misunderstanding of the size the city would eventually grow to become as well as poor infrastructure maintenance on the outskirts in the Workshop Yards, are often attributed to the swift planning of the city and disregard for safety and comfort in favour of a faster construction. The city, as such, suffers from poor administrative authority in the outskirts of town, causing over-cramped conditions and the spread of disease in the regions more prone to poverty. The city was reconstructed in 1657 to alleviate these issues, following an executive order by the Ciran Suzerain to provide a more livable and presentable condition in the capital. These reconstruction efforts have largely eliminated the previous results of poor planning, and have thus transformed the Workshop Yards sector into a thriving middle-class region.

Factorum Centrum

Meaning The Central Factory, Factorum Centrum is the centre of Mourn and hub for all things which concern the higher echelons of society, encompassing both the wealthy and the members of the privileged Administrative Division. Factorum Centrum, once being, as the name eloquently suggests, based around a very large factory, now concerns mainly service-based businesses and government functions. The actual building named Factorum Centrum is now divided between a display piece for touristic sightseers from societally lower classes of people, and a government building in which the Confederate Parliament holds its meetings.

Factorum Centrum is also regarded throughout the confederacy as the heart of the service sector of the economy, being filled with many buildings and businesses which provide both conventional and outlandish pleasures to the patrons who have the money to buy their services. This, combined with the starkly contrasting backdrop of Factorum Centrum being the location of the headquarters of the Cult Tecnologica, one of the driving forces of order and austerity in Cira, causes a dissonant perception of the city through the lens of the intensely people-focused Factorum Centrum. This feeling is an intentional invention of the governing powers; the concentrated audacity and "improperness" of Factorum Centrum both provides an outlet for the strenuous work afforded to most Mourn citizens, as well as providing a face of joviality and approachability to wanderers (and now, diplomats) from outside the walls of the city.

Nonetheless, the spirit of the order and authority still shadows even Factorum Centrum's seediest and grungiest taverns and bars on the margins of the great central district. The presence of the Moros Functionaries is perhaps strongest in Factorum Centrum than anywhere else in Cira, ensuring the cooperation and lawfulness of the civilian population of the district, despite the frivolousness and pseudo-lawlessness which permeates the district. However, the Moros Functionaries who serve in Factorum Centrum are, against usual protocol, required to be friendly and kind to the populace to maintain the front of kindness and hospitality offered by Factorum Centrum.

Workshop Yards

The Workshop Yards make up the once poverty-stricken outskirts of Mourn, on the opposite side of the city from Factorum Centrum. The Workshop Yards are physically separated from the rest of the city by the frozen River Terminus, which was once offered by Wrighthavanians as the symbolic representation of the cultural divide between wealthy Wrighthaven and agrarian Hemsford and Paroka. This analogy shows its age upon seeing the Workshop Yards, which often evoke the compliment of them being a "technological marvel". Houses lined in rows encircle central "living buildings", which are large structures outfitted to serve as everything from schools to manufactories to laboratories to hospitals. The sprawling nature of the living buildings is designed to accommodate the careers, lives, and hobbies in order to promote invention, research, and higher learning. In accordance with this intention, most living buildings' have higher floors dedicated entirely to serving as university-level education centres for young adults in the area.

Notable Buildings

• Factorum Centrum: Factorum Centrum is the heart of the city, and is both a touristic location and meeting place for the Confederate Parliament.
• Sanctum Tecnologica: The seat of power of the Cult Tecnologica, the Sanctum Tecnologica is a massive cathedral dedicated to worship of machinery.
• Museum of Progress: The Museum of Progress details the technological advancements through the decades, display pieces consisting of various inventions which propelled the march of science. The centrepiece is a replica of the First Foundry, where Ferris Fortis and Ferris Ordis were discovered.
• Elder Palace: The palatial residence of the Suzerain of Cira, while closed to the public, is nonetheless a popular destination for sightseeing because of its ornate Ferris Ordis decorations and cultural significance as the home of the nation's leader.