Barakhina: One Map Per Week

[Hydroeccentricity]

The favorite Almean language poll reminded me of how much I love Barakhinei, which reminded me how much I love Barakhun. The more I thought about it, the more my mind was drawn to Barakhina, the capital nestled high in the mountains. What did it look like? Was it a mighty fortress from which the king projected power? Was it a locus for poets and barons? Was it a dusty backwater hamlet? I became obsessed with the idea of mapping the city of Barakhina. So that's what I did. And I'm going to release the maps one at a time over the next month or two. This is all EXTREMELY non-canon, since none of this has been cleared by Zompist or anyone else. I tried to do as much research as I could in the atlas and the Almeopedia, but I have taken considerable liberties, and this is ultimately just a personal diversion.

So without further ado, here is map number one!

http://i.imgur.com/wBf9by0.png

EDIT: I changed it to a link because it was too wide. I may have to keep doing that going forward, but we'll see, since the other maps may be smaller.

On the city page of the historical atlas, Barakhina and Solekor are in the 30,000 to 60,000 category. Given that the entire population of Barakhun is only 600,000, and there are at least five other named towns, this seems like a high rate of urbanization for a mountain realm on the edge of civilization. So I pretended that Barakhina was rounded up so as to appear on the cities page, and decided on a more reasonable figure of 23,000 for my version of the city, not including the outskirts and satellite villages. If that's too small, too bad. It's non-canon anyway.

The urban landscape is dominated by its mountainous geography. The small Êktand river, only twenty meters wide and navigable only by small boats, is the city's main connection with the outside world. Although the valley widens considerably to the east, providing rich land for husbandry and terraced agriculture, Barakhina is not built on such land. Par Felilê (“White Mountain”) to the north and Par Rishtê (“Red Mountain”) to the south squeeze the city into a narrow valley, with the hill, or Kilim, looming over the entire city. The land immediately adjacent to the river is flat and suitable for building, but there is precious little of it. The Êktand flows east, from Âtani Aet (from Cuezi, literally “Lake Lake”) to the right margin of the map. The small stream Nhek flows south, joining the Êktand in the middle of the city.

Forgive the cartoonish green lines. They won't appear in subsequent maps, and only serve to show you where the hills and mountains are so future maps of the urban landscape will make sense.

[Clearsand]

Fan fiction!

[Hydroeccentricity]

Any ideas of what the city will be like before I post the next map? I was hoping for some rampant speculation like the kind my own imagination keeps making. Boulder houses? Bristling fortresses? Theaters full of bearded women? Nancy-boy Verdurians falling off a horse?

[Hydroeccentricity]

Here's the second map, the basic layout of the streets and defensive structures.

Map 2!

The center of the city is, due to the geographic limitations, surprisingly dense for a city of this size. Only the steep faces of the hills and mountains restrain the sprawl. Some lower class residential neighborhoods are quite high above the city, providing them with spectacular views, and grueling commutes. Despite its wide avenues, Barakhina is a claustrophobic city. Houses are built out over streets, streams, and even other buildings, making some alleyways feel like tunnels. The aggravation of transporting food to the city also means that enterprising families on the edge of the city will attempt to raise goats, pigs, and chickens, adding to the squalor and noise.

The city functions as the seat of a monarch who rules ostensibly by force of arms. Yet the striking thing about Barakhina's defenses is its apparent openness. The city has only a partial wall, six meters thick and eight meters high, with no moat, and a small number of gunnery towers. Only the eastern approach is well guarded, while there is no wall at all facing the mountains. A small fort tops the hill, protecting the soldiers inside and little else. But Barakhun itself is a fortress. Advanced guard posts, border sorties, and a large standing army make it unlikely that anything could make it to the city unimpeded. And besides, the kings' task for centuries has been to fight wars of conquest on enemy soil, treating Barakhina as little more than a refueling station, which the historical kings of Barakhun have been pretty good at. On entering the city it also becomes apparent that every man fancies himself something of a warrior, carrying knives far bigger than needed to deter a desperate young burglar. The old castle is not shown on this map, as it is no longer of any military use. The army has a number of specialized units tasked with guarding the king or keeping the peace on the high streets and markets, and are a regular sight in all parts of the city.

