Kyllikki: The Town of White-Harbor
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Kyllikki or White Harbor lies at the mouth of the Tuonela river as it pours into the Darkling Sea. The town is surrounded by a forty foot tall defensive wall of ice. The town is home to many traders, fishermen, craftsmen and the Temple of Ahto, God of the Sea. On an island in the bay to the west of Kyllikki is a light-house formed entirely from ice.
Contents
Seasons & Celebrations
The lands of Pohjola has four seasons: Allbright (Summer), Lightfall (Autumn), Darkover (Winter) and Newlight (Spring).
Geography
The town sits in a huge crescent shaped carved from the sandstone and ice of the surrounding plateau. The river flows out a steep fall, to flow gently to the sea over the next four miles. The sea has flowed into this valley many times in the past, and the majority of the surface dirt here is silt and sand. There once were hardy trees growing here, but the town has long since logged all of them off for wood.
Landmarks
The Harbor
The Harbor of Kyllikki is mostly round and then slowly widens beyond the confines of the town. If you were to imagine its shape, it would look just like an upside-down skeleton-key-hole, nearly round at the bottom (to the east) and slowly widening out the further west one travels.
At this time of year, the beginning of the Darkover season, the harbor is already frozen over with several inches of new ice, but as the season progresses the ice will become steadily thicker and deeper.
The freezing of the harbor during the subzero temperatures of the Darkover season forces the beaching of all sea-going craft which lay upon the sandy shore like dying whales until the warmth of the Newlight season makes travel once again possible.
Due to the beaching of all ocean-going craft, the town is swarming with sailors and ship's crews looking for easy companionship, a bit of excitement and plenty to drink. The seamen are in luck for it is the last hours of the season of Lightfall and the beginning of Darkover and during this transitional time of twilight the entire town celebrates the Feast of the Comet which will last until the last light of twilight has died.
The Harbor Islands
The harbor has three islands: Pyhä Kivi (Holy Stone), Kurkkukivi (Cutthroat Rock) and Valosaari (Isle of Light).
Farthest out from the harbor, where it meets the sea, is Valosaari or the Isle of Light where the Lighthouse of Kyllikki guards the harbor and guides in ships large and small. A small garrison of Turvamies protect the lighthouse and ensure that its light never fails. The lighthouse is a marvel of ancient architecture, one hundred and fifty feet high, and constructed entirely of sea ice. Although the lighthouse is made of ice, it is built on the largest of the harbor islands.
The second farthest island from the harbor is Kurkkukivi or Cutthroat Rock. This is the second largest island in the harbor and has long served as hideout for pirates, smugglers and thieves due to the shallow waters, difficult rocky channels and narrow bays that crisscross the island. The original volcanism that formed Kurkkukivi also created a labyrinthine cave system beneath its surface. By ancient tradition, any rogue who can make to Kurkkukivi is safe from mainland justice, but the island's caves aren't pleasant in the best season and the Guild of Thieves demands a steep price for protection and maintenance.
The closest of the harbor islands Pyhä Kivi or Holy Stone isn't actually an island, but is rather a volcanic atoll or a ring-shaped coral reef, upon which is located the temple complex of Ahto. Holy Stone lies just a quarter mile from the hub of the docks and is central to the success of Kyllikki. Early on a wall of ice was built along the outer edge of the atoll and over time it evolved into the Holy Dome which completely encapsulates the atoll save for a single large aperture at the very top where steam escapes like smoke from a volcanic cone. Pyhä Kivi has its own private docks and quarters enough for the entire priesthood of Ahto. No boat or ship will approach Holy Stone without permission and the priesthood controls who comes and goes from the atoll. As the religious center of the Cult of Ahto, Holy Stone is the source of Kyllikki's political power and the faithful guard it with their lives.
The Lighthouse
The Lighthouse of Kyllikki is located a mile offshore and guards the Bay. The lighthouse was built entirely of massive blocks of sea ice and mortared together with snow over a thousand years ago, its creation was a feat of ancient engineering that is now lost and it serves as a beacon of both commerce and safety offered by the town of White Harbor to all those in need.
Holy Stone: Temple of Ahto
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Academy of the Wise
The Viisaiden Akatemia is an institution of higher scholarship. Those who wish to become Viisaiden or lore-masters in all the natural lores (and some not so natural) seek admission to the Academy. Nowhere else in Pohjola is there a center of learning like the academy. The most senior lore-master and the leader of the academy is the Toivonen. The current Toivonen is Lasse Korhonen who has held the office for fifty-four years and who ascended to the post in his sixty-ninth year. Rumors abound that the Toivonen is a Velho (wizard) and although that has been true in the past, it may not be true tonight.
