This is a list of known traction cities/settlements which are mentioned in the Mortal Engines quartet, The Traction Codex, or The Illustrated World of Mortal Engines but do not appear prominently enough in the plot to merit their own article.
Cities A-D[]
Bad Luftgarten[]
A flying spa town.[1] This is where Klienhammer resides.[2]
Bamako[]
A notorious African city, infamous for its piratical tenancies and attacking the last northern forts of the Zagwan empire. The city was immobilised when Zagwan airship captain Madzimoyo Khora attacked the city against orders, using the gunship Mokele-Mbembe to cripple the predator's tracks and engine district.
Benghazi[]
A nine-tiered city that roamed the deserts in the northern half of Africa. The city was one of many which migrated to celebrate the Thin Moon Festival. During the Green Storm attack on Brighton, Benghazi and Kom Ombo were attacked by tumblers. It is unknown if Benghazi survived this bombardment.
Bordeaux-Mobile[]
A French city which specialised in wine making: the upper tiers were covered in vineyards, and in the lower tiers lay great treading, fermenting and bottling bays. Notable also in that while it made tempting prey, few cites tried to eat it - either they were fearful of incurring the wrath of the hunting ground's many wine connoisseurs, or the strong fug of alcohol fumes that follows Bordeaux-Mobile left the pursuers hopelessly intoxicated before they could close the distance.
Breidhavik[]
An Ice City mentioned in Predator's Gold where Arkangel is looking for it.
Bremen[]
One of the first Traction Cities, and a fierce competitor with London, Paris and Hamsterdam in the resource wars that accompanied the Second Traction Boom. Toward the end of the Traction Era, Bremen went back to war; this time as one of the fighting cities of of the Traktionstadtsgesellschaft.
Cairo[]
A city which hunted in the northern half of Africa. In keeping with its origins its design externally resembled a large Egyptian pyramid, with a noseless Sphinx as a figurehead the bow. It had an extensive pipe network that was used when roaming the rainy regions to the far south of the African hunting ground. Fishcake reassembled the Stalker Fang while hiding in the pipes, scavenging parts from the souks of the lower level.
Chidanagaram[]
One of the cities that roamed the southern end of India. Mentioned in Predator's Gold.
Cittamotore[]
Described as the fastest Traction City ever built; the engine district took up 90% of the city's bulk with houses jammed in between pistons and drive shafts. Did not participate in Municipal Darwinism as it possessed no jaws and constantly drove too fast to maneuver after potential prey. It was eaten by London around the late 900s TE, after running out of fuel.
Darmstadt[]
A German-speaking city seen in A Darkling Plain. It is a member of the Traktionstadtsgesellschaft. During the last battle of the Green Storm war, Darmstadt was bogged down in the Rustwater Marshes while moving into battle against the Green Storm. Likely destroyed by ODIN.
Darwin[]
Darwin is an Australian traction city mentioned in IWOME. It prides itself on its adaptability taking its lead from Darwinist principles, regularly reconfiguring itself for all circumstances. For example, it may be amphibious one month and have a flying top tier the next.
Dortmund[]
A German-speaking quasi-conurbation formed from a group of towns which came together around 1005 TE; by 1012 they were all linked together by bridges and walkways but had yet to form a single larger hull and chassis akin to that of Panzerstadt-Bayreuth. Noted as the only conurbation in the Traktionstadtsgesellschaft, it advanced into the Rustwater Marshes alongside Darmstadt at the end of the war. It Was Destroyed by ODIN.
Dun Laoghaire[]
A raft city, Dun Laoghaire was the original hometown of Orla Twombley, who escaped it after her her parents wanted her to take on the family business and get married. It is likely of Irish origin, being named after a real suburb of Dublin.
Cities E-J[]
Edinburgh[]
A Traction city from Caledon. The original city was destroyed prior to the Traction Era but by 400 TE it had been rebuilt, a few miles south of the original site, under the name 'Dinburgh. When London mobilized in circa 420 TE, Dinburgh was quick to follow.
