The Hall
Traveling to Plemjesta? Spend a midday rest with them in their common Hall, engaged in the art of music, and the locals will open to you. Miss out, and you'll find yourself suddenly unwelcome.
Near the center of the town of Plemjesta, opposite the town square from the residence of Chief Jaromir the Young, stands the Hall, Plemjesta's largest structure. With its thatched roof and walls made from removable panels of sawn planks, the Hall provides an escape for all of the town's residents from both the blistering heat of the midday sun and the torrential downpours of the rainy season.
Holding the custom of eating midday meals as a single community, the Rutenkīj tribe gathers in the Hall as the heat begins to grow unbearable. The thickly thatched roof and wind channels built into the wall panels provide shelter while the town joins to eat and, later, sing, play music, dance, and laugh. It is during these midday retreats when the majority of Plemjesta's social events take place.
Purpose / Function
The Rutenkīj people are great lovers of music and the Hall demonstrates that love. Although the Hall serves its primary purpose as the common dining hall and indoor gathering place of Plemjestra, it is filled with the sound of singing to the accompaniment of instruments (or on whatever surface the impromptu drummers care to use to keep rhythm) whenever there are people at leisure in the town. Most days, the majority of the town's population will spend the evening in the Hall, singing, dancing, and enjoying the collaborative experience of expression it allows.
Architecture
From its pillars and walls constructed of rūdrev wood to its palm and grass thatched roof, the Hall is typical of Rutenkīj architecture.
Fourteen felled rūdrev trees serve as pillars that run along the exterior of the building, holding up the elevated floorboard, the roof and its framework. Filling the gaps between these pillars are panels made of thickly sawn planks that are fitted against the rūdrev trees to channel breezes through the structure.
The thick roof serves two purposes: to keep out the torrential downpours from the rainy season and to shield the interior from the baking heat of midday. It achieves these goals via a thick layer of thatching that is regularly maintained. The wooden frame upon which the roof sits is exposed to the interior of the Hall and is painted a bright shade of yellow.
Tourism
As the Hall serves as the center of social life in Plemjesta, any visitor to the town would see it as the opportunity to meet new people or solidify their relationship with any of the townspeople. Moreover, presence at the Hall has become a kind of necessity for any traveler who would do business with the town as the residents of Plemjesta tend to view any outsider, regardless of affiliation, with suspicion if not present at the Hall at midday.
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