[Hydroeccentricity]

OK, since there is zero interest in this I'm just going to dump them twice a week. Here's map number 3: street names.

http://i.imgur.com/mTn94ux.png

Many of the larger streets have names in the genitive (e.g. Prozel Ponich Firich, “Street of the Faithful Warriors”), with the word prozel declining as needed. In common speech most of the town's inhabitants do not bother with this, declining the street name normally and omitting the prozel. The city also designates major intersections as klorilê (“stars”), and names them. Only one of these has ever caught on, Klorile Êndaoro, or simply Klorile for short. In addition to the stubborn rejection of the city's poetic efforts, there is a marked difference in official and unofficial street names. In the east, where most of the city's foreign residents and merchandise can be found, the popular names reflect the large foreign presence. Prozel Lôndorôth Zôlpon is often known as Prozel Ferediri, and Prozel Âdhdu Largeko is alternately Ibrolêshkê (“Bookseller”) or Liantuli (“Poets”), references to the city's only printer and bookbinder. Other streets may have common names taken from professions, such as Prozel Nushko Parach, commonly called Sishtu (“Smith”). The word prozel has been omitted from each name in figure 3, since it is redundant.

[hwhatting]

OK, since there is zero interest in this

To be honest, the fact that this is non-canon is a turn-off for me; I have a certain interest in Almea, but if I'm going to the lenghts of learning things about an invented world, I like to know that these are really part of it. Consider me unnecessarily rigid and don't let this deter you!

[Hydroeccentricity]

I'm frankly surprised there isn't more fan fiction about Almea. Considering how many fans it has, nobody has ever tried to create anything related to it except for some of Eddy's weird short stories, and a few contributors to the Almeopedia.

[hwhatting]

I also remember reading an instalment of a novel set in Almea (by Neek, IIRC?) I don't know if that ever was completed.

[Yiuel Raumbesrairc]

I'm frankly surprised there isn't more fan fiction about Almea. Considering how many fans it has, nobody has ever tried to create anything related to it except for some of Eddy's weird short stories, and a few contributors to the Almeopedia.

Not all of us pay tribute to Mark by fan fiction.

I made a Halloween costume based on Xurnese male clothing, and one of my D&D character got the name Dugazu (I had to work hard to find how it was written using syllabics), from the Revaudo Revolution's famous battle.

And I have taken Endajué as a great allegory of how I see the world, turning its core principles into my "religion", sorta. (I took the liberty to ditch many things, though.)

[So Haleza Grise]

I'm frankly surprised there isn't more fan fiction about Almea.

Mark has explicitly asked people not to in the past, I believe.

[Hydroeccentricity]

The next map, neighborhoods.

Map Four!

The official administrative divisions of the city are the North, South, East, and West Bargi, each divided into an arbitrary number of Thuri. Individual neighborhood names are all unofficial. To the east are the markets, foreign residences, and the main Eledhizê churches. Workshops and residential spaces cluster in the center of the city. This is the heart of the city, and the home to the majority of its population. The estates of the nobility gravitate to the peace of the city's western districts. The prince (the kings of Barakhun style themselves ekuni or “princes” after Cad'inorian tradition) rules absolutely, but only in so far as he can rely on elite support, and several of the country's notables keep permanent or seasonal residence in the city to make their presence felt in the halls of power.

[Hydroeccentricity]

I'm frankly surprised there isn't more fan fiction about Almea.

Mark has explicitly asked people not to in the past, I believe.

I've never heard that before. Is that only for narrative fiction?

[zompist]

I do try to discourage it, yeah.

I appreciate the interest, and if you want to tattoo yourself or make drawings or do cosplay that's cool. Neek's fiction (which never got far IIRC) was cool; Eddy's was excruciating.

I dunno, I'm not going to ask you to stop, but as you said it's non-canon, and I'll just gently say that this sort of thing can always be easily adapted into an independent conworld.

[Hydroeccentricity]

OK, I guess this will be the last map, then.

Map 5!

Visitors will find the east market full of activity, though Verdurians will find the merchandise overpriced and lacking in selection. The food carts and produce markets will prove even less rewarding. The regional delicacy is a stew called ashk, made from pickled vegetables in a thin bean broth with a few shreds of dried meat. It is usually served luke warm with a few dollops of thick porridge. Jokes about “ashkol mal” will only lighten the experience slightly. To get any enjoyment out of a trip to Barakhina, it is necessary to be invited into the home of someone interesting. Poetry readings and plays are low key affairs in Barakhina, usually taking place in someone's drawing room or courtyard, not the public spectacles found elsewhere on the plain. There are fencing and wrestling matches too, if that's more to your taste. Either way, there are no ticket booths; finding a gracious host with a wide circle of friends is key.