| Province | Kilsyth |
| Population | 1.27 million |
Highgate is both the provincial capital of Kilsyth and the national capital of Aetheria. Constructed in the mid-3rd century NE, it has expanded to become Aetheria's fifth-largest city by population, while remaining one of its smallest major cities by land area. It was built in the Whitmore Mountains to make the city easily defensible in potential future military conflicts.
Following the end of the Third Transantarctic War, the nations of Antius, Kilsyth, and Iniond resumed talks of unification. After successfully driving out Espyan occupation in 239 and while Espya itself was falling into civil war, the three nations negotiated the Treaty of Dawngarde which would unite the three nations under one democratic government, the Republic of Aetheria. For the first few years of its existence, the Aetherian president resided in Ivory City and the Senate rotated between meeting there, Ravenwood, and Avondale.
The new nation needed a new capital, which the terms of the treaty required to be at a central location and could not be any of the three countries' capital cities Ivory City, Avondale, or Ravenwood. The new national government under acting president Roland Sparre pushed to build a new capital city in the Whitmore Mountains, which would satisfy the central-location requirement while also making the new city a difficult target for invasion. A clearing to the south of High Gate Mountain was chosen as the new site. The clearing had been used as a staging ground for Kilsythian troops during the preparation for the surprise counter-offensive at the Battle of Bermond, a key turning point in the war at which Kilsyth entered the conflict and Espya began losing ground.
While the terms of the treaty prevented Sparre from signing any legislation in 242 as he was not officially President, after his party won Aetheria's first election, he took office as the first formally-elected president on 2 January 243. Sparre signed the budget approving the construction of the new city on 7 January, as one of his first official acts. The city would be named Highgate, after the mountain pass leading to it.
The construction of Highgate is considered by historians to be one of the most significant marvels of New Era engineering. In less than seven years, construction crews leveled an entire 4 sq km area of land in the center of the mountains and constructed the network of geothermal plants and steam pipes to heat and power the city from below. The Aetherian Chamber, the seat of the new Aetherian government, was built in less than two years starting in 247.
Highgate is located in a clearing in the northern Whitmore mountains, surrounded by steep peaks on all sides. The massive triangular senate chamber sits in the center of the main city. The President's quarters sits at the eastern edge of the city, while Whitethorn Hall lies north of the city on a small mountain. To the northeast, atop the tallest peak, sits Highgate Temple.
Traffic in and out of the city is mainly via the highway system and by train. The local airport has only one short runway and is used exclusively for small private, government, and military aircraft - no commercial passenger airlines offer service directly to Highgate.
Highgate's zoning and economy are largely based on government workers and contracting companies working with the national government. The space inside the geothermally-heated city center is limited and expansion is essentially impossible, so the space must be used efficiently. There are few if any tourist attractions or recreational businesses at all inside the city limits, the most notable being the ancient Highgate Temple ruin controlled by the Torchlight Society.
The city center is built on a massive (7 sq km) area of flattened rock. Underneath is a network of geothermal stations which provide electricity and heat to the city above.
Rather than being drained to nearby rivers, Highgate's storm drains divert water from melting snow into reservoirs beneath the city. There, it is heated and turned to steam by four massive geothermal heat exchangers. Most of the steam pressure is used to spin turbines and create electricity. As the steam condenses back into near-boiling water, it is pumped through large subterranean pipes beneath the city streets, providing a consistent supply of hot water to residents and warming the city from beneath.
The combination of heat provided by the geothermal system and the city's protection from polar winds by the surrounding mountains allows Highgate to maintain a safe outdoor temperature in the city center throughout most of the year, and to remain habitable even in the harsh polar winters, when the area receives 24 hours of darkness for three months each year.
Highgate's electric grid is self-sufficient and normally disconnected from the surrounding cities, allowing it to remain operational in the event of a cascading grid failure or external cyber attack. A network of buried cables allow the city to import power from the west via Stoneacre and from the east via Dawngarde in emergencies.
Highgate is surrounded on all sides by mountains. Due to the relatively small size of the flattened town center, there is only a small airport capable of handling helicopters and small aircraft.
The heat from the city's geothermal steam pipe system and the protection from polar winds afforded by the Whitmore Mountains make the city surprisingly warm, only reaching typical lows of -10°C even in the brutal Antarctic winter.
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