Details of the County : Arts and Industry

Flos de Terra, situated in the north most position of the main island of Solurius, is blessed with a variety of land features that make it possible to sustain a myriad of industries. It has also allowed the people to find some outstanding ways to make their mark in the world in the form of artistic expression that is unique to the area, allowing Flos de Terra stand out among the other lands in Solurius in the hearts of it’s residents.

Major industry tends to vary by region, mirroring the major geographical features. In the Dragonspire mountains, there are dotted villages that grow what they can in the foothills.. grapes, potatoes, and sustenance gardens are popular but hardly the only grown crops. Fertile lowlands produce some fine wineries and brewers. These smaller farms create a variety of wines, beers, and whiskies beloved all over the area and traded far throughout Solurius and abroad. However, heading into the forbidding stones above is where the real activity happens. Mining communities dot the landscape, seeking the treasures of the earth. Focused around the town of Elgren’s Forge, trails spiral out to allow traders to bring in ores from the mountains to the blast furnaces and smelting holds in an area known as the Dragon’s Breath... at night, you can see the red scattered glow, and the heavy smoke during the day.

Dragon’s Breath is not haphazard, but rather carefully sectioned under Taskmaster Ulster Forgehammer, the current leader of Dragon’s Breath. A brawny but squat man, Ulster claims that Dwarven heritage runs in his family lines, but only his broad form and cared for beard support his family history. No one denies though, that Ulster is a master of dealing with the refinement of ore, and his easy laughter, quick mind, voluminous voice and unique tattoos make him an unmistakable presence. If asked for a tour, provided you seem like you understand basic metal smelting and common sense, he will gladly take you around and show you the various areas where tireless crews produce refined Iron, Copper, Silver, Tin, Gold and Lead taken from deposits all over the breadth of the mountains, and some in trade.

If visitors find Dragon’s Breath impressive, there is a little known area back in Elgren’s Forge known as The Links. This region takes it’s name both from it’s production of high quality chain-mail, and it’s rich tradition of jewelery making. Pieces rarely travel out of Flos due to the production scale, but many citizens in the county who have found success wear these Scottish, Irish, and German influenced pieces, many with designs claiming linage back to the days of the Celtic Tribes. Weapons are also produced, often with these designs worked into them, but they’re more common in Earlsport.

Other art unique to the lands around the Dragonspire includes stone carving and statuary in Waypointe, a hub for trade out into the rest of the country and points south. Here you can find religious statues, great heroes, tribal myths, and protective talismans set in stone. The strongest and most expensive of these are chiseled out, then set with metal from the mountains. Iron for wards against evil fae, gold and silver for fortune or high religious icons, and personal taste pieces often commissioned by the wealthy. Though uncommon, in stone carver studios like The Immortal Form, unique, beautiful, and daring people may find work as models for the artists.

The most unique art in in Flos is that of Scalecarving. Dragons shed scales, and when they don’t wish to trade their carefully guarded hoards for goods, it’s possible that they will trade some of the larger cast off scales instead. These scales, which can be as strong as a knight’s shield, have caused the birth of scalecarving. Influenced by cameos from Italy, smaller pieces can be treated with strong acids or lye to soften them, and carefully shaped or carved into fantastic deigns. Artisans guard their designs violently, and it is illegal to copy the work of another. These pieces are sought hard in Flos, but see even greater trade on the overseas markets, and are often believed enchanted even when they are not. It is absolutely certain that they are easier to enchant, however. No one yet has made a full suit of scale mail, but there are several standing orders from extremely wealthy patrons across the world. The first such artist to make one will surely become immortal in his craft.

Leaving the mountains into the plains, metal mastery meets the flesh of the fields in the Dragontrade Meets, an up and coming area where ranchers and shepherds may drive their best livestock to the foothills to trade with the dragons given haven under the order of King Byron Meldrum the Third. Only the best animals are purchased by the dragons, and negotiations are intense and constant. Due to this constant environment of driving to be the best, a culture of contest and festivals have arisen along the villages of the Meets. In every season save winter, one can often find colored pennants and family plaids from clans and groups marking out their pens. Frequent contests include cattle judging, sheep judging and herding contests for people and dogs alike, and feats of strength among the men. Women frequently bring wares and hold contests for wool weaving, unique spins and dyes, and worked leather crafts that are both judged and traded. It is here that the birth of the Terra Cloak came about, a new favorite for the harsh winters. A cloak made of heavy and tight woven wool, it is often treated to resist water. To further this and trap in heat, a further treated layer of strong leather is stitched over the outside of the wool, greatly lengthening the life of the cloak and it’s protection. Several clans have claimed to have invented it, and the matter is one of frequent dispute.