It became known as a major "arty" city. It was still mobile, having reverted to its original name, as of Cynthia Twite's parents' migration to Shan Guo.
Eisenstadt[]
A city whose ruler held the particular title of Elector Urbanus. The context of the sole reference to it suggests that it traverses the northern ice, in contrast to the real city of Eisenstadt which is located in Austria, whatever reason the town might have had for travelling so far north after mobilizing is left unwritten.
Fastitocalon[]
A submarine predator city which preyed on raft towns visiting Palau Pinang. It was either damaged or destroyed by Anna Fang in Night Flights.
Gorky[]
A city mentioned briefly at the end of Predator's Gold.
Gutak[]
One of the cities that roamed the southern end of India. Mentioned in Predator's Gold.
Helsinki[]
An Ice city mentioned in A Darkling Plain, notable as the place where Nimrod Pennyroyal meets Clytie Potts, under the name "Cruwys Morchard".
Itzal[]
A slave market City mentioned in Predator's Gold.
Jaegerstadt Ulm[]
A German City mentioned in Predator's Gold. Widgery Blinkoe's widows, following his death, brought a villa on the upper tiers of Jaegerstadt Ulm.
Jagdstadt Magdeburg[]
The target City of Theo Ngoni's failed Tumbler attack in Infernal Devices.
Juggernautpur[]
Regarded as a dominant city in the Tractionist portion of the Indian subcontinent. Its secondary name is the "City of Shrines" as its outer flanks and decks were coated with shrines, idols and temples.
Cities K-O[]
Khamtchatka[]
General Naga fought against Khamtchatka during his time as a soldier.
Kodz[]
A northern Ice City mentioned in Predator's Gold, ruled by a Margrave.
Kipperhawk[]
Mentioned in the Traction Codex and Illustrated World as a town that attempted to follow Airhaven in becoming permanently airborne. It can be concluded that Kipperhawk was destroyed at some point before 1000 TE but the exact circumstances by which it met its end are unknown.
Kivitoo[]
Mentioned in Predator's Gold, a whaling town that roams about the Northern Ice Wastes on sleds. Was being hunted by Arkangel.
Kronstadt[]
Northern Predator which damaged its jaws trying to eat Vyborg in 920 TE.
Marseilles[]
A Frankish-speaking raft city, Marseilles was one of the older aquatic Traction towns, having mobilised in the Second Boom and fought against the Zagwan deluge. It is notable in its own eyes and annoyingly to other cities for ramming and destroying the pontoon bridge the Zagwans had built over the Pillars of Hercules.
Marseilles was destroyed in 986 TE. The city had planned to invade the Hundred Islands in the Pacific Ocean to exploit the islands' resources and labour but it was sunk by Anti-Tractionist agent Anna Fang.
Melbourne[]
An Australian City mentioned in The Traction Codex.
Moloch-Maschinenstadt[]
A German-speaking member of the Traktionstadtsgesellschaft. Communication with it was lost when ODIN was fired, indicating that the city was likely destroyed by it.
Motoropolis[]
Motoropolis was a traction city that was introduced in Mortal Engines.
History[]
Pre-Series[]
A city of comparable age to London, originally mobilizing during the Second Traction Boom. It prospered during the middle Traction Era, rising to sixteen tiers, but was hit proportionately hard by the end of the Golden Age. Due to mismanagement of fuel and an ill-conceived final chase, Motoropolis starved in 1007 TE; the abandoned city was observed being devoured by scavenger towns by the crew of the Jenny Haniver during the events of Mortal Engines.
Mortal Engines quartet[]
Mortal Engines[]
Anna Fang shows Tom Natsworthy the ruins of Motoropolis when they talk about Thaddeus Valentine's potential plans.
Field Guides[]
The Illustrated World of Mortal Engines[]
Motoropolis was featured in the book.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Thunder City, Chapter 19: "Bad Luftgarten"
- ↑ Thunder City, Chapter 16: "The Scavenger Town"
- ↑ IWOME pp ???
