Backlund

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Backlund (贝克兰德)
Alias(es)	City of Cities; Land of Hope
Type	Capital city and metropolis
Affiliation	Loen Kingdom
Location	North Continent; capital of Loen
Population	More than five million 168
Status	Extant; rebuilt and bustling again after the war 1131
First Appearance	Mentioned 131; first visited by Sifa after a teleportation accident 167

Districts and Landmarks

District / Location	Description	Notable associations
Hillston District	Backlund's economic, commercial, and financial center, containing securities exchanges, clearinghouses, futures centers, the seven major banks' headquarters, and trading companies. Formal dress is the local norm. 168	Sifa first enters Backlund here and reaches Yilin Street.
East Borough	A severely impoverished district where insecure labor barely sustains residents; those who become old, ill, or unemployed risk eviction, homelessness, or death in the streets. 372	Site of the Great Smog's worst effects, clandestine Beyonder gatherings, and repeated criminal investigations.
Dock District	A poor waterfront district threatened alongside the East Borough during the Great Smog Incident. 514	Enilu distributes winter food and clothing here when the smog crisis begins. 537
North Borough	A major district containing churches, noble residents, and Backlund Technical University. 847 867	Targeted during Feysac's air raid.
West Borough	Loen's political center, containing Parliament, government departments, and City Hall. 867	Home to the Intis Embassy; targeted during the Feysac air raid. 517 867
Cherwood Borough	A residential and entertainment district near the Tussock River. 220	Xio and Fors live here; the Golden Rose brothel is located here.
Empress Borough	An aristocratic district associated with elite social circles and private occult gatherings. 168 521	Sifa, Helibel, and Levtor attend Viscount Yelis's masked gathering here.
Backlund Bridge Area	A populous area with public schools and lower-cost housing. 700 870	Daisy and her family seek safety here during the air raid.
Saint Samuel Church	A major Church of Evernight site with a tranquil, austere prayer hall. 710	The three major Churches coordinate their investigation into George III's conspiracy here. 528
Ruins No. 1	A secret royal mausoleum on Backlund's outskirts, concealed through extraordinary means. 846	One of the sites connected to George III's Black Emperor advancement ritual.

City Character

Backlund is Loen's largest and most influential urban center: a crowded capital of finance, government, industry, literature, diplomacy, and occult activity. Its wealth is concentrated in districts such as Hillston and Empress Borough, while the East Borough and Dock District expose the city's extreme poverty and exploitation. 168 372

The city is heavily affected by coal smoke and persistent fog. Backlund's pollution is severe enough that a local joke describes a lost visitor asking for the Tussock River and being told to continue straight by a man who had supposedly just swum out of it. 535 Autumn and winter fog regularly obscures the city, although the growing use of bicycles has reduced carriage traffic and horse manure. 811

Transportation and Communications

• Subway — Connects districts across the city and remains largely intact after the war, though stations enforce strict security checks. 1169
• Steam rail — Links Backlund to Tingen in roughly four hours. 180
• Telegraph services — Used for long-distance communication and business; Hillston hosts major communications infrastructure. 168
• Carriages — Remain a common means of travel, particularly for social visits, business, and movement between boroughs. 220 224

Religion and Authority

Loen officially recognizes three major Churches: the Church of the Evernight Goddess, the Church of Steam and Machinery, and the Church of Storms. Each controls at least one complete Beyonder Sequence. 8

Backlund is also the center of tension between the royal family and the Churches. George III's conspiracy sought to free the Augustus family from the Churches' constraints while securing the conditions for his Black Emperor advancement. 514

Society and Inequality

The contrast between Backlund's boroughs is central to its identity.

• Upper-class society revolves around noble residences, political networking, charity events, embassy balls, private clubs, and strategic marriage arrangements. 516 521
• Hillston's commercial elite operate among banks, exchanges, clearinghouses, and trading companies. 168
• East Borough workers face low wages, unsafe housing, illness, unemployment, and the constant risk of being discarded once they cannot work. 372
• Cheap East Borough lodging can cost as little as five pennies a night for crowded basement bunks, where guests must protect their own belongings. 700
• Post-smog reforms improve wages and formally promise workers no more than twelve-hour days, leading many laborers to view Backlund as a place of opportunity despite its recent tragedy. 547

History

Early Visits and Underworld Activity

Sifa first arrives in Backlund after a flawed teleportation item strands him in the city. With no identification papers and dressed as a worker, he relies on a blonde guide to reach Cromwell's residence in Hillston District. 167 168

During his early stays, Backlund serves as the setting for investigations involving the Intis Embassy, the Zimang Party, the Golden Rose, occult gatherings, and the dangers of the East Borough. 173 221 368

Great Smog Incident

The Book of Mysteries warns that the Demoness Sect and Aurora Order intend to unleash a plague-like smog in the East Borough and Dock District, using mass death for separate rituals tied to Lady Despair, the True Creator, and the Primordial Demoness. 514

The catastrophe is also linked to George III's Black Emperor ambitions and the royal family's covert agreement with the Demoness Sect. The three major Churches connect the planned disaster to missing textile workers, kidnapped girls, slave trafficking, and disappearances in the Southern Continent. 529

After the incident, reports record more than 3,100 direct smog deaths and another 6,200 plague deaths. The disaster prompts calls for labor protections, emissions controls, and Poor Law reform. 541

War and George III's Fall

Feysac launches an airship raid on Backlund, striking the North and West Boroughs. Churches respond with large-scale Beyonder powers, while Sifa intercepts shells headed for Backlund Technical University and directs civilians toward shelters. 867

The attack leads to Loen's formal declaration of war against Feysac. Civilians shelter in churches, subway stations, and underground spaces while the city confronts bombardment, displacement, shortages, and grief. 870

George III ultimately fails to ascend to godhood and dies during the conflict surrounding his Black Emperor ritual. 924

Postwar Recovery

Despite wartime damage and continuing political instability, Backlund later regains its prewar bustle. Street vendors, crowded roads, and daily commerce return, restoring the city’s outward splendor. 1131

The recovery remains incomplete beneath the surface: foreign spies continue seeking to exploit public resentment and foment unrest across the East Borough and wider city. 1214