Valnote

History and Name
Valnote (Val-naught-eh or Val-naught) is a city in the American west coast.

Valnote was established by Italian and Chinese settlers, who noticed that the moon was especially bright in their location during the year, especially at winter nights. Valnote comes from the Italian words Valle D'Notte, or La Valle Di Notte, which both loosely mean "Valley of Night". While the official pronunciation is "Val-naught-eh" some newer residents 'Americanize' the city name to "Val-naught" or "Val-note". Other areas of Valnote have been named after Chinese concepts or places.

Valnote still has some Italian cultural touches in its restaurants in particular, and some of the older buildings like city hall and the churches are modeled deliberately after Italian Renaissance architecture. Some of the modern buildings do take after Italian and Chinese modern and contemporary architecture, but the style for skyscrapers and housing is usually more Chinese in style. In modern times, there have been an influx of East Asian settlers which make up the majority of Valnote's residents.

General Description
The climate is wet and cold, and evergreen trees are prevalent outside of the city. Located near the ocean, it has an extensive waterfront. Mountain ranges and hilly forests make up the landscape around the city. It is usually overcast or dark, and rains quite often. It snows heavily in winter months.

The city is well known for it's extensive night life, including pubs, nightclubs, discothèques, bars, live music, concerts, cabaret, theaters, and restaurants. All of these venues usually have a quirky theme that draws many patrons (ie. A nightclub with a 1920's theme, a bar based on Mexican cuisine and culture).

Valnote is also home to several crime syndicates, including the Morgenstern, the Italian mafia, the Vorovskoy mir, the Baekho, the Blood River, and a small number of Yakuza. Most, if not all of the Valnote City Police Department have been bought up by multiple syndicates.

Those who make up the force have been described as commonly being lazy, cowardly and/or corrupt. Only a handful of the cops are honest, though frequently the gangs bribe the corrupt members of the police into performing their duty (usually as a result of some crime being committed or threatened against a member of their family). Most of the morally just people in the legal system are either Private Investigators or members of the judicial system, who try to send criminals to other states outside of Valnote where laws are more strict.

Valnote is also made up of many immigrants, mostly coming from Asian countries. The majority of the city's residents that aren't immigrants are either of American or Italian descent.

Counties
Valnote is divided into several locations. While not official 'counties' per se, most individuals refer to sections of Valnote with the following names as if they were official.


 * Central Valnote - The largest area of Valnote, which has most of it's businesses, and wealthy population and companies. Starry Skies has an abundance of skyscrapers, malls, aforementioned extensive night life, expensive apartments and condos.


 * Tongshi Heights - A large shopping area filled with arcades and restaurants as well as a university. Many crowded, low-quality apartments also take over the island, hidden behind the neon lights and malls. Some malls extend underground.


 * Half Moon Island - A mostly empty industrial area filled with warehouses, most of which are devoted to all things auto-mechanically related.


 * The Harbor/The Boneyard - A collection of wharfs and warehouses that belong to the crime syndicates. The general populace is driven away by the mob's drug runners and hit men, as most the illegal actives in the city happen here (everything from smuggling to dumping bodies in the ocean). Gained the nickname "The Boneyard" due to the bones that are found from the corpses in the harbor. The current in the harbor sometimes carries the bones to shore in large numbers.


 * Jet Set/Meili Hai - The closest area to The Boneyard, Jet Set is a neighborhood mostly made of apartments and houses where poorer people and criminals live, and it was named "ironically" by it's residents. Many of the buildings are run down, and Jet Set also has a rather large Red Light District.


 * Arbutus Heigts - A couple blocks of older, Victorian houses and antique shops located near Central Valnote and Starry Skies. Well known for its residential area which is home to many arbutus trees.