Excelsior (Planescape)
Excelsior is the gate town to Mount Celestia. Town has a population of about 25 000 and the populace is mostly made of humans but few archons and devas also call Excelsior their home.
The Town
When a prime talks about a city where the streets are paved with gold, he's usually flapping his bone-box over nothing. But when a planar talks about a place like that, chances are he's talking about Excelsior. Here, the town and streets are made of a yellow brick mixed with flecks of enchanted silver and steel — the whole place literally glows. It's a rich, ambient light, strong enough to read by in the evening, but not so strong that travelers can't find some sleep at a kip. The buildings feel warm all the time, too, so the only fires needed are for cooking.
The town's not walled off - it don't need to be, berk. Anywhere from three to a dozen floating castles (called picket keeps) circle Excelsior like moons. Each keep's the home of a paladin lord and his retinue, and these cutters protect the town. Every few decades, a keep lands at the edge of town and stays.
The Gate
Somewhere in the highest tower in Excelsior is the Gate to Mount Celestia. The tower's full of nothing but staircases that twist and cross endlessly. Most of them eventually come out at an observation deck, where a body can see both Fortitude and Tradegate. One staircase, though, keeps rising. Travelers who climb it high enough'll suddenly find themselves in midair, twenty feet over the ocean at the base of Mount Celestia. The ocean's got the properties of holy water and the fall doesn't hurt, but passing through the gate sure wakes a berk up.
The Hoi Polloi
The ruler of Excelsior is High Chancellor Miguala abd-al Ragarin, a paladin from Zakhara (found on the world of Toril). She's an elderly human, aided by two viziers: an archon named Blazara Lightmaker and a halfling warrior named Mendel.
The other high-ups in town [really high-ups, a body could say) are the paladin lords of the floating picket keeps. Many eventually land their keeps and join the city, but sometimes a strong paladin and his followers challenge the High Chancellor's right to lead. A challenge like that tends to be short and bloody, and all the paladin usually winds up with is a spot in the deadbook.
Local Sites
One of the most important spots around is actually at the base of Mount Celestia - the town of Heart's Faith. Older maps of the Outlands show that it was once part of the Land before moving into the plane. Heart's Faith is ruled by a greater lammasu named Lebes.
The floating castle of Thotatis of Tyr is also well known. He's the most powerful paladin lord in town, but, overall, a pretty stiff-necked basher. He feels that the High Chancellor hasn't been dealing too well with the matter of the Holy Shadow, and that someone needs to give them a heavier hand.
Travelers in the mood to flap their bone-boxes might enjoy a stop at the Forum, a popular spot with many visitors. The Forum's an open amphitheater where good and lawful bodies gather to debate the nature of good, law, and paladinhood.
