Cradle of Civilization

In Desert, just along the bank of Long River lies the possibly oldest town of our world. It’s called Cradle of Civilization because, well, that’s what it is. This is one of the first settlements that people established when retreating underground, and the first capital of the modern world when people returned to the surface. While people have left many of the underground settlements abandoned when they were able to return to the surface, Cradle of Civilization to this day remains the capital of Desert.

Geography and Nature

This settlement is located in Desert, but it’s not really as dry and barren as you might imagine. It lies along the banks of Long River, providing it with much needed water and vegetation. It lies in south Riverside region, the only desert region where agriculture is actually possible. People in the area grow crops such as wild wheat and also own milk producing cattle.

Still, this region is a lot more hot and dry than even Desertside region of atlds. It’s the region of orange sun, the hottest one on this side of the world. In general this area is hot and dry, but does get some rain in the rainy season, as well as occasionally during the year. As far as the animals go, this area has a lot of snakes and scorpions, as well as birds and small rodents.

Town and People

Desert is known for its underground settlements, but this is one of the few that actually have some buildings on the surface. Not many, but there is a small neighborhood or cattle herders that stay on the surface. You can’t really keep cows underground, that’s not gonna be good for anyone.

Major part of the town is still built underground though, the city has been here since the apocalyptic times after all. Everything is down here, from people’s homes, to shops, restaurants, business offices, schools, even playgrounds. People of the past have built intricate ventilation systems that keep the city well ventilated and pleasantly chilly. The city is built in several levels that go deep underground. It is speculated that it could have up to 18 levels, though not all of them are in use today.

People here have their own culture, in many ways still very similar to the apocalyptic culture where people would stitch together even more and form larger families. People here are very friendly and will treat every visitor as one of their own. They are known to keep large stocks of food at home, just in case. This city was the one to save the people in the past from the apocalypse, they have to be prepared to do it again if needed.

But there is a price to pay for this hospitality. People here are very proud of their city and its history, and will tell you all about it. They will lead you through its narrow maze-like caves, pointing out this rock on the side of the road or that graffiti on a wall and tell you the entire lengthy history of it - that may or may not be true.

History

Speaking of which, though many of the stories that the locals will tell you might be false, there’s no denying that this place has a long and rich history. It’s a well known fact that it had to be built at least before the apocalypse, but it may be a lot older than that. Similar to the pyramids that are also located in Desert, this city could date back to the times that would be considered ancient even in pre apocalyptic society. Apparently people back then already had reasons to hide underground, ready for an impending doom.

Since then this city has been renovated and changed a lot, so it’s impossible to really tell where or what this city was in ancient times (hey, possibly it was even located in, or near the cradle of ancient civilization, who knows), but there’s something uncanny and awe inspiring about thinking of the entirely different ancient species of humans walking these hallways and living in these caverns in a time unimaginable to today's mole people.