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Lodriland - Geography |
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land left us is a bitter one, Ages past the land now known as Lodriland was a gentle river valley. A long gone and forgotten river once flowed through the valley passing through the Dara Happan city of Bardul. The valley prospered under the Emperor Yelm's rule and eveyone was happy. But then the ice came. It advanced quickly crushing the land beneath its weight and scouring cities and soil alike from the land. Only Bardul itself was left uncovered by the ice. Before it too could be crushed and ground away the people's prayers were heard and Lodril sent a great river of lava to drive the ice back. Northwards from the city the lava pushed, destroying the river that once flowed through the valley until the power of the ice was too great for it. At that point the lava split into two streams that flowed outwards and backwards. The river flowed south for a distance as far from Bardul as it had flowed north and there the two streams joined up and flowed back to Bardul where the lava dives back under the ground. The circular river of lava that surrounds Lodriland is known as the Ring of Fire while the remarkably straight river of lava that runs north-south is termed Lodril's Spear. It is 100 km long with the city of Bardul located right at the midpoint. The circle with a middle divider is used as Lodril's rune by the denizens of Lodriland. The area surrounded by the Ring of Fire is the only part of Lodriland with natural soil and it towers 3 metres over the rest of Lodriland. Beyond the Ring of Fire Lodriland generally slopes gently upwards. In addition to the Ring of Fire there are also rings of water and ice. Both of these were created by the inhabitants of the land. Lodriland is a profoundly unnatural land. It's all straight lines and curves, the land itself is almost entirely flat. The only things protruding from the land are the towns and villages of the inhabitants, the inhabitants themselves and their crops. It lacks most colours and the only place with anything approaching natural life is the Ring of Water. But even that is a man made canal. Climate The three rings mark the climate variances in Lodiland. Basically Lodriland is a huge hemispherical cavern in the ice with three "rings" of different elements separating the different regions. The first ring is the fiery ring of lava, the second is made of water and the third is actually composed of the enemy element ice. The cavern is 260 kilometres in diameter and at the highest point rises to half a kilometre. (You could neatly fit the province of Prince Edward Island inside if you wanted to and could probably squeeze Rhode Island in to boot!) Basically there is no climate. No wind, no rain, no nothing. No weathering, no erosion, no real temperature changes due to the seasons. The only temperature changes occur when you move from one circle to another. The only source of water is the melting that occurs over the Ring of Ice. Since the land slopes towards the centre all the meltwater runs into the Ring of Water. The Map Map of Lodriland. This is a fairly decent representation of Lodriland. The red circle with the divider in the middle is the Ring of Fire through which the Spear of Lodril passes. This is the only land that has never been covered in ice. As mentioned above it is roughly 3 metres higher in elevation than the rest of Lodriland. The area between the blue ring (the Ring of Water) and the Ring of Fire is where the majority of the Lodrili live. The grey ring is the Ring of Ice and it is right at the edge of the vast ice dome. The land between it and the Ring of Water is where the Rangini live. Directions The Lodrili speak of going inward (towards Badrul) and outward (away from Badrul) to describe moving from ring to ring. The Rangini speak of moving sunwise (clockwise) and against the sun (counterclockwise) in their movements around the dome. (They do not mean the New Sun, which does not move of course). The Lodrili have adopted this convention as well. The Ring of Fire This area is quite warm and arid. There is still soil here but the lack of water makes it completely unproductive. The ice dome rises so far above this area that it does not melt. All water must be brought in at great effort from the Ring of Water. (The Ring of Fire has a strong antipathy towards water and the water remembers the destruction of the Lost River so transporting water is quite difficult). Soil is constantly being moved from this arid zone over to the Ring of Water using a conveyor system using hide ropes and bags. This is a terribly slow process since there are no bridges over the Ring or Spear. All other movement over or along the Ring or Spear is by stone boat. Within the Ring of Fire the temperature is quite warm, usually around 30 degrees celsius. Right up next to the river of lava the heat is hardly bearable. The Ring and Spear are both at the level of the rest of Lodriland, i.e. 3 metres down from the Ring of Fire plateau. Landmarks: 1) Badrul - the city is mostly uninhabited due to the extreme heat. Lodril's fiery Spear rose up straight through the ziggurat temple to Yelm and flowed northward along the bed of the extinct river. Only the priest king and his entourage, guards and servants live there. The population numbers roughly 1,000 people. The abandoned city is in pretty much the same condition it was 1600 years ago. Not even the wood has rotted yet. The huge ziggurat temple to Yelm is the centre of the city and Lodril's Spear rises from its top and flows to the ground down the great steps. The temple has resisted any new damage since it was originally damaged by the lava. The city once held over 100,000 people and sprawls over quite an area. It is unwalled. The city is made of stone and mud bricks. The Guild of Artificers, the Guild of Stone Boatmen and most importantly the Guild of Priests are all located here. 2) Island of the New Sun - this is the only island in Lodril's Spear and is a small, blackened island with a lone tower on it. There are inhabitants on the island but no one knows who they are. High above the tower floats the New Sun, a roiling reddish orb that is said to be Yelm's Shadow. It gives off a reddish light but no heat. The New Sun shines all the time so there is no night in Lodriland. It appeared sometime after the creation of Lodriland but no one seems to remember the circumstances. Most people prefer not to discuss it at all and will make a gesture to ward away evil when forced to discuss it. The Ring of Water Beyond the Ring of Fire is a canal that was dug ages ago out of the bedrock to collect the meltwater from the Ice Dome (Both of the man-made