Holem Shyor

The Askem Valashor is not known for its urban splendor. The closest the cloud forest comes to a city is Holem Shyor, the seat of the local government, and which controls the entrance to the valley of the same name as the forest. It is not a pleasant place, mired as it is in fog and damp. The only escape is in the higher of the platforms, and even rudimentary buildings, perched in, and strung between, the branches of the trees.

— from Lands of the Tolorak

Demographics

The population of Holem Shyor are overwhelmingly of Askar descent. There exist statistically significant minorities of nearby people groups—chiefly the Malar from just to the north, and the Golor, Balor, and the Talar from the other valleys of the Tolorak. Holem Shyor occasionally sees visitors from further afield, but they usually are traveling merchants, and seldom stay long.

Government

Holem Shyor has a government in two parts: the local Council of Elders, and the foreign occupation. The occupation is led by the Headman, who appoints the officials of his administration, and who in turn is appointed by an overlord known locally as the Suzerain, a northerly conqueror whose name may not be spoken. The Headman is an ethnic Malar of good breeding and social standing, and chooses his officials from the same stock. The occupation cares little for the internal affairs of Holem Shyor, so long as they can collect the Suzerain's tax, and the lumber keeps flowing down the river.
The Council of Elders is the local, traditional form of government. It made up of seventeen old priests, wizened and decrepit, who rule in accordance with ancient and labyrinthine traditions. When there is a vacant position, a new member is chosen from the lesser members of their priesthood, requiring a thorough understanding of the aforementioned traditions, and with a strong preference for advanced age. The Council has supreme authority in Holem Shyor, and nearly all of the Askem Valashor; so long as the Suzerain receives his tax and his lumber, the Council has unrestricted autonomy.

Industry & Trade

The single most extensive resource the region possesses is lumber—specifically, the wood of the Tekum tree, which comprises its only significant export. The trees are very large, and have adapted to be resistant to all but the most voracious parasites—such as those native to the Askem Valashor, which cannot survive without moisture like that provided by the forest's fog, and are killed by the salt in ocean water. Tekum trees upriver from Holem Shyor are cut down, and floated downriver to be sold at distant markets. The demand for Tekum wood is driven primarily for the construction of seafaring ships, as it does not need to be specially treated to resist molds, fungi, or seafaring parasites.
The industry trade in Tekum lumber is. however, limited. The ancient pact that forms the heart of Askar religion requires the preservation of the Tekum forests, which are of especial import to their spirit-gods, limiting the number which may be cut down. Most of these have gone to pay the Suzerain's tribute, which has caused a major downswing in the local economy.

Infrastructure

The banks of the river Doloon are dedicated, primarily, to trade. An extensive, yet surprisingly simplistic, system of docks and cages are maintained to facilitate the exportation of the region's primary resource, lumber. Additionally, the city cultivates and maintains an extensive series of bridges and ladders, made from living vines, that leads between the many buildings perched in the branches of the region's tall trees.

Architecture

The ground is covered in shacks and lean-to; ramshackle wooden buildings that rely chiefly on the forest's great trees to provide structural support. Further up, perched in the trees' branches, are a horde of platforms and buildings, connected by a maze of ladders and bridges woven from still-living vines.

Geography

The heart of Holem Shyor is the mouth of the valley of the Askem Valashor, where the land slopes gradually down from the valley to low-lying plains. The river Doloon cuts a path through the center of Holem Shyor, the banks of which gradually slope upwards until they reach the stark cliff-faces which define the valley's borders. Holem Shyor spills out a little ways into either side of the mouth, the valley and the foothills.

Natural Resources

The economic lifeblood of Holem Shyor is lumber, in the form of the gigantic Tekum that comprise the forest. Trees within the city are never harvested, but the Council of Elders tax all shipments of lumber that leave the Askem Valashor—save those given as tribute to the Suzerain. Many of the trees are also host to the domestic, parasitic mosses and fungi that are the primary foodstuff of the people living in the region. A small quantity of this food is harvested within the city itself, but most of the populace is fed by crops from deeper in the valley.

Type

Large town

Population

16,400

Related Ethnicities

• Askar

Inhabitant Demonym

Shyorar

Location under

Askem Valashor