The 25th District is largely working class district, home to factories and forges, owned by (mostly) Fire Elemental bosses. The factories are fuelled by the heat from magma caves below the District, leaking in from the Plane of Fire. The different factory owners have bitter rivalries and complex politics, all of which is seen as irrelevant and ridiculous to the workers. The bosses are prone to sabotage and spying on their competition, always trying to gain an advantage over each other in the smithing business. A palpable heat can be felt throughout the district, radiating up from below the ground. Among the elementals, the residents of the district tend to include many fire genasi and other peoples with affinity and resistance to the heat that permeates the district, mostly working class factory workers and more artisinal blacksmiths and crafters.
The major areas in the district include: Cinder Street, the main parade of factories at the heart of the district; Ashfall, the neighbourhood of tightly packed housing provided to workers; and the Scale Hearth, home to the Viashino.
Cinder Street is the central parade of factory complexes running through the district, over where the magma below runs hottest. The forges on this street are almost entirely run by fire elementals, who came to The City to capitalise on the need for metal and industry with their expertise in working with magma heated forges. The owners of the different factory complexes tend to treat each other with immense suspicion, always paranoid about sabotage and espionage by their rivals, and plotting their own ways to get ahead of the competition.
One such factory is the Ignus Metalworks, owned by an Azer, Lorenz Ignus. The forge works mostly in brass and steel, mass-producing weapons and shields for adventurers. Lorenz himself is an eccentric but ultimately warm figure, filled with pride for his creations and proudly brandishing a fine bronze spear. Physically, he is a tall man made of bronze, pressed into a sharp black suit, his head wreathed in flame. Lorenz is a donor to the Grand Refuge, the temple to Respite in the 30th. In exchange, the factory is able to call on their clerics and paladins for aid when necessary.
Recently, a colony of fire-loving mimics were discovered in the magma cave under his factory. They were more intelligent than most, with the beginnings of a culture that worshipped beings of heat and flame emerging. They first idolised a Magmin, who would appear from the Plane of Fire and take the gifts they left, before being impressed by the Fire elemental spirit that haunted Harmony (one of the adventurers who discovered the cave). Once Lorenz was made aware of the cave, many of the mimics were instead drawn to him as a source of heat and an object of worship, though one baby mimic chose to remain with Harmony.
Another factory is owned and operated by a sole Earth Elemental on the street, Terrence Purevein. His specialty is a fine-tuned sense for high quality ores and materials, allowing them to compete with the superior forging techniques of their Fire Elemental rivals.
Ashfall is a neighbourhood of tightly packed terraced houses that the majority of factory workers, named for the ash-grey colour of the houses, and the thin layer of soot that coats much of the area's streets, being downwind from the forges of Cinder Street. The population of workers in the 25th is as diverse as anywhere else in the city, but tends to have more fire genasi and other fire-resistant groups. The community also attracts immigrants to the city whose cultures value smithing and metalwork, including dwarves from the Elemental Shatters. In the last few decades, many Forged have also found work in the district, some of whom being especially comissioned from the Foundry for specialist roles within the factories, doing jobs that others couldn't.
The attitudes of workers towards the petty conflicts of their bosses ranges from bemusement to irritation, with some sick of the constant bickering and paranoia, while others enjoy the spectacle. At times, the bosses of the factories have attempted to create tensions or divides between their respective workers, to ensure secrets do not get passed from one factory to another, but they could not break the solidarity found among the workers of Ashfall. Singing is an important part of the culture of Ashfall, with workers' songs ringing out over the clang of steel as the factories run, voices uniting to tell stories and pass the time of long shifts in the heat of the forge.
The district is also home to the Viashino, a race of Lizardfolk with a close connection to the plane of fire. They are a unique culture within The City, finding a home in the 25th after identifying a kinship with the Salamanders of the Plane of Fire. They venerate these elementals, and their culture heavily values creation and craftsmanship in the forge. Their small community runs one of the few independent forges in the district, focusing on more custom-made and artisanal crafts. Many Viashino smiths and priests study fire magic, aiming to channel their internal flame into their crafts as Salamanders do, improving the quality of their work and pushing them further towards mastery. Some Viashino are born with a deeper, innate connection to the plane of fire, that allows them to channel its heat into more intense pyromancy. This fire can be difficult to control, but can allow these Viashino smiths to reach greater heights of craftsmanship if mastered.
Physically, Viashino are similar to other lizardfolk, with slightly hardier scales and a bladed tail that can be used to swiftly reprise attackers (many Viashino temper this natural weapon in the heat of the forge, sharpening it and improving its utility as a weapon). Furthermore, their blood runs colder than most others, allowing them to work forges much hotter than they would otherwise be able to. However, this does make them less equipped to deal with colder climates, and as part of resting they tend to need to spend time basking in a strong source of heat (either the district's ambient heat, or simply near a fire).
Notable Viashino characters include: Ren, a sorcerer born with powers over fire and creation.