Baikal-ish

The land

Flat ground under a lake, 0 m up; a lake fills the patch; far from any sea; cold and dry.

Cover

a lake

Elevation

1173 m

Relief

flat ground

Fresh water

a lake fills the patch

The sea

far from any sea

Climate

cold and dry

The patch

about 1.85 km north to south and 1.11 km across; 1,853 m north to south, 1,111 m east to west, 2.06 km²

Centre

53.1583°N 107.9750°E

What the land offers a builder

Of this land: reed, brick, tile, stone, water. Of the region: marble, slate, bronze, iron, gold. The land allows: stilts, afloat, spanning.

Now

Frost and cold here, 10:42 local, late autumn.

The wild

Animals here this month: flamingo (feeding), otter (feeding), heron (feeding), duck (wintering), frog (wintering).

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 RAFT HALL — on the low knoll. House-sized, about 6 m. Reed, brick, stone. Afloat.
"A wide reed raft lashed with brick, a low cabin roof and hearth stone amidships"
A roof of brick 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, brick, stone.

THE OUTRIGGER BOAT — beside the north hill. Small, about 4 m. Reed, slate, bronze. Afloat.
"A narrow reed hull with slate spars and a lantern bracket at the bow"
A mast of reed atop the middle: stepped in a lashing block for running before the wind. A net rack of slate along the edge: coiled with weighted lines and floats. A bow lantern of bronze at the front: shrouded against salt spray for night watches.
Of this land: reed. Of the region: slate, bronze.

The story, as Kaelen M. tells it

Of the place

• Grey Shoal was laid out by Kaelen Marsh, who marked the low knoll first and set the raft hall to face out of the prevailing weather.

Of the people

• They keep a dry stack of fuel beside the raft hall 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 outrigger boat and sing the names of the first four who came. (heard when a people lives here)

The people

THE PEOPLE OF BAIKAL-ISH — fishers, reed workers, and gardeners, settled, in hearth households.
Names from their own tongue. They hold the water sacred.
They keep: reed boats; burial in the water; fish taboos in the breeding season; the first-catch feast; hospitality to strangers.
They like reed, bamboo, catfish, and the water. They dislike drought, frost, and stone. Open to strangers.
Their words: hearth sulvoo, river or sea teelti, winter or the rains eeki, the dead reelmoo, home loommumte, stranger hoosu, feast porulka, child lonkoonpi, old one soresi, the place Velvoo, the beast ivoo, the sky reenaka.
Founders: four. Lore: 2 lines.

Ways

fishing, reed working, gardening

Settlement

settled

Kinship

hearth households

Marriage

either

Naming

given names

To strangers

open

They hold sacred

the water

They keep

reed boats; burial in the water; fish taboos in the breeding season; the first-catch feast; hospitality to strangers

They like

reed, bamboo, catfish and the water

They dislike

drought, frost 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 sulvoo, river or sea teelti, winter or the rains eeki, the dead reelmoo, home loommumte, stranger hoosu, feast porulka, child lonkoonpi, old one soresi, the place Velvoo, the beast ivoo, the sky reenaka.

Their lore

• They keep a dry stack of fuel beside the raft hall 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 outrigger boat 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 Baikal-ish: the ways of the people changed: name. kept
• Late autumn, the first year of Grey Shoal: four came to Grey Shoal and lit the hearth. The net-mender "Hevo", the boatwright "Liloora", the fire-keeper "Oovemo", the lamp-lighter "Lirlee". kept
• Late autumn, the first year of Grey Shoal: Kaelen Marsh called a people to Grey Shoal: the people of Grey Shoal. kept

Here now

the net-mender "Hevo" (folk) · the boatwright "Liloora" (folk) · the fire-keeper "Oovemo" (folk) · the lamp-lighter "Lirlee" (folk)