Tarana

Tarana is the capital and the largest city of of the Resurgent Dream. While Tarana is a city of millions and a large commercial city, the skyline of the commerical district is distinctly low in height compared to the financial cities of other nations or even to other large cities in the Resurgent Dream. This is because of a cultural taboo on any building standing taller than the central tower of the Royal Palace. Because great skyscrapers are not common, Tarana takes up a much larger land area than comparable cities. The length of time required for commuting into and out of Tarana or for moving from one part of the city to the other is a subject of common complaint. This probably is mitigated somewhat by the city's excellent subway and bus system.

Tarana is a city built in concentric circles. The outer area of the city is a low-income residential area. Moving inward, the city sports residential housing for wealthier and wealthier residents until a point roughly a mile from the beginning of serious commercial development.Most Taranans consider this the ideal spot, close enough to the downtown area to easily travel there but far enough away for peace and quiet. After this point, the cost and quality of housing declines towards the center of town, ending in the lower-middle-income housing that stands on the interior border of the residential zone. Scattered throughout this area are the institutions of local government: schools, police stations, fire stations, and other institutions which operate on the neighborhood level. Commercial pockets are in spread throughout the area, ranging from upscale shops to unsightly strip malls. Restaurants of all price ranges, churches, and the offices of private medical practicioners are all in this area.

The commercial area of the city consists largely of officer buildings and most of the largest corporations based in the Resurgent Dream have their headquarters here. Most Taranans work in this area and all large-scale commercial enterprise is located here. This area includes a downtown aerospace port, a large central park, and the Tarana Stock Exchange. A cultural district houses some of the best restaurants in the country, an opera, numerous musuems of history, art, and science alike, and most of the hotels in the area. A red light district contains the seedier sort of bars and strip clubs. While drug-dealing and prostitution are against Danaan law, the police have all but given up on fighting non-violent crimes in the red light district. More respectable clubs and bars, ranging from college taverns to extremely exclusive clubs for gentlemen and nobles, are also smattered throughout the commercial district. Elessembosse Avenue is known to house the most fashionable shops anywhere in the islands. Embassy Row is in an isolated corner of this district, near the Old City.

The Old City of Tarana or the Marble City is truly a wonder to behold. It consists of a truly gigantic, single piece of marble, likely of supernatural origin. Out of this one piece, over five centuries, has been carved a shining white city in intricate detail. Here is the great Royal Palace and the towering seats of the government ministries. Here is the National Chapel and the residences of many ranking nobles. The Old City stands as a monument to magic and wonder, to architecture both grand in scale and fine in detail, and to the Majesty of the Crown seated here.