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indi_timberpathIt’s been a while since I’ve talked much about my world so I was really excited this week when Dad suggested I write a bit about some of the particularly impressive structures that folks have bult throughout the history of Rheos. There’s a lot of ways to look at that sort of question. One is to think that we’ve built most of the most impressive things in the past century or so, which is true if you’re looking at some of the biggest and shiniest things, but it’s hard to say how long those things will endure. There were some even more outrageous constructions attempted during the early Industrial Shift, but those definitely didn’t stand the test of time, given all the wasteful resources it took to even start constructing them, much less maintaining them. So, for this assignment, I’ve been looking at the things that have endured the longest, either thanks to thoughtful construction, or continuing care, and I’ll talk about one thing from each of the three continents, to get a nice global view.
The Temples of the Stars - This is probably the one everyone thinks of first. They’re built in the foothills of the Clawmark Mountains near the middle of the continent of Greenhold, jutting out of the surrounding forest. There’s about 40 pyramids total in the whole complex, in different sizes and shapes. They were built over the course of centuries; the newest ones are about 1200 years old, and the oldest ones were built almost 3000 years ago! They’re all arranged to be both a map of the equatorial sky above, and a timepiece to mark the seasons. The size of each pyramid at its base corresponds to how bright the star is, and their heights increase they further they are from the Dog Star pyramids at the center. The biggest one at the base is almost 200 meters, and the tallest one is over 120 meters tall, with a base only 50 meters wide! Features like split tops and slim passageways mark significant points from sunrise and sunset, relative to the central pyramids, and they’re all really intricately carved with historical records. Some of them were used as burial sites, and others were more ceremonial. Some people who live in the area still used them for ceremonies and sky-burials, actually, though the cultures that created them initially have changed a lot in the past millennium. Still, the reason why they’re so well-known and popular is clear. It’s amazing how much effort it took to make them all out of stone with no modern machinery, and so much planning to have them all laid out so accurately to mirror the stars.
The Hyacinth Waterworks - While these aren’t as tall or cover quite the same area as the Temples of the Stars, they have a really impressive intricate form, and a great story to go along with them too. They’re built along a curve in the Hyacinth River in northern Hearthreach. Most of that continent is pretty dry and deserty, so it’s no surprise that that river was precioius to folks. But not only did they sculpt the banks and move blocks to carefully tame the river, they extended the water from it across over 150 square kilometers, with stone channels and earthworks, making it so a whole city could exist there that never could have otherwise. And it’s not just an engineering marvel either; the blocks that make up the waterways are carefully and beautifully carved with abstract patterns, and planted with lush trees and bushes and flowers. Yes, they’re still planted that way, because people still care for the Waterways, as they have done continuously for 1500 years. People still live there and tend to both crops and decorative gardens there. There’s a lot more of the city of Hyacinth grown up around the Waterways now, but the place itself is still preserved by folks who are dedicated to the careful tending of something that helped the desert bloom.
Goldsnake Canyon City - This is my favorite one, maybe because it’s close-by enough that we can visit. It’s in northwestern Stonespine, meaning half a continent away, but it’s pretty close to a place I lived when i was little. It’s one part of a canyon that winds its way down from the Stonespine Range itself, carving deep into the earth. The natural part of the canyon is really impressive by itself, but it can’t quite compare to what the residents of one particular part did. Over the course of the 800 years they lived there, they carved their way into the walls of the canyon for homes and places of gathering, creating some really impressive chambers deep in the rock, as well as beautiful works of art on the canyon faces themselves. Narrow footpaths criss-cross their way up to help folks reach higher dwelling-places, and they’re all decorated with stylized representations of local flora and fauna. One of the most impressive parts is Spider Spire, a natural rock pillar over 200 meters tall but only about 20 meters wide, which was carved out as a sort of lookout post, with windows clear through the place, and evidence that it was kept lit by bright fires. The city hasn’t been inhabited for about 400 years, after a drought forced the last inhabitants to migrate, but it’s still preserved and revered by the folks in the area as a beautiful example of how people can make the place they live into a work of art.
The Temples of the Stars - This is probably the one everyone thinks of first. They’re built in the foothills of the Clawmark Mountains near the middle of the continent of Greenhold, jutting out of the surrounding forest. There’s about 40 pyramids total in the whole complex, in different sizes and shapes. They were built over the course of centuries; the newest ones are about 1200 years old, and the oldest ones were built almost 3000 years ago! They’re all arranged to be both a map of the equatorial sky above, and a timepiece to mark the seasons. The size of each pyramid at its base corresponds to how bright the star is, and their heights increase they further they are from the Dog Star pyramids at the center. The biggest one at the base is almost 200 meters, and the tallest one is over 120 meters tall, with a base only 50 meters wide! Features like split tops and slim passageways mark significant points from sunrise and sunset, relative to the central pyramids, and they’re all really intricately carved with historical records. Some of them were used as burial sites, and others were more ceremonial. Some people who live in the area still used them for ceremonies and sky-burials, actually, though the cultures that created them initially have changed a lot in the past millennium. Still, the reason why they’re so well-known and popular is clear. It’s amazing how much effort it took to make them all out of stone with no modern machinery, and so much planning to have them all laid out so accurately to mirror the stars.
The Hyacinth Waterworks - While these aren’t as tall or cover quite the same area as the Temples of the Stars, they have a really impressive intricate form, and a great story to go along with them too. They’re built along a curve in the Hyacinth River in northern Hearthreach. Most of that continent is pretty dry and deserty, so it’s no surprise that that river was precioius to folks. But not only did they sculpt the banks and move blocks to carefully tame the river, they extended the water from it across over 150 square kilometers, with stone channels and earthworks, making it so a whole city could exist there that never could have otherwise. And it’s not just an engineering marvel either; the blocks that make up the waterways are carefully and beautifully carved with abstract patterns, and planted with lush trees and bushes and flowers. Yes, they’re still planted that way, because people still care for the Waterways, as they have done continuously for 1500 years. People still live there and tend to both crops and decorative gardens there. There’s a lot more of the city of Hyacinth grown up around the Waterways now, but the place itself is still preserved by folks who are dedicated to the careful tending of something that helped the desert bloom.
Goldsnake Canyon City - This is my favorite one, maybe because it’s close-by enough that we can visit. It’s in northwestern Stonespine, meaning half a continent away, but it’s pretty close to a place I lived when i was little. It’s one part of a canyon that winds its way down from the Stonespine Range itself, carving deep into the earth. The natural part of the canyon is really impressive by itself, but it can’t quite compare to what the residents of one particular part did. Over the course of the 800 years they lived there, they carved their way into the walls of the canyon for homes and places of gathering, creating some really impressive chambers deep in the rock, as well as beautiful works of art on the canyon faces themselves. Narrow footpaths criss-cross their way up to help folks reach higher dwelling-places, and they’re all decorated with stylized representations of local flora and fauna. One of the most impressive parts is Spider Spire, a natural rock pillar over 200 meters tall but only about 20 meters wide, which was carved out as a sort of lookout post, with windows clear through the place, and evidence that it was kept lit by bright fires. The city hasn’t been inhabited for about 400 years, after a drought forced the last inhabitants to migrate, but it’s still preserved and revered by the folks in the area as a beautiful example of how people can make the place they live into a work of art.
