Vermilion City

A working port city, loud and industrial, built along a broad deepwater quay. Concrete wharves run the length of the waterfront, edged with heavy black rubber fenders and iron bollards. Tall gantry cranes stand over the docks in a row, their booms angled up, painted a faded orange streaked with rust. Stacked shipping containers in red, blue and yellow form solid blocks behind the quay. The buildings inland are squat and utilitarian, corrugated warehouses with roller shutters mixed among houses with orange pantile roofs. Rail tracks are set flush into the concrete and curve away between the sheds. A lighthouse of white-painted stone with a black gallery stands at the end of the mole. The harbour water is dark and oily-calm, flecked with floating debris near the walls. Beyond the breakwater the open sea runs to the horizon. Everything is scaled for cargo rather than for walking.