- ↑ Amir Zand's Artstation
Omsk[]
A Russian-speaking city originating from southwestern Siberia. The city was one of many to be destroyed by the Green Storm during the Green Storm War, and General Naga lost the use of his legs from injuries he suffered in the Air-Siege of Omsk.
Cities P[]
Panjandrum[]
This city's claim to fame was its unusual locomotive system, with the entire residential area suspended in a giant monowheel, fitted with rocket engines to achieve short bursts of extreme speed. Although built in the European Hunting Ground, Panjandrum introduced the concept of the Traction City to the Indian subcontinent after accidentally rocketing over a mountain range.
Jeremy Levett has confirmed that the name and design of this town were inspired by a historical experimental weapon.
Panzerstadt-Breslau[]
A German-speaking city featured in A Darkling Plain. It is part of the Traktionstadtsgesellschaft. Its ultimate fate is unknown, but the city was presumably destroyed by ODIN.
Panzerstadt-Koblenz[]
A German-speaking Traction City and member of the Traktionstadtsgesellschaft. During the final battle of the Green Storm War, it was presumably destroyed by ODIN.
Panzerstadt-Linz[]
Another of the Traktionstadtsgesellschaft members hit by ODIN. The Tractionists blamed its destruction among others on the Green Storm, as they didn't know that the Stalker Fang was controlling ODIN for her own ends.
Panzerstadt-Winterthur[]
A city of Swiss origin, ruled by mayor Von Newmann during the Green Storm War. In its sole appearance in A Darkling Plain it is described as an "armoured hulk" performing sentry duty for a Traktionstadtsgesellschaft army. Green Storm forces destroyed the city during the final battle of the war.
Perfume Harbour[]
A raft city of East Asian origin; it may be based on Hong Kong, whose name translates to "fragrant harbour". It was the site of the Green Storm's attack on the Cygnet Committee during the time Orla Twombley was working aboard the airship. The top of the city is described as a "faeryland" to incoming travellers with hundreds of beautifully maintained pagodas breaking through a cloud layer. The reality is less savoury: the cloud layer is in fact the city's engine exhaust and it smothers the cramped housing district below reducing streets to dank alleyways. It hosted a competitive airship race known as the Austral Air-rally.
Perfume Harbour would have appeared in the cancelled graphic novel The Haunted Sky, where Anna Fang and other aviators from around the world gather there for an air race.
Perth[]
An Australian City mentioned in The Traction Codex.
Prague[]
A city mentioned at the end of Predator's Gold along cities like Gorky, Paris and Manchester.
Puerto Angeles[]
A raft city in the Pacific ocean, known for its incredible party atmosphere - so much so that the conga has to be banned by law on the top tier for the sake of the temples. Puerto Angeles places a heavy emphasis on history and possesses extensive historical archives to rival even London's, notable artifacts being the Soapstone of Rio and the complete works of Shakespeare.
Katherine Valentine lived withher mother in Puerto Angeles for the first part of her life; when her mother died, Katherine subsequently moved to London to live with her father.
Puerto Angeles declared neutrality when the Green Storm War began, but it took severe damage during the Battle of the Bay of Bengal; this was a result of Green Storm aviators mistaking it for Perfume Harbour. Puerto Angeles was finally destroyed by Green Storm hydrofoils a few months after this battle, sinking in the Sulu Sea.
Cities Q-S[]
Ragnaroll[]
A northern Ice City. No detail is revealed in its single mention in Predator's Gold but it is apparently a significant enough predator to be mentioned in the same breath as Arkangel.
Reykjavík[]
A raft city mentioned in Predator's Gold. It is speculated that its library once held a map of the American coastal region known as Vineland, which was stolen by the Lost Boys before ending up in Anchorage. The raft city is also known as the birthplace of the air pirate Red Loki who burned a considerable part of it with his airship, the Anger Management Issues. in 998 TE it beached itself for repairs and was eaten by Wolverinehampton.
