Stairway to Heaven

There has been no official survey of Stairway to Heaven yet, because it is still new. However, significant demographics include:

Void Mimics

Starwalkers

Eldritch Beings

Voidlost sapients who resemble known terrestrial species

"Grays"

Stairway to Heaven's only real formal government is that the Voiders let other people come and live there, so they're in charge. In practice, it runs like an anarchistic collective colony that polices itself. Freeloaders and criminals quickly find themselves excluded from the colony's limited, and hard-won, resources, as well as the social structure of the community. As a result, people (of all species) just pitch in. If you refuse to help your neighbour, that neighbour is unlikely to help you when you need it, and there is no question that the more help you have, the better you're likely to do.   There is no functional currency, because there is no way to make currency work in the Void. Every resource is either too limited, or too unlimited, to serve that function. Instead, the effective currency is exchange, barter, and assistance. Most things in Stairway to Heaven are acquired either by scavenging, or by magic, or by import from physical reality or other dimensions. So the person who finds or brings a resource or luxury to the colony, by mutual unspoken agreement, tends to have "first dibs." But if they have surplus, they will almost certainly share, since they are likely to need resources from the other inhabitants at some point that they are unable to acquire for themselves.

The primary defense of the city is its location. One would have to know where one was going, and travel through the Void at length, to martial an attack.   The city boasts formidible magical defenses, however, both in the wards interwoven throughout the structure, and the considerable powers of its inhabitants.

There are three ways to travel through the city. One is the network of elevators, bridges, and staircases. A second is the "teleporter nexus," which uses plates inscribed with magical symbols to create two-way connections between other significant nexus points in the city. The third is to fly. All are commonly used, since gravity is usually a matter of will in the Void. However, the Voidlost and Voidtouched inhabitants of the city, as well as the Starwalkers, tend to keep the asteroid in their minds as the consistent "down" direction. This is necessary because the "will" required to navigate the Void's gravitational inconsistency is more of a subconscious, than a conscious, decision.   The power needs of the city are generated by a combination of Literomantic Energy Generation and watermills, which are managed by pumping water out of the lake. A fountain of water runs from the roof beneath the Garden, right down to the base of the structure in the Trunk, which is used mostly for watering plants and drinking water — although this was largely an aesthetic choice.   The city has a large kiln that is used to make more yellow bricks. Because there is no evident source of the pink material available, all new structures are comprised exclusively of yellow brick.   Heating is, for the most part, unnecessary due to the climate. However, since electricity isn't usually wired through the city to individual houses, and most lighting is by either magical means or the starscape itself, cooking is primarily accomplished by burning fires in brick ovens. Most inhabitants keep a pebble-sized stone of Substance G for this purpose. Others with ongoing power needs keep a generator powered by Substance G, Literomantic Batteries, or an Inspiration Engine.

The Farm District

The uppermost buildings of the city, as reckoned by distance from the asteroid that serves as its "ground," have food-producing vegetable farms on their roofs. Soil has been carefully reclaimed from rotted plant and animal matter and the regolith dust of the asteroid, and is kept in planters the size of garden plots. Most crops are subterranean or root crops, such as mushrooms, potatoes, carrots, and beetroot, which tend to tolerate the lack of natural sunlight better than other plants. Some crops also include Void-specific flora, and leafy greens, which do well with hydroponics and questionable gravity. The uppermost roof also sprouts an odd tree with golden foliage and branches that don't necessarily connect, as well as starry lights and a mysterious inner glow. The tree was growing there when the city was reclaimed.   This district is known as "the Farm District" as a result, and it tends primarily to be inhabited by the Voiders, when the buildings aren't being used for more food production, such as the enclosed apiary that uses magical wards to prevent the bees that inhabit it from teleporting away.   The towers that support the Farm are illuminated by pale blue lights.  

The Watchtower District

The uppermost centralized structure has an unrestricted view in all directions. This is the only section that shows any signs of whatever civilization built the original city, and it is known as the Watchtower because it looks like a guard post, giving the district its name. One can see the edge of the asteroid easily by standing at a window in the Watchtower.   There are two other major structures in this area. One is known as the Star Temple, and it is a multi-cultural place of worship that features large invisible picture windows to highlight that one is literally among the stars. The other is an extended bridge, staircase, and gate that extends out from the city and doesn't seem to connect to anything. On the outer edge of this gate is a ship. It looks like a sailing vessel, in that it has a crow's nest and a generally boat-like shape and appearance, but it is constructed of the same material as the city, and it has no sails. Consequently, the bridge structure is known as "the Spacedock," and it serves as a common place for people to gather and stroll.   The towers supporting the Watchtower District are illuminated by pinkish-purple lighting. The Grays, Starwalkers, and Eldritch tend to make most of their homes here.  

