Highwater
a vast reservoir, created by Unathyr in order to provide water for the Garden she built for her people to the south.
the level has been high for millenia, as Unathyr's Garden has been consistently under-populated and as such, drawing below expected demand. as such, the great overflow has been pouring its huge kilometres-tall waterfall into Lecris Bay at a tremendous rate.
Highwater is inhabited, although with virtually no arable land, its sparse human populace relies upon the fauna of the lake and the fruits of the vertical jungles below to supply their dietary needs. with few metals and other resources, the natives have not developed an advanced technological base, but continue the Sremic traditions of their ancestors, even descending the walls to attend Discourses and respect ancient bonds of loyalty when called on. in fact, they often keep Cacti in their houses, in the hopes of infusing ancestral essences into themselves.
Questions:
- where does the water come from? a captive water spirit, possibly the greatest storm of the Obsidian Expanse? just collecting seasonal rain? its sheer altitude induces air to rise, and therefore drop moisture? it captures high-level clouds?
- most inhabitation is on the wall rather than the top?
Geography
the virtually-sheer concrete ramparts of Highwater are nearly 2 kilometres tall and hundreds of metres thick. various precipitous paths wind their way up the exterior, patrolled and maintained by Constructors (concrete Golems). these paths wind across vast buttresses, ramparts, and towers, rendering the outside into a dizzying collage of complexity. Guano from birds nesting on the wall, as well as overspilling water from high winds, has fuelled the growth of vertical forests along some of these wall-stretches.
Walltop, the continuous hundreds-of-metres-wide strip of land around the edge of Highwater broken only by the Great Overflow, is where the majority of human settlement atop Highwater takes place. it has developed a thin soil over the millennia, but still produces few good crops. it is also inhabited by millions of seabirds.
within this enormous reservoir is 15,000 km3 of fresh water, completely devoid of land or shallows. the surface temperature of the lake varies by season, but is always much colder than the desert below, and in certain times and places ice thick enough to walk and even build on can develop. with little nutrient inflow, the waters are not particularly fecund, though a few enormous shoals of fish exist, following the plankton blooms.
Specific Locations:
- Great Overflow: a huge 2km-tall waterfall, which debouches into Lecris Bay below and is one of its primary water supplies. varies depending on the demand for water in Unathyr's Garden.
- Southern Face: the southern face of Highwater is more complex than the rest. for a start, it is shorter, as the land of Unathyr's Garden piles up against it to a height of 500m. futhermore, a network of sluices, gates, and reservoirs manages to delivery of water to the aqueducts of the Garden below.
Fauna & Flora
- waterbirds
- Constructors
- fish
- high-altitude jungle plants
Type
Megastructure
Location under
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
Comments