Boundaries: The city-state itself.Government: Mafioso Familial Oligarchy. There are neighborhood commodities who elect representatives who can petition the current Mayor, but it comes down to who you know at what influence you have within that group.

Legal Code: Decree from above, loosely base on old US codes. The best way to think about the legal order of Gateway is as a 'modern' Republican Rome (which will feel somewhat Libertarian to modern sensibilities). The legal code is very simple, no murder, no rape no theft; with a simple punishment code: most infractions involve fines, indentureship, exile or death. There is no 'prison'. Nor is there any social network. Support frameworks are around familial connections and patronage/obligation relationships. For example, failure to uphold a contract or to pay a debt results in indetureship to the contract holder.

Climate: sub-topical rain forest.

Population: 50,000 give or take.

Economics: Manufacturing, Trade and Services.

Agriculture: Minimal. There are farms around the city that provide local produce, and some go into the surrounding mountains for game, but most meat comes from herders and ranchers controlled by nearby polities. Some of the biggest arguments between Gateway and their neighbors come from the fact that Gateway refuses to enforce external tariff laws.

Trade: Trade in goods and information is the lifeblood of the city. Gateway's existence has repeatedly proven to be far more useful to everyone involved in the region. The trade houses and markets are the central feature of the city.

Religion: "The Spirit of Saint Louis"; a city deity can be called upon to provide miracles to the faithful. Other faiths are tolerated.

Standard of Living:

• Rural: N/A

• Urban: High. Gateway city is prospering as a center for trade at the nexus of most of the eastern states.

Gender Equity: As good as it gets.

Armed Forces: Minor. A self-contained self defense force with no real projection capabilities. The combination of terrain, fortification, Arcane Colleges and Technology makes Gateway a tough nut to crack.

Dominant Magical Tradition: Weird Sciences.

HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION

The Story of Gateway begins, like so many others, with the End of the World. According to tradition, Gateway was once called something else and was part of a massive ancient metropolis filled with wealth and splendor to the northeast. The only evidence of this claim is the mystical Arch in the middle of Old Man River that radiates with the spiritual energy of those who died on that day.

Decades later Gateway was established as a ferry and watering hole for those traveling between the mountains and forests to the west and fishing settlements along the river. A century or so passed, and the combination of ancient roads, defensible terrain and changes in the rivers made Gateway a natural crossing point and meeting place.

The community thrived and grew. A permanent trade market flourished with impressive dockyards and warehousing district as goods floated down the Missouri and the River stopped here on their way toward the Ohio Kingdoms or down toward the region dominated by Jackson.  Fortifications sprang up in the surrounding hills, as well as a wall.

It was said a minor deity of trade and unfettered freedom blessed the place herself, the Goddess known as The Spirit of Saint Louis, and so her banner of the flying machine on a blue field became the clarion call for the City.

But all was not flowers and sunshine. Fell beasts would emerge from the east to terrorize the settlements on the eastern back, and there were rumors of war; Ironholm attacked by Pueblo and Jackson, the destruction of the Ohio, demons who walk the earth in the flesh of man. And so the fortifications were improved – mighty walls supported by Star Forts in the hills around The City. Gateway turtled up. Just in time, for the rapine of Jackson knew no bounds.

The War of Infamy happened when overzealous Inquisitors decided that at Fell Infestation (what they call Alvinite Heretics) erupted nearby. This was all the excuse Jackson needed, and so their legions attacked and broke their teeth on the walls of our fair city.

But it wasn’t just our brave soldiers who saved us, for you see, Scholars at the Collegium Arcana of Gateway had recently discovered two things; the first was the how to harness Air and Fire Arcana to create a The Motive Perpetua Device in constructs to create the Mecha – great suits of armor that amplified an individual’s strength tenfold and making them nigh invulnerable to firearms and many minor Arcana (this discovery would later give rise to the Automata, but that is another story). The other discovery was taking the Motive Perpetua and coupling them to primitive lighter than air machines - the first Aeronauts.

The Patron Spirit of the City, coupled with the bravery of her people and these discoveries carried the forces of Gateway to victory against the invasion from the south.  And so the maw of Jackson was diverted to other places. For now.

Today Gateway is still a thriving center of knowledge and learning. However the other nations have grown up around her, and so it has become a city of Intrigue as the Hawkeye, Jayhawks, Ironholm and the Protectorate vie for influence and advantage. For whoever controls Gateway shall hold a dagger poised at the other powers in the region.

Gateway is surrounded by impressive earth and stone ramparts anchored by impressive star forts equipped with cannon, gun, and mortar providing enfilade fire around the perimeter.  The city is well constructed with no visible shanty town, made primarily of brick and stone. The most obvious feature of the city when looked at from the hills to the west would be the central Forum with the Mayoral Palace, and the three Spires on the city perimeter, which provide moorage for Airships.

The industrial quarter dominated by heavy industry and tanning works dominates the south end of the city.

The eastside are the improved dockyard and warehousing district. The city walls made of a reinforced concrete and stone form a river wall and a flood surge barrier. Some of the docks are of stone, but the majority is of wood – replaceable during larger than normal floods. Great cranes lift cargo from the riverward side and lower them in to the hands of eager teamsters for storage at pre-assigned warehouses or grain silos. The people, sadly, have to take steps and enter past the harbormaster and tariff assessor. While smuggling occurs, it generally is not via the River.

The beating heart of the city is its center, dominated by the Mayoral Palace, religious building, Embassies, a lively entertainment district, and naturally the Market with its associated Coffee Houses, Insurers and Union Halls. The city center never sleeps.

The north end of the city is the home of various textile works and other crafts, as well as the Collegium.

Finally the eastern quarter which contains mostly residential districts, the training barracks for the Home Guard and the famous Horse Market where breeders from as far away as Pueblo, Kentuk and Tennessee trade stallions are mares to improve their breeding stock.

Notable and Notorious Locales of Gateway City

• The Spires: Large towers which house mooring clamps for dirigibles of many sizes. There is a commercial spire near the Dockyards and a military spire connected to the Mayoral Palace.

• The Mayoral Palace

• The Forum

• Craftwerk Square

• The Parade Grounds: A large, open space on the West side of the city where the Home Guard trains and recruits are presented to the community for review. It is said some of the training techniques date back to ancient times including some of the chants the Sergeants use to lead recruits on their runs.

• The Collegium

•  The Temple of the Way: