Redwood Row

The land

Steep hills under tall evergreen needleleaf forest, 1483 m up; brooks and springs in the folds of the ground; the sea about 90 km away; dry summers and mild wet winters.

Cover

tall evergreen needleleaf forest

Elevation

1483 m

Relief

steep hills

Fresh water

brooks and springs in the folds of the ground

The sea

the sea about 90 km away

Climate

dry summers and mild wet winters

The patch

about 1.85 km north to south and 1.42 km across; 1,853 m north to south, 1,417 m east to west, 2.63 km²

Centre

40.1417°N 122.9417°W

What the land offers a builder

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

Now

Light rain and cold here, 19:19 local, late autumn, full dark.

The wild

Animals here this month: brown bear (denning), puma (feeding), wolf (passing), elk (migrating), white-tailed deer (rutting), black bear (denning).

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, living plant, stone. On the ground.
"A stout timber hut 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 STOREHOUSE — beside the north hill. Small, about 4 m. Timber, rope. On the ground.
"A tight-walled timber storehouse raised clear of the damp with a rope roof"
A roof of rope atop the top: weighted with flat stones against high winds. A shelves of timber inside the inside: lined with dry bins for winter stores.
Of this land: timber, rope.

The story, as cedric tells it

Of the place

• Black Fork Hold was laid out by Cedric Lemieux, 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 storehouse and sing the names of the first four who came. (heard when a people lives here)

The people

THE PEOPLE OF REDWOOD ROW — hunters, gatherers, and herders, seasonal, in hearth households.
Names from their own tongue. They hold the forest sacred.
They keep: winter stories; sky burial on a platform; the midwinter feast; wariness before strangers; the hearth never cold.
They like timber, snow, elk, and frost. They dislike mosquito, heat, and fog. Wary to strangers.
Their words: hearth ijä, river or sea ätermi, winter or the rains sövävo, the dead jorronse, home seljömvo, stranger ekäme, feast jänrerve, child uvurte, old one jovöta, the place Semkurö, the beast vurju, the sky äkämlä.
Their herd: caribou.
Founders: four. Lore: 2 lines.

Ways

hunting, gathering, herding

Settlement

seasonal

Kinship

hearth households

Marriage

either

Naming

given names

To strangers

wary

They hold sacred

the forest

They keep

winter stories; sky burial on a platform; the midwinter feast; wariness before strangers; the hearth never cold

They like

timber, snow, elk and frost

They dislike

mosquito, heat and fog

Their herd

caribou, 2 head

Founders

4

Counted

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

Founded

6 November 2026

Their words

hearth ijä, river or sea ätermi, winter or the rains sövävo, the dead jorronse, home seljömvo, stranger ekäme, feast jänrerve, child uvurte, old one jovöta, the place Semkurö, the beast vurju, the sky äkämlä.

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 storehouse 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; 1 ways changed.

• Late autumn, the first year of Redwood Row: the ways of the people changed: name. kept
• Late autumn, the first year of Black Fork Hold: four came to Black Fork Hold and lit the hearth. The net-mender "Tanne", the fire-keeper "Sämvu", the keeper of the store "Larkirkö", the keeper of the shrine "Lomviro". kept
• Late autumn, the first year of Black Fork Hold: Cedric Lemieux called a people to Black Fork Hold: the people of Black Fork Hold. kept

Here now

the net-mender "Tanne" (folk) · the fire-keeper "Sämvu" (folk) · the keeper of the store "Larkirkö" (folk) · the keeper of the shrine "Lomviro" (folk)