Broken Traverse: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 00:55, 7 December 2024

The Broken Traverse is a massive, ancient elven bridge that crosses the Itkahi Bay in the Laqto Rainforest. Though today large sections have fallen into the water, several towns have established themselves on top of the bridge's remaining span.

Geography

The Broken Traverse once spanned 60 miles across the Itkahi Bay, but for centuries if not millennia major segments of the bridge have been missing after they collapsed into the sea long ago. Still, significant sections remain, largely clustered around its massive piers and piles that are still firmly anchored in the seabed below. So long has the Traverse been abandoned that entire ecosystems have formed on it, isolated pockets of trees and other rainforest plants and animals that have managed to find new homes miles from the mainland of the Laqto.

The nation is generally considered to only encompass the bridge itself and where it meets the land on both its north and south ends. This includes the town of Terminus but not any of the surrounding rainforest.

Located near the equator, the Broken Traverse is hot year-round with relatively little seasonal variation in temperature. Seasons are instead defined by the amount of rainfall.

Demographics

Peoples of many ancestries call the Broken Traverse home. Elves and half-elves account for most of the population, joined by significant numbers of humans, grippli, and leshies as well.

Culture

Religion

Most inhabitants of the Broken Traverse worship the deities of the Aserdian pantheon, but worship of the Elven pantheon remains strong as well. Of these deities, Nashira/Celens is particularly popular, as many are naturally drawn to the goddess of curiosity and learning by their proximity to, and inheritance of, the ancient past. Veneration of the goddess centers around offerings given at star-shrines built at the highest remaining points of the Traverse. Other oft-worshiped deities include Tarazet, Errai, Saiph/Satres, and Rasalas, with many Bridgedwellers taking a stance on the god similar to that of the Okotoni.

Society

Bridgedweller culture is in many ways very similar to that of Okoton. Cultural ties between the two nations have long been extremely close due to their proximity and the long history of migration up and down the length of the Okoton Estuary. Their cuisine, fashion, and traditions are broadly shared, though of course with variations and regional subtleties.

Economically the people of the Traverse support themselves through fishing, trade, and by salvaging the ancient elven ruins that lie on the seafloor below. After its construction by the Kingdom of Eita the Traverse was in use for centuries prior to its abandonment as the elves retreated back to the Cradle, and in that time there was much lost to the waves. Long-lost artifacts, magical items, and resources such as ansharite recovered from the waters of the bay can fetch quite the high price in the markets of Yarma and Pela Huban, carried there by merchant vessels leaving the estuary. As for trade, the two largest bridge towns of Passage and Lelluri are both built at large gaps in the span, with docks at the water level leading up to the town above. While not a destination for merchants themselves, their inhabitants make their livings through resupplying and repairing vessels entering and leaving the bay.

Languages

Aserdian and its dialects are the most spoken languages on the Broken Traverse. Common and Elven are widely known as well.

Architecture and urbanization

The architecture of the Bridgedweller towns is a unique fusion of old and new, with modern structures built on top of the foundations laid by the long-departed Eitan elves. The Traverse itself, though monumental in scale, is largely characteristic of typical Eitan architecture and engineering. Its clean stone and metal construction has been weathered greatly by the centuries, and even sections that are intact display signs of erosion and damage. The ansharite and gold statuary that once watchfully guarded the bridge from atop its highest towers are almost all long gone, carried off to melt town or grace the halls of the wealthy in foreign lands, except for those at Passage, which have been dutifully protected by the town's inhabitants. Each arch of the bridge is just over 400 meters long, connecting the immense piers that anchor into the seafloor. At each end the bridge once deposited travelers onto major roads between Eitan settlements in the Laqto, but these roads, and the settlements themselves, deteriorated even before the Traverse.

Using wood, thatch, stone, and metal harvested from the rainforest or repurposed from decayed sections of the bridge, the Bridgedwellers have built small towns on the Traverse itself, largely around the piers where the bridge remains strongest. Though they take clear inspiration from the architecture of Okoton, limited space has forced the towns to build upwards rather than outwards, and as such most structures are multiple stories tall. Access to these higher levels is largely by systems of ladders, just as is used to climb to the water hundreds of feet below. Lower levels are generally seen as more prestigious places to live.

