Meine Bosma
Ik sil dyn mem har achterstik skoppe
Out of Character Information
General Information
Description
If one ever needed to paint the stereotypical picture of Frysaia backwardness, they would only need to visit Meerhout. Meerhout, Moerasstêd, Sumpfstadt: the town has been known by many names in many tongues. Most of the locals simply call it home or grant it the affectionate moniker of Swamp Town. Inhabited off and on for thousands of years by the ancient Frysaia and those that preceded them, Meerhout has been a wild swamp, a bustling new city, and a handful of wooden huts time and again.
Modern Meerhout is an unplanned mess of cabins and treehouses. It sits at the centrality of the southern Frysaia peninsula of Lake Friesaanivichwetterdronk and is flanked by forest and jungle to its west. The bit of land to its east is all marshland and is utilized for public gatherings and sporting events. The huts and cabins tend to be built right next to or on top of one another, with clans and smaller family units occupying entire sections of the town. It is said that the older clans have been building new homes atop those of their ancestors for centuries, and wooden cities are hidden beneath the mud.
Meerhout's chaos is not an act of randomness. It is meant to be inconvenient and unnavigable to visitors, with foot paths often crossing through standing water where depth is incalculable. The Frysaia know where it is safe to walk, and thus visitors rarely go beyond the outskirts of the harbor without a guide. The Osterman officials come in on their boats to collect taxes, but they do not see what goes on within the depths of the village. Why would they want to, anyway? It's all mosquitoes and mud.
The swamp rises behind it in a mass of brambles and thorns, obscuring vision from the lake and river. Secret footpaths have been carved through the vegetation, and the village sprawls out far in the groves just beyond. This part of the village is a treasured secret kept from foreigners, its knowledge bound by an oath each Frysaia must take when reaching adulthood. Here, the Frysaia engage in cultural gatherings celebrating the old ways. Curian Fyrsaia are not barred from the festivities, but they are expected to keep their loyalty to their kinfolk before their religious compatriots. It is here that treason is spoken of openly, and even the source of a heretic splinter group of Curians that deny the authority of the patriarchate and claim that only a personal relationship with Edom can lead one's soul to redemption. The pagan and orthodox Frysaia treat them the same as any other, Frysaia tolerance and kinship superseding any fiery disagreements.
Overview
Further Information
Outer Meerhout is pretty to look at, but fairly unremarkable. The market quarter is a moderate size and is host to most of the foreign population. There is little space for gathering in town outside of the taverns, so most social activities happen in the flat marsh to the east. The two Curian churches on either side of town are the only structures made of stone rather than wood or fibrous material. Inner Meerhout is far more organized, protected as it is by the wall of trees and vines. The roads within are easy to follow and homes are more orderly. Those that live within rarely venture out of the swamp to maintain their secrecy, and the tradeoff is seen as fair by the Outer Meerhouters in exchange for the infrastructure and space their inner compatriots enjoy.
Ancestral home
Historical Information
The ancestral home and spiritual nexus of the Frysaian culture, Meerhout has been around as long as its people have. It has gone by many different names throughout the centuries, but its purpose has always remained the same.
Once, Meerhout was said to be a sprawling metropolis built in perfect harmony with the swamp around it. Enormous towers of stone jutted up from the mud supporting a wooden city that rose far above the forest's canopy. There, the Frysaia communed with Jik and Fre to raise the lakes, rivers, and bogs of Frisenmark up from the dry earth. These ancient Frysaia for whom the Tydroppers were named sought to spread the influence of their gods by extending the water, and in so doing, grow the swamp from which Jik drew his power.
As legend goes, the first Tydroppers grew arrogant with their powers over nature and sought subjugate their neighbors to force them to live as the Fyrsaia did. Jik, ever consumed with love for his children, lent them his power despite the evil growing in their hearts. The Frysaia fell upon their neighbors like a tidal wave, drowning farmlands and cities that dominated the landscape with the intent to return the world to its natural order. Initially overwhelmed by their zeal, the Frysaia quickly grew to resent the violence their leaders were committing them to.
Rising as one, the Frysaia overthrew the Tydroppers, and first city of Meerhout was destroyed in the process. It was then that the Frysaia Freedom was declared: the idea that no man or woman should hold the power of the nation without the consent of its people. The surviving Tydroppers faced trial and repented for their crimes, and it is said Jik himself delivered the judgement.
The Tydroppers' gifts would forevermore pass only through the blood of those whose souls proved pure. Never again would nature's power be used for destruction. Those Tydroppers that remained were sworn to the defense of Gaia and the Frysaia: their power could only be used to build and to protect. Any Tydropper that sought to abuse their abilities would be stripped of them and cast out from all Frysaia.