Rostock[]
An early traction city which later merged with the remnants of the Arkhangelsk nomad empire to become part of Arkangel.
San Juan de los Motores/St Jean les Quatre-Mille Chevaux[]
Once a single city renowned for its restaurants that split apart after a civil war broke out from debates over the correct way to serve steak; the two cities maintain a bitter rivalry. San Juan is known for its tapas. St Jean is the pickier of the two, often found chasing prey that has a supply of a specific ingredient its chefs can use, and is ruled by culinary dynasties whose status is denoted by the size of their chef's hats.
Shuddersfield[]
A City with a newspaper called the "Shuddersfield Gazette" mentioned by Nimrod Pennyroyal in Predator's Gold.
Stamboul[]
A raft city that produces expensive rugs, one of which is in the possession of Gargle.
Sydney[]
A traction city that roams the deserts of Australia. It is described as having the Sydney Opera House balanced on the top tier at a 'jaunty angle'. Another interesting feature, apparently shared with other Australian land-traction cities, is a collection of giant corks hanging by chains from the edges of its tiers, allegedly to swat off Anti-Tractionist airships that reside in the Blue Mountains.
It was set to appear in The Haunted Sky, where aviators from across the globe would travel there in order to participate in an airship race.
A part of a Raft City being ensnared by Fastitocalon, appears to have a structure similar to the Sydney Opera House, mounted on its deck.
Cities T-Z[]
Traktionbad Braunschweig[]
A German-speaking city and a member of the Traktionstadtsgesellschaft.
Traktiongrad[]
Another victim of the Green Storm War; General Naga raised the Green Storm banner over the wreck of this Traction City. From the name it can be assumed it is of Russian origin.
Traktiongrad Smolensk[]
A Traction City mentioned in Infernal Devices. It originated from Russia.
Traktionstadt-Weimar[]
A German-speaking city that appears in A Darkling Plain. The Traktionstadtsgesellschaft was created when Burgomaster Krause, the ruler of the city during the beginning of the Green Storm War, contacted a dozen other cities about fighting to preserve the Tractionist lifestyle. It survived until the end of the war but naturally was a prime target for The Stalker Fang and in the final battle it was destroyed by ODIN.
Ulp[]
One of the first Traction Cities, Ulp was originally a small town. Ulp earned great distinction among Tractionists for its contributions in the war against the Zagwans. The city would eventually call the "Great Diet" in TE 520, a month-long conference between the great Cities of the time that would set out the basic principles of the modern Municipal Darwinism system.
Ulp was the first City to be devoured under these new rules, finally being caught and consumed by London after a two-week chase that concluded when Ulp's engines melted.
Wantage[]
A City with a newspaper called the "Wantage Weekly Waffle" mentioned by Nimrod Pennyroyal in Predator's Gold.
Xanne-Sandansky[]
Originated in the Blagoevgrad Province in south-western Bulgaria. During the Green Storm War, the city became another of General Naga's conquests, though he lost an arm in the fighting. Xanne-Sandansky is best known as the eater of Borsanski-Novi, a catch so crammed with spare parts and useful machined goods that its Gut bosses had a spring in their step for months thereafter.
Zanzibar[]
Another predator city which roams the deserts of northern Africa.
Zeestadt Gdansk[]
A raft city which was Caul's first robbery job as a Lost Boy. Interestingly, while its name includes the Germanic descriptor "Zeestadt", it bears the modern Polish name of the port city "Gdańsk" rather than the historical German name "Danzig".
Zimbra[]
A traction City mentioned by Hester in Predator's Gold.
Smaller Traction Towns A-P[]
Crawley[]
One of the former suburbs of London; like many suburbs it ended up abandoning its parent, but didn't become a pirate town after striking out on its own like its sibling Tunbridge Wheels. It was eventually eaten by Motoropolis in 867 TE after coming to a sudden halt - not because it ran out of fuel, but because the entire population was murdered by unknown assailants.
Cutler's Gulp[]
A scavenger town that roamed the desert. In A Darkling Plain, Theo Ngoni is captured by the town and put to work in the Gut before being freed by Shrike and Hester.
