New Austin
The music never dies in the City of the Violet Crown. At twilight, the sky turns from pink to purple, and the bands begin to play. Bluegrass, country, banjos, guitars, fiddles, and lap steels mingle together as hot winds carry the sounds through bars, brothels, and hangouts. The music increases in power through the night until dawn, and almost every bar is outfitted with a stage for nightly performances.
The founding myth tells of a man with an old radio and a guitar who sent songs into the world. Tired and broken people came from miles around and settled. The reality was grimmer: two groups of Purebloods and Mericans battled for dominance after the Fall, and gun smoke and blood soaked the ground until Daniel Lawrence triumphed. His family took control and built the city to their liking. The King's Court faith reinforces the gentler version of history, but everyone old enough to remember knows the cost of New Austin's founding.
Far south of Star City along the coastline, New Austin is airy and open, a conglomeration of patched buildings reworked for various purposes. As seawater flooded parts of Lone Star, the settlement became coastal, and fishing in the treacherous poisonous waters provides a living for the brave. The real profit, however, comes from connections with Aggieland. Technological inventions are sold from New Austin on behalf of the feared complex, with the Lawrence family's Purebloods charging exorbitant prices as middlemen. Merican guards shepherd loaded caravans across the wastes between the two settlements.
New Austin has no standing army and welcomes people from all walks of life, even northerners from Old York. But the openness has limits. Do not anger the Lawrences.
The founding myth tells of a man with an old radio and a guitar who sent songs into the world. Tired and broken people came from miles around and settled. The reality was grimmer: two groups of Purebloods and Mericans battled for dominance after the Fall, and gun smoke and blood soaked the ground until Daniel Lawrence triumphed. His family took control and built the city to their liking. The King's Court faith reinforces the gentler version of history, but everyone old enough to remember knows the cost of New Austin's founding.
Far south of Star City along the coastline, New Austin is airy and open, a conglomeration of patched buildings reworked for various purposes. As seawater flooded parts of Lone Star, the settlement became coastal, and fishing in the treacherous poisonous waters provides a living for the brave. The real profit, however, comes from connections with Aggieland. Technological inventions are sold from New Austin on behalf of the feared complex, with the Lawrence family's Purebloods charging exorbitant prices as middlemen. Merican guards shepherd loaded caravans across the wastes between the two settlements.
New Austin has no standing army and welcomes people from all walks of life, even northerners from Old York. But the openness has limits. Do not anger the Lawrences.
History
The founding myth of New Austin is a story about music. A man with an old radio and a guitar sent songs into the world, and the tired and broken came from miles around to settle near the source. The King's Court faith keeps this version alive, and there is enough truth in it that no one discards it entirely.
The reality was a factional war. After the Fall, two groups of Purebloods and Mericans fought for dominance of the settlement. The conflict ended when Daniel Lawrence triumphed, and his family claimed control. Gun smoke and blood soaked the ground before the music started. The Lawrence family built New Austin to their liking, establishing the Pureblood trade connections with Aggieland that remain the settlement's primary source of wealth. The music culture that defines the city today grew in the peace that followed the violence, proving that even in the wasteland, something worth hearing can grow from soil watered with blood.
The reality was a factional war. After the Fall, two groups of Purebloods and Mericans fought for dominance of the settlement. The conflict ended when Daniel Lawrence triumphed, and his family claimed control. Gun smoke and blood soaked the ground before the music started. The Lawrence family built New Austin to their liking, establishing the Pureblood trade connections with Aggieland that remain the settlement's primary source of wealth. The music culture that defines the city today grew in the peace that followed the violence, proving that even in the wasteland, something worth hearing can grow from soil watered with blood.
Geography
New Austin lies far south of Star City along the coastline, an airy and open settlement built from patched buildings reworked for various purposes. Rising seawater transformed the settlement into a coastal city, with fishing operations working the treacherous poisonous waters offshore. The terrain is less harsh than the desert interior, and the famous violet twilight sky gives the city its nickname. Trade routes run north to Star City and east to Aggieland, where armed caravans carry technological goods back and forth across the wastes.