Some Bridgedweller communities have constructed drawbridges between decayed sections of the bridge, raised at night to hinder the travel of dangerous creatures of the Laqto into their towns.

Government

Each settlement on the Broken Traverse is independent from each other, though they typically coordinate and share knowledge and resources on any matter that affects them all. Aside from a brief period in the middle of the ninth millennium when they were conquered and united under the autocratic rule of Scholar-Prince Matl Axuni, the Bridgedwellers have organized themselves into direct democracies, collectively deciding on the actions their communities will take.

The towns of the Broken Traverse have a close, if informal, alliance with the inhabitants of the Okoton to the south. In many aspects of their culture and governance they remain quite similar.

@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 === Religion ===
-Most inhabitants of the Broken Traverse worship the deities of the [[Aserdian pantheon]], but worship of the [[Elven pantheon]] remains strong as well. Of these deities, [[Nashira]]/[[Celens]] is particularly
+Most inhabitants of the Broken Traverse worship the deities of the [[Aserdian pantheon]], but worship of the [[Elven pantheon]] remains strong as well. Of these deities, [[Nashira]]/[[Celens]] is particularly popular, as many are naturally drawn to the goddess of curiosity and learning by their proximity to, and inheritance of, the ancient past. Veneration of the goddess centers around offerings given at star-shrines built at the highest remaining points of the Traverse. Other oft-worshiped deities include [[Tarazet]], [[Errai]], [[Saiph]]/[[Satres]], and [[Rasalas]], with many Bridgedwellers taking a stance on the god similar to that of the [[Okoton|Okotoni]].
- and in particular [[Rasalas]]. In Okoton Rasalas is seen as less conservative and more future-looking than is typical for the god elsewhere. Richly decorated temples to the deity are found in close proximity to the docks in each major city in Okoton, and in many smaller settlements as well, where they serve as both centers of religious worship and as gathering places for the crews of the many barges and ships that regularly ply the estuary and beyond. In addition to his aspects as a god of trade and cities, the Okotoni also consider Rasalas to be responsible for waterways and those who live near or travel upon them, a domain otherwise more typically associated with [[Tucana]].
-Other faiths are common in Okoton as well. The worship of various spirits, [[ancestor worship|ancestral]] and [[animism|natural]] alike, is widespread, and most settlements have a particular collection of water spirits associated with their local stretch of the estuary to whom they regularly give offerings. Other pantheons, like that of the [[Elven pantheon|elves]], are also venerated in Okoton.
 === Society ===
-Okoton is a highly dynamic and ever-changing nation. A popular saying in Okoton is that one wakes in a different city each morning, as the bridges between the stilt-neighborhoods may change configuration by the time one passes by them again in the evening. New residents regularly arrive from farther within the rainforest, and so too do others depart. With its location at the confluence of the Arteries of the Rainforest, everything from the Laqto eventually passes through Okoton, whether that be goods like fruits, spices, medicines, nuts, and resins, or people and the practices they bring with them.
+Bridgedweller culture is in many ways very similar to that of Okoton. Cultural ties between the two nations have long been extremely close due to their proximity and the long history of migration up and down the length of the [[Okoton Estuary]]. Their cuisine, fashion, and traditions are broadly shared, though of course with variations and regional subtleties.
-The people of Okoton eschew titles and even the informal granting of prestige, at least during one's life. Even those in leadership roles are known only by their titles on occasions when it is absolutely necessary. This all changes upon one's death, however, at which point all who new them join in singing their praises, literally, to all who attend their funerary celebrations.
-Economically Okoton is centered heavily around trade, both with the other peoples of the rainforest and with those in distant realms, such as [[Brightmarch]] and far-away [[Kea Racha]]. Its people prosper greatly from this, especially due to the cultural obligations of wealth sharing. Anyone who comes into wealth, whether in the form of resources or money, is traditionally expected to share a portion of it with their community, meaning their neighbors and the inhabitants of their village or city as a whole. The percentage scales, but is generally anywhere from half to almost ninety percent, depending on the windfall, given out in the form of feasts, donations to those less fortune, and the commission and distribution of artistic works.
