Linnain and Aonan meet Yachorach
horse herds.| The Myth of the God Incarnate |
|---|
The Great Place |
| Copyright (c) Simon Brooke 1992-1995 |
| describing the Great Place of the God Incarnate, its peoples, religion and politics |
The crater has an isolated central peak, known as 'The High Place'. The only practicable way up to the High Place is a low point on its eastern rim, where the tallus slope reaches almost to the top of the cliffs. Here, an enormous ceremonial staircase has been built, millenia ago. The stairway is known as 'The Thousand Steps', but this is a misnomer, firstly because there are in fact 1749 (decimal) steps, and secondly because the people of the Place use an octal number system, so that the word which translates as 'one thousand' actually represents 512 decimal (thus there are in fact 3325 steps in the local numbering system). At the head of the thousand steps is a heavily fortified gateway known as 'The Front Gate'; at the foot of the stairway, a broad ceremonial platform or quay known as 'The Doorstep'.
One major river drains the place. It rises in the east, and flows north-westwards along the foot of the rim, before turning southwards to provide a moat around three sides of the central peak and then make a broad delta into the sea. This river is a primary means of transport, and consequently the upper reaches are provided with locks so that barges can pass. Tributaries join the river from many points on the rim. In the extreme south east and south west, a number of much smaller rivers run from the rim directly to the sea.
The climate being warm and (during the summer) mostly dry, irrigation is necessary for arable crops to be grown. There are extensive irrigation canal networks, especially in the northern sector of the place. Larger canals in the irrigation network also allow the passage of barges.
Linnain and Aonan meet Yachorach
horse herds.
Apart from this, habited areas of the Place are inhabited by a homogeneous people, who have occupied the Place since time immemorial. They call themselves simply the People of the Place.
They are agriculturalists and craftspeople, in the most part. They are physically handsome, by culture relaxed and pleasure loving, not generally adventurous or courageous. There is very considerable interbreeding between the two populations of the Place, and both now speak effectively the same language. They all share a common religion (q.v.).
Settlement among the non-nomadic is primarily in small, strongly nucleated villages. There are few isolated habitations, and only one town of any size, the City at Her Gates.
This is situated on the east bank of the river, immediately opposite the Doorstep. It is primarily an administrative and trading centre. There are much smaller administrative centres at the foot of each of the passes, mainly looking after annual markets.
In the villages, property is held in common, and sexual liaisons vary from the strongly bonded to the casual. There is no sense of impropriety in promiscuity within the village. Within the City, the communal unit is usually the building. Residential buildings are large, and are typically housing thirty to sixty people. One or more enterprises will be owned and operated by such a commune. Young people often move away from the commune in which they were raised; this practise is encouraged by the Houses of the Cunt and the Cock (q.v.). The same houses are active in promoting birth control, using a method based on safe periods in the female cycle.
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