Ridge Valley

Jerna's Diary, entry 294.

Drama time. I was walking with Little L, just chilling as we followed a river down a valley, and then I heard some roar. I though, eh, it probably won't
find me, but literally as I turned around I saw about 10 dragons staring at me. I picked up Little L, and started pacing down the valley. Some of the
dragons started following me, which is when I started running. I starting running faster and faster, and I even grabbed a spare firestick from Little L's
compartment as I was running, and threw it down behind me. I heard the explosion, but I think I just made the dragons even more angry. Anyways, I kept on
running and then I noticed a few houses. I ran as fast as I could to the houses, and as soon as I reached one I broke down the door and hid in there, as
the dragons patrolled the house for a good half an hour. Not very fun. When the dragons left, I realised that this village might've been abandoned, as
I saw absolutely nobody outside. But as I thought that some man came out from a small room in the house, and started screaming at me. I'm talking curses
upon curses, throwing pebbles at me, and he just kicked me out of the house. I could barely understand anything he was saying, but I suspect they're
used to these dragons and are mad that I dragged a whole bunch of them to the village.

Ridge Valley is a large settlement within Cavern Quarry, a famed island in the Southern Archipelago. Ridge Valley leads the world in deaths by ridge runners, a medium-sized species of Earth dragon.

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• Iakor

Ridge Valley

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Location, Climate & Geography

Location

Ridge Valley is located in the north of Cavern Quarry, a large island in the Southern Archipelago. The settlement sits between the joining of two tributaries, to form a larger river which trails down to the coast from the mountainous valley.

Climate

Ridge Valley experiences very little rain, which is why most of the water the settlement uses comes from the river. It is weirdly humid and hot, yet rain rarely ever comes. I'm not a fan of the climate, but that's fine since I'm not allowed back there.

Geography

On both sides of Ridge Valley are actual valley sides, with a very steep, rocky face. The village is wedged between two rivers that join, some houses also sitting on the opposite side of one river.

Architecture

The houses in Ridge Valley are bunched together for a clever reason. If one house is set on fire by a dragon, the fire spreading burns one group of houses but can't carry on to any other house. Sacrificing a few houses for the greater good is admirable, I must say. The houses are still built out of inflammable resources, just so that fire is less of an issue. The buildings are made of hardened clay, reinforced with metal poles for extra protection. It seems that defence against dragons was priority to these people, which makes sense since no other settlement sees as many attacks from dragons as this place does.

The roofs are made of clay tiles and terracotta, typical for a house in this climate. The roofs are also lined with water collectors, so any time it rains the water can be saved as it is already clean to drink.

Dragon Attacks

Ridge runners are a medium-sized species of Earth dragon found around the Southern Archipelago, but typically in warmer areas with lots of valleys. They are pack hunters, and if anyone enters the pack's territory, they will pay. This is the case for Ridge Valley, as the settlement sits right on the edge of a pack's territory. They are frequently attacked by the dragons, about 10 - 20 times a year at most. These attacks aren't just picking one or two stray people off, these are serious, flammable attacks that leave many houses destroyed.

Sadly though, the people cannot leave the settlement because there are very precious resources in the area, mined by the inhabitants, and are sold at very high prices. These materials include diamonds, amethyst, thalassium, among other. As sad as it sounds and is, the people have gotten used to these attacks and it is now just a part of their lives. Rebuilding the houses takes little time now they are so used to it.