Admission to the academy as a guest is difficult but possible, acceptance as a student is very difficult and requires not only a significant donation to the academy, but the passing of rigorous tests on obscure subjects. Only the most talented students are accepted and thereafter must forsake all other pursuits until they should pass an extensive examinations that verify their expertise in their chosen fields of study.
The Wall
The wall was once the remnants of a great glacier that inhabited the plain. Generations of work have cut a gouge in the ice, allowing for steep, impossible to climb ice walls in a semi circle around the town. The only gate in the wall is the Dragon Gate. It is 40' wide, 25' tall. Heavy beams form it, and it is constantly manned, due to threats from off the steppe.
There are nine evenly spaced towers carved into the ice. The tops are covered in beams, with arrow slits cut in them. Wooden ladders go from the floor to the top.
Inns and Pubs
Timanttitalo
Timanttitalo {Ti-mantti-talo} or Diamond House is White-Harbor's finest inn. Built with leftover blocks of ice carved from the same glacial ice that forms the town's wall, Timanttitalo is a treat for wealthy merchants, ship's captains and others who can afford it.
Valkoinen Pata
The White Cauldron as this hostel is otherwise known caters to Kyllikki's middle-class, craftsmen, tradesmen and serves as a favorite watering-hole for the local people.
Sininen Kaulus
Sininen Kaulus or the Blue Collar is another of White-Harbor's hostels, but it serves as a last port of call for those seeking shelter from the cold, the darkness, desperation and even death. It has all the regular fixtures found in association with poverty, the drug addicted and mentally ill, those on the run from the law, perverts looking to score a thrill and other things stranger still. Those who choose to become patrons of the Blue Collar are draw inwards from the periphery of the hostel towards its center along labyrinthine halls illuminated by a azure lattice of fretwork. One thing that sets this hostel apart from all the others in the city is the security it offers its clientele, every room has a locked door and every door's lock is different, there are no duplications. As the hostel closest to the harbor, the Sininen Kaulus is a first stop for sailors and travelers who first come ashore, it is best known for its inexpensive rates and the lack of curiosity displayed by its staff.
Casa Peixes
This is a low grade pub and food house. It is run by Hagan Lyle and his Free Wife Daedae Ur-Lyle.
Hagan keeps a cook (Pazdra Brick and a pot boy/stable hand Faesta Pazdrason.
Hagan has a room on permanent loan to Hooba Gesh, Hagan's slave and whore.
Luutalo
The Luutalo isn't an inn or tavern, although it is often catered to by several of the surrounding taverns which provide for both food and drink, but there is no place for sleep in the House of Bones. The Luutalo's ominous title makes it sound like a place where necromancy is practices, but nothing could be farther from the truth - though deaths do occasionally occur in the House of Bones. No, the Luutalo is Kyllikki's premiere gambling establishment. Built in the central district of Middlevale, lying between the Marketplace of Lowtown near the harbor and the more prestigious neighborhood of Icehalle, the Luutalo occupies a social and political middle ground that allows it to remain neutral regardless of which factions are in attendance.
The Luutalo like the majority of buildings in Kyllikki is built from block-ice. Designed by the famous architect Ulla Rantanen, it is shaped like a wagon-wheel as seen from above, with a circular outer-hall for the numerous and foreign games of chance brought back to Kyllikki by its well traveled merchant class. The outer-hall is connected to a central chamber, a large domed hall, by six narrow stairs that lead down to a six-tiered arena used for the gladiatorial combats that make up the most violent of sporting competitions upon which wagers are offered and accepted.
The owner and operator of the Luutalo is Saarinen, a Karhuherrat cast out by his people, who came to Kyllikki a slave and who became a gladiator who eventually won his freedom and wealth.
Security around the Luutalo is heavy, two dozen armed Turvamies or guards, patrol the square surrounding the House of Bones to discourage grand-theft. But within the Luutalo, Saarinen and his henkivartija or body-guards ensure the peace and dispense summary justice as the master of the house sees fit.
Private Residences
Klaanilinnoitus
The Klaanilinnoitus {pronounced: klaan-Illin-Noitus} or Clan-Fortresses lie in the five distinct districts of Kyllikki: Tidaltown, Southmarsh, Northwood, Middlevale and Icehall. Each of the aforementioned districts holds one of the clan-fortresses associated with a family and each family has strong influence and prestige in the neighborhoods surrounding their clan-fortresses.
The Rantanen originally established their fortress in the region that would become Tidaltown near the harbor and its marketplace, because of this they remain a wealthy clan with a stranglehold on sea born trade.
