Monsoon Mountain

The land

Mountainside under warm broadleaf forest, 1658 m up; brooks and springs in the folds of the ground; far from any sea; mild, with dry winters.

Cover

warm broadleaf forest

Elevation

1658 m

Relief

mountainside

Fresh water

brooks and springs in the folds of the ground

The sea

far from any sea

Climate

mild, with dry winters

The patch

about 1.85 km north to south and 1.63 km across; 1,853 m north to south, 1,628 m east to west, 3.02 km²

Centre

28.5417°N 94.9917°E

What the land offers a builder

Of this land: timber, living plant, earth, stone, marble, slate, hide, bone, cloth, rope, bronze, iron, gold, fire. Of the region: reed, brick, tile, water. The land allows: ground, stilts, carved, canopy, spanning.

Now

Wind and cold here, 08:59 local, late autumn.

The wild

Animals here this month: brown bear (denning), tiger (feeding), wolf (passing), elk (migrating), red deer (feeding), wild boar (rutting).

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 TIMBER HOUSE — on the low knoll. House-sized, about 6 m. Timber, living plant, stone. On the ground.
"A stout timber house roofed with living plant, set low out of the wind with a central hearth"
A roof of living plant 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 timber facing the south: fitted with a heavy latch on the leeward side. A storage rack of timber along the north side, hung with dry provisions, cordage, and spare gear.
Of this land: timber, living plant, stone.

THE WAY SHRINE — beside the north hill. Small, about 4 m. Timber, tile, bronze. On the ground.
"A quiet timber enclosure with a carved post and a sheltered offering shelf"
An altar stone of timber inside the centre: worn smooth by salt air and rain. A lantern hook of bronze at the front: lit at dusk when travellers are abroad.
Of this land: timber, bronze. Of the region: tile.

The story, as zeno tells it

Of the place

• Windward Clearing Hold was laid out by Zeno Conti, who marked the low knoll first and set the timber house to face out of the prevailing weather.

Of the people

• They keep a dry stack of fuel beside the timber house 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 way shrine and sing the names of the first four who came. (heard when a people lives here)

The people

THE PEOPLE OF MONSOON MOUNTAIN — gardeners, fishers, and hunters, settled, in hearth households.
Names from their own tongue. They hold the river sacred.
They keep: ancestor stones; the harvest feast; burial in a mound; hospitality to strangers; the first tooth given to the river.
They like timber, frost, red deer, and light rain. They dislike stone, heat, and storm. Open to strangers.
Their words: hearth sirid, river or sea rultheinib, winter or the rains noumgul, the dead eimfiwol, home fouthdoudra, stranger weleir, feast orla, child fougam, old one reithof, the place Lerweifeg, the beast fouthar, the sky babom.
Founders: four. Lore: 2 lines.

Ways

gardening, fishing, hunting

Settlement

settled

Kinship

hearth households

Marriage

either

Naming

given names

To strangers

open

They hold sacred

the river

They keep

ancestor stones; the harvest feast; burial in a mound; hospitality to strangers; the first tooth given to the river

They like

timber, frost, red deer and light rain

They dislike

stone, heat and storm

Founders

4

Counted

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

Founded

6 November 2026

Their words

hearth sirid, river or sea rultheinib, winter or the rains noumgul, the dead eimfiwol, home fouthdoudra, stranger weleir, feast orla, child fougam, old one reithof, the place Lerweifeg, the beast fouthar, the sky babom.

Their lore

• They keep a dry stack of fuel beside the timber house 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 way shrine 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.

• Late autumn, the first year of Monsoon Mountain: the ways of the people changed: name. kept
• Late autumn, the first year of Windward Clearing Hold: elk tracks across the north hill.
• Late autumn, the first year of Windward Clearing Hold: elk tracks across the north hill.
• Late autumn, the first year of Windward Clearing Hold: four came to Windward Clearing Hold and lit the hearth. The net-mender "Rolaf", the fire-keeper "Eswewthuw", the keeper of the shrine "Asdil", the lamp-lighter "Theilbola". kept
• Late autumn, the first year of Windward Clearing Hold: Zeno Conti called a people to Windward Clearing Hold: the people of Windward Clearing Hold. kept

Here now

the net-mender "Rolaf" (folk) · the fire-keeper "Eswewthuw" (folk) · the keeper of the shrine "Asdil" (folk) · the lamp-lighter "Theilbola" (folk)