Post by amisi on Apr 19, 2009 13:22:10 GMT -5
Name of Island: Sedna Island
Size of Island: Medium.
Location of Island: North Blue, only about 20 miles south of The Frost Kingdom.
Inhabitants: The locals here are famously unfriendly and defensive. Visitors are met by slamming doors and shuttered windows, and no inn, hostel, or spare bed exists on the entire island. Most of the residents here work in the whaling industry, or export bricks, mortar, and other building material. Another major export for this island is dry ice, which the mayor is rumored to be able to create just by glaring at a glass of water. The average family has a history on the island that goes back a few hundred years, since people rarely immigrate to this island due to the hostile atmosphere, and no one ever leaves because other locales are irritatingly cheerful. Fashion tends to be dark and conservative, with facial and body piercings becoming popular among the youth in the past few years, though other jewelry is viewed as a waste of money. Most citizens are middle-class, though a few of the richer families live in small manors on the northern outskirts of town.
Town(s)/Village(s)/City or Cities:
Sedna Town: The only town on the island. The harbor to the south of the island is narrow, with only enough space to accommodate six ships at a time (the better to discourage visitors). A winding cobblestone road leads up to First Street, which is the center of the town and contains most of the commercial buildings, like tailors and weapon-makers. A trip down any side street will lead to the residential area, where the buildings are stark and undecorated, save for edible plants being grown in gardens. Further north lies the small manors of the rich citizens of Sedna. The most notable one belongs to Baruch, the mayor.
Baruch's Mansion: This building looks more like a Victorian sanitarium than a house, but inside the decoration is very rich and tasteful, mostly done in grays and blues. There are no plants to be seen anywhere on the premises, because Baruch is allergic to nature. Although Baruch is a very unkind person, he may be persuaded to finance the aspirations of any pirates who wander by and ask for supplies or help, because, as a former pirate himself, he thinks that other cities being pillaged is funny.
Flora and Fauna: Sedna used to have a lot of beautiful winter-blooming wildflowers, but the feeling of negativity that hangs over this island sapped their vitality and turned them into thorny, poisonous black weeds called Daffodevils. Most of the plants that exist in the wild are of the poisonous, or at least nuisance, variety, with lots of tall forbidding gray trees with gnarled roots and tangled undergrowth. The citizens rarely plant flowers; plants that can be eaten or used as medicine are strongly preferred. Few animals thrive here, mostly gray squirrels and other small woodland creatures that can feed on the non-poisonous weeds. Crows and blackbirds make up a large part of this island's ecosystem; they can be seen circling over the forest canopy every hour of the day. Ice Whales enjoy the chilly temperatures of the water here, so a lot of them can be found in the area.
Island History: 200 years ago, the first settlers on this island were the Cantankers, a family of bounty hunters who were asked to leave their old town due to their overwhelming unfriendliness. They gladly agreed to leave and soon found themselves on Sedna Island, which was uninhabited at the time and decidedly more bright and cheerful than it would grow to be in later years. They set up a homestead, using rocks from the island and other building materials they imported from their former home in the Frost Kingdom. They soon discovered that the whales who lived in the area were a great commodity and began a small whaling business, exporting whale oil, teeth, spermaceti, and blubber in staggering amounts. The high volume of these exports piqued the interest of other families who weren't exactly satisfied with their own careers. A slew of new families moved to the island. The Cantankers tried to run them off, and a lot of the newcomers were turned away. Unfortunately for the Cantankers, most of the prospective whalers were just as bad-tempered as they were, and all they succeeded in doing was starting family feuds that still exist to this day.
The whaling industry slowly grew, giving the town money to expand into other areas. They began using the very dense clay on the island to make extruded bricks with a very dark, almost blood-red color, which was desirable to the islands in North Blue where the white landscape needed a touch of color here and there. Eventually weaponry joined whaling and building materials as the big three of the Sedna economy. Although the citizens of Sedna preferred to be isolated from the other islands, particularly The Frost Kingdom, they discovered that people were willing to pay a high price for their products and could no longer turn away the trade ships. This is the way they have continued into the present, reluctantly making economic ties to other nations but otherwise keeping to themselves.
