Tsimbazaza

The land

Steep hills under thorny scrub on dry ground, 1113 m up; a river or a lake in the low ground; the sea about 130 km away; mild, with dry winters.

Cover

thorny scrub on dry ground

Elevation

1113 m

Relief

steep hills

Fresh water

a river or a lake in the low ground

The sea

the sea about 130 km away

Climate

mild, with dry winters

The patch

about 1.85 km north to south and 1.73 km across; 1,853 m north to south, 1,727 m east to west, 3.20 km²

Centre

21.3083°S 47.0417°E

What the land offers a builder

Of this land: timber, reed, earth, turf, brick, tile, stone, hide, bone, cloth, rope, water, fire. Of the region: living plant, marble, slate, bronze, iron, gold. The land allows: ground, stilts, afloat, carved, spanning.

Now

Heavy rain and mild here, 06:40 local, the wet season.

The wild

Animals here this month: lion (feeding), leopard (feeding), buffalo (feeding), leopard (feeding), wildebeest (migrating), hyena (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 HOUSE — on the low knoll. House-sized, about 6 m. Timber, reed, stone. On the ground.
"A stout timber house 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 STOREHOUSE — beside the north hill. Small, about 4 m. Timber, slate. On the ground.
"A tight-walled timber storehouse raised clear of the damp with a slate roof"
A roof of slate 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. Of the region: slate.

The story, as xander_b tells it

Of the place

• South Fold Watch was laid out by Xander Brandt, who marked the low knoll first and set the timber house to face out of the prevailing weather.

Of the people

• They keep a dry stack of fuel beside the timber house 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 TSIMBAZAZA — gardeners, fishers, and hunters, settled, in hearth households.
Names from their own tongue. They hold the river sacred.
They keep: ancestor stones; the harvest feast; burial in a mound; hospitality to strangers; the first tooth given to the river.
They like timber, frost, red deer, and light rain. They dislike stone, heat, and storm. Open to strangers.
Their words: hearth deirthouwa, river or sea ourowda, winter or the rains iwthou, the dead sarno, home loureifnad, stranger sanol, feast eiwdewim, child munil, old one mirow, the place Beilne, the beast weilabbo, the sky ithrar.
Founders: four. Lore: 2 lines.

Ways

gardening, fishing, hunting

Settlement

settled

Kinship

hearth households

Marriage

either

Naming

given names

To strangers

open

They hold sacred

the river

They keep

ancestor stones; the harvest feast; burial in a mound; hospitality to strangers; the first tooth given to the river

They like

timber, frost, red deer and light rain

They dislike

stone, heat and storm

Founders

4

Counted

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

Founded

6 November 2026

Their words

hearth deirthouwa, river or sea ourowda, winter or the rains iwthou, the dead sarno, home loureifnad, stranger sanol, feast eiwdewim, child munil, old one mirow, the place Beilne, the beast weilabbo, the sky ithrar.

Their lore

• They keep a dry stack of fuel beside the timber house 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; 4 tracks; 1 ways changed.

• The wet season, the first year of Tsimbazaza: the lion left a line of prints over the low knoll.
• The wet season, the first year of Tsimbazaza: the ways of the people changed: name. kept
• The wet season, the first year of South Fold Watch: wolf tracks across the north hill.
• The wet season, the first year of South Fold Watch: lion tracks across the low knoll.
• The wet season, the first year of South Fold Watch: wolf tracks across the north hill.
• The wet season, the first year of South Fold Watch: four came to South Fold Watch and lit the hearth. The net-mender "Emmeir", the fire-keeper "Deiwrarrul", the keeper of the store "Sirnei", the keeper of the shrine "Fothirnir". kept
• The wet season, the first year of South Fold Watch: Xander Brandt called a people to South Fold Watch: the people of South Fold Watch. kept

Here now

the net-mender "Emmeir" (folk) · the fire-keeper "Deiwrarrul" (folk) · the keeper of the store "Sirnei" (folk) · the keeper of the shrine "Fothirnir" (folk)