Difference between revisions of "Claviscero"

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Revision as of 11:00, 6 May 2015

History

Geography

Claviscero is one of only three crossings of the Dyafice. Built upon atop a rocky isthmus that reaches out to the rugged mountains on the north side, the town is perched high above the rift with commanding views east to the distant mountains where the Dyafice begins. Looking west, one can see for hundreds of kilometres as the rivers of the rift eventually flow out to sea at Valentia. Imposingingly casting a dark purple shadow over the rift are the spurs of the great mountains that line the northern side of the rift. From these mountains pour the wealth of iron, tin, copper and gold for those that dare seek paths through the broken and steep terrain. And it is in Claviscero that the miners come to trade their ore. They descend down from the hilly tracks to the northern side of the rift where two bridges span the one hundred metre gap to the island of rock known as the Isle of Vadis.

Rising a kilometre from the rift is a giant rock spur only eight hundred metres in diameter with two bridges linking the island to the north. Crowning its top is the imposing Fort Vadis with its enormous twin spires the size of a chariot's stadium linked by battlements and stone walls. Around the top of each spire's battlements rise timber platforms where stationary crossbow like catapults search the skies above. To its west the fort continues down an incline with two smaller spires with equally as complex aerial defences looking west down the rift and over the western bridge. The remaining landmass of the Isle of Vadis is covered in the three and four storey stone homes, workshops and storefronts of Claviscero's metal workers. The air is thick with the smell of metal filings, smoke and charcoal.

Standing on the southern side of the spire is a well used road to the great arch of Claviscero. This feat of centuries of masonry labour spans the four hundred metre gap to southern Claviscero. Either side of the great arch is a thousand metre fall to the rift below and looking south one can see the main town of Claviscero built along a small finger like Isthmus of rock which is connected to the southern side of the rift. The arch is completely open with only a one metre high guard rail of stone along its sides. The arch is impressive for its generous two wagons of width.

At the southern end of the arch is a gate keep which watches the movement of teamsters and travellers across it. Beyond this gate keep is a broad market place largely used for wagons to load and prepare their caravans for long journeys overland. But more interesting are the timber platforms that extend this marketplace out beyond the cliff face. Either side of the arch and diagonally protruding from the cliff are cantilevered runways which jut out into the chilling winds of the Dyafice. Either side of the gatekeep are three of these platforms making a total of six and the platforms have no guard rails whatsoever. Where the platforms meet the rock face stand contraptions that explain the platforms purpose. Aligned in neat diagonal rows along the edge of the cliff are the fixed wing hang gliders of the Cloud Legs which are launched from these platforms when the winds are right and the rising air of the rift carries the pilots ever upward.

Now on the Isthmus, a paved road heads due south and as it rises steeply upward the main thoroughfare of Claviscero comes into view. Either side of the road is packed with five and six story stone buildings full with merchants and shopkeepers, lenders and bars, dance halls and theatres. Small side streets run off in every direction as streets of paved rock are carved from the rock itself. The terrain provides the best of foundations and houses are packed together tightly. At the top of the bustling street is the town square and at its centre is a large foundation fed by an aqueduct sourced from even further south. The aqueduct is an imposing structure which makes a right angle corner at the square and heads toward another twin spired keep crowned with more menacing aerial defences.

Standing at the fountain the view east is startling. It looks straight down the Dyafice, clouds rise up from the rift floor only to be swallowed by the ringing mountains that chain along the northern ledge of the rift.

Looking south along the aqueduct, the road runs along beneath it. The town continues on with Chomb's Quarter, Inner City and South End wards packed tightly together where the drapers, carders, ploughmen, and craftsmen of Claviscero live and work. These wards form somewhat of a valley with the aqueduct rising high above. Where the duct meets again with the rocky slope can be see the flowing waters of the River Chomb. The river is partly blocked by the duct with the rest spilling down over a falls to form a small lake on the southern outskirts of Claviscero. From there the river turns east and spills over the cliff to the lower Dyafice. Looking around, sheep feed along the hills either side and rich farm land continues south a far as one care's to look.

Population

Notable Characters

Patricans

  • Rhomae

Middlemen / Artisans

  • Vodin - Chief of the Reynage

Peasants / Farmers / Poor

  • Copans

Nearby Locations

  • Lower Chomb
  • The Old Rise
  • Ruins of Efatay
  • Vil-Tyfe and Lake Vil-Tyfe
  • Vitruvums