The Aaltonen planted their fortress on a hill that dominates Northwood, the area was originally forested, but centuries of clear-cutting has resulted in it becoming the most recently fashionable district for home building.
The Järvinen chose to settle in Southmarsh which was home to a saltwater swamp with countless small lakes. The lakes were often tidal pools where local fish would spawn and over time and with the application of dykes much of the land has been reclaimed making it a desirable district for the merchant and trade classes.
The Koskinen built their fortress atop the Tuonella river as it passed through a local plain that came to be called Middlevale. Those who wished to trade inland with the other three races of man had to do so through the Clan of the White-water who wrested half the trade in Kyllikki from the Rantanen who had previously dominated it. Middlevale became a prime location for larger and more prominent businesses, as well as an excellent location for entertainment.
The Brugh being an insular clan and prone to isolationism chose the westernmost region along the glacial wall as it afforded them the best view of the stars and with limitless ice with which to build, they established Icehall upon the ice trade and came to dominate both the religious and political spheres through their control of glacial ice.
Naisopiskelijayhdistys
Pronunciation Guide {Nai-sopi-skeli-jayhd-ist-ys}
The Sorority or in this case the Sorority House is a private home in one of Kyllikki's nicer districts that admits young women as members of a private club. Led by the beautiful, charismatic and independent Eupraxia, the sorority offers a place of refuge to the young women of Kyllikki.
The sorority estate is located along North Beach, it consists of ten acres of land, half of it beach-front property and the other half is manicured grounds covered by winter grasses and evergreen trees and it is surrounded by a ten foot wall of ice.
The main-house is a study in opulence and wealth in that it is built of wood and stone rather than of native ice. The house is a two story A-frame with a central hall and two wings that from above would look like a capitalized H.
Most of the locals can only speculate upon what the young ladies of Kyllikki get up to while at the Sorority, but most of their theories would be incomplete or just wrong.
The little that is known about Eupraxia is that she is a foreign woman who arrived in Kyllikki after the ship she was traveling on sank leaving her the sole survivor.
Eupraxia is tall for a woman, taller than most men in Kyllikki and she both wealthy and well educated. She speaks the local language with great fluency for one who has only resided in Kyllikki for the last ten years.
The sorority is surprisingly egalitarian, young women without means are permitted to join provided that they take on household duties like: cleaning, cooking and security.
While young women of means are expected to better the sorority's social standing in Kyllikki society.
People of Interest
Citizens of the Town
- -- Master Holg -- Harbor Master
- -- Poodin Head -- An excommunicated Arvin Parahj who begs for money in the city.
- -- Aspis Tardon -- Town witch and purveyor of charms, amulets, and magic.
- -- Laideral Brugh (Lay-DER-all Brue) -- Elder of Kylikki. He is Elder of the Festival, and one of the Touched.
- -- Gaevin Ur-Brugh (Gay-VIN ur-Brue)
- -- Varsta Zade -- Head of the thieves guild.
The Vanhanen
The Vanhanen are the five old families that make up the ruling classes of Kyllikki. Each family has its own leader, usually the eldest member, although each family selects its Pajari (boyar) in accordance with individual traditions.
The five Pajari make up the ruling council and employ an elite guard of armed militants, the Turvamies, who are only loyal to the Vanhanen, but who are loaned out to the city and powerful individuals to ensure domestic tranquility.
- -- Aaltonen -- Clan of the Waves
- -- Brugh -- Clan of the Stars
- -- Järvinen -- Clan of the Lakes
- -- Koskinen -- Clan of the White Water
- -- Rantanen -- Clan of the Beach / Shore -- It was the Rantanen who first colonized Kyllikki, but their clan's power has been in decline for centuries.
Gods
Visitors
- -- Galchobhar -- Recent companion to Morpheus
Law and Order
The town has one law enforcement officer during the day. Breixo Xaime is active during the day, he has three other watch members on duty most of the night.
- -- Breixo Xaime -- Captian of the Watch
Sandguard
The Sandguard are a three person night watch to make sure there are no fires out of control. The Sandguard's primary responsibility is putting out fires, but in the arctic weather of the Frostfell water-brigades are impractical to say the least. Sand on the other hand is readily available in White Harbor and is easy to have on hand throughout the town in case a fire becomes a possibility.
- -- Teresa Järvi -- First Sandguard
- -- Lina Rantanen -- Sandguard in Training
- -- Iiris Nikula -- Sandguard in Training
Soundtracks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcoLjDXXAeI&list=RDMMLi0jpfysBSI&index=7