This legend has defined Meerhout since ancient days. It's a common story told to travelers and children alike and treated as an old folk fairytale. The Tydroppers are nothing more than an allegory for the nobility, they say. They never really existed.
And yet, rumors of strange men and women shifting the flow of the river with a hand gesture continue to persist. On some misty days, in the early hours of the morning, it's said one might find himself faced with one of these strangers on the river, only to find his canoe jetting off in the opposite direction, urged on by an invisible hand. All rumors, of course, as is so often the case with the Frysaia...
- Objective: To flesh out the towns listed in the regional map of Frysaia. This one, Meerhout, is the only Marsh-Frysaia settlement openly known to the Ostermen.
- Category: Settlement
- Image Credit: https://www.deviantart.com/uriak/art/Swamp-village-775051879
- Development Thread: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
General Information
- Name: Meerhout, Swamp Town
- Classification: Lakeside Village
- Affiliation: Frysaia Freedom, under Osterman rule
Description
If one ever needed to paint the stereotypical picture of Frysaia backwardness, they would only need to visit Meerhout. Meerhout, Moerasstêd, Sumpfstadt: the town has been known by many names in many tongues. Most of the locals simply call it home or grant it the affectionate moniker of Swamp Town. Inhabited off and on for thousands of years by the ancient Frysaia and those that preceded them, Meerhout has been a wild swamp, a bustling new city, and a handful of wooden huts time and again.
Modern Meerhout is an unplanned mess of cabins and treehouses. It sits at the centrality of the southern Frysaia peninsula of Lake Friesaanivichwetterdronk and is flanked by forest and jungle to its west. The bit of land to its east is all marshland and is utilized for public gatherings and sporting events. The huts and cabins tend to be built right next to or on top of one another, with clans and smaller family units occupying entire sections of the town. It is said that the older clans have been building new homes atop those of their ancestors for centuries, and wooden cities are hidden beneath the mud.
Meerhout's chaos is not an act of randomness. It is meant to be inconvenient and unnavigable to visitors, with foot paths often crossing through standing water where depth is incalculable. The Frysaia know where it is safe to walk, and thus visitors rarely go beyond the outskirts of the harbor without a guide. The Osterman officials come in on their boats to collect taxes, but they do not see what goes on within the depths of the village. Why would they want to, anyway? It's all mosquitoes and mud.
The swamp rises behind it in a mass of brambles and thorns, obscuring vision from the lake and river. Secret footpaths have been carved through the vegetation, and the village sprawls out far in the groves just beyond. This part of the village is a treasured secret kept from foreigners, its knowledge bound by an oath each Frysaia must take when reaching adulthood. Here, the Frysaia engage in cultural gatherings celebrating the old ways. Curian Fyrsaia are not barred from the festivities, but they are expected to keep their loyalty to their kinfolk before their religious compatriots. It is here that treason is spoken of openly, and even the source of a heretic splinter group of Curians that deny the authority of the patriarchate and claim that only a personal relationship with Edom can lead one's soul to redemption. The pagan and orthodox Frysaia treat them the same as any other, Frysaia tolerance and kinship superseding any fiery disagreements.
Overview
- Function: Meerhout is the cultural heart of the Frysaia. It is from the surrounding bogs that Jik found the first Frysaia children centuries ago and raised them as his children. Outwardly unimpressive as it might seem, Meerhout is the place where the future of the Frysaia is most often decided upon by the gathering of the Frysaia Freedom. Beyond that, it is huge source of Frysaia fish production, alongside such delicacies as swamp dragon tails and wetterdicht hout.
- Accessibility: Foreigners can visit Meerhout with ease as long as they take a boat or canoe. The outer docks and marketplace are easily accessible along with a small quarter hosting merchant housing and taverns. Greater Meerhout is hidden by the impenetrable swamp, and without knowledge of the proper paths is nearly impossible to find. One could cut his way through the heavy foliage in theory, but it would likely days and the Frysaia have purposefully cultivated poisonous thorny plants along the vegetation walls to deter explorers.
- Demographics: The vast majority of the population are native Frysaia. There are pockets of merchants living along the docks, and the occasional Osterman official. Two churches to Edom host foreign clergy from Merelais and Ostrien respectively. They are treated well by the Frysaia and have long learned it is easier to win converts with the Frysaia through civility rather than violence. There are also small quarters of the village host to foreign born Frysaia, mostly freed slaves from the far south and east that have been accepted into the greater Frysaia culture. These individuals are ethnically distinct from the native Frysaia, some from the continent, others cast far from their native homes in the maritime south. Most notable of these groups are the Sûnnebete, a clan of Frysaia with dark skin and eyes descending from a crashed slaving ship two centuries ago.
