Farhad's Fist
Farhad's Fist is the name of both the largest rocky outcrop in the centre of the Jellnev Desert. and for the large settlement which has grown around it. The Fist itself properly refers to the tower of sandstone, a thousand feet high and roughly a mile square that rises out of the dunes and rock in the centre of the Jellnev Desert. At the foot of this natural edifice is a large and deep oasis fed by some deep aquifer and (it is said) the will of The Creator.
Given its location, the harshness of the desert, and the deepness of the oasis, the Fist has been a place of refuge and habitation since people first ventured through the desert. The eponymous Farhad bel'Uem is a quite recent inhabitant - he was the last of the irregular series of 'Sand Kings,' rebel leaders who united the bandits, outlaws, and ne'er-do-wells who gravitated to the remote desert. Shortly after the Reconquest, he dominated the centre of the desert for a handful of years - before being defeated by an alliance of Weldic and Imperial troops. Though the two rulers sought to end the scourge of the Sand Kings by establishing a loyal religious community - the Conservors of Farhad's Fist - Farhad's legacy lives on as the name for the rock and the settlement within and around it.
Geography
The Fist consists of two distinct areas - the oasis and outer town gathered around it, and the Fist proper containing the temple of the Conservors, as well as the administration buildings.
Most buildings outside the rock are agricultural in nature - storehouses, animal pens, as well as a few workshops to support them. Only unlucky herders and the night guard dwell outside the coolness of the rock with any regularity. Other than the agricultural, the other buildings around the oasis are pump houses, a couple of boathouses, and the Water Temple. The Water Temple is a secondary ritual site for the Cults at the Fist - it is a largely open-air building, a long hall is formed by columns running parallel to the shore, which then opens up to a stone and wood plaza and dias built into the oasis on sandstone piles.
The Fist itself contains two distinct areas - the east and west wings are carved along the edge and inside of the rock, giving some rooms windows out into the desert. These contain most of the accommodation, workshops, and shops for the community - they are a later addition when the Fist was resettled after the defeat of Farhad. The second area, the Sanctorum and administrative building, are built within the old fortress which was first carved millennia ago. A vast open doorway provides entrance to this (the beaten bronze gates having been carried away by the victorious armies). From the vast central atrium, corridors break off east and west to the wings, and a series of staircases rise up into the Fist. The Sanctors' accommodation comes first, followed by administrative offices and the Sanctorum Council Chamber. Finally, at the top level is the Sanctorum itself - right under the top of the Fist. Two staircases curl round either side of the open space, which is lit by strategically carved skylights - these staircases allow for the Sanctors to celebrate on the very top of the Fist itself, with a commanding view over the oasis and the desolation beyond.
Type
Outpost / Base
Population
3,500
Location under
Owning Organization
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