Classification: Domed Metropolis, Eastern Hemisphere.
Origins and Formation.
Argona existed as a city before the Storm. Its infrastructure, energy grid, and institutional framework were already in place when Neo Opus reshaped the world thirty years before the story's present. In the chaotic aftermath of the Storm, Agrona's pre-existing capacity to house, feed, and organize large, displaced populations made it one of the only places on Earth capable of absorbing the sudden social rupture caused by the emergence of Peculiars and Dogmas. People converged on it from everywhere, seeking the two things it could offer that the rest of the panicked world could not: the safety of the force field and the economic opportunity created by the Venerum trade.
The result is a city with no single ethic, cultural, or national root. Argona's population is majority "Argonian" by current civic identity but threaded through with dozens of national and cultural origins surviving in fragments - surnames, accents, customs, relationships. Dubem and Ifeoma, the couple in Ratelsi and Timoth's apartment building who target-shoot empty beer bottles at night, are Nigerian. Snigel, Hexoset's bouncer, is German. This diasporic patchwork is not treated as a point of civic pride in any official capacity. Prejudice in Argona is entirely about Peculiar/Normie stratification, not cultural heritage.
The Force Field.
Argona is enclosed by a protective energy barrier - a lattice of blue geometry - that shields the city from Dogma breaches and filters polluted air conditions from the frontier. The field does not obscure the sky: stars are visible through the thin veil, with aurora phenomena bleeding through in violet and green. The moon remains visible. The force field is powered by Venerum and is considered one of the primary reasons Argona became a refuge in the first place.
The force field was established in 2017, two years after Venerum was integrated into the city's infrastructure. In 2036, a fifteen-year-old Jeenah used her Peculiarity to stabilize the decaying field shortly after her recruitment into Argona's Intelligence Division.
Districts and Stratification.
Argona's geography functions almost as a literal map of its class and power structure, stratified in a way that rewards power to elevation, proximity to the city core, and infrastructure quality.
Balun - The capital and most beautiful district within Argona, home to the city's elites, the Patricians, and by extension the Quinque Sapientes. Balun's residents are accustomed to living on a silver platter. The buildings are metallic gray and cylindrical, with many featuring green rooftops adorned with trees and verbena. At the center of the district is a circular open space, the central plaza, encircled by concentric rings of greenery and pathways. Trees and shrubs are connected by wide walkways linking the plaza to surrounding buildings. Balun is home to wealthy residents, corporate powers like Siso Corp, Uther's Jellopod company, Ryken's temple to Tarta, the Aedes Limitum, and others. Balun is heavily populated by Venerum, compared to the Sector Belt or Altown, and because of that high concentration of mana in the area, the capital is prone to Dogma breaches.
The Sector Belt - A ring of town districts surrounding Balun: Elvio, Sayge, Kakkis, Esrossa, amongst others. The Sector Belt is monitored more heavily than the capital, but is still within the formal, legitimate structure of Cura administration, unlike Altown.
Altown/The Underdistrict - The poorer, gritty lower city where Ratelsi and Timoth live and work, characterised by industrial decay, neon-lit streets, and a maze of metal buildings. Altown's flickering streetlights, dilapidated machinery, and skybridges create a haven for those who can't afford to live in the Sector Belt. Known for its rebellious energy, Altown is a vertical labyrinth of metallic-surfaced buildings that vary in style and condition. Some have smooth, curved designs with glass and steel, while others are blockier and utilitarian with exposed pipes and scaffolding. Balconies, walkways, and skybridges connect the buildings at various heights. Altown also has a thriving black-market economy called The Basin, where Ratelsi and Timoth work as delivery runners for Broco.
The Basin - A hidden, subterranean marketplace accessed via concealed tunnels beneath Altown. The Basin is Argona's black market, existing outside official Cura commerce, though the Cura is aware of its existence and periodically raids it under security protocols.
Yenegia - Located north of the Sector Belt; home to Turris, the Cura's rehabilitation facility for Peculiars who failed the MAP tests.
Oakeman - A junkyard/garage containing scraps where Timoth and Ratelsi often scout for Broco's gifts. It's neglected, with exposed metal, cracked concrete, and abandoned machinery.