Drifting high above the
Goldenweed Wastes, Flotsam is the first and greatest city of the
Welkin Gnomes. At the heart of the city, an enormous and ancient
Gossamer Oak looms over the city, believed to be the original shelter of the gnomes who took to the skies to escape their ancestral home down on the surface when the Goldenweed became deadly.
Districts
By far the largest district in the city is the Waterfall District. Built around the ancient tree looming over the city, it features several of the city's most prominent buildings, including the
Guildhall and the homes of a number of the city's most greatest families and the most well respected workshops. However, the critical infrastructure that gives the district its name is the city's water supply: a portal drawing water from a lake of glacial meltwater found in the mountains far to the south, maintained by the Guild of Arcanists. This portal opens into a large storage cell well above most of the city, giving the district the ability to use running water. For the wider district, the most important part of this plumbing system are the 13 fountains at the edges of the district that can be used to shoot streams of water out into the open sky. Neighbouring districts each have large pools and are tied close enough to allow a skilled operator from the Guild of Maintainers to refill the district water supply by shooting a torrent of water across the gap, while more distant districts rely on large tanker
dirigibles to ferry water over to them.
The districts closest to the Waterfall district are all densely populated multilayered structures, crammed with homes and some of the smaller workshops of the Guild of Arcanists and the Guild of Mechanists. Most of the city's guild offices can be found on one of these inner districts, as well as featuring a number of markets where guilds put up their more portable products for trade and arrange the distribution of larger loads.
The outer districts tend to house larger structures - the Guild of Mechanists maintains their dirigible shipyards over a couple of districts, and several dozen are dedicated to the efforts of the agricultural efforts of the Guild of Agronomists, the Guild of Cultivators and the Guild of Drovers. Even further out, one can see the large nets used by the Guild of Treetrimmers to capture the
Gossamer Oak trees they harvest from down near the surface.
The Guilds
Flotsam is ruled by a collection of guilds, including the Agronomists, the Arcanists, the Cultivators, the Drovers, the Explorers, the Grasscutters, the Maintainers, the Mechanists, the Treetrimmers and the Weavers. A council made up of 3 representatives of each guild meets weekly to coordinate the city's affairs and settle disputes between the guilds.
The Agricultural Guilds
Most of Flotsam's food supply and other needs are met by the city's agricultural districts, which fall under the responsibility of the Guild of Agronomists, the Guild of Cultivators and the Guild of Drovers. The Agronomists work to produce fertile soil for the artificial fields, taking in waste from the city and soil brought in from elsewhere by the Guild of Explorers, and have refined their technique to the point where crops grown in their soil grow far better than most crops grown down on the surface. The Cultivators grow a wide variety of foodstuffs, including grains, vegetables and mushrooms, as well as growing hemp and cotton for use in textiles, while the Drovers keep livestock, including a herd of long haired rabbits for wool production. The Drovers tend to keep smaller animals, like chickens and rabbits rather than cattle and sheep, due to the amount of forage needed for these larger creatures.
Harvesting the Wastes
Perhaps the most complex work done by the Flotan guilds is done by the Grasscutters and Treetrimmers. The Treetrimmers set out capture nets level with the city and then go down, only 10-20 feet above the dangerous
Goldenweed on the surface, and trimming off the roots that hold the
Gossamer Oak trees to the surface. Once it floats up to the nets by the city, the tree can then be hauled in near the city where it can be cut apart for construction materials. The Treetrimmers are also responsible for cultivating saplings, ensuring the future supply for future generations.
The Grasscutters have an even riskier job, harvesting the Goldenweed itself while it is in bloom. Doing this is a very delicate process - the gnomes work out of a specially designed dirigible to carefully lower a steel rod into the Goldenweed, slowly enough that it does not cause the plants to attack. The pilot of the dirigible then sets the craft to climb rapidly, causing all of the Goldenweed in reach of the bars to latch on while simultaneously pulling upward with enough force to break free from the plants. This rips the grass free, allowing the Grasscutter team to reel in the rods and collect the Goldenweed in bundles. If the harvester makes a mistake and causes the grass to attack early, it can pull on the rod with enough force to drag the gnome off balance and send them tumbling to their doom at the hands of the vicious Goldenweed. In extreme cases where a pilot has also not been careful, whole teams have been lost with the whole dirigible being dragged down and torn apart. Once a cargo of Goldenweed has been successfully harvested and delivered to the city, the Grasscutters are also responsible for extracting and processing the extremely poisonous
Goldenweed Oil from the seeds. The fibre from the plant stalks can be dried and either twined together to make an unusually strong rope or a coarse but durable textile.
Comments