Ceylon

Ceylon (/sɪˈlɒn/) is an unorthodox town raised atop the steep cliffs of the +,-. It is the capital of New Sovia, split into 3 seperate districts. In comparison to most towns, Ceylon doesn't have many builders or much architecture, however it makes up for what it lacks with a strong community. The city is nestled in between Iria and Appomattox. With 8 inhabitants, the city is one of the fastest-growing cities on the server.

The island of Ceylon remained uninhabited until it was scouted by Pirater and SwiftFizz in April 2019. The idea of Ceylon began in mid-April 2019 after Pirater's pearling and involvement in the Channer attack on Nyasaland. Members of Soviakorps were interested in starting a new city, one where they would no longer raid and be able to live peacefully in relative isolation. Ceylon's mountainous terrain and height provided an excellent advantage to the New Sovian settlers, and after Pirater's unbanning they began to develop farms and infrastructure on Ceylon Island.

Life in Ceylon is relatively peaceful for the inhabitants, aside the occasional drama which occurs every now and then. Despite the fearmongering of the critics and haters who stand united against Ceylon, there has been zero proven involvement of its residents in griefing, as they prefer much more pleasant hobbies such as peacefully wheat farming and digging. The citizens of Ceylon are world-renowned workers, having dug millions of blocks across the world, constantly pouring their productivity into monuments which will definitely stand the test of time. The residents however would rather keep to themselves, which is why it is necessary for all visitors to seek a Visa, on pain of being pearled.

Etymology
The name Airhaven comes from two sources; Firstly, the Mortal Engines series by Phillip Reeve contains a fictional town of the same name which is suspended in the air by large balloons, and serves as a refuge from the war-torn ground below for anyone who can fly there in airships. The second source of Airhaven's name is a play on a translation of the German word for Airport, 'Flughafen', which literally means Flightport, but its latter half is a near homophone for 'haven'. Thus, Airhaven can be seen as a portmanteau between Airport and Flughafen.

This simple but descriptive theme continues to the names of districts, such as Ravinetown and Underhill.

History
Ceylon was founded by Pirater, SwiftFizz, iakwai and GamePhobic in April 2019, however development only boosted in May/June 2019. Pirater had led Sovia for most of the server, and Swift had lead the CivEx branch of Sovia after Pirater's ban from CivEx - this made them the perfect candidates for the leadership of New Sovia. Swift became leader of New Sovia, while Pirater generally tends to focus on internal development and infrastructure. In June 2019, New Sovia was involved in the formation of one of the several alliances on Civ, known as Heavenly Concord.

Culture
Ceylon has an internationally famed culture, with some of the most renowned content creators on the server. Featuring an all-star lineup including the likes of Pirater, wjkroeker, SwiftFizz, GamePhobic and more, memes are embedded in the very DNA of Ceylon's Citizens. The citizens of Ceylon combined have some of the most upvoted posts on the server, while also constantly pushing what has been deemed as "acceptable" to the very limits in past. The culture of Ceylon is based largely on memes, which are shared in private discord channels, where only the finest quality home-grown organic non-GMO memes on the server. The humour of Ceylon is rather tongue-in-cheek and hyperbolic, often mocking the things other nations have accused them of in another way.



Exodus from Icenia
In April 2019, several of the founders of Ceylon City were living in the city of Icenia. However, after a few incidents and skirmishes involving Pirater's diamonds, GamePhobic getting extradited to Nyasaland supposedly against Icenian law, and more - they finally had enough and decided to establish their own city. This city would be a paradise second to no other nation, a bastion of hope and justice for the surrounding world - the shining beacon of the Civ genre.

Growth
With Pirater's banning in mid-April 2019, the population growth of Ceylon stagnated. Swift and GamePhobic were the only active players, and construction had not yet begun. Fortunately, after 2 weeks and a ban appeal, Pirater was finally unbanned in May 2019 - and finally able to help the city grow. The population settled at 3 for a bit (excluding iakwai, who was on the run at the time). They began work on farms, a trench and the world's tallest skyscraper, estimated to be complete some time around July 2019. During this time, an influx of players began to join, including wjkroeker (who helped contribute to the Old Sovian Quarter in MtA). While due to the secure Visa policy, Ceylon is not as populated as it could be, houses have started popping up around the island alongside numerous farms and mines.

Geography
The city of Airhaven rests on a hilly plateau approximately 25 blocks above sea level, with additional variations in terrain stretching up past y=150 in some places. The mountains and valleys alike are considered sacred, and terraforming more than 0.1 blocks per metre squared to build is illegal. As such, the roads in Airhaven closely follow the hills. Estimates from Airhaven's land area lie between 240,000 and 260,000 square blocks.



Natural liquid in Airhaven is limited to lava and water lakes. However, as the town expands it is introducing areas of water, mostly for aesthetic purposes.

