Isles and Neighborhoods:

    The city of Solace is located on the Inner Archipelago of Solace Bay, nestled within the bowl shaped mountains of the two main islands. There are sixteen major Isles of the archipelago.
    
    Central Isle:
    Referred to as “The City” by the locals, Central Isle is home to the largest concentration of skyscrapers in the world. Central Isle is also home to the tallest building on Earth, Solace Central Towers, with the main tower standing 200 stories tall, or 2800 feet. Four identical 150 story tall buildings stand around the main tower, and the buildings are home to the governmental offices and residences.
    Unlike the other isles, Central Isle is not divided up into neighborhoods. There are three districts; the Government District at the center, the Business District surrounding it, and the Park District, containing Solace Central Park which wraps around Full Moon Bay. Central Isle has the city's highest population density, and commands some of the highest costs per square foot in the city. Visitors often describe it as being like Manhattan, but clean.
    The isle itself is dome shaped, with Solace Central Towers sitting atop the highest point. The street grid is laid out in concentric circles, radiating out from the center, with cross streets set up like spokes on a wheel.

    Lagona Isle:
    Lagona is home to the city's largest Italian (Little Italy) and French (Le Petit Paris) enclaves. The historic Artist's Quarter is located here, as well as several world class museums, galleries, and art schools. Lagona is known as the Venice of Solace, as during the Earthquake of 1985, the streets collapsed due to the utilities tunnels running beneath them. As a result, the streets became canals, and as luck would have it, the residents of Lagona loved the change and wanted it kept that way. Lagona is also home to the city's largest concentration of cafes, pizza shops, and wine stores.

    Kyushi Isle:
    Kyushi was one of the city's great oddities for most of its civilized history. Despite its proximity to Central Isle, it was only densely inhabited after World War II when the Japanese who surrendered in Solace were granted clemency and citizenship. The isle was rocky, with little top soil in most places, and sunken and full of marshland in the rest. It was mosquito infested and few people bothered trying to settle it. The Japanese, though allowed to settle in Solace, were not welcomed by the residents who had been under Imperial control for the past four years.
    As it was largely unpopulated, the Japanese settled the isle, giving it the name Kyushi. Once basic living conditions were established, the former soldiers sent for their families to move to Solace to escape the economic hardships Japan was undergoing. Over time, with more and more Japanese moving to Solace, Kyushi became a vibrant and lovely place to live, earning the respect and admiration of the rest of Solace, for turning an eyesore into one of the loveliest isles in the city.

    Forest Hills Isle:
    Located in the north east corner of Solace, Forest Hills is the largest of the isles. It has one of the city's three fresh water lakes, Lake Forest. The population of Forest Hills is one of the most mixed in the city, with small enclaves of just about every nationality the city has living there. It is also the most suburban of the isles, containing the smallest concentration of tall buildings. For the most part, Forest Hills is a sleepy place, with tree lined streets and winding roads. Life on the isle is as normal as slow as it gets in Solace. The majority of the people living there are in their 40s or older, and the isle is a safe haven for families trying to live out peaceful lives.
    Forrest Hills is as close as one can come to small town style life in Solace. Most of the houses are single unit homes, detached from any neighbor. Residents there have the luxury of small to medium sized yards and space for driveways or garages. For the most part, home ownership stays in the family, as those in the know are aware that few houses every come up for sale on the isle, and when they do, they command top dollar. Forest Hills has the highest automobile ownership rate in the city, and is the only place in the city where car culture has caught on. It is home to Solace's only race track, and a small collection of drive in movie theaters and restaurants.

    Plantation Isle:
    Plantation Isle is located in the south east corner of the city. Due to its proximity to Crystal Falls, the isle had accrued thousands of years of rich sediment, making it the most fertile of the isles. Early settlers made good use of the isle, turning it into a large plantation, giving the isle its name.
    Over time, as more and more of the food and resources Solace relied on were imported, less and less of the isle was devoted to agriculture. Farmers and their families settled down, opened shops and businesses, and sold off their lands in parcels to folks who were trying to get away from the hustle of city life on the other isles.
    Despite the population growth, Plantation managed to retain a lot of its country charm. Many of the Victorian Style buildings survived the Great Quake of 85, and those that had to be rebuilt were designed to fit in with the surroundings.
    Plantation is home to Solace's largest Russian enclave. Russia Town is located on the wester part of the isle, and is home to some of Solace's finest symphonies and ballets.

