Austri

Austri (East City) is the easternmost city of Dwarven society on Hyperborea and one of five major Dwarven cities. It is the sole city located within the Evernight. The other three cardinal cities, Vestri (West City), Norðri (North City) and Suðri (South City), are an equidistance away from the central Dwarven capital, Hjálm (Helm), in their respective directions. (All five cities are named after an Old Norse kenning for the sky.)

Austri is the second most advanced of the five cities, and where Helm screams "cyberpunk with a dash of Dwarf," the East City screams "steampunk built into a mountain". The Giants that live alongside the Dwarves of the East City played and continue to play a large role in the construction of the city. The residents of the East City thoroughly utilize geothermic energy for warmth and energy, having interwoven steaming pipes throughout the cityscape. This, in combination with the everlasting red of lamp post-furnaces, gave rise to the city's alternative name, Hearth. In being a bloom of life amongst ceaseless winter (and in getting along so famously with Giants), the East City is also known by a variety of other romantic monikers such as the City of Hope and the City of Love.