Ellischester

Fletcher Lane

Overview

As the first major settlement made by the Sváfnir upon finally settling in Atria. with its favourable position by the sea, Ellischester quickly became the seat of power in Atria as the Capital city and a major port of trade. Once upon a time it also held some favourable farmland in what is now the overtaken wasteland of Sagcoln's Lament. Nestled in the hollow of that wasteland on one side, cliffs to the other, and ocean to one end, Ellischester is now left with only one narrow road in and out of town. While the sea is calmer for the time being, and the fury of storms has lessened after a ritual was performed to cleanse and calm the great serpent Sehrasil, the docks remain in utter disrepair as does much of the city, leaving its inhabitants with a great deal of work to do before they can reclaim their former glory.

While there aren't huge caravans coming in and out of the city, singular traders with small amounts of goods to trade back and forth come in often enough, bringing things like sorghum, rice, and wheat for festival days, and any other requests. By far the easiest route in and out of Ellischester for such traders is the teleportation circle housed just outside the city gates.

Culture

A down on its luck type of place, Ellischester thrives despite itself. Made up largely of the ancestors of the original settlers, and those who found their way there in one way or another, if anything can be said about the population of Ellischester It's that they're tenacious. The people tend to be tough, resilient and resourceful, making do with whatever they can get their hands on.

Structurally the city is overseen equally by a triad of Gangs, the leaders of which work together for the good of Ellischester, enjoying a unified and amiable relationship with one another and within the community.

The Community Garden

Run by a rotating shift of employees of Snowflake, Chester and Zephyr, and maintained by volunteers from the community, the garden is built where Luka's mansion used to stand, all traces of it long cleared away. Essential crops like chester brown and jimmy red corn, pearl millet, carrots, sweet potato, dasheen, yam, sweet onions, calabaza pumpkin, eggplant, turnip, lablab bean, choko, surinam spinach, oyster plant, and datil pepper all seasonally grown, alongside ginger and red ginger, sweet leaves, honey herb, lemon balm, culantro, cilantro, curry leaf, velvet oregano, sweet basil, cardamom, lemongrass, green peppercorn, star anise, turmeric, bush mint and vanilla.

While community members are free to pick from the herbs whenever they please, the larger survival crops are harvested and distributed evenly amongst the citizens. Corn is first dried and processed into meal before being distributed to citizens.

The Punishment for Thievery

Generally Ellischester adheres to the laws and subsequent punishments accepted by the continent as a whole, however, there is a unique mode of judgement and punishment in Ellischester for the act of thievery. While the population is not morally aghast at the idea of thievery, the community is united enough that they view the act of thievery against one of their own much more grievously than it would be seen in a much larger, more disconnected community.

Someone caught for thievery is subject to the Serpent's Trial. Taken to White Rock Point for Sehrasil to witness and judge, alongside a crowd of peers and at least one of the city's three leaders, the accused is then forced to kneel and eat an entire bowl of fúinhákrutt. The product of fermenting blood sharks in a process that takes several months, the result is the flesh taking on a semi-firm jellied texture with the distinct and intensely pungent scent and flavour of urine. In order to be judged innocent, the entire portion must be consumed without even the slightest sign of discomfort; not even the most subtle eye twitch is allowed to the accused lest they be judged guilty.

In accordance with continental law, should an accused be found guilty, their hand will be cut off. Repeat offenders will be subject to harsher punishments at the discretion of local leaders.

Religion

Religiously, the people of Ellischester are respectful of Sehrasil, doing what they can to soothe the great serpent's ills from Sagcoln's corruption leaking into the sea. Sagcoln instead draws ire and apprehension, unfortunately due to its corrupted nature, despite it being through no fault of the great beast itself. Pravelkan druidism is somewhat prevalent, and otherwise a great many folk practices are spread amongst the households.

They faithfully observe the Spring and Autumn Equinoxes, as well as the Summer and Winter Solstices, performing the appropriate rituals to appease the Gods and ease to flow of Celestial forces.

Yearly Events and Festivals

Winter Solstice

During the Winter Solstice season, with the solstice celebrated on the first weekend of December, the town is decorated with copious amounts of candles and lanterns to bring a sense of light and warmth during the much longer, darker nights of the season. Colourful ribbons are strung between the buildings, while oranges and limes dried on branches are perched decoratively to give a sense of joy to the colder days, and offer a pleasant, fragrant note of citrus to the cool air.

Day 1: Starting at noon, dressed in colourful costumes to represent gods and syatzver, a procession of revelers move through town, starting at the city gates, while carrying poles decorated with long colourful ribbons. As they traverse down the streets, the poles are pounded rhythmically on the ground and the revelers in the procession sing ritual songs as they lead the way to the beach.

Performances at the beach are led by Charlie and his crew from the Snowflake, going over several different tales and legends speaking of Sehrasil and Sagcoln. Each year the style of performances change, ranging from puppet shows, shows with trained animals, and various styles of performances using live actors. Fish caught the previous day and kept fresh in large, metal tubs filled with sea water are cooked on the sand as the performances are ongoing.

