Post by mabon5127 on Nov 13, 2012 18:37:38 GMT -6
I had to write up a small town on the Kitasion Archipelago for the next adventure so I thought I would share. This is the unnamed dot in the center of the Archipelago!
Yath
This small town of 200+ hardy souls braves the fierce creatures that inhabit the Kitasion Archipelago. The amount of wildlife, particularly the bounty of fish and seals serve to provide very well for the natives. The folks living here are a mixture of native Esquimaux, diasporic Tlingit and some Viking renegades.
Religion on the island is entirely personal as there are no temples or organized areas of worship. The hearth of each family may have representations of several gods and for various reasons. The people of Yath are generally phobic of outsiders but will warm up to new folks if they bring some value to the community. They won’t have much time for beggars and freeloaders.
Because of the dangerous nature of the entire archipelago the peoples of Yath are trained from birth to handle the hunting spear. They are experts at survival and know the ways of the legendary beasts that coexist with them. What they fear they avoid. What they cannot avoid they kill. This is life in this harsh realm.
In addition to harvesting the sea life for food and furs the natives also dive for pearls in the frigid water of the Hyperborean Sea. The divers prepare a nearby cave as a sweat house to raise the temperature of the diver as they exit the dark waters. Covering themselves in seal fat also mitigates the shock of entering the cold sea. Diving from the cliffs above allows them to reach the oyster bed quickly, gathering the precious cargo into their nets and kicking to the surface before the numbness overcomes them. The pearls are taken and made into beautiful necklaces and other jewelry. These native works of art are then traded along with seal pelts to the northern towns for other goods.
They do not trade with outsiders directly as trading vessels would not survive drawing near to the small Island.
The town of Yath or more particularly the island upon which it rests is centered on a place of power. One of the consequences of the anomaly is the attraction to the island of a great number of enormous sea creatures. Colossal Squid and Sea Serpents can be sighted from land and inevitably sink any ship of medium size or larger approaching the small island. Most traders dock at the larger towns in the northern part of the archipelago and use small native fishermen to transport goods to the south as the smaller boats are ignored by the giant creatures of the deep.
The exact nature of the “Power” that congregates within and around the island is unknown and hardly studied due to the uninhabitable location. If anyone is studying the emanations to harness and use them they are doing so in secret.
Yath
This small town of 200+ hardy souls braves the fierce creatures that inhabit the Kitasion Archipelago. The amount of wildlife, particularly the bounty of fish and seals serve to provide very well for the natives. The folks living here are a mixture of native Esquimaux, diasporic Tlingit and some Viking renegades.
Religion on the island is entirely personal as there are no temples or organized areas of worship. The hearth of each family may have representations of several gods and for various reasons. The people of Yath are generally phobic of outsiders but will warm up to new folks if they bring some value to the community. They won’t have much time for beggars and freeloaders.
Because of the dangerous nature of the entire archipelago the peoples of Yath are trained from birth to handle the hunting spear. They are experts at survival and know the ways of the legendary beasts that coexist with them. What they fear they avoid. What they cannot avoid they kill. This is life in this harsh realm.
In addition to harvesting the sea life for food and furs the natives also dive for pearls in the frigid water of the Hyperborean Sea. The divers prepare a nearby cave as a sweat house to raise the temperature of the diver as they exit the dark waters. Covering themselves in seal fat also mitigates the shock of entering the cold sea. Diving from the cliffs above allows them to reach the oyster bed quickly, gathering the precious cargo into their nets and kicking to the surface before the numbness overcomes them. The pearls are taken and made into beautiful necklaces and other jewelry. These native works of art are then traded along with seal pelts to the northern towns for other goods.
They do not trade with outsiders directly as trading vessels would not survive drawing near to the small Island.
The town of Yath or more particularly the island upon which it rests is centered on a place of power. One of the consequences of the anomaly is the attraction to the island of a great number of enormous sea creatures. Colossal Squid and Sea Serpents can be sighted from land and inevitably sink any ship of medium size or larger approaching the small island. Most traders dock at the larger towns in the northern part of the archipelago and use small native fishermen to transport goods to the south as the smaller boats are ignored by the giant creatures of the deep.
The exact nature of the “Power” that congregates within and around the island is unknown and hardly studied due to the uninhabitable location. If anyone is studying the emanations to harness and use them they are doing so in secret.
