J_Muller
2007-03-18, 07:49 PM
Nestled in the north end of the desert to the east of The Town lies one of the farthest-flung cities of the Grand Republic of Modallia. Rising as a low mound where the desert meets the dry hills is the windswept, dusty town of Salia, a burgeoning city of 100,000 people.
Salia is built inside a bowl of rock that rises from the desert, believed to have been the site of a lake when the desert was less arid. Now, under the clear blue desert sky, the dry crags of rock that form the walls of the bowl enclose a city of the lithe, mountain-dwelling humans of Modallia.
In the semi-arid land surrounding the city, farmers ply the rich but dry soil to grow crops such as wheat and corn. An ingenious irrigation system supplies the outlying farms with water from the spring that provides the city with water.
Cut into the rocky mound at ground level are mineshafts, where miners descend into the rock to haul out the precious ores that lie beneath the mound. The raw ores are taken from the mines to the large stone structures clinging to the rock near the mineshafts, where they are purified and smelted into ingots to be used in the production of all manner of goods. Some of the ingots are then shipped out of the city, while others are sent to factories near the mines to be made into finished goods there.
The main way to enter the city is through the road that has been cut through the south face of the bowl, through what was previously a large mound of dry dirt. The level access this road provides to caravans and the like lead through the main gates, standing open as they always are.
Upon entering through the gates, travelers will find themselves in the city’s economic district. Carved into the rock itself are storerooms and warehouses, and market stalls line the streets, selling goods shipped in from the Grand Republic’s many holdings. Merchant houses rise farther in, doing business on a larger scale. The familiar bustle of a marketplace fills the air during the daytime, as the Modallians do business.
The residential district is next. Here, many buildings appearing less than five stories tall conceal as much room again underground. To the left and right rise huge rocky points, curving slightly into overhangs, which have been wholly transformed into living spaces for thousands of Modallians, the towering rocks intermeshed with structures of wood and metal clinging to them like insects. The rocks are hollowed out into tunnels but still structurally sound, the skill of the Modallians allowing them to use the rocks without significantly compromising their integrity. The majority of Modallians here live in stone or brick houses, as wood must be imported. In Salia only the richer merchants live in wooden houses.
Past the residential district lies the heart of the city—Fort Salia. A large, brown stone construction, it sits at the opposite end of the city from the entrance, presiding over a sheer cliff. A combination military fortification and commercial airship docks, the left and right ends of the structure are unused by the military since the end of the Great Southern war between the Grand Republic and its neighbor Valia. Only the center is still used to dock military airships, and at present the city is host to the Southern Fleet, under Admiral Smith and his flagship the Inevitable. The fort is also home to the local garrison of the Grand Republican Army of Modallia, under the command of Lars Modal.
A constant flow of airships, held aloft by the advanced Modallian lifting gas technology, steam in and out of the port, carrying passengers and cargo between this and other cities and outposts of the Grand Republic. Few travel from here to places outside the Republic, but as the city expands that may be about to change…
Salia is built inside a bowl of rock that rises from the desert, believed to have been the site of a lake when the desert was less arid. Now, under the clear blue desert sky, the dry crags of rock that form the walls of the bowl enclose a city of the lithe, mountain-dwelling humans of Modallia.
In the semi-arid land surrounding the city, farmers ply the rich but dry soil to grow crops such as wheat and corn. An ingenious irrigation system supplies the outlying farms with water from the spring that provides the city with water.
Cut into the rocky mound at ground level are mineshafts, where miners descend into the rock to haul out the precious ores that lie beneath the mound. The raw ores are taken from the mines to the large stone structures clinging to the rock near the mineshafts, where they are purified and smelted into ingots to be used in the production of all manner of goods. Some of the ingots are then shipped out of the city, while others are sent to factories near the mines to be made into finished goods there.
The main way to enter the city is through the road that has been cut through the south face of the bowl, through what was previously a large mound of dry dirt. The level access this road provides to caravans and the like lead through the main gates, standing open as they always are.
Upon entering through the gates, travelers will find themselves in the city’s economic district. Carved into the rock itself are storerooms and warehouses, and market stalls line the streets, selling goods shipped in from the Grand Republic’s many holdings. Merchant houses rise farther in, doing business on a larger scale. The familiar bustle of a marketplace fills the air during the daytime, as the Modallians do business.
The residential district is next. Here, many buildings appearing less than five stories tall conceal as much room again underground. To the left and right rise huge rocky points, curving slightly into overhangs, which have been wholly transformed into living spaces for thousands of Modallians, the towering rocks intermeshed with structures of wood and metal clinging to them like insects. The rocks are hollowed out into tunnels but still structurally sound, the skill of the Modallians allowing them to use the rocks without significantly compromising their integrity. The majority of Modallians here live in stone or brick houses, as wood must be imported. In Salia only the richer merchants live in wooden houses.
Past the residential district lies the heart of the city—Fort Salia. A large, brown stone construction, it sits at the opposite end of the city from the entrance, presiding over a sheer cliff. A combination military fortification and commercial airship docks, the left and right ends of the structure are unused by the military since the end of the Great Southern war between the Grand Republic and its neighbor Valia. Only the center is still used to dock military airships, and at present the city is host to the Southern Fleet, under Admiral Smith and his flagship the Inevitable. The fort is also home to the local garrison of the Grand Republican Army of Modallia, under the command of Lars Modal.
A constant flow of airships, held aloft by the advanced Modallian lifting gas technology, steam in and out of the port, carrying passengers and cargo between this and other cities and outposts of the Grand Republic. Few travel from here to places outside the Republic, but as the city expands that may be about to change…