    Coral Mews Isle:
    Coral Mews is Solace's second largest isle, and has the second of the city's three fresh water lakes, Lake Coral. The isle is home to the neighborhoods of Spanish Town, Persian Hills, Little Brasil, and Statesville (the citizens had called the mostly American neighborhood by other, less polite names).
    Coral Mews has some of the city's most diverse geography. The city's highest elevation, at 852 feet, is in Persian Hills. Most of the isle's coastline are cliffs, ranging from fifty to 300 feet above the bay. The largest beach in the city is located along the western part of the isle, known as Crescent Cove.
    Crescent Cove also has the notoriety of being the most unruly, deviant party scene in Solace. Crescent Beach, Sunset Beach, and Kay Beach are the only places in the city where nudity is allowed, though not necessarily legal. The four mile long stretch of white sand, bars, and clubs is known as the world's largest continuous party.

    Kani Del Ray Isle:
    Kani Del Ray Isle is unique in that the entire isle is taken up by the entertainment industry. Movie studios, recording studios, television studios are all based on Kani Del Ray. The trend started when a disenfranchised Hollywood director and studio executive bought a third of the isle in 1958. He set up Solace's first movie studio, Sunset Films, and over time, the business grew. More of Hollywood's elite moved to Solace, and the rest of the isle was bought up my movie and music entrepreneurs.
    Today, Kani Del Ray is second only to Hollywood and Los Angeles in terms of star power. Many of the Silver Screen's A-list have homes in Solace, and the city provides a magnificent back drop for many of the films produced here.
    Kani Del Ray also has the distinction of being the only isle in Solace with no permanent residences.

    Canton Isle:
    Canton Isle is Solace's most expensive isle. All of the wealthiest, most powerful, and most famous citizens maintain homes on Canton Isle. Canton Isle has the distinction of being the only isle in the city in which there are no high rises, and every residence is a mansion.
    Canton Isle's most famous resident is the super heroine Prestige. Publicly known as the model Kara Fairchild, she owns an estate on the northern edge of the isle. Her mansion is built partially on stilts, jutting out over Solace Bay. Some people say that she has a secret base carved out of the rock below the mansion.
    Canton Isle is also home to Solace's most elite country club, Pearle Beach. Heads of state, movie stars, CEOs, and sports stars rub elbows in a club house modeled after the Place of Versailles.

    Khalona Isle:
    Khalona Isle is known for its light industry and commercial warehouses. All of the imported goods that come into Solace are processed in Khalona Isle's massive warehouses. Also, Khalona is home to the plants that refine and ship the minerals mined in Solace.
    The population of Khalona is made up mostly of blue collar workers and traditional families, though these workers and families come from every ethnicity in the city. Some of the best diners and greasy spoons are located on Khalona Isle. Along with Kani Del Ray and Canton, Khalona has one of the lightest population densities in the city, for which the simple, hard working residents are grateful.

    Woodhaven Isle:
    One of the largest and most densely populated isles in Solace, Woodhaven is to Central Isle as Brooklyn is to Manhattan. There are trendy and wealthy neighborhoods across the street from notorious and somewhat dangerous parts of the city.
          Woodhaven Isle has one of Solace's three fresh water lakes, though it is the least used by its residents. The parklands around the lake are rough and full of petty thugs after dark, and the islands within the lake are periodically home to camps of homeless or hiding criminals.
          Woodhaven Isle is also home to China Town and the famous China Town Night Market, located on the isle's south east corner near the Mill's End Bridge. Most of the smaller enclaves of peoples from Asian decent, other than the Japanese, are scattered across the isle.

    Darcie Isle:
    Darcie Isle is remarkable, at least by Solace standards, for the simple reason that it is the most unremarkable isle in the city. Though the neighborhoods are nice and well maintained, and the people are average and friendly, there are no truly distinguishing characteristics about it.
    Darcie Isle quietly became the place to live in Solace if one is looking for the most ordinary and modest life the city has to offer. The residents of Darcie seem to prefer life that way.

