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Thread for About Dakkarta (Setting)
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Peanut
4:52pm, March 14, 2010
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[Delete] | Dakkarta:
An oasis in the desert. A city built of sand and limestone, a glistening, polished beacon in a brown land devoid of many living things. Dakkarta, like all city-states, is truly massive - one of the five remaining strongholds of humankind in a world otherwise too harsh to survive. A perfect square, Dakkarta is surrounded by limestone walls ten miles long on all sides, with four massive gates centered on each wall.
At Dakkarta's center - called Dakka's Heart - is the interior source of all water for the city-state. Bubbling up from the center of the earth, frigid fresh water gushes to the surface in a perpetual torrent. Outside of Dakka's Heart - a city within the city - the sand has been transformed into fertile farmland, though the climate only allows for a few select crops to be cultivated, the water carried there by massive aqueducts from the Heart.
All life revolves around the Heart, and though the walls are square the city itself is laid out in a series of circles. The Inner Circle is populated by the Guardian House where the Council sits, the Temples of Parshta and Grimslaine, the Champion's Forge, the Hall of Light, Healer's Ward, and the City Guard Barraks. The Second Circle is lush with crafter's shops, the Third Circle has been dubbed the Market Ring for the obvious, and the Outer Circle is where Traders and less reputable establishments rest. Throughout all the circles are homes, Teacher's Halls, Crafter's Halls, inns, bath houses, restaurants, game circles, theaters, and the hap-hazard establishments of every day life. Beyond the circles are the croplands, which border the walls on all sides, and where farmers most often choose to make their homes. From above, the city would very much resemble a many-circled wagon-wheel inside a box, with the spokes penetrating the circles as roads.
Like in any stronghold of human kind, politics and squabbling ensues, but the city is mostly peaceful. Deviants are reprimanded at the Guardian House and sent to a prison outside the city walls, execution does occur though very rarely. Murder is uncommon, though theft and manipulations are the city's truest plague of social discord.
There are thieves and rogues, warriors both noble and disgruntled, politicians with good hearts and black souls, whores and saints. Dakkarta prefers to deal in the subtle manipulations the shadows provide than the outright brutality of confrontation, and is thus said to be particularly favored by Grimslaine.
Notes on the culture and habits of Dakkartans:
Dakkarta is a barren city, in all respects. Its single blessing is a healthy water supply and an endless supply of limestone from a quarry some two miles north of the city. All of its other riches come from trade or what can be made within the walls, and as a result, the merchant class is often the most wealthy. Charity is a common practice, for Dakkartans though descended from barbarian sand walkers, are all too happy to throw their gold at culture and any new method that will make life in the desert more agreeable.
Meat is a priceless commodity in a land that does not support much wildlife, either within or without its vast walls. Chickens and sheep imported from Fjornmarsh have claimed a small portion of the cultivated farmland that borders the city walls on all sides (from inside, not without!) but red meat arrives in the form of jerky or it doesn't arrive at all. As a result Dakkartans have a diet rich in nuts, legumes, beans, and eggs. Much of the farmland for the city is consumed in growing these products, though some have taken the long but profitable road of growing palm-nut trees. These produce massive nuts that hold inside sweet nectar and a milky white flesh equally as sweet and refreshing. Other city-states pay greatly for this exotic food. Their native breads are flat and hearty, though the well-to-do have acquired a liking for the fluffy risen breads of other city-states and have paid dearly to import bakers with the knowledge. This is only somewhat successful as the arid climate doesn't promote the use of yeast, and ice is an even pricier luxury.
What Dakkarta lacks in foodstuffs it makes up for in materials made precious by their scarcity and that so far only Dakkarta's sands seem to possess them. Woven inside the deep crags of their limestone quarry are huge black tunnels full of diamonds and veins of gold. Rather arrogantly, and to dazzle the eye, both temples are smothered in these riches. The Temple of Parshta is clad made of limestone but its peaks are clad in gold, and the very walls of Grimslaine's obsidian palace are awash in diamonds. Though the temples themselves gleam with riches the servitors of the gods do not, so don't be confused into thinking a priest or priestess is wealthier beyond dreams! Dakkarta does a swift, constant trade with all four of the other city-states for gold and diamonds in exchange for coin and other needed goods, though Godcrest is by far their biggest buyer.
Overall, Dakkarta is a wealthy city and most of its citizens share in that wealth in one way or another. But like all gleaming surfaces, usually there is something nasty hiding underneath. While slavery is not tolerated, those who have fallen between the cracks often find themselves the servants or playthings of the wealthy who, most times, have no qualms using these people as just another form of commodity. Marriages are still traded for land or goods or coin, though there are no laws dictating this custom or holding parents or their offspring to it. There are brothels and other establishments in the Outer Ring that cater to these people, who have either chosen or been forced into a less than savory lives.
This is Dakkarta. Enjoy!
Edited 5:41pm, March 15, 2010 by Peanut, author. |
| Dakkartan Imagry (1) |
Peanut
5:55pm, March 20, 2010
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[Delete] | If you're having some trouble imagining just what Dakkarta might look like, here are a few suggestive images to help you form a more solid picture in your head:
Dakka's Heart
Dakkarta's Walls
Edited 6:19pm, March 20, 2010 by Peanut, author. |
| Dakkartan Imagry (2) |
Peanut
6:19pm, March 20, 2010
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[Delete] | Dakkartan Cityscape
Dakkartan Homes (Wealthy) City-funded Buildings
Dakkartan Common Dwellings
Outside Dakkarta
Edited 6:36pm, March 20, 2010 by Peanut, author. |
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