Savana 3

The land

Gently rolling ground under open grass steppe, 659 m up; far from any sea; hot desert.

Cover

open grass steppe

Elevation

659 m

Relief

gently rolling ground

The sea

far from any sea

Climate

hot desert

The patch

about 1.85 km north to south and 1.85 km across; 1,853 m north to south, 1,850 m east to west, 3.43 km²

Centre

3.3250°N 36.6750°E

What the land offers a builder

Of this land: reed, earth, turf, stone, hide, bone, cloth, rope, fire. The land allows: ground, stilts.

Now

Clear and mild here, 05:57 local, the dry, as always, first light.

The wild

Animals here this month: lion (feeding), buffalo (rutting), wildebeest (migrating), eagle (feeding), antelope (rutting), wild ass (feeding).

The lay of the land

• The low knoll (knoll): a rounded rise with a clear view across the surrounding patch
• The north hill (hill): a broad shoulder of high ground dry underfoot after rain

What stands here

THE REED HUT — on the low knoll. House-sized, about 6 m. Reed, earth, stone. On the ground.
"A stout reed hut roofed with earth, set low out of the wind with a central hearth"
A roof of earth atop the top: pitched low to shed rain and heavy gusts. A hearth of stone inside the centre: set with flat stones to hold the embers through the night. A doorway of reed facing the south: fitted with a heavy latch on the leeward side. A storage rack of reed along the north side, hung with dry provisions, cordage, and spare gear.
Of this land: reed, earth, stone.

THE WATCH POST — beside the north hill. Small, about 4 m. Reed, rope, bronze. On the ground.
"A four-post reed frame with a planked platform and a bronze beacon pan"
A ladder of reed against the south side, lashed with stout rungs up to the deck. A beacon pan of bronze atop the top: filled with dry pitch wood for dark nights.
Of this land: reed, rope. Carried here: bronze.

The story, as tristan_m tells it

Of the place

• High Terrace Hold was laid out by Tristan Moreau, who marked the low knoll first and set the reed hut to face out of the prevailing weather.

Of the people

• They keep a dry stack of fuel beside the reed hut and share the first meal at the hearth with any traveller who crosses the low knoll. (heard when a people lives here)
• Before winter sets in they check the lashings and stones of the watch post and sing the names of the first four who came. (heard when a people lives here)

The people

THE PEOPLE OF SAVANA 3 — herders, hunters, and gardeners, seasonal, in bands.
Names from their own tongue. They hold the rain sacred.
They keep: rain songs; age groups; burial in the fire; the feast of the rains' return; gifts to strangers; winter camps away.
They like earth, hide, clear, and wildebeest. They dislike frost, fog, and stone. Open to strangers.
Their words: hearth uto, river or sea ako, winter or the rains elinglowe, the dead tangu, home nadobewu, stranger doladiba, feast nalole, child banasumu, old one ule, the place Numwungti, the beast lonese, the sky witobo.
Their herd: antelope.
Founders: four. Lore: 2 lines.

Ways

herding, hunting, gardening

Settlement

seasonal

Kinship

bands

Marriage

either

Naming

given names

To strangers

open

They hold sacred

the rain

They keep

rain songs; age groups; burial in the fire; the feast of the rains' return; gifts to strangers; winter camps away

They like

earth, hide, clear and wildebeest

They dislike

frost, fog and stone

Their herd

antelope, 10 head

Founders

4

Counted

4 named folk, a household of 0, 0 born here, 0 died here

Founded

6 November 2026

Their words

hearth uto, river or sea ako, winter or the rains elinglowe, the dead tangu, home nadobewu, stranger doladiba, feast nalole, child banasumu, old one ule, the place Numwungti, the beast lonese, the sky witobo.

Their lore

• They keep a dry stack of fuel beside the reed hut and share the first meal at the hearth with any traveller who crosses the low knoll.
• Before winter sets in they check the lashings and stones of the watch post and sing the names of the first four who came.

Named folk

The chronicle

Every line is a record the land wrote; the names in quotes are the owner's words. What the chronicle does not say did not happen.

Year 1

The annals: 1 founders; 1 people founded; 2 tracks; 1 ways changed.

• The dry, as always, the first year of Savana 3: fresh lion tracks at the north hill.
• The dry, as always, the first year of Savana 3: the ways of the people changed: name. kept
• The dry, as always, the first year of High Terrace Hold: lion tracks across the north hill.
• The dry, as always, the first year of High Terrace Hold: four came to High Terrace Hold and lit the hearth. The net-mender "Iyami", the fire-keeper "Olu", the watcher "Ebatosi", the lamp-lighter "Alenge". kept
• The dry, as always, the first year of High Terrace Hold: Tristan Moreau called a people to High Terrace Hold: the people of High Terrace Hold. kept

Here now

the net-mender "Iyami" (folk) · the fire-keeper "Olu" (folk) · the watcher "Ebatosi" (folk) · the lamp-lighter "Alenge" (folk)