Ostanovka

The land

Flat ground under open grass steppe, 217 m up; far from any sea; hot and dry.

Cover

open grass steppe

Elevation

217 m

Relief

flat ground

The sea

far from any sea

Climate

hot and dry

The patch

about 1.85 km north to south and 1.71 km across; 1,853 m north to south, 1,707 m east to west, 3.16 km²

Centre

22.8917°S 143.5917°E

What the land offers a builder

Of this land: reed, earth, turf, stone, hide, bone, cloth, rope, fire. The land allows: ground, stilts.

Now

Clear and hot here, 13:18 local, the wet season.

The wild

Animals here this month: thylacine (denning), kangaroo (feeding), tasmanian devil (feeding), wallaby (feeding), emu (nesting), locust (feeding).

The lay of the land

• The grass meadow (meadow): a bright sward of tall grass damp with morning dew
• The marker stone (spot): a level patch of firm ground marked with three flat 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 marker stone. Small, about 4 m. Reed, rope, 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, rope. Carried here: bronze.

The story, as Vera K. tells it

Of the place

• First Terrace Watch was laid out by Vera Kuznetsova, 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 OSTANOVKA — herders, hunters, and gardeners, seasonal, in bands.
Names from their own tongue. They hold the rain sacred.
They keep: rain songs; age groups; burial in the fire; the feast of the rains' return; gifts to strangers; winter camps away.
They like earth, hide, clear, and wildebeest. They dislike frost, fog, and stone. Open to strangers.
Their words: hearth ebu, river or sea kotasamngutu, winter or the rains yunguwu, the dead mengine, home siki, stranger wemi, feast dunabu, child uti, old one nonge, the place Sitibo, the beast ebuwe, the sky lamodoye.
Their herd: antelope.
Founders: four. Lore: 2 lines.

Ways

herding, hunting, gardening

Settlement

seasonal

Kinship

bands

Marriage

either

Naming

given names

To strangers

open

They hold sacred

the rain

They keep

rain songs; age groups; burial in the fire; the feast of the rains' return; gifts to strangers; winter camps away

They like

earth, hide, clear and wildebeest

They dislike

frost, fog and stone

Their herd

antelope, 1 head

Founders

4

Counted

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

Founded

6 November 2026

Their words

hearth ebu, river or sea kotasamngutu, winter or the rains yunguwu, the dead mengine, home siki, stranger wemi, feast dunabu, child uti, old one nonge, the place Sitibo, the beast ebuwe, the sky lamodoye.

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 companion; 1 founders; 1 people founded; 1 ways changed.

• The wet season, the first year of Ostanovka: the ways of the people changed: name. kept
• The wet season, the first year of First Terrace Watch: a fox took to the net-mender "Budenga" and stayed.
• The wet season, the first year of First Terrace Watch: four came to First Terrace Watch and lit the hearth. The net-mender "Budenga", the fire-keeper "Mungewemso", the watcher "Ingawi", the lamp-lighter "Mayi". kept
• The wet season, the first year of First Terrace Watch: Vera Kuznetsova called a people to First Terrace Watch: the people of First Terrace Watch. kept

Here now

the net-mender "Budenga" (folk) · the fire-keeper "Mungewemso" (folk) · the watcher "Ingawi" (folk) · the lamp-lighter "Mayi" (folk) · the fox of the net-mender "Budenga" (folk)