Beginning that evening, groups of carolers go around singing ritualistic songs of the season, bringing gifts of candied orange peel for the children, and shots of sweet orange whisky for the adults to ensure a warm hearth for the night's rest.

Day 2: Once more beginning at noon, supplicants and festival goers gather at White Rock Point, bringing with them offerings of spiced honey millet cakes, honey stewed oranges and sweet roasted acorns. Along with these offerings, sacrifices of rabbits and barking deer are made, with a portion of each being tossed from the cliff for Sehrasil to enjoy. Once the sacrifices have been made, the sweet offerings and meat are taken away, the former set out in the grove to be partaken of soon, while the meat is taken to be made into stew for the evening's meal.

Moving to the grove, Kalixi and her chosen assistants begin the communion with the land. Prepared with bundles of sweet leaf and vanilla flowers, as well as skeins of fresh, clean water, Kalixi and her three assistants stand in a circle, with Kalixi standing at the northern point of the circle. Brandishing her spruce and holly staff, the grove is symbolically 'opened' as Kalixi declares their intentions to trust in and care for the land, desiring to protect it. The assistants repeat the declaration before all of them lay their bundles of sweet leaf and vanilla flower on the ground, pouring the water from their flasks in unison over the offerings. Now clensed, the four bundles are lain together at the center of the circle while Kalixi and her assistants perform the solstice dance to seal the ritual's power within the bundles, which will then be secured at four cardinal points in the city as a blessing of protection.

After the ritual is complete, the sweet offerings are eaten with mulled citrus wine, and later on once it's finished cooking, the stew made of sacrificial meat is consumed as well.

Day 3: On the third and final day of the Solstice celebration, the town is awoken by a small procession of singers through the street, singing the ancient songs of reverence and spreading sweet boughs of arucaria pine on the ground, which when crushed underfoot release a fresh, clean scent somewhat reminiscent of a spring breeze when the new growth is beginning to show. For adults the day is filled with shared work, between cooking and preparing for the evening feast, to minding the children and infirm, and performing the small, final rituals over the fields, food and people, with the year's chosen blessing givers assuring these small rituals are completed. With the druidic influence in the area, these small rituals involve laying boughs of sweet leaf, vanilla, mint, and lime in the fields, and gifting them to each household, accompanied with prayers spoken in languages no longer understood by all but the most devoted scholars. While traditionally the city-wide feast would be held in the town's central hall, Ellischester's is in need of rebuilding and repair, so until that time come to pass, the feast is instead held in the city square upon large tables set up in the cleared space.

For children the day is one of games such as hunt the slipper, bee in the middle, and blind man's bluff, as well as small prayers, as they await the larger celebration later.

Come evening, when the cooking is finished and the food is laid out on the tables, a few shows of strength are performed for the entertainment of the revelers before the feast begins. After the feast one final ritual dance is performed before more games are played, and drink imbibed long into the night.

The Soothing of the Serpent

On the first weekend in April each year, a ritual is performed to soothe Sehrasil's temperament and cleanse from the sea the built up filth from Sagcoln's corruption leaking into the water. Lain upon a bed made of bundles of yarrow and meadowsweet are piles of grapefruit and shellfish. Just beyond this pile is a pole that has been secured into the ground, upon which a live animal is strung. Once the ritual chant has reached its apex, the throat of the animal is slit and its warm blood is allowed to flow down and soak the offerings and the ground below. The chant continues and winding down, it ends with participants bowing in reverence towards the sea. A moment of silence follows, after which the shellfish, grapefruit and freshly sacrificed animal are gathered to be prepared and cooked for a feast held within the orange grove. Just before the feast begins, further small offerings are lain before the juvenile grapefruit tree by individuals seeking personal favour and fortune.

Local Delicacies

Acorn Bread: A dense, nutritious bread made from acorn flour. It has a nutty flavour complimented well by honey.

Acorn Dumplings: A simple mixture of bread crumbs, egg, salt, and water makes the basic dough, which is then blended with various shellfish when in season, and oyster plant in the off season alongside sweet potato, carrots, turnip, and turmeric and formed into balls which are then boiled in a brothy soup.

Chicory root Coffee: A substitute for a lack of real coffee, this drink has a strong, earthy flavour with a hint of sweetness and a bitter finish giving it an almost dark chocolate like depth.

Every Day Pottage: A thick stew or porridge made up of millet seeds and corn meal, the every day pottage of Ellischester typically also consists of root vegetables like sweet potato, carrots, purple or white dasheen, turnip, as well as mushroom, green peppercorn, salt, and a variety of spices depending on the season. Sometimes there are finely chopped bits of fish or salt pork to add flavour.

Flesocot Pie: Served only during the Winter Solstice due to the high expense of wheat flour in Ellischester, flesocot pie is a hearty dish. A flakey pie crust entombs a filling of carrots, turnip, corn meal, sweet potatoes and seasonal fish served with a sauce made of bush mint and sweet oranges. Often the pie is decorated with fins and fish heads, as if the fish are swimming through it.

