The Fortress-Garden of Dhanû

Honor, glory, or greed. Nothing makes a warrior fight harder than the threat of an empty belly.

— Ramaður-shi, Iron Hag of Dhanû

Nestled along a stretch of the black river that cut across the Sheoin Region, the cliff-side crops of the Garden is a rare oasis in the barren lands. The water of the Writhing Dragon flows slowly here, and a thick sludge accumulates along the bottom. As the river swells and shrinks, the sludge coat the stone in a phlegmy film. Blind shrimp and crawling parasites feed on the silt and are in turn devoured by fish, crabs, and crawling horrors. Colonies of barnacle-like creatures scar the stone-like tumors, not quite plant and not quite animal.
Here, more than anywhere else in Sheoin, life can be said to thrive. Should the Garden fall before the creeping corruption, Dhanû may well face extinction.

by Rock Cafe.info

Geography

The Garden is spread unevenly across parts of the Writhing Dragon river and several of its tributaries. Centuries of work and use have changed the caverns there, the floors are worn even by foot, wheel, and pick. At their deepest, the cliffs of the river descend for over ten meters before they touch water, but most of the Garden's farms are only a couple of meters deep. This far from the cold-infested parts of Sheoin, the air is humid and cloying, saturated with spores.
Other than Dhanû itself, the Garden is one of the most heavily fortified places in all of Sheoin and perhaps all of Araea.

It must not fall. It will not fall.

— Imari, Dhanû Clan-Warrior

Farmers scale the cliffs by the river to plant, harvest and hunt, while warriors keep a close eye for predators and land-warping monsters.

The Garden

Farms called "Gardens" are scattered along the river's length, carved into thin terraces or in the caverns near the cliffs. The sludge from the river is fecund beyond any other soil in Dhanû. It is dredged from the river and heaped into carefully monitored pits used as both soil and fertilizer. In these, crops are grown and harvested. These range from mushroom and fungi to the occasional Cave-Capped Hatter. Any given farm here belongs to one of the many clans of Dhanû, and competition for the best space can be fierce and lethal. Closer to the river is better, and those far away are forced to scratch sustenance from little better than stone.

by Bima

The in the terraced cliff-sides, kelp-like reed and bulbous, hard-shell plants-things grow in thin niches. Others host small pits, where rotting food is left to attract insects and parasites to be collected later. The lower parts of the cliff are crawling with a living shroud of sightless isopods or insects, many of whom are venomous or parasitic. The farms and collection points here are much more valuable and much more dangerous to harvest.

The Fortress

Boredom, followed by much more excitement than you'd like.

— Imari, Dhanû Clan-Warrior

Past the gardens and across the tunnels and caverns that lead to them, the Fortress holds vigil. Rather than one continuous structure, it is a hopelessly complex series of choke points, walls, and trapped tunnels that guard the way to the river and its farms. Stone walls have closed caverns and well-manned barricades. The warriors of Dhanû possess expertise in siege warfare not often credited to them, honed on the bloody battles along the Fortress.

by Rock Cafe.info

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The Fortress is often attacked. Beasts such as Suryō prowl the caverns just beyond and pick off those who wander. Blizzard-Spawn throw themselves against the fortifications to extinguish the flames behind them.
Being stationed at the Fortress is a great honor, but one that few are eager to earn.

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Despite the effort, Sheoin is too vast for every tunnel and passage to be known and guarded. Quakes open new paths every few years and collapse others. Warriors stay close to the farms either in the open or in shallow pits covered by hides that serve as barracks. Ever so often, something slips into the Gardens through paths unknown and brings the fight to them.

Blood and Harvest

Be a farmer for a day. Then return and speak of glory.

— Ramaður-shi, Iron Hag of Dhanû

The Gardens are a teeming hive of activity. Farmers tend their crops above the waters or scale the cliffs to cut polyps from the stone. Fishers spear fish, eel, and Nebiri-Shi in the black waters. It is dangerous and hard work, with perils both seen and hidden. Accidents are common - a slip and a climber can fall from the cliff and into the water. Other times, something in the water will wreck boats and drag sailors into the sludge to be devoured.
It is mostly the poor who do the most dangerous jobs. A noble would never be seen scaling the walls to hunt for food, and warriors balk at menial labor. Wealthier commons stay at the top and let others brave the Dragon for the ever-important sludge. Those who die are decapitated and their heads preserved for the Shikei, then the bodies are fed to the soil.

by Rock Cafe.info

Hunting is one thing that the nobles and warriors will deign to do, often setting out into the wild caves beyond the Fortress in search of prey. Meat is usually reserved for the wealthy, and even in good times, the poor have to live on boiled polyp-shell broth.
Beyond that, foraging is a way of life. Large parts of the river are still unmapped and untamed, with wild plants and creatures that can be harvested. Others trespass into the domain of the more fortunate to scavenge around the farms. Such crimes are punished harshly, though some warriors argue that being forced to work along the Garden cliffs is harsh enough already.

Sheoin Region
Dhanû and its garden lie within the cold and barren Sheoin region. Here, the land is at war with itself as competing eco-systems warp and mutate the very stone in their battle for supremacy. Humanity cling to enclaves and few are as important as the Garden.
Read More About Sheoin Region

Creeping Cold

Sheoin is home to a hive of living ice and crawling parasites. These strange beings radiate cold and frost, turning the land around them inhospitable to anything else. Many creatures in Sheoin have adapted and feed off the cold, while others fight the parasitic hive-minds to keep the land free from their ever-tightening grip.

by Rock Cafe.info

These Creeping Clusters almost resemble blooming mushrooms of ice, with eyes, limbs, and sections of bone-white carapace stretched across. Should they reach the Garden, the cold would strangle all life out of it.
Read More About Creeping Clusters

Dhanû
One of the great city-states of the Inner Shell, the people of Dhanû has endured since time immemorial. Their struggles have made them a hard, tough folk that see battle as an inevitability of survival. Revel when you can, they say, because you might be dead tomorrow.
Read More About Dhanû

Cliff Polyps

One of the most common crop to harvest along the slick cliffs of the Gardens are the Dragon Tooth Polyp. These bulbous plants are encased in a hard, elongated shell that opens only to feed or attack any who stray too close. The Polyps aren't quite plants and not quite animal, with fang-lined tendrils and roots that dig into the cliff.
Read More About Dragon Tooth Polyp

by Rock Cafe.info

The Road

The main path that connects Dhanû to the Fortress-Garden is simply called "the Road" by those who travel it. While not the shortest route, it is the easiest to travel and trails a relatively even and spacious series of tunnels. It is wide enough for carts and beasts of burden to carry their loads, the same trait that lures predator to stalk along the Road.
Out of all the barriers in the Fortress, the one that guards the Road is the most extensive and most heavily guarded. The fortress walls are several feet thick, with elevator positions for archers to fire through slits and a massive gate that ensures everyone pays their toll.

Dhanû warriors who serve in the Fortress can claim great honor and prestige on their return to the city, whether they see action or not. To be wounded in defense of the Gardens is a cause for celebration, as the warrior so scarred has bragging rights that will last through her life.

by Rock Cafe.info

Spiders!

Besides the farms, there are several ranches where spiders, grub, and other creeping crawlies are raised in captivity. Most are used for food, but creatures like snakes, lizards, or others are used for their hides or carapace.
These ranches usually feed their wards the offal from the farms, and anything that can't be eaten or reused typically find its way into the spider-warrens.

by Zandra Art

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