    Joliet Isle:
    Joliet Isle is notorious among residents of Solace. It is the poorest and most crime ridden area per capita. Few people who do not live there go there, and the people who do live there seldom leave.
    The government of Solace has poured billions of dollars into the housing, infrastructure, parks, and public works of Joliet Isle, only to watch as the people who live there abuse it and reduce it to little more than a large ghetto.
    Gangs are prevalent, and turf wars rage openly in the streets, despite police, and in some extreme cases, M.A.C.O. and The Keeper's direct intervention. As per the government's policies on emigrating non-productive members of society out of the country, broken families are the norm on Joliet Isle.
    Despite the country's stringent anti-drug laws, many of the neighborhoods of Joliet are littered with drug houses and dealers. Vice of all nature can be found on more than half the street corners on Joliet, day or night.
    Despite the dreadful situation, the rest of the populous of Solace is quick to cry foul of civil rights violations whenever the government tries to clean up the isle en mass. It is widely believed that were all the criminals and delinquents of Joliet Isle to be imprisoned or emigrated, the isle would lose half of its population.
    As it is, Joliet Isle is Solace's dirty little secret, and the government seems content to maintain the status quo of keeping the undesirables there, and allowing the police and heroes of Solace to spend their time catching the worst of the worst.
    Joliet Isle is also home to Solace National Cemetery, the largest in the world at over 100 square miles. When the treaty of Solace was made between the natives and first settlers, the natives demanded that their holy islands not be perverted by the burying of dead bodies (the natives commit their dead to the sea).
    The cemetery's location was chosen do to its relative beauty and seclusion. It is surrounded on three sides by quartz cliffs towering 300 hundred feet and has a webwork of natural waterways.

    Corona Isle:
    Corona Isle is home to the largest German and Bavarian populations in the city. The isle's architecture is that of Alpine villages, and the streets and buildings flow and curve with the the many hills on the small isle.
    Corona is also home to the famous Bavarian Beer Gardens, one of Solace's most popular attractions. The entire isle becomes Solace's largest party scene during October Fest.
    One of Solace's more interesting traditions, The Battle of the Bay, is held every year as the mostly German residents of Corona, and the mostly English residents of Racine Isle to the north, engage in the world's largest model aircraft dogfight near the Eckert Bridge. The bridge itself is closed off during the mock battle, as tempers have been known to flare and massive brawls have broken out in years past.

    Racine Isle:
    Racine Isle is home to Little Britain, and its famous Playhouse District, which includes a working replica of the Globe Theatre. Racine is also home to the largest populations of Australian and new Zealand residents in the city.
    The architecture of Racine, especially that of the area of Little Britain, so closely resembles that of England, that if one were to fall asleep in England, and wake up in Racine, they would not know the difference save the tropical weather.
    Some of the best pubs in the city are located on Racine Isle, including Solace's most famous pub; Cappie's Bar and Grill. Cappie's Bar is notorious for being the only place in the world where one can see super heroes and super villains in the same place without the fear of an epic battle ensuing. This is due to the fact that the bar's proprietor, Cappie, is himself super powered. Cappie has the ability to broadcast his emotions, and there are few who can resist being caught up in his normally jovial mood.
    Indeed, the only time the bar is every empty is when Cappie's favorite football team is losing. Residents of the city remember the last time the bar was full during one of those losses; the end result being Cappie's foul mood spreading to everyone in the bar, resulting in the complete destruction of three city blocks due to the heroes and villains fighting until The Keeper threw a ferry boat at the bar to end the conflict. 

    Sunrise Isle:
    Along with Kani Del Ray Isle and Keystone Isle, Sunrise Isle is one of only three isles in the city which is completely privately owned. Home to Solace City University, Sunrise Isle is the second smallest inhabited isle in the city. The university is the only major private educational institute in the city. Solace City University has 120,000 students attending classes in 200 buildings on a campus covering nearly three square miles.
    The university is held in the same regard as M.I.T. or Tokyo University, though it has yet to join the truly elite ranks of Oxford or Cambridge. Despite its prestige, it is a school filled with young men and women, and it has a well earned reputation as a party school.
    The other five square miles of Sunrise Isle are devoted to student housing. As a result of the concentration of college students living in such a relatively small area, Sunrise has the distinction of having the highest number of police per capita in the city.
   
    Keystone Isle:
    Keystone Isle is one of Solace's three, completely privately owned isles. Keystone Isle is home to the residences of the staff of Solace City University. It is one of the most elite isles in Solace due to the prerequisite of working for the university in order to be allowed to live there. The lawns and gardens of Keystone Isle are among the most diligently maintained and manicured. The residences vary from pleasant condominiums where secretarial and janitorial staff live to palatial estates where the executive staff and the most tenured professors reside. No one owns a home on Keystone Isle, as the university maintains ownership of all of the properties. When an employee of the school retires, they must leave Keystone Isle.