Dyqamay Silverlands

Among the Eleven Cities, the island city-state of Dyqamay is noted as being the most wealthy in relation to its size; it is perhaps the smallest city, but by that token it is probably the wealthiest per capita. Much of that wealth stems from its capacity as a thriving commercial port, though this is greatly abetted by the productive seams of silver that criss-cross the rocky uplands that comprise the eastern and northern sections of its small island. Though separated from the city proper by a day or more's travel by foot, the five small settlements in the silverlands are the cause of its prosperity.

History

The island city-state of Dyqamay has existed since prehistoric times; its people originally described themselves as the descendants of the liaison between the pre-Wesmodian fire-god Ajqyod and the Red Sisters. The myth is interesting in that it makes no reference to metals at all, let alone silver, but rather wood, with the sisters attracting the attention of the god by burning fragrant kindling on a windy day and entertaining him in a bower in a grove of cherry trees. Wood has always been something of a luxury on the island, which is mostly rock and clay and whose citizens are among the most dependent on Civilian ships of the Sea of Jars to bring them food. The lack of reference to silver in its foundation myth suggests that the silverlands are not the reason for the city's foundation, and probably substantially postdate it. Nevertheless the city has been producing silver, copper, tin and gemstones for as long as records go back. Perhaps half of all the silver and bronze, and a large proportion of the precious stones, in the Eleven Cities starts out as ore chopped from the hills of the silverlands.
The villages of the silverlands have never had pretensions of being independent communities; they are in effect outlying industrial suburbs of Dyqamay, largely dependent on the port for provisioning, and their inhabitants are noted for their stout pride in their role in the city's prosperity. They produce raw mineral resources and have consignments of ore ready for the short-range merchant caravans which arrive from the city laden with food, clothing and (in smaller quantities) prospective wives for the miners. Dyamayan culture, and that of some of the other cities, has long romanticised the silverlands, making a great deal of the strength and stout-heartedness of the miners and sometimes overstating the prosperity of the mines. This means that emigration to the communities has always taken place - although many of those not born there eventually migrate back to Dyqamay proper, disillusioned by the hard physical labour the mining actually entails.

Modern era

It says something for the cultural cohesion of these communities have largely resisted the encroachment of the Commercial Guilds, who would normally be apt to involve themselves in such commercial enterprises. The orange robes of the Guilders are in fact a rare sight in the silverlands, where large-scale commerce is mostly handled by the grey-robed operatives of the domestic Silversmith's Guild of Dyqamay. The international Guilds do business with the Silversmiths, and occasionally dispatch operatives to the hills to negotiate directly with the miners, though apart from a brief period roughly a century ago where the Commercial Guilds managed to set up a semi-permanent assaying presence in Light Springs, they have largely failed. 

Landmarks

The five villages of the silverlands are really too small to possess particular landmarks, but they do constitute landmarks themselves.
The smallest of the villages is Glass Brings, noted for its consistently high outputs of rock crystal and amethyst, commodities that fetch particularly high prices in the northern cities of Oluz and Halumay.
High Town is named because it is situated further up in the highlands than any of the other villages; sharp frosts sometimes make the roads impassable in the winter. Silver, tin, emeralds and garnets are produced here in significant quantities. It is noteworthy for the eroded remnant of a shrine to Ajqyod which stands in the centre of the village an occasionally excites visits from interested thaumatologists. 
Light Springs is situated at a freshwater spring which is the source of a small river that runs down the highlands and across the small plain separating them from Dyqamay before reaching its mouth at the city. The Commercial Guilds tried to set up a rafting operation to allow the copper and silver ore mined here to the city, though the river proved too rough and rocky for the idea to really work.
Man Falls is named because it sits on a narrow level area between a tall escarpment on one side and a precipitous ravine on the other. The village's mine, which produces silver and a smaller quantity of electrum, is reached via several narrow rope bridges across the ravine, which is roughly fifty metres wide; the output is transported back to the village in specialised leather knapsacks designed by the miners themselves. Despite the name, there is no significant history of accidents on the bridges.
Rock Bites produces gold, copper and small quantities of opals. It is named because of its association with the folktale of the Little Stone Men, which is thought to originate there. Some of its inhabitants continue to believe quite seriously in the existence of these strange creatures and to perform rites to placate them, giving the village a reputation that the sceptical majority of its residents frankly resent.

Type

National Territory