Excelsior

Gate-Town
Population:	25,000
Gate To:	Mount Celestia
Primary Faction:	Order of the Planes-Militant

When a prime talks about a city where the streets are paved with gold, he's usually flapping his bone-box over nothing. But when a planar talks about a place like that, chances are he's talking about Excelsior. Here, the town and streets are made of a yellow brick mixed with flecks of enchanted silver and steel - the whole place literally glows. It's a rich, ambient light, but not strong enough that travellers can't find some sleep at a kip. The buildings feel warm all the time, too, so the only fires needed are for cooking.

The town's not walled off - it don't need to be, berk. Anywhere from three to a dozen floating castles (called picket keeps) circle Excelsior like moons. Each keep's the home of a paladin lord and his retinue, and these cutters protect the town. Every few decades, a keep lands at the edge of town and stays.

One of the most important spots around is actually at the base of Mount Celestia - the town of Heart's Faith. Older maps of the Outlands show that it was once part of the Land before moving into the plane. Heart's Faith is ruled by a greater lammasu named Lebes.

The ruler of Excelsior is High Chancellor Miguala abd-al Ragarin, a paladin from Zakhara (found on the world of Toril). She's an elderly human, aided by two viziers: an archon named Blazara Lightmaker and a halfling warrior named Mendel.

The other high-ups in town are the paladin lords of the floating picket keeps. Many eventually land their keeps and join the city, but sometimes a strong paladin and his followers challenge the High Councillor's right to lead. A challenge like that tends to be short and bloody, and all the paladin usually winds up with is a spot in the dead-book.

The Gate

Somewhere in the highest tower in Excelsior is the Gate to Mount Celestia. The tower's full of nothing but staircases that twist and cross endlessly. Most of them eventually come out at an observation deck, where a body can see both Fortitude and Tradegate. One staircase, though, keeps rising. Travellers who climb it high enough'll suddenly find themselves in midair, twenty feet over the oceans at the base of Mount Celestia. The ocean's water got the properties of holy water and the fall doesn't hurt, but passing through the gate sure wakes a berk up.

The Populace

Natives of Excelsior are so pleasant, kindly, and understanding that visitors of nonlawful or nongood alignments quickly develop a facial tick. Fact is' all sods of nongood alignments are asked to leave. They won't be forced out as long as they don't break any laws, but peery natives'll keep a close eye on them at all times.

Apart from a few archons and devas, most residents are human - many of them paladins from prime-material worlds. One popular group in town is a sect of righteous cutters who call themselves the Order of the Planes-Militant. Just about everyone in Excelsior prefers light-colored garbs, especially white.

Gate-Towns

Automata . Fortitude . Excelsior . Tradegate . Ecstasy . Faunel . Sylvania . Glorium . Xaos Bedlam . Plague-Mort . Curst . Hopeless . Torch . Ribcage . Rigus