Kella's Basin
I was detemined to travel the entire nation by horse and while I could visit the Basin I could not go to Lakshavan, the floating city. It isn't safe for horses to cross the water or to move around on the floating town and I couldn't leave her unattended while I went there alone. Instead of a volume containing mostly my own experiences I have included some stories I have gathered from residents of the Basin and a small section of my own experiences on the lake shore.
Hiding in Plain Sight
During the dark time before Jarus Sabah defeated the bandits and the Collectors and founded Naemore, Kella Boatsworn - as she later became known - grew tired of losing her hard caught fish to bandits and one day took to the lake not just to fish but to remain on the water away from the thugs. Hers was the first boat of many for when her story got out others in the region took to the water and as one vessel after another was added to the first it became a floating city. Even during this time the lake would only freeze over with enough ice thickness to traverse on foot for a small portion of the year, the rest of the time would risk falling through the ice into frigid waters. It wasn't perfect and it wasn't easy but it was better than the alternative. It is said that Kella never set foot on the land again.A Rough Start
The people of this town - now the capital of the Basin, Lakshavan - would travel to the shore by boat or by sled to gather the wood they needed or to forage for landfood. On one such trip they encountered a group of armed warriors who they thought to be bandits. They outnumbered the bandits and so attacked but despite their advantage they were defeated as if their foes knew they were coming. No one was killed and they learned the identity of these people, not bandits but Jarus Sabah and his forces. He asked for their assistance with a strategy to remove the bandit threat from the area. He would send a portion of his army around the side of the lake without subtly and draw the bandits out of position while the rest of the forces would be shepherded across the lake in the night to strike from behind. It worked and they became great allies and eventually a founding member of the kingdom of Naemore.Give Someone a Fish
The Basin is known for its fishing industry. It has continued strong for over a century but there have been some recently who worry that they may overfish the lake and end their own way of life. The information available shows no signs that catches are getting smaller. The fish is best enjoyed fresh caught but is exported smoked to other parts of the nation. There are several different vareities of fish in the lake but the most sought-after one is the elusive longfish; these massive entities can be held by twelve men shoulder to shoulder and rarely come up from the deepest depths of the lake.Augers and Anchors
The Basin is known for their high-quality ice specific tools like cleats and augers. Both of these items were more essential here than any other region of the capitol and had more iterations to make small changes over and over until they had the best design that they could make with what they had. They also make anchors, any stone with a hole in it is an acceptable anchor. They use these to keep Lakshavan in place but also to anchor warning markers for unexpectedly shallow areas or as guides.Auger or Augur?
While the quality of their tools is well known most people don't know that the region has a long history of augurs as well. These augurs are said to be able to predict the weather, the changing of the seasons, and even future events by reading the clouds or the bones of fish."Let them come.
We will fight them on the shores.
We will fight them on their boats.
We will fight them on the ice.
And when the day is done,
We will remain."
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