Heading further out into the plains, life gets spread out among farms and grazing that make up the “Food Basket” of Flos de Terra. While supplemented with a hearty seafood diet and hunting, this is a vital region to the land, and it’s people have a proud tradition of caring for their herds. Sheep, goats, cows, swine, and horses are popular along the lands. One can find strong herds of Reddish or Black Highland cows, and Oxen, all shaggy longhorns built to withstand the seasons. Thick wooled Black-faces and Shetland sheep predominate for the same reason. Horses tend to be more utilitarian than racing, with both Highland and Shetland ponies hot in demand as rugged trail beasts, and the mighty Clydesdale being considered a champion workhorse, popular along with oxen for hauling stone, beer, and metals.

With so many herd animals in the landscape, festivals related to them are common. Wool Fares, where in people trade stocks of unprocessed wool from the various holdings, are hotly contested. Writs allowing villages and towns to host these fares are carefully controlled by the Earl, and heavily advised by the leaders of the most powerful towns. When a wool fare is granted, shepherds come from all over the plains with wagons laden with wool, ready to make the best deal avaliable. Food sellers, tanners, and musicians make their way as well to take advantage of the festive air, and a good day of selling can lead to piping competitions, dances, play troupe performances, and no small amount of libation. A good fare can make a community for the next year, or allow it to grow in size and influence.

Also common among festivals are large scale dances, flower gifts and messages, apple races, cider brewing contests, and cooking contests. Feats of strength, foot races, and archery are common. The wool run is a common favorite event, where in participants heft sheep after sheep over their shoulders in a back and forth foot race against time. Participants have until the hourglass runs out, about fifteen minuets, to move as many sheep from their pen as they can. The current record holder is Robb “Swift” Shepherd, a strong young man of twenty summers. Romance is also common in such events, and those who ply their trade in matchmaking, spiritual advice on matters of the heart, and advising weddings or relationships in general are seen in goodly numbers. A popular sale item is the heart needle, a small magic craft made by hedge witches in the area. Made of rosewood, a silver heart, a sewing needle, and thread pulled from swaddling cloth combines elements of love, romance, home, and children to guide a seeking lady to her future swain by following the tugs of the needle. Such crafts are unreliable at best, and more than one hedge witch has found himself or herself seeking a fast pony out of town on their earnings. Also popular on the plains, though scattered everywhere, are scores of alchemists and herbalists that seek to make their living from the bounty of the land. This practice is common among the elven communities, though they are still heavily dominated by humans. Potions, herbal supplements, and poultices are sold throughout the land for a variety of ailments and enhancements.

On the long coast that dominates Flos, making up three of it’s borders, is a rich and vibrant life of towns and villages that take their bounties from the sea. The border also shares some space with vast woodlands that provide no small resource for it’s heavy woodworking. The Earl does continue to import wood in order to preserve the County’s wood reserve as a vital strategic resource in case of large scale naval war, yet that hardly means lumber harvest is forbidden. From coopers to vast ship builders, wood makes up a great portion of life on the coast. Many towns make strong wooden buildings, occasionally based with stone to help survive the frequent storms. Of course, it wouldn’t be a fishing village without fishing, and the coast of Flos sees it heavily. With the tastes of the Royal family, particularly Queen Callean Meldrum, some of the north most towns like Northpoint, Crownjewel, and King’s Landing see heavy crabbing and lobster baiting. Still, traditional fishing is widely observed be it by net, spear, or line. The strongest, largest vessels hunt the great beast of the seas, the Whale. Just one of these mammoth beings can feed the bulk of a community for weeks, and the rendered fat, oils and bones are all popular items that fetch good price despite the rarity for their finds. Seal hunting is also practiced but carefully, as legends persist of communities of Selkies. It is not uncommon to see a man talking to seals, or staying from a hunting ground for weeks because of reports of beautiful women spied bathing naked in the moonlight the night before. No one wishes to accidentally kill a Selkie, for it carries a dire curse.