Salted, sun-dried, and smoked pork: Once a year hunters head into the rain-forests near Ellischester to hunt the wild boars that roam there. For two weeks the hunters take as many hogs as they can, skin them for leather, and preserve them with three distinct techniques before taking them back to town to be sold to townsfolk. Excess fat is rendered down for candles or soap.

Salted: The fattier cuts of meat are heavily salted and packed into small, seasoned wooden barrels and sealed with wax to cure for several weeks before being sold. Salt pork can be stored for months, tightly packed into clay pots, and is used to flavour pottage, soups, beans and chowders. Before use it must be soaked in water to reduce its intense saltiness.

Sun-dried: Meatier cuts of pork are dry rubbed heavily with a mixture of salt and spices before being hung away from the reach of predators to dry in the sun over the course of a week. The result is a dry, salty product that can be easily kept at room temperature and taken in satchels as a food for traveling. The dry pieces of meat can be chopped and used to flavour and season other dishes as well as add a bit of protein.

Smoked: Cured pieces of meat are hung over a smokey fire to cook slowly and infuse the meat with the flavour of the wood. The fire must be tended to constantly, in order to keep the smoke thick, which also keeps insects off the meat and creates an anti-bacterial layer. Typically people in Ellischester prefer to use alnos or guava wood for their flavour. The process creates a dry, but tender meat with a sweet, subtle smokey flavour. This can be eaten alone, or added to other dishes to add flavour and a bit of protein.

Spiced, baked chicken with sweet fine oranges: A treat for when a hen stops laying or a rooster gets old, whole chicken coated in a fine paste of ground salt, red ginger, culantro or cilantro, lime leaves, curry leaves, and orange zest then covered in a layer of slices of sweet orange, and stuffed with sorghum or rice is roasted at the baker's until golden brown and a thin, citrusy sauce forms in the pan. It's often served with fire baked sweet potatoes.

Sweet Pottage: A medicinal food, this mild, thin pottage is flavoured with sweet oranges, their juice and zest, ginger and lesser red ginger, dried sweet leaves, lime leaves, honey herb, lemon balm, and honey. Typically it's given to those having difficulty with eating and digestion, or who may be suffering from a cold or weakness.

Trade Goods

Currently only a small amount of these items are coming out of Ellischester, as much of what's produced in the city is necessary for the every day life of residents.

-Candied Orange Peels
-Citrus Wine
-Ginger
-Orange Essential Oil
-Orange Blossom Honey
-Orange Blossom Tea
-Red Ginger
-Salt
-Sweet Orange Whisky
-Tumeric

People of Interest

Charlie Barwick
Diarmuid ar sholas na Gealaí
Reveka

Places of Interest

The Chester Inn
The Harbour of Refuge
Liminal
The Snowflake Theater
Treewright and Sundries
The Zephyr Den

Historical Figures

Luka Finnely

Major Events

Bigger events in Ellischester's more recent history. Things placed here may have spread far enough to be heard in some form further abroad, however, like a game of telephone, the details may have gotten muddied by the time they reach those from afar.

The Storm of Spirits

Without warning in February of 688AC, a thick miasma of spirits descended upon Ellischester. Stemming from Brighton, the fog of ghosts was ultimately harmless to those of good constitution, leaving them with but a small, constant chill. To those of poor constitution the miasma held greater threats. For those inclined towards ills, and those Diviners of a particularly sensitive demeanour, the spirit's mist caused inflammation in the lungs, and a chill that cut to the bones, lasting for weeks long after the miasma had been abated.

While the exact means of abating such a miasma is unknown, it is suspected that the mysterious creature which fled took the fog along with it - or at the very least once more contained it within Brighton.

The Miracle of the Grove

The restored Orange Grove

What was once a long-shot attempt at a ritual to calm Sehrasil's temperament turned out to be an even greater boon than expected: A miraculous one which, in April of 689AC, restored the orange grove and now keeps the trees within its bounds extra strong and extra lush, producing harvests of finer fruit greater in volume than one could normally expect from such trees. Within the grove is the Atrian Bitter Orange, Chester's Sour Green Orange, Sweet Fine Oranges, and a scattering of Bumpy Limes. All restored by the blessing. In honour of the Miracle, a grapefruit tree was planted from the seeds of the original offering, which is still small and growing and has yet to offer any fruit. Offerings are given to the grapefruit tree by citizens of Ellischester on a regular basis.

Once a year in late April the great ritual is performed once more, with offerings of Grapefruit, bundles of Yarrow, and Meadowsweet, copious amounts of shellfish, and a large, live animal. Candles and wood, preferably fragrant guava, enough for a large bonfire is needed in the preparation. Every year this ritual is led by Kalixi, and any who can are encouraged to participate. After the ritual is done, residents feast upon the meat and shellfish

In addition to the yearly ritual, Kalixi performs upkeep and uses her druidly magic to maintain the trees. In more recent times several bee hives have been added between the rows of trees, allowing for the harvesting of orange blossom honey.

From time to time, traveling druids stop by to volunteer to help in the grove for a time before moving on.