Alestria
Situated in the southern banks of the River Thallox, perhaps two days walk west of Fort Bentington, Alestria is both the largest and most cosmopolitan of the Kari-Zaro villages.
The outskirts of the village sprawl alongside the river, where a muddy cove offers shelter for a dozen or so canoes, each dug out from the trunk of a mighty kapok tree with meticulous care and craftsmanship. Pigments from wild berries and flowers serve as the base of the paints used to decorate the canoes with a symbols that represent spirits of the river to protect the boat - and their occupants - from water dragons and other hazards that befall those who travel and work on the river. Stacked neatly near these boats are the spears and nets used by Alestrians to work the river, providing the village with a steady supply of fresh fish.
Other Kari-Zaro tend to the rice paddies and tropic gardens that occupy the marshland situated south of the shoreline for a hundred paces or more before the floodplain and its mangroves give way to the massive bayans of the village proper. With homes set five or even ten paces in air, using the massive trunks and wide, horizontal branches of these trees as supports, most of Alestria sits above the jungle floor, keeping its residents both safe from predators and seasonal floods.
The Pathways of Alestria
Connected by vine bridges, the Kari-zaro work on both the business of surviving and the art of life in their raised homes. Like their canoes, painted symbols decorate their homes, guarding doors and warding windows. Colorful murals, often depicting the beauty of the jungle in stunning detail, cover the open spaces - both on banyan trunk and carefully planed wooden walls. Like most Kari-zaro settlements, few children call it home. Those that do however, seem to run the village, charging across bridges and calling to their friends in unabashed play, something not possible in more remote settlements.
Elders in Alestria have the privilege of travel along the river both to their neighbors in Pensicoit to the north and with the Imperial Legion stationed to the east. This contact makes its residents somewhat wiser to events and culture found in both the Inner Seas and the Jungles of Kash-pah those found in more remote villages. It also gives the village a slightly elevated level of influence on those rare occasions when Elders across the jungle gather and debate.
Founding Date
Before Written History
Type
Village
Population
750
Location under
Owning Organization
Characters in Location
Related Reports (Secondary)