+Economically the people of the Traverse support themselves through fishing, trade, and by salvaging the ancient elven ruins that lie on the seafloor below. After its construction by the Kingdom of [[Eita]] the Traverse was in use for centuries prior to its abandonment as the elves retreated back to the [[Cradle]], and in that time there was much lost to the waves. Long-lost artifacts, magical items, and resources such as [[ansharite]] recovered from the waters of the bay can fetch quite the high price in the markets of [[Yarma]] and [[Pela Huban]], carried there by merchant vessels leaving the estuary. As for trade, the two largest bridge towns of [[Passage]] and [[Lelluri]] are both built at large gaps in the span, with docks at the water level leading up to the town above. While not a destination for merchants themselves, their inhabitants make their livings through resupplying and repairing vessels entering and leaving the bay.
-Multiple orders of ascetic monks have been established in or near Okoton, though they usually reside in outposts hidden in the rainforest away from the cities and the estuary.
 === Languages ===
-[[Aserdian]] and its dialects are the most spoken languages in Okoton. [[Common]] and [[Elven]] are widely known as well, and it is not unusual to hear other tongues in the cities of the estuary.
+[[Aserdian]] and its dialects are the most spoken languages on the Broken Traverse. [[Common]] and [[Elven]] are widely known as well.
 === Architecture and urbanization ===
-Effectively all settlements in Okoton are located on, or else very nearby to, the water. From the smallest village to the largest city, most are collections of wood and thatch buildings constructed on top of pillars driven into the soft soil of the riverbank or shores, connected by both open channels in the water and by bridges and walkways. Some communities, mostly villages farther north in the estuary, have an almost organic feeling as most of their homes are instead grown by shaping living mangrove trees, a technique similar to that used by the [[aquatic elf|aquatic elves]] of the [[Cradle]]. Okotoni settlements rarely build vertically, with most buildings two stories tall at most, and therefore cities in the region have a tendency to sprawl out along, and at times across, the estuary.
+The architecture of the Bridgedweller towns is a unique fusion of old and new, with modern structures built on top of the foundations laid by the long-departed Eitan elves. The Traverse itself, though monumental in scale, is largely characteristic of typical Eitan architecture and engineering. Its clean stone and metal construction has been weathered greatly by the centuries, and even sections that are intact display signs of erosion and damage. The ansharite and gold statuary that once watchfully guarded the bridge from atop its highest towers are almost all long gone, carried off to melt town or grace the halls of the wealthy in foreign lands, except for those at Passage, which have been dutifully protected by the town's inhabitants. Each arch of the bridge is just over 400 meters long, connecting the immense piers that anchor into the seafloor. At each end the bridge once deposited travelers onto major roads between Eitan settlements in the Laqto, but these roads, and the settlements themselves, deteriorated even before the Traverse.
+Using wood, thatch, stone, and metal harvested from the rainforest or repurposed from decayed sections of the bridge, the Bridgedwellers have built small towns on the Traverse itself, largely around the piers where the bridge remains strongest. Though they take clear inspiration from the architecture of Okoton, limited space has forced the towns to build upwards rather than outwards, and as such most structures are multiple stories tall. Access to these higher levels is largely by systems of ladders, just as is used to climb to the water hundreds of feet below. Lower levels are generally seen as more prestigious places to live.
-=== Food and cuisine ===
+Some Bridgedweller communities have constructed drawbridges between decayed sections of the bridge, raised at night to hinder the travel of dangerous creatures of the Laqto into their towns.
-The Okotoni diet is based largely around seafood. Fish serves an important role, of course, but so do to water snakes, crocodiles, crab, and shrimp. Rice paddies line the banks of the estuary near the cities, along with orchards from which various fruits and nuts are harvested. Foodstuffs are not commonly traded with people across the sea, owing to the time of travel, but much culinary influence has moved in both directions between Okoton and Kea Racha.
 == Government ==

Broken Traverse
Settlements	Lelluri Passage Terminus
Geography	Itkahi Bay Laqto Rainforest Mhasmuth Ocean