Steppe by Steppe

The land

Gently rolling ground under open grass steppe, 10 m up; brooks and springs in the folds of the ground; far from any sea; cold snowy winters, no dry season.

Cover

open grass steppe

Elevation

10 m

Relief

gently rolling ground

Fresh water

brooks and springs in the folds of the ground

The sea

far from any sea

Climate

cold snowy winters, no dry season

The patch

about 1.85 km north to south and 1.20 km across; 1,853 m north to south, 1,198 m east to west, 2.22 km²

Centre

49.7250°N 45.3583°E

What the land offers a builder

Of this land: reed, earth, turf, stone, hide, bone, cloth, rope, fire. Of the region: timber, living plant, brick, tile, water. The land allows: ground, stilts.

Now

Frost and bitter here, 05:40 local, late autumn, full dark.

The wild

Animals here this month: brown bear (denning), caribou (wintering), moose (wintering), wolf (passing), elk (migrating), wild horse (feeding).

The lay of the land

• The grass meadow (meadow): a bright sward of tall grass damp with morning dew
• The cold spring (spring): cold clear water welling up steadily between wet stones

What stands here

THE REED HUT — on the grass meadow. 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 cold spring. Small, about 4 m. Reed, tile, 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. Of the region: tile. Carried here: bronze.

The story, as Orlaith B. tells it

Of the place

• Slate Bench was laid out by Orlaith Byrne, who marked the grass meadow 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 grass meadow. (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 STEPPE BY STEPPE — hunters, fishers, and gatherers, seasonal, in hearth households.
Names from their own tongue. They hold the river sacred.
They keep: the first-salmon feast; no fishing at spawning; sky burial on a platform; winter stories; summer camps away.
They like timber, salmon, moose, and snow. They dislike mosquito, heat, and stone. Wary to strangers.
Their words: hearth kilumä, river or sea räkomä, winter or the rains ivätö, the dead tälmolä, home öti, stranger tosirme, feast urä, child hokale, old one hurja, the place Ätänvu, the beast ävu, the sky otesö.
Founders: four. Lore: 2 lines.

Ways

hunting, fishing, gathering

Settlement

seasonal

Kinship

hearth households

Marriage

either

Naming

given names

To strangers

wary

They hold sacred

the river

They keep

the first-salmon feast; no fishing at spawning; sky burial on a platform; winter stories; summer camps away

They like

timber, salmon, moose and snow

They dislike

mosquito, heat and stone

Founders

4

Counted

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

Founded

6 November 2026

Their words

hearth kilumä, river or sea räkomä, winter or the rains ivätö, the dead tälmolä, home öti, stranger tosirme, feast urä, child hokale, old one hurja, the place Ätänvu, the beast ävu, the sky otesö.

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 grass meadow.
• 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; 1 ways changed.

• Late autumn, the first year of Steppe by Steppe: the ways of the people changed: name. kept
• Late autumn, the first year of Slate Bench: four came to Slate Bench and lit the hearth. The net-mender "Ölu", the fire-keeper "Öli", the watcher "Jörsöso", the lamp-lighter "Inö". kept
• Late autumn, the first year of Slate Bench: Orlaith Byrne called a people to Slate Bench: the people of Slate Bench. kept

Here now

the net-mender "Ölu" (folk) · the fire-keeper "Öli" (folk) · the watcher "Jörsöso" (folk) · the lamp-lighter "Inö" (folk)