Dalkey[]
A shabby raft town which was built in the north but made its way down to the Hundred Islands where it traded with Palau Pinang.
El Houl[]
A Scavenger Platform which appears in A Darkling Plain when it is seen eating the wreckage of Cloud Nine. Hester kills the sheikh of El Houl and buys a sand-ship before fleeing into the desert with Shrike.
Evercreech[]
A harvester suburb mentioned in A Darkling Plain. It helped its parent city Manchester fight the Green Storm along side fellow suburb Werwolf, it is unknown whether or not it survived the final battle of the war.
Holt[]
A harvester town mentioned in A Darkling Plain.
Kipperhawk[]
Mentioned in The Traction Codex and IWOME as a town that attempted to follow Airhaven in becoming airborne. It is stated that most such towns, Kipperhawk included, were destroyed before 1000 TE.
Pacifica[]
A predator which crawls around on the seabed, searching for smaller submarine towns. It was mentioned in the article A Brief History of Municipal Darwinism on the old Philip Reeve website.
Purley Spokes[]
A suburb of London mentioned in Mortal Engines. Tom noted the similarity in design between Purley Spokes and Tunbridge Wheels. Its name is a reference to the town of Purley in the greater London area, and more specifically a pun on the name of its railway station, Purley Oaks.
Smaller Traction Towns Q-Z[]
Quirke-le-Dieu[]
A harvester town mentioned in A Darkling Plain. It is named after Nicholas Quirke.
Skraelingshaven[]
A northern ice town, sometime destroyed. When discussing the danger posed to Anchorage by extreme weather, Windolene Pye brought up the example of Skraelingshaven which was destroyed when it was flipped over in a storm. It can be presumed that the town's population were descendants of one or more of the indigenous peoples of Canada and/or Greenland, 'Skraeling' being an antiquated Scandinavian term for the ancestors of those same groups.
Stratosphereham[]
A former airborne town mentioned in the Traction Codex and IWoME. Like Kipperhawk it was destroyed before 1000 TE.
Strole[]
A Scavenger Platform that roams the Great Hunting Ground, mentioned in Mortal Engines. When Shrike rescued and adopted Hester, they lived together aboard Strole. When Shrike and Hester were separated, Hester left Strole under unknown circumstances, eventually ending up aboard Salthook. Chrysler Peavey's own Scavenger town had encountered Strole a few times, before Tunbridge Wheels ate the latter.
Swindon[]
A small fat-mining town that mobilised presumably in the third traction boom. Like other fat miners the town scooped up a large fatberg and used it as a source of fuel, illumination oil and particularly lubricant to slide along the ground. It is unknown what happened to Swindon when fatbergs were mined to extinction but it is presumed eaten or gone static.
The rather disgusting notion of a town with a giant lump of congealed fat as its most notable feature, and the assignment of said feature to Swindon of all named Traction towns, is likely a humorous reference to the town's less than stellar reputation in the rest of England.
Twyne[]
A traction town mentioned in In the Bleak Midwinter. The government of Twyne hired Shrike and Hester to hunt a bank robber.
Vyborg[]
A northern town whose middle and upper levels were wrapped in a Pykrete shell. This kept it insulated from harsh winter weather and broke the jaws of predators that caught up to it, but Vyborg was destroyed (its structure fell apart) when it eventually thawed.
Wagenhafn[]
A small industrial town which claims a long history, from a pre-Sixty Minute War manufacturing facility through the era of the nomad empires to becoming a Traction town during the Second Traction Boom. The bugs produced by this town are highly sought after and favoured as a status symbol abroad larger towns and cities.
Werwolf[]
A harvester suburb mentioned in A Darkling Plain. It aided Manchester in its attack on the Green Storm alongside fellow suburb Evercreech and its fate is also ambiguous.
Trivia[]
- The name of Cittamotore is composed of two italian words: 'città' (which means city) and 'motore' (which means engine). Literally, city-motor.