Size of Island: Medium.
Location of Island: North Blue, only about 20 miles south of The Frost Kingdom.
Inhabitants: The locals here are famously unfriendly and defensive. Visitors are met by slamming doors and shuttered windows, and no inn, hostel, or spare bed exists on the entire island. Most of the residents here work in the whaling industry, or export bricks, mortar, and other building material. Another major export for this island is dry ice, which the mayor is rumored to be able to create just by glaring at a glass of water. The average family has a history on the island that goes back a few hundred years, since people rarely immigrate to this island due to the hostile atmosphere, and no one ever leaves because other locales are irritatingly cheerful. Fashion tends to be dark and conservative, with facial and body piercings becoming popular among the youth in the past few years, though other jewelry is viewed as a waste of money. Most citizens are middle-class, though a few of the richer families live in small manors on the northern outskirts of town.
Town(s)/Village(s)/City or Cities:
Sedna Town: The only town on the island. The harbor to the south of the island is narrow, with only enough space to accommodate six ships at a time (the better to discourage visitors). A winding cobblestone road leads up to First Street, which is the center of the town and contains most of the commercial buildings, like tailors and weapon-makers. A trip down any side street will lead to the residential area, where the buildings are stark and undecorated, save for edible plants being grown in gardens. Further north lies the small manors of the rich citizens of Sedna. The most notable one belongs to Baruch, the mayor.
Baruch's Mansion: This building looks more like a Victorian sanitarium than a house, but inside the decoration is very rich and tasteful, mostly done in grays and blues. There are no plants to be seen anywhere on the premises, because Baruch is allergic to nature. Although Baruch is a very unkind person, he may be persuaded to finance the aspirations of any pirates who wander by and ask for supplies or help, because, as a former pirate himself, he thinks that other cities being pillaged is funny.
Flora and Fauna: Sedna used to have a lot of beautiful winter-blooming wildflowers, but the feeling of negativity that hangs over this island sapped their vitality and turned them into thorny, poisonous black weeds called Daffodevils. Most of the plants that exist in the wild are of the poisonous, or at least nuisance, variety, with lots of tall forbidding gray trees with gnarled roots and tangled undergrowth. The citizens rarely plant flowers; plants that can be eaten or used as medicine are strongly preferred. Few animals thrive here, mostly gray squirrels and other small woodland creatures that can feed on the non-poisonous weeds. Crows and blackbirds make up a large part of this island's ecosystem; they can be seen circling over the forest canopy every hour of the day. Ice Whales enjoy the chilly temperatures of the water here, so a lot of them can be found in the area.
Island History: 200 years ago, the first settlers on this island were the Cantankers, a family of bounty hunters who were asked to leave their old town due to their overwhelming unfriendliness. They gladly agreed to leave and soon found themselves on Sedna Island, which was uninhabited at the time and decidedly more bright and cheerful than it would grow to be in later years. They set up a homestead, using rocks from the island and other building materials they imported from their former home in the Frost Kingdom. They soon discovered that the whales who lived in the area were a great commodity and began a small whaling business, exporting whale oil, teeth, spermaceti, and blubber in staggering amounts. The high volume of these exports piqued the interest of other families who weren't exactly satisfied with their own careers. A slew of new families moved to the island. The Cantankers tried to run them off, and a lot of the newcomers were turned away. Unfortunately for the Cantankers, most of the prospective whalers were just as bad-tempered as they were, and all they succeeded in doing was starting family feuds that still exist to this day.
The whaling industry slowly grew, giving the town money to expand into other areas. They began using the very dense clay on the island to make extruded bricks with a very dark, almost blood-red color, which was desirable to the islands in North Blue where the white landscape needed a touch of color here and there. Eventually weaponry joined whaling and building materials as the big three of the Sedna economy. Although the citizens of Sedna preferred to be isolated from the other islands, particularly The Frost Kingdom, they discovered that people were willing to pay a high price for their products and could no longer turn away the trade ships. This is the way they have continued into the present, reluctantly making economic ties to other nations but otherwise keeping to themselves.