- Wealth: Meerhout is poor by Ostrien standards. The consumer economy is undeveloped and most trade is done through bartering rather than the exchange of coin. It is host to some of the most skilled Frysaia craftsmen, but ordinances have been put in place to keep their goods from leaving Frysaia. A blacksmith might spur horses for his count and grow rich from the profits in Ostrien; he makes hammers and trades them for a basket of fish in Meerhout. There is a general fear among the Meerhouters that if the Ostriens were aware of the Frysaia craftsmen, they would strengthen their presence in the village and place stronger tax burdens on the people. Bound by an ethos of resistance, the Frysaia craftsmen limit their profits to preserve their people, and those that do not tend to leave Frysaia for more open markets.
- Safety Measures: Despite outward appearances, Meerhout is extremely secure. There are the wild dangers, of course, but if one is stupid enough to jump into the lake while swamp dragons are hunting then that is just nature taking its course. The paths the Meerhouters walk are tested and true, and the natives have developed many remedies for the various diseases calling the swamp home.
- Protective Features: The outer village is seemingly undefended, but the Frysaia have long learned to master their environment. Over the generations, the Meerhouters have dug canals leading from the western lake of Jikpoard that terminate at the village docks. These canals are blocked by artificial dams that can be removed by teams of breakers in short order. Should this occur, most of the outwardly visible sections of the village will find itself underwater rather quickly. The village interior is protected by walls of carefully cultivated wetterdicht trees and poisonous thorned vines. The foliage is several meters thick and purposefully overgrown, making visibility impossible and passage almost as difficult. The Frysaia have marked out hidden paths through this protective wall and are sworn to oaths of secrecy. Theoretically, a Frysaia could forsake his or her oath and reveal the paths to foreigners, but no one has been soulless enough to do so yet. That, or they haven't lived long enough afterword to be notable.
Further Information
Outer Meerhout is pretty to look at, but fairly unremarkable. The market quarter is a moderate size and is host to most of the foreign population. There is little space for gathering in town outside of the taverns, so most social activities happen in the flat marsh to the east. The two Curian churches on either side of town are the only structures made of stone rather than wood or fibrous material. Inner Meerhout is far more organized, protected as it is by the wall of trees and vines. The roads within are easy to follow and homes are more orderly. Those that live within rarely venture out of the swamp to maintain their secrecy, and the tradeoff is seen as fair by the Outer Meerhouters in exchange for the infrastructure and space their inner compatriots enjoy.
Ancestral home
Historical Information
The ancestral home and spiritual nexus of the Frysaian culture, Meerhout has been around as long as its people have. It has gone by many different names throughout the centuries, but its purpose has always remained the same.
Once, Meerhout was said to be a sprawling metropolis built in perfect harmony with the swamp around it. Enormous towers of stone jutted up from the mud supporting a wooden city that rose far above the forest's canopy. There, the Frysaia communed with Jik and Fre to raise the lakes, rivers, and bogs of Frisenmark up from the dry earth. These ancient Frysaia for whom the Tydroppers were named sought to spread the influence of their gods by extending the water, and in so doing, grow the swamp from which Jik drew his power.
As legend goes, the first Tydroppers grew arrogant with their powers over nature and sought subjugate their neighbors to force them to live as the Fyrsaia did. Jik, ever consumed with love for his children, lent them his power despite the evil growing in their hearts. The Frysaia fell upon their neighbors like a tidal wave, drowning farmlands and cities that dominated the landscape with the intent to return the world to its natural order. Initially overwhelmed by their zeal, the Frysaia quickly grew to resent the violence their leaders were committing them to.
Rising as one, the Frysaia overthrew the Tydroppers, and first city of Meerhout was destroyed in the process. It was then that the Frysaia Freedom was declared: the idea that no man or woman should hold the power of the nation without the consent of its people. The surviving Tydroppers faced trial and repented for their crimes, and it is said Jik himself delivered the judgement.
The Tydroppers' gifts would forevermore pass only through the blood of those whose souls proved pure. Never again would nature's power be used for destruction. Those Tydroppers that remained were sworn to the defense of Gaia and the Frysaia: their power could only be used to build and to protect. Any Tydropper that sought to abuse their abilities would be stripped of them and cast out from all Frysaia.
This legend has defined Meerhout since ancient days. It's a common story told to travelers and children alike and treated as an old folk fairytale. The Tydroppers are nothing more than an allegory for the nobility, they say. They never really existed.
And yet, rumors of strange men and women shifting the flow of the river with a hand gesture continue to persist. On some misty days, in the early hours of the morning, it's said one might find himself faced with one of these strangers on the river, only to find his canoe jetting off in the opposite direction, urged on by an invisible hand. All rumors, of course, as is so often the case with the Frysaia...