rings were the brainchild of Damuzi). This canal is called The Ring of Water and it is 100 metres wide and 3 metres deep. There are no bridges over this Ring. All traffic is by boat. The boats themselves are large coracles made of reindeer hide and bone. There are a few much larger umiaks as well but they are extremely hard to craft. The ring itself is full of fish which are sought after by the Lodrili boatmen and a flock of resident puffins alike. The land is also marked by piles of building stone leftover from excavating the Ring of Water and the pits used for agriculture. The area between the Rings of Water and Fire is mostly bedrock. Long ago the ice scoured the soil from the land. The only green spots occur where large holes have been hacked into the stone and filled with soil laborously transported from the Ring of Fire. Work crews pump water up from the Ring of Water into smaller canals that are used to water the plots. Organic waste, including human bodies are composted in large stone pits set aside for that purpose. Wards are set to guard against disease at these sites. The temperature here is more mild. The farmers of Lodriland have no draft (or meat animals for that matter) that they would use in farming so all the labour is done by humans. Virtually all of the inhabitants of this area live in one of the four towns or eight villages. Everyone prefers to be within the shelter of the the sturdy walls around them. They are all built on the Ring of Water. Landmarks: The Towns The towns are all identical having been built over 1500 years ago. They are square in plan set up in a grid pattern. At the centre of the town is the temple to Lodril and Oria (and their children). There is also a shrine to Damuzi. There is also an administrative building that houses the military and civilian administrations. All the structures are built from stone excavated from the bedrock, either for the canal or for the agriculture pits. They all have pyramidal roofs and the stones the buildings are made from are fitted together without mortar. (The puffins who live in Lodriland nest on the roofs of these houses and the residents have come to an accomodation with them as they are too useful to exterminate. They also nest in the piles of unworked stone). Each town is surrounded by a 9 metre tall seamless wall. The walls were made with the aid of lava elementals who melted the rock together. The gates of the town are composed of solid rock as well and are only closed in case of attack. Each town was planned to support 10,000 inhabitants. 3) Watchpost - the northern town. The residents are known for their taciturn nature. The main guildhouses of the Guild of Farmers and the Guild of Soldiers is here. 4) Victory - the southern town. The residents are known for their dry sense of humor. The main guildhouse of the Guild of Scribes is located here. 5) Horizon - the western town. The residents are known for their wariness. The main guildhouse of the Guild of Boatmen and Guild of Craftsmen are located here. 6) Oria's Love - the eastern town. The residents are known for their friendliness. The main guildhouses of the Guild of Entertainers and the Guild of Healers are located here. The Villages These villages are smaller versions of the towns and also identical. Their walls are only 4 metres tall, though of the same quality. Each was meant to house 1,000 people. 7) Isten - known for it's weaving. 8) Sina - known for leather working. 9) Salas - known for bone carving. 10) Erbe - known for its stone bowls. 11) Hamis - known for its reed work. 12) Sedis - known for its musical instruments. 13) Sebe - known for its weapons. 14) Samane - known for its clothing. The Ring of Ice Right at the base of the Ice Dome there is a shallower, frozen canal that is known as the Ring of Ice. This was another brainchild of Damuzi. He was watching some Rangini children playing on a patch of ice one day and had an image of a military unit that could use ice to move quickly. Over great objections he arranged to have a shallow canal excavated (it's only 30 centimetres deep but 30 metres wide). Piles of stone still litter the land since the Rangini have no use for it and it was considered too labour intensive to move it inward. The canal has only been filled with water once when some of the water that was filling the Ring of Water was diverted to the Ring of Ice using a specially excavated canal (since long filled in). The Ring has proved its value many times since then and Damuzi's vision was vindicated (yet again). On their special obsidian ice skates the Tunnel Scouts are the fastest people in Lodriland. The area between the Rings of Ice and Water is a dryer, cooler area. Water trickles slowly from the ceiling and the bare rock is covered with a thick layer of lichen and reindeer moss. (The appearance of this moss is considered one of Damuzi's miracles, since he quested for it, by the Rangini but not the Lodrili. Despite how important the reindeer are to the Lodrili). Here's where the only non-Dara Happan inhabitants of Lodriland, the Rangini live. The Rangini were formerly nomadic reindeer herders driven south by the ice and then trapped here in Lodriland. Their herds circle the ring grazing on the reindeer moss that covers the rock and is the main source of meat, leather and (non-human) bone available to the Lodrili. (The puffins are a secondary source of meat and leather). The Rangini live in four clans of roughly 1,000 people each. The clans are known as the North, South, East and West clans though they can be found anywhere. They follow their reindeer herds as they slowly migrate around the Ring. Most of the Lodrili avoid the Ring of Ice area. Landmarks: The Rangini still live in reindeer hide tents and make no permanent structures other than the four inukshuk they have contructed for religious reasons. These tall man-shaped piles of stone are at the cardinal points and are represented on the map by the cardinal letters, i.e. N, S, E, W. These structures are each 12 metres tall and are made from piled stone eacavated to create the Ring of Ice. The Ice Dome An ugly grey dome covering Lodriland. It actively draws away from intense heat sources. Mostly featureless and smooth occassionally the bodies of long dead enemies of the ice will be slowly expelled into the dome. On an ongoing basis the dome also forms huge icicles with the intent of crushing Lodrili. These are usually destroyed by the Priest-King's Guard before they can cause any damage. The cracks that open in the ice dome are the responsibility of the Tunnel Scouts to investigate. As mentioned above the dome is 260 km in diameter and roughly 500 metres tall at the centre.
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