The Garden District "Skygarden"

The largest building in the "midsection" of the city has been planted like a strange form of city park. It is covered in dirt and sod that was imported from physical reality, which is now growing into a proper lawn and sprouting such wild flowers as dandelions and violets. Magewood trees, like those from The Rainbow Forest, grow on its outer edges. The park is illuminated by starry lights floating in the trees and over the surrounding fence. This park is known as the Skygarden, and thus, the area that surrounds it is known as "the Garden District." Sometimes, locals use "Skygarden" to refer to the whole district. It was built by the House Lapin Voiders, who put their Vivimancy to work to grow and maintain it.   The trees also sprout some kind of large, fluffy flower that is native to the Void, and these flowers may also sprout wherever there is light in the city, including walls and ceilings. This area is a balm to the soul for most Voidlost, who miss the greenery of their original realities.   Another feature of the Garden District is the Greenhouse. This is a large building, three stories tall, entirely dedicated to mostly-ornamental plants. Primarily it is filled with strange plants from alien realities, plants native to the Void, or plants that are extinct in most realities. Some of these include giant pitcher plants, vines with glowing yellow berries, bioluminescent lichen and mushrooms, and extinct ferns and rare flowers. The lichen grows in patches in other places throughout the city structure as well.   The towers that support the district are illuminated by deep green lights.  

The Factory District

The "trunk" of the city-tree is where most of the industrial infrastructure of Stairway to Heaven is located, so it is known, with typical originality, as "the Factory District." People rarely make permanent homes here, and they rarely have a need. The primary inhabitants are the Void Mimics, who cluster everywhere there is a surface to cluster, since they are capable of sticking to walls and don't have much respect for perspective and gravity.   The towers that supports the Factory District are illuminated by pale yellow lighting.  

The Trunk

The final "district" of Stairway to Heaven is known as "the Trunk." There is nothing in it but the main supporting tower, the building that forms the structure's base, and a nexus of teleportation plates that can speed access to other districts of the city. This is the part that connects it to the asteroid, and it is surrounded by an artificially-created lake, with water pumped in from physical reality. The drinking water of the city is pumped up from "Glitter Lake," and the waste water is magically processed through Literomantic Sanitation Engineering and then returned to the lake, or used to fuel industrial processes.   Void Mimics sometimes like hanging out here, and while Starwalkers don't tend to live in the Trunk, some choose to live on the surface of the asteroid.   One shore of Glitter Lake is littered by the fossilized remains of trees. It is generally believed that these were once similar to the mysterious, otherworldly tree that grows at the highest elevation of the city.   The single tower that extends from the Trunk's foundation building and supports the Factory District is illuminated by deep red lighting.

If it were easier, and less dangerous, to travel through the Void, Stairway to Heaven would be a highly-sought-after tourist destination for its mystery and natural beauty. However, those risks, combined with its limited resources, significantly limit access.  

Look at all those stars!

— Queen Sable, enjoying the Skygarden

It is a point of note that many of the main floors in the nexus points of the structure (the "trunk" of the "tree") are invisible. If one does not know better, one might think they are stepping out into oblivion when they walk out on these floors. This is accomplished by exploiting the gravitational weirdness of the Void, combined with a boost from Queen Sable's "force field" magical powers. This choice was partially made for the aesthetics of it, but also because gravitational magic is easier to come by in Stairway to Heaven than raw building materials.

It seems likely that the asteroids that comprise Stairway to Heaven's surroundings are the remains of a planetary explosion. Whether that planet was originally part of another reality, or always part of the Void, is anyone's guess.

In the Firmament, the climate is consistently dry and cool, with little temperature variation. Occasionally, a hint of mist rises off of the lake, but it's never more than a slight softening to the air. Plants that require the damp do not grow well. Neither do plants that require direct sunlight or high temperatures. Artificial and magical lighting can only compensate so far.