Resimere's canopy forest district, Eichenfeld, lies to the south, the border being the line between the two biomes. Falstadt lies across the channel to the east, past the ice mountains on both sides of the river. The inactive nation Stonewall owns the islands to the north of Airhaven, with Yoahtl lying across the sea even further north.



Climate
One of the highest cities in Civclassic, Ceylon experiences a cool, temperate climate, comparable to the vast expanses of Savannah in Africa.

Flora
The scarce savannah stretches all the way across the city of Ceylon, with the long grass and flowers almost everywhere. There is the occasional oak tree, brought in from elsewhere, but other than that there isn't much Flora.



Underground
Below the ground, there are several mines. However, one must also be wary of the existence of snitches and bunkers below Ceylon. Any attempts at digging under the city without a visa will result in indefinite imprisonment and potential sabotage charges.

City
The City of Ceylon is small, numbering only two houses and an ancient dome, which existed far before the Sovian colonisation of the island. Pillboxes surround the island, allowing residents to rain arrows on anyone who happens to be boating towards Ceylon. The most outstanding feature of the city is a large trench, which will soon house the world's tallest tower - made purely from Obsidian and cosmetic materials higher to the top, Ceylon Tower will stand amongst the world wonders of Civ. There are three districts of Ceylon:



The Agricultural district is mainly for farming, featuring farms built by wjkroeker and iakwai, featuring a dome.

The Infrastructure district is explicitly for protective and practical infrastructure, including factories and more.

The Residential district is the most recent of districts, featuring a few houses from some of the newer players in Ceylon who didn't want to live under layers of iron-reinforced obsidian.

Politics
When it comes to laws, Ceylon doesn't necessarily have anything particularly deemed "illegal". Rather than having a codified legal system, punishments are handed out by a direct democratic process and determined by this amongst citizens. Ceylon is fairly close to a mutualist civ, with sharing resources being common amongst members. However, for the sake of convenience, there is a permanent leader for communications with other nations (SwiftFizz), and a city organizer (Pirater). The residents of Ceylon generally share resources and do the most they can to help each-other and the nation prosper.

Law
If you trespass, it is highly likely you will be pearled for violating closed borders. Please seek a visa before entering Ceylon. However, acts such as theft or killing will result in a sentence determined by the community, rather than a strict legal code. This may end up better or worse for you depending on your behaviour and likelihood of reform.

Foreign Relations
Ceylon is a fairly controversial city when it comes to Foreign Relations. Very on in the earliest days of Ceylon, there were constant rumours that the UNC was planning to destroy Ceylon, with their citizens trespassing on the land. However, this hostility died down after changes to the government of Nyasaland and Pirater's apology for the Palgrave Bombings and paying of reparations. Ceylon aims to be a world city. Diplomatic missions have been carried out to Ceylon, which have successfully resulted in good relationships with some nearby nations such as Wakanda. However, the city is still viewed with distrust by several nations in the world as a result of several members being involved in the Palgrave bombing prior to the founding of Ceylon.

Economy
The economy of Ceylon is booming, with large amounts of diamonds and iron being mined daily. Thanks to contributions from Gregy and wjkroeker, Ceylon has been able to mine so much iron and diamonds, much has been invested into the flagship trench and skyscraper of Ceylon Tower (which has not yet been completed).

Exp Prospects
With the arrival of wjkroeker to Ceylon and his farming expertese, there are high chances of Ceylon becoming a successful city when it comes to XP farming.

Mining
Ceylon has many mines throughout the island, which go very deep. These expand constantly as the residents of the island work very hard to keep them expanding, gathering large quantities of new resources by the day.

Tourism
Tourism to Ceylon is accepted as long as one seeks a temporary visa for visitation via Discord or in-game messages with Pirater, SwiftFizz or GamePhobic. Without seeking a Visa, there is a large chance you will get pearled before even arriving in Ceylon.



Transport
Ceylon has links to the 0,0-MIR/CALEDONIA rail by Ice Road. It is between 0,0 and Caledonia, and can be spotted using a sign saying "to New Sovia"

Architecture
Ceylon's architecture is very diverse, with the brutalist constructions of the Obsidian Tower, to more traditional buildings such as the memorial dome. There is a monument to fallen Sovian soldiers next to the dome.

Media
One of Ceylon's founders, Pirater, is responsible for many great works, such as the videos 'Escape from Nyasaland' and 'If Titan was a Netflix original'. Also included in their repertoire include a recruitment poster, Civball comics, surveys, awards, and memes.

The official language of Airhaven is British English.

Religion
Airhaven does not have a mandatory or state recognised religion. However, it draws heavily from Buddhism: Nature is seen as sacred, and pacifism is heavily encouraged.