Teal
Certifiably Political
Diamond Hearth (Haslanti League) - 23rd Day of Resplendent Fire
Soaring thousands of feet in the air, walls of shear ice enclosed the patch of green that was the City State of Diamond Hearth. Meltwater flowed constantly down the glacier’s sides, spilling into in a network of frigid and slow moving streams that criss-crossed the low-laying areas of the valley – before meeting in a single still lake on the valley’s south edge. Reindeer and elk roamed free, sampling the thick clover-like shrubs that covered the valley floor in an approximation of grass.
Boom.
The idealistic picture of valley-life was marred by the regular – if infrequent – explosions emanating from the walls of the city-state. Miners – mostly slaves – toiled in the caves and tunnels that pocked the valley walls, searching for diamonds and other minerals – from the exotic to the mundane. Rarely, a much longer series of crashes – the sounds of a cave-in – rang through the camp, spelling a horrible end to the lives of some unfortunates, more often than not. It was rare for the valley-folk to even pause to note such things, though.
Clusters of dwellings – a chaotic array of hide, salvaged wood and the odd stone building – were scattered about the mid-levels of the valley. Free-born Hearthings made their dwellings here – close enough to the streams and rivers for water, far enough to escape whatever seasonal flooding the Hearth experienced, and capable of moving when necessary – as it often was.
Walled compounds crested the hilltops – each centered on a stately manor-house, most set a considerable distance from the shanties below. Around these sprawled a menagerie of smaller dwellings – most of stone and surrounded by more modest fortifications. The wealthy, their favored servants and their slaves dwelt in these fortresses – the largest of which was near a town in its own right. Armed men patrolled these areas regularly – the hired guards of the rich.
It was the final days of Resplendent Fire – the warmest time of the year. While the air always carried hints of both chill and dampness, the sun was hot enough to make water-levels recede - taking the swarms of spring biting insets with them. While the nights remained quite cold, during daylight hours shorts were commonplace.
Soaring thousands of feet in the air, walls of shear ice enclosed the patch of green that was the City State of Diamond Hearth. Meltwater flowed constantly down the glacier’s sides, spilling into in a network of frigid and slow moving streams that criss-crossed the low-laying areas of the valley – before meeting in a single still lake on the valley’s south edge. Reindeer and elk roamed free, sampling the thick clover-like shrubs that covered the valley floor in an approximation of grass.
Boom.
The idealistic picture of valley-life was marred by the regular – if infrequent – explosions emanating from the walls of the city-state. Miners – mostly slaves – toiled in the caves and tunnels that pocked the valley walls, searching for diamonds and other minerals – from the exotic to the mundane. Rarely, a much longer series of crashes – the sounds of a cave-in – rang through the camp, spelling a horrible end to the lives of some unfortunates, more often than not. It was rare for the valley-folk to even pause to note such things, though.
Clusters of dwellings – a chaotic array of hide, salvaged wood and the odd stone building – were scattered about the mid-levels of the valley. Free-born Hearthings made their dwellings here – close enough to the streams and rivers for water, far enough to escape whatever seasonal flooding the Hearth experienced, and capable of moving when necessary – as it often was.
Walled compounds crested the hilltops – each centered on a stately manor-house, most set a considerable distance from the shanties below. Around these sprawled a menagerie of smaller dwellings – most of stone and surrounded by more modest fortifications. The wealthy, their favored servants and their slaves dwelt in these fortresses – the largest of which was near a town in its own right. Armed men patrolled these areas regularly – the hired guards of the rich.
It was the final days of Resplendent Fire – the warmest time of the year. While the air always carried hints of both chill and dampness, the sun was hot enough to make water-levels recede - taking the swarms of spring biting insets with them. While the nights remained quite cold, during daylight hours shorts were commonplace.
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