Note:Women must speak of 'the City at His Gates': see
under Religion.
Aonan enters the City for the first time
The City at Her Gates is crescent shaped in plan, bounded on
the West by the River at Her Feet, and on the East by a wall.
The wall is an ancient structure dating back to a more
turbulent period when war within the Place was a present
danger. It is tall and thick, and its six gates (from the
South, the Downriver Gate, the Gate of Trade, the
Gate of Justice, the Gate of Wisdom, the Gate
of Love, and the Upriver Gate) are protected with
powerful gate towers.
Taynuic and Beinnain sit on the
Wall
Generally, the northern, upriver quarters of the city are
richer; the southern, downriver quarters are artisan and
industrial, while the eastern, farthest from the river sector
(particularly the warren of tenements behind the House of the Eye) are the poorest.
Site and Layout
The City sits on the flood plain of a major river, on the outer
side of the long sweeping bend which is caused by the river
curving round an isolated mountain, the High Place, on the
further bank. The site is prone to flooding, and consequently
is protected by a very substantial flood barrier along the
river bank. Apart from this, the City is entirely flat; it has
no natural hills.
Streets
Two major streets run North to South through the City,
respectively River Street and Moon Street. Four
major East-West streets cross Moon Street and terminate on
River Street; each is named for the Gate through which it
leaves the City.
River Street
River Street roughly parallels the river bank; between it and
the river, to the north, are wealthy private houses set in
their own pleasure grounds. Towards the centre of the City, the
Great Houses (with the exception of the House of the Eye) stand on what is
essentially a widened, terraced section of the flood bank,
between River Street and the River. In the South of the City,
River Street runs between shipyards and industrial premises. It
joins the Upriver Gate with the Downriver Gate.
Moon Street
Moon Street diverges from River Street in the northern suburbs
to rejoin it in the southern industrial district, passing
behind the House of the Eye. At the
northern end, between River Street, Moon Street and the Street
of Love, are prosperous houses and tenements. Between Love and
Wisdom stand the Theatre, surrounded by a quarter made up of
public eating houses and places of entertainment, and the
foodmarket. Between Wisdom and Justice, between the Eye and
River Street, is the Place of Justice, a very large, paved,
open square. South of Justice is the Craft Market, the House of
Healing, and the travellers' hostel. South again, across Trade
Street, is the industrial sector, comprising foundries,
tanneries, potteries, and all the other industrial processes
which provide the material for a 'pre-industrial' civilisation.
Between Moon Street and the Wall are poor tenements, but
none poorer than those at the Back of the Eye.
The Riverbank Houses
The order of the Great Houses on the riverbank is as follows:
- the Cunt, facing the end of the
Street of Love;
- the Cock, facing the
Theatre;
- the Stomach, facing the Food
Market;
- the Ear and
- the Mouth, facing the Place of
Justice;
- the Hand, facing the Craft
Market;
- the Nose, facing the House of
Healing; and
- the Foot, facing the end of the
Street of Trade.
All the river bank houses follow the same general plan: a
three storey block with large, high ceilinged ceremonial rooms
on the ground floor, smaller rooms and offices on the first
floor, and a roof cloister. At the end of the block towards the
Place of Justice stands a tower, rising a further two storeys.
At the end of the block away from the Place of Justice a
boathouse projects out from the block, across the riverbank
steps, into the river. Each house has four large doorways
facing onto River Street, and three onto the riverbank
steps.
Building and Architecture
The major buildings of the City, including the great houses,
the House of Healing, the Theatre and the wall, are built of a
warm coloured limestone. Most other buildings are built of mud
brick, while the poorer tenements have only the lower storey
built of brick, with the upper storeys built of wattle and
daub. Roofs are always flat, as heavy rain is extremely rare in
the City.
The tradition of mud brick building has led to an
architectural style typified by quite markedly tapering walls
and small windows, giving even large buildings a squat and
brooding appearence. This is relieved in the tenement blocks by
exterior wooden stairs and walkways, often hung with washing or
with advertising banners. The public buildings of the City are
rather austere in appearance, however.
Sanitation
Despite its riverbank site, the City has no sewer system. This
is partly because during the late winter and early spring the
streets are generally below river level; but it also because
sewage is valued as agricultural fertiliser, and is collected
in soil carts each evening.
Trade
The City is a major trading centre. All buying and selling of
goods takes place in the markets -- no 'corner shops' exist in
the city. The two markets, respectively the Craft Market and
the Food Market, flank the Place of Justice, and come under the
jurisdiction of the Hand and the Stomach respectively. The markets have
no permanent structures, and are cleared away completely each
night, although most traders erect awnings over their stands
during the trading period. Particularly in the Food Market,
most stands of of a similar type -- a handcart with extending
counters on either side like a drop-leaf table, and a ridged
awning of bright yellow cloth (yellow being the flag colour of
the Stomach; awnings in the Craft Market are typically red).
Goods arriving from overseas are landed at the 'Foreign
Quays' on the far side of the river, under the control of the
Barbarian Guard; a tax must be paid
before the importing merchant may bring goods across the river
to resell them, although goods which are transhipped and
re-exported pay no tax. This tax is collected by the Guard,
officially on behalf of the God, and this is essentially how
the Guard is financed. Traders also pay a pitch fee for sites
in the markets to the controlling Houses.
Copyright (c)
Simon
Brooke 1992-1995
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