Albrook
Albrook is the Web's largest city, and the location of Grand Army Headquarters. Described as "an Esperian city in a very Tasnican way," the city reflects the influence of both cultures. ALthough most of the buildings and housing are in an Esperian style, the city's monorails and civic institutions reflect the city's history as a Tasnican state from 4 to 37 WR. The largest influence in the city, however, remains the Grand Army. The massive GAHQ building dominates the skyline; Albrook is one of the only of the Web's major cities to have large, visible fortifications; and everywhere the city is choked with white-and-gold uniforms. The monorail system is built as a massive grid, reflecting the orderly sensibility of a military designer.
The Web's City
Albrook is located near the "Albrook Portal Set", which puts it 'near' many dimensions. The discovery of interdimensional travel in the Esper Dimension in 3 WR led to an explosion of commerce and population growth. This, in turn, made it a logical place to headquarter the Grand Army, which built its communications network outward from the city. "All roads lead to Albrook", it was said, and during the Great War, it was true. Albrook was also the meeting place for most House of Lords meetings prior to the construction of Nova Pax.
All of these factors have contributed to making Albrook a highly international city; virtually every nationality from the Web can be found in number in Albrook. Perhaps only the City of Moogles, Kupopolis, itself has a more diverse population. Having such a widely diverse population in such a small area has led to some friction. The city continues to struggle to absorb the refugees from Tzen and other Esper Union cities as a result of the Leviathan War.
All of these factors make Albrook highly attractive to corporations, spies, criminal syndicates, young people, diplomats, smugglers, businessmen, adventurers, and anyone else who wants to feel like they have the whole Web within easy reach.
Notable Sights and Neighborhoods
The most important sight is, of course, Grand Army Headquarters itself. At over four hundred stories tall, GAHQ dominates Albrook's skyline. The GA has also has a huge number of smaller facilities and buildings in and around the city. The Kefka's Domain Ultima Missile base is located within the city limits, but well outside the populated areas. The Deep 13 Magitek Research Facility is miles beneath the city, and the source of many of the GA's breakthroughs in magitek. The GA also maintains fortifications around the city limits. Perimeter security around the city has tightened at the behest of the Scandian League, who were afraid that the city might provide an entry point into the Occupied Zone.
Albrook also has some points of historical interest. The Old City Concert Hall was where the Grand Army Charter was signed; on one of the beaches near the city is the spot where Celes Cole reputedly came ashore over forty years ago to gather the other heroes to battle Kefka.
The city's size and international status has led it to attract all kinds of specialties, which tend to congregate in specific neighborhoods. Albrook's "Mystic Ward" is a haven for magic users from dozens of different magical traditions (and more then a few posers and wannabees). One of the more notable fixtures of the Mystic Ward include Ammit, an appraiser (and Esper) capable of sensing the entire history of magical items.
Comparable to the Mystic Ward is Albrook's famed Toaster District, known as the best place to find toasters of all shapes, sizes, and varieties in all the Web. The Toaster District has, more recently, become a sort of "ethnic" haven for robots and other sentient AI; because of this, many Albrookers have taken to referring to robots and other mechanical sentients as "toasters," a term which borders on becoming an ethnic slur.
Many of the cities nationalities have chosen to live near each other, forming their own, distinctive neighborhoods. Little Thebes is the largest concentration of Thebans outside of Terra Nostra, and also one of the only places where Garum sauce is easily available.
Integrating the flood of Leviathan War refugees has been problematic for the city. Originally, the refugees formed a large "tent town" on the eastern edge of the city, but eventually tenements were constructed. Officially, the neighborhood is Zama Beach, but the squalor of the area has earned it the name of Zama Slums. The youth of the area, having lived in Albrook for eight years without seeing much improvement, are increasingly angry and restive, and many have turned to drugs, crime, and gangs as an outlet.
Local Government
The City of Albrook has an elected Mayor and an elected City Council. Most of the city's laws are carried over from its time in the Tasnica Republic, and therefore has quite a liberatarian streak as compared with other cities in the Esper Dimension. Nonetheless, the city has made some changes since independence; notably a drive to 'get tough on crime' has led to the banning of Pyra, Dust, and certain other illicit substances. Most weapons, however, are still legal (as, after all, both the Tasnica Republic and the Esper Union believe in strong gun rights.)
The local government has the thankless task of providing municipal services to the Web's largest city. The city's largest landowner and employer, the Grand Army, refuses to pay taxes. The GA can, and often does, ignore local ordinances when it wishes to build something or hold a military exercise. As much as the city is defined by the presence of the GA, it has not always been good to the city. (Not least because it makes the city a target for any would-be Web conqueror.)
The city has been suffering from a steady rise in crime rate since the Leviathan War. In addition to the growth of the Zama Slums, the city's harbor was no longer an entry point into the Esper Union, causing a significant economic downturn. Organized crime also uses the city as an "exchange point" between various dimensions, and the city's massive size makes it an attractive market for illegal goods and services. Although the Zozoian Mafia are the traditional power players, the Yakuza and the Vory y Zakone have both been making inroads. The Albrook Police Department is chronically under-funded and under-staffed.
