Súdhodal (/suðɔdɑl/)

Súdhodal is a small village located where the expansive grasslands of Mélíth Rialiem meet Nahathienn Forest along the northwest border of Lake Alulíthéniem. It consists of a smattering of stone and wood buildings with an inconsistent architectural style, a startlingly large inn, and a dangerous assortment of broken shacks and sunken land on the outskirts of the village.
The village's layout is haphazard, its buildings are simplistic and crudely-built, and the streets are simple packed dirt. While everything stays fairly clean and repaired, it is a starkly bare aesthetic unseen in any Aeldvaren culture. The majority of inhabitants of this village are Aeldvari, most in the "young adult" age range (100-300 years old)--an unusual demographic compared to other modest-sized settlements.

History

A century past, this place was a regularly-used fishing camp at the edge of a long dirt road through the tall grass, offering temporary shelter for the visiting fishers from local clan-cities. After a harsh storm caused flooding along the shore and then a sinkhole on the edge of the camp, all reasonable kinvari stopped frequenting it and took their fishing south. The few ramshackle buildings left behind fell into disrepair (or fell into the sinkhole).
However, youthful enthusiasm knows no bounds, and when a handful of young Aeldvari from nearby clan-cities stumbled across the ruins, they saw a glorious playground. The fishing camp was immediately repurposed as an obstacle course for the ever-popular game of Tienepítha, where players direct their elothien (animal-based arcane constructs) through hazards and challenges to see which one is fastest or most skillful. The more fragile and fraught the location, the more exciting the game.
Within a dozen years, this former campsite had become such a regular site for Tienepítha matches that new, somewhat sturdier buildings were erected as temporary housing. Young kinvari began staying for longer periods of time, and other kinvari unassociated with the game saw an opportunity of their own; over time, fishers and merchants and craftsfolk established a place for themselves in this growing community.
Eventually, the unnamed sinkhole hamlet became a proper, albeit quite small, village and received a formal name: Súdhodal. (The Aeldvari responsible for acknowledging Súdhodal as a real settlement graciously ignore the fact that the name means "place [of/for] geeks/nerds.")
While the year-round residents of this village are relatively few, the popularity of the game and the natural obstacle courses found nearby attract a staggering number of visitors, and the largest and finest building in Súdhodal is the Elothien Inn. It boasts a ridiculous two dozen rooms and can house nearly a hundred kinvari--half the population of the town! Despite its disproportion, it's almost always at half capacity or more, thanks to the constant influx of spectators and game participants.

Culture

The culture of Súdhodal is quite bizarre, compared to sophisticated Aeldvaren clan-cities, rustic Hymvaren towns, and immense Duovaren stonedoms. The village does not have a high enough population to be preoccupied with being a thriving, self-sustaining settlement--once basic food and clothing needs are taken care of, the villagers trust in trade and tourism to see them through.
Of course, the very center of Súdhodal culture is Tienepítha, often simply called The Game. Súdhodal has immediate access to the lake in the east, the forest to the north, and the tallgrass prairies to the west and south--as well as the sinkhole and broken shacks within a ten minute walk--which provides many different sites for obstacle courses or other Tienepítha challenges of varying levels of difficulty. This unique setting allows Súdhodal to offer an unusually wide selection of single matches, seasonal tournaments, and annual challenges for visitors and residents alike.
Even outside of active games, Tienepítha dominates social activities in terms of discussing, training, and trading elothien. Unlike most other places where the game is played, kinvari frequently keep their elothien with them throughout their day, resulting in a somewhat chaotic scene of hyper-colorful, translucent animals swarming over an otherwise-pastoral scene. While not all residents compete in the game, nearly all have at least one elothien of their own.

Work and Trade

For those who live in Súdhodal year-round, contribution to the survival of their home is critical. Súdhodal has no official government and is not an extension of any given clan, leaving it vulnerable to strife, in-fighting, and predation. The closest thing to a governing body is actually the informal referee group that oversees and judges Tienepítha matches; they are occasionally called upon to be an impartial third party during everyday disputes.
Full-time villagers are most often involved in animal husbandry; fishing, hunting the surrounding grasslands or the nearby forest, and domestication of rabbits, chickens, and ducks. Súdhodal does not go hungry or naked, and while visitors may be unimpressed with animal-hide clothing, villagers stay warm and dry no matter the season. Those who work closely with living animals are often responsible for producing new elothien based on those animals, for trade with their fellow residents or with visiting kinvari.
Of course, agriculture is also a significant percentage of Súdhodal's relative prosperity. Backyard herb gardens, cultivated berry bushes and fruit trees in the forest, rice paddies along the lake, and grains grown in the grasslands all provide ample food for residents and visitors. Common produce includes apples, blackberries, strawberries, tomatoes, farro, millet, rice, pumpkins, garlic, broccoli, maize, wheat, and sunflower seeds and oil.
Stones and ore are not a priority for Súdhodal. Quartzite, sandstone, and chalk are easy to find, and coal deposits have been uncovered a short ways south of the village, but none of them are deliberately harvested and exported or traded.

This page is an entry into the Nerdbuilding Flash Challenge: A Settlement On The Edge.

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Details

Founded: 343 (11 Arcane)
Population: 187 as of 423 (11 Arcane)
Demographics:
85% Aeldvari, 13% Hymvari, 2% Other;
81% adult, 14% child, 5% senior

Geography

Depressional Basin Floor
Elevation: 243 feet above sea level
Distance from the Marine Coast: 186.65 miles
Ground Cover: 60%

Lake Alulíthéniem

Salinity: fresh
Size: ~8,500 square miles
Maximum Depth: 550 feet
Feeder: Nahathienn River
Outlet: Lethien River

Climate

Warm Temperate Grassland
Avg. Annual Temperature: 61F
Avg. Annual Precipitation: 30.24 in
Avg. Annual Snowfall: 7 feet
Seasons: Summer, Winter, Fall, and Spring
Prevailing Winds: northwest to southeast

Flora and Fauna

Domestic

Livestock: Rabbits, Ducks, Chickens
Work: Falcons, Dogs
Companion: Housecats, Dogs
Flora: Rice, Pumpkins, Herbs

Grasslands Fauna

Megafauna: Bison
Prey: Prairie Dogs, Hares, Prairie Chickens
Predators: Lions, Coyotes, Prairie Falcon

Forest Fauna

Prey: Red Deer, Rabbits, Squirrels
Predators: Red Wolves, Foxes, Great Horned Owls

Lake Fauna

Aquatic: Clams, Bass, Catfish
Reptiles: Watersnakes, Snapping Turtles
Birds: Ducks, Geese, Herring Gulls

Flora

Trees: Black Walnut, Apple, Honey Locust, Silky Birch, Sycamore
Grass: Deergrass, Leafy Reedgrass
Shrubs: Black Chokeberry, Strawberry Bush, Tomato Plant
Moss: Brocade Moss, Peat Moss

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