Behind fishing and aquatic hunting, the lead industry in Flos is boat building. Early in his appointment to the land, the Earl made a deal with the Duchess-Admiral Alysia to provide war ships exclusively for the Kingdom, so long as he could provide five a year. Winter makes such building impossible, but once spring starts, the five major towns with shipyards burst into a flurry of activity, each following the same design provided by the Shipwright and Head Architect Geoffrey, who the Earl also hired as part of the contact. While each ship is essentially the same, crafted by the details carefully etched out by the Head Shipwright, rivalry to finish better, faster, and with the best materials make for individual communities both at heavy contest with each other and connected by a strong sense of community in that they provide the warships for the country that has given them their lives and families.

Such dual feelings, that of rivalry and community, are common in Flos de Terra. Some say such competitive natures are encouraged by the Earl so long as they do not cross over into violence more serious than tavern brawl. In the Towns of King’s Landing and Tradecove stands an excellent example of this. Both towns claim that they are the site from which The King of Solurius first landed upon the Island from Dragonskeep. Both places work hard to make their town more grand, reasoning that the better town has the better claim. Currently, King’s Landing has a ferry that runs to Dragonskeep when season and need allow, and there is a vast stone project to create a tile mural of the King’s arrival. The town of Tradecove, not to be outdone, work hard to produce a large stone bas relief depicting the crossing. Communications to the Earl asking for factual information on the crossing from the King for the accuracy of the events have gone unanswered, save vague responses that one could trust in the eyewitness accounts, and that writings may have been lost in the destruction of the original Castle Meldrum.

Crossing the line between art and industry, even without the boats woodworking in a major product of the coast. Hand carved embellishments, book covers stretched with leather then embellished with fine metal to set the design, and bow making are all highly prized crafts in the area, and even the simplest walking stick will bear at least the mark of the maker and the owner. The most stunning example of this is the town of Morcantville. One of the oldest towns in the whole of county, Morcantville is known also as the Carved City. Made wholly out of wood, almost every inch of the houses, warehouses, and even fences are carved in bas relief of animals, mythical beasts, and scenes of daily land. It stands as a town unlike any other, and even it’s boats have been known sport such carvings when possible. This penchant for carved art upon the coast also takes it’s shape in the form of scrimshaw. Whale bone, seal bone, and similar medium are sold all along the coast in a variety of styles, and twice what is sold is kept in the homes of the sailors that carve them. Many will tell you that a bone flute carved skillfully from a whalebone and pitched perfectly will allow one to call forth a strong catch... but to misplay it or play a miscast one is to invite fae mischief among the water fae.

The bounty and diversity of Flos de Terra makes all of these arts and crafts possible, yet there is also a culture throughout the land, highly endorsed by the Earl, to see all of the land as part of the greater Solurius. Solurius themed plays, praising the victories of the Kings and the southern neighbors, are very common. Festivals for the Birthdays of the Royal Family are held, and the White Stag of Solurius flies at many important buildings. The coin of the realm has replaced trade in almost all places outside of the fares. The Earl makes sure to hand out silvers frequently when he is in his lands, and the face of the King and Queen are well known to the people. The Royal Bank holds 4 branches there, and strong displays of pride in greater Solurius are incorporated into many prizes.

In mining and in forging, in weaving and in fishing, in carving and music, in play and work, rivalry and togetherness, the peoples of Flos de Terra are a unique and vibrant peoples that contribute in many ways to the greater Solurius as a whole.

((Excellent Wayne! Such detail. I fear my take on SeaCrest and Vanya Sulie will not be as elaborate but give only a vague picture compared to this. I can see the Earl's beautiful lands as if living there myself. Such creative talent as you have in your writings is definately an asset to this group. I know it takes much time to perfect it as you do and I for one, thank you. Awesome job! :::high five::: ))