A Town Called Abalone
Greetings! Today's post is about a new city from my mind!
Imagine walking through the high mountains, backpacking to find a new level of serenity, and suddenly you find yourself falling down a treacherously bottomless pit. Unfortunately, you find the bottom at some distant point, and after standing up in a daze, your eyes are met with a serendipitous sight. Through the icy clear wall at the end of your fall, you see many swimming humanoid creatures: merfolk.
The setting is an expanse underneath a high mountain (or any barely attainable place you prefer), measuring about 2 miles in diameter. There is a small passageway that leads from a great lake into their city. This passageway is only traversed by the elders of the city, who use it to gain artifacts from shipwrecks and to trade with lakeside villages. Because of the growing numbers of merfolk, the elders decided to create more space by magically adding a large ice wall blocking off the rest of the cave, therefore making the cave's water deeper.
The city is comprised of a surprisingly small number - about 175 - but is growing quickly. The society had been founded when the first settlers discovered the cave as a safe haven from the dreaded Dewy Dolphin, who lives in the lake and eats anything with a proper name. The elders of the city are those who founded the city, and they are in charge of any voyages into the lake. They also settle disputes and help to keep affairs straight.
Some places in the city you'll see vendors, selling things from human trinkets to unique fish scales. They build their carts and ware-holding centres from planks and barrels found on old shipwrecks with their merchandise. The current elders sit high above the others, watching the goings-on, settling any disagreements brought before them, and drinking ice wine from elaborately carved bottles. The living areas of the merfolk are cordoned off by tree-like underwater plants that weave themselves together to create thatch walls. The elders live under giant anemones who have extra-long tentacles which dangle to the floor of the cave, leaving a place for privacy underneath.
An interesting dish that the merfolk enjoy pertains to their living space. They have a special liking of angler fish and like to create stews with their intestines. As would be expected with those under the sea, whenever an elder voyages to the adjoining lake, they search for useful items from wrecked ships such as hair combs, wine, broken glass, and various jewels. Many of their customs are derived from journals and books found on these shipwrecks, which usually depict the ways of the local villages.
As always, feel free to use as many of these details or just the rough sketch! Thanks!
~ Your Ivory Queen
Imagine walking through the high mountains, backpacking to find a new level of serenity, and suddenly you find yourself falling down a treacherously bottomless pit. Unfortunately, you find the bottom at some distant point, and after standing up in a daze, your eyes are met with a serendipitous sight. Through the icy clear wall at the end of your fall, you see many swimming humanoid creatures: merfolk.
The setting is an expanse underneath a high mountain (or any barely attainable place you prefer), measuring about 2 miles in diameter. There is a small passageway that leads from a great lake into their city. This passageway is only traversed by the elders of the city, who use it to gain artifacts from shipwrecks and to trade with lakeside villages. Because of the growing numbers of merfolk, the elders decided to create more space by magically adding a large ice wall blocking off the rest of the cave, therefore making the cave's water deeper.
The city is comprised of a surprisingly small number - about 175 - but is growing quickly. The society had been founded when the first settlers discovered the cave as a safe haven from the dreaded Dewy Dolphin, who lives in the lake and eats anything with a proper name. The elders of the city are those who founded the city, and they are in charge of any voyages into the lake. They also settle disputes and help to keep affairs straight.
Some places in the city you'll see vendors, selling things from human trinkets to unique fish scales. They build their carts and ware-holding centres from planks and barrels found on old shipwrecks with their merchandise. The current elders sit high above the others, watching the goings-on, settling any disagreements brought before them, and drinking ice wine from elaborately carved bottles. The living areas of the merfolk are cordoned off by tree-like underwater plants that weave themselves together to create thatch walls. The elders live under giant anemones who have extra-long tentacles which dangle to the floor of the cave, leaving a place for privacy underneath.
An interesting dish that the merfolk enjoy pertains to their living space. They have a special liking of angler fish and like to create stews with their intestines. As would be expected with those under the sea, whenever an elder voyages to the adjoining lake, they search for useful items from wrecked ships such as hair combs, wine, broken glass, and various jewels. Many of their customs are derived from journals and books found on these shipwrecks, which usually depict the ways of the local villages.
As always, feel free to use as many of these details or just the rough sketch! Thanks!
~ Your Ivory Queen
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