Stromboli Corner

The land

Mountainside under thorny scrub on dry ground, 581 m up; on the coast; dry summers and mild wet winters.

Cover

thorny scrub on dry ground

Elevation

581 m

Relief

mountainside

The sea

on the coast

Climate

dry summers and mild wet winters

The patch

about 1.85 km north to south and 1.44 km across; 1,853 m north to south, 1,444 m east to west, 2.68 km²

Centre

38.7917°N 15.2083°E

What the land offers a builder

Of this land: timber, reed, earth, turf, stone, marble, slate, sand, shell, coral, hide, bone, cloth, rope, bronze, iron, gold, glass, fire. Of the region: water. The land allows: ground, stilts, carved, spanning.

Now

Light rain and cold here, 04:45 local, late autumn, full dark.

The wild

Animals here this month: leopard (feeding), orca (passing), seal (feeding), whale (migrating), shark (feeding), eagle (feeding).

This season: a season of fog.

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 HUT — on the low knoll. House-sized, about 6 m. Timber, reed, stone. On the ground.
"A stout timber hut roofed with reed, set low out of the wind with a central hearth"
A roof of reed 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, reed, stone.

THE FIRING KILN — beside the north hill. Small, about 4 m. Timber, rope. On the ground.
"A thick-walled timber kiln with a low draft tunnel and a sheltered fuel rack"
A chimney flue of timber atop the top: daubed tight to draw a steady draft. A fuel rack of rope along the east side: stacked with dry kindling under a narrow eave.
Of this land: timber, rope.

The story, as Nestor Campos tells it

Of the place

• Upper Narrows Hold was laid out by Nestor Campos, who marked the low knoll first and set the timber hut to face out of the prevailing weather.

Of the people

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

The people

THE PEOPLE OF STROMBOLI CORNER — fishers, salt and shell gatherers, and gatherers, settled, in hearth households.
Names from their own tongue. They hold the water sacred.
They keep: water taboos; burial in the sand; the stranger eats first; the first-catch feast; night travel.
They like shell, stone, fog, and dawn. They dislike heat, dust, and timber. Open to strangers.
Their words: hearth zulfiirral, river or sea haanhaazii, winter or the rains hilhaasaan, the dead ghaanbaarbur, home hamnam, stranger khamfii, feast durun, child khiibiimram, old one raamnaalfiil, the place Rifarhaal, the beast zaanliinbu, the sky ghiisuzsam.
Founders: four. Lore: 2 lines.

Ways

fishing, salt and shell gathering, gathering

Settlement

settled

Kinship

hearth households

Marriage

either

Naming

given names

To strangers

open

They hold sacred

the water

They keep

water taboos; burial in the sand; the stranger eats first; the first-catch feast; night travel

They like

shell, stone, fog and dawn

They dislike

heat, dust and timber

Founders

4

Counted

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

Founded

9 November 2026

Their words

hearth zulfiirral, river or sea haanhaazii, winter or the rains hilhaasaan, the dead ghaanbaarbur, home hamnam, stranger khamfii, feast durun, child khiibiimram, old one raamnaalfiil, the place Rifarhaal, the beast zaanliinbu, the sky ghiisuzsam.

Their lore

• They keep a dry stack of fuel beside the timber 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 firing kiln 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 first roof; 1 founders; 1 people founded; 2 tracks; 1 ways changed.

• Late autumn, the first year of Stromboli Corner: the leopard left a line of prints over the north hill.
• Late autumn, the first year of Stromboli Corner: the first roof went up at Stromboli Corner: the timber hut. kept
• Late autumn, the first year of Stromboli Corner: the ways of the people changed: name. kept
• Late autumn, the first year of Upper Narrows Hold: leopard tracks across the north hill.
• Late autumn, the first year of Upper Narrows Hold: four came to Upper Narrows Hold and lit the hearth. The net-mender "Naamghaan", the potter "Fahban", the fire-keeper "Khiziizma", the keeper of the shrine "Sahamran". kept
• Late autumn, the first year of Upper Narrows Hold: Nestor Campos called a people to Upper Narrows Hold: the people of Upper Narrows Hold. kept

Here now

the net-mender "Naamghaan" (folk) · the potter "Fahban" (folk) · the fire-keeper "Khiziizma" (folk) · the keeper of the shrine "Sahamran" (folk)