Taiga Motel

The land

Gently rolling ground under tall evergreen needleleaf forest, 368 m up; brooks and springs in the folds of the ground; far from any sea; cold snowy winters, no dry season.

Cover

tall evergreen needleleaf forest

Elevation

368 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 0.88 km across; 1,853 m north to south, 883 m east to west, 1.64 km²

Centre

61.5417°N 105.6250°E

What the land offers a builder

Of this land: timber, living plant, earth, stone, hide, bone, cloth, rope, fire. The land allows: ground, stilts, canopy.

Now

Snow and bitter here, 10:43 local, late autumn.

The wild

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

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 WAY SHRINE — beside the north hill. Small, about 4 m. Timber, rope, 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, rope. Carried here: bronze.

The story, as celandine tells it

Of the place

• Far Timber Watch was laid out by Celandine Moss, 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 way shrine and sing the names of the first four who came. (heard when a people lives here)

The people

THE PEOPLE OF TAIGA MOTEL — 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 mömhö, river or sea sönho, winter or the rains vumukä, the dead tämnö, home nänönö, stranger olumku, feast utenu, child vime, old one mumhe, the place Mörsule, the beast hontö, the sky önäre.
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, 10 head

Founders

4

Counted

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

Founded

6 November 2026

Their words

hearth mömhö, river or sea sönho, winter or the rains vumukä, the dead tämnö, home nänönö, stranger olumku, feast utenu, child vime, old one mumhe, the place Mörsule, the beast hontö, the sky önäre.

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 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; 1 ways changed.

• Late autumn, the first year of Taiga Motel: the ways of the people changed: name. kept
• Late autumn, the first year of Far Timber Watch: four came to Far Timber Watch and lit the hearth. The net-mender "Hasä", the fire-keeper "Ömu", the keeper of the shrine "Jömko", the lamp-lighter "Manlö". kept
• Late autumn, the first year of Far Timber Watch: Celandine Moss called a people to Far Timber Watch: the people of Far Timber Watch. kept

Here now

the net-mender "Hasä" (folk) · the fire-keeper "Ömu" (folk) · the keeper of the shrine "Jömko" (folk) · the lamp-lighter "Manlö" (folk)