Ch'iquy (Chi-e-kee)
by hughpierre
Demographics
Mud Men
It was long believed that the mud men were an extinct people. That it is until a lost colony of them appeared hiding under a cliff.These pure blooded mud men are restricted to living within the settlement as part of a heritage protection program. They are not permitted to leave. Though they regularly traversed the complicated paths for 800 years before the innoit found them, their masters in Ca-Cheisneu thought them to be a pathetic remnant of an endangered culture so moved to isolate them. As protection. Ch'iquy was big for its time, which could imply it was powerful. Or maybe it acted as a hub for a wider community of mud Men.
Government
Kuraca
A magistrate acts as the head and representatives of the many ayllu. They collect taxes, hold religious authority and mediate marriage contracts. They also, redistribute the land to each member according to the size of their families, their social status and their kinship. The kuracas of Ch'iquy, however, do not live within the settlement. Due to the preservation initiative for the mud men, he is given a modest manse as an administrative center in the nearby Ch'aqu, just over the hill.Defences
Mud Walls
Houses are huddled together behind curving walls that run indistinguishably from one home to the next.Camouflage
Being built below a cliff for protection and camouflage, it was incredibly difficult for anyone outside to even notice the small town was there for hundreds of years.Industry & Trade
Agriculture
The Estate manages the use of all land within the empire. This can range from the royal estates of the panakas, family farms and terrace projects.Access to sufficient land is a right that individuals have as members of their respective ayllu.Great emphasis is placed on storing agricultural products, constructing thousands of storage silos in every major center and along the road system. Hillside placements are used to preserve food in storage by utilizing the natural cool air and wind to ventilate both the room and floor areas. Drainage canals and gravel floors in qollqas help to keep foodstuffs dry. The mud men themselves to not till. They are not allowed to. Instead, they are kept and cared for as one of the responsibilities by the residents of Ch'aqu.
Infrastructure
Roadways
Many of the constructed roads are not uniform in design as with Qhapaq Ñan. The roads leading to and away from Ch'iquy are paved with gravel which contributes to its authentic atmosphere. Drains and culverts effectively direct irregular rainfall to run away from the roads and ancient and dusty structures. Though there is natural drainage that had been in use for centuries.Grand Houses
The latest continuous structures to be built under the cliff that houses scores of families at a time. They rise to the cliff ceiling containing about 50 rooms painted pastel pinks, yellows and reds in geometric murals.Districts
Southern Quarter
Much of this quarter, especially the eastern end, is under the sky. Its roof was considerably destroyed by rain water flowing over the canyon rim. The walls, especially where it joins the old quarter, exhibit fine masonry which suggesting that it was inhabited by important clans.Old Quarter
The earliest settled section is divided into a front and rear sector by a street running approximately north and south. It contains the largest number of castle-like rooms clusters of varied enclosures with the best masonry. It is the most protected and least accessible to enemies in the whole village.Plaza Quarter
A large open space formed by a contiguous roofs of several sunken pits below it. The main entrance opens into this plaza at its northwestern corner. On the northern side, it continues into a court that connects with the main alley.Tower Quarter
It occupies the whole northern portion and extends to the extreme northern end from a line drawn perpendicular to the cliff through a square tower. The tallest structure is a square tower reaching the 26 feet cave roof with four levels, and through which this quarter is named.Assets
Pottery
Traditional wine vessels, jugs and pots are decorated with black geometric designs by highly skilled craftspeople from the mud manufactured around them.Guilds and Factions
Preservationists
There are many of those in the Sun Court who advocate to preserve the architecturally and historically significant structures, giving restrictive options to the actual mud men.Squatters
There is an ambiguous group of unrelated individuals whose presence in Ch'iquy is considered illegal. Either outsiders managed to integrate themselves into the mud community or they were unregistered persons born from the local women. Both of whom have to legal rights or protections according to the Court.History
Millennia of Mud
This was a period of corner wide squalor with little to no recorded knowledge.Ch'iquy was the culmination of several decades worth of artistic expression by mud artists who initially came to this place for reasons that are not fully clear. It grew organically over hundreds of generations and may have only ever housed just over 800 people at its height. It also appears to have been abandoned and resettled over multiple times.
Rediscovery
Just before the beginning of winter, one pair synchronic drawers, made the discovery of a lifetime when they stumbled the rim of a deep canyon. With snow swirling under grey skies, they noticed an elongated face cut into the rock. As they approached, they found a line of similar mud art bobbing up and down the cliff face and along a discrete stony path. At the other end, they began to find buildings and turning a corner, they found people.Points of interest
Valley of Faces
A valley where 63 rock-cut human faces were carved into the valley cliffs depicting old mud leaders.Cliff Sculptures
Cliffs at the top of the scree slopes, and under storm-fed waterfalls, are inlaid with ancient art.Stone Falls
A magical waterfall whose water turns anything it touches to stone.Colossus
A 70 feet tall, hollow statue that is the centerpiece of entertainment to tourists.Tourism
Hospitality
Ch'iquy is as much a natural preserve as it is town.Its inhabitants spend their time molding small clay sculptures to sell to visitors, offering tours to the nearby sites and cleaning and cooking for them while they host well-paying guests in their homes.
Architecture
Pillow-Faced Architecture
An innovation in construction where three-dimensional chunks of stone interconnect in unique configurations from loose bags of sand and gravel of varied sizes. These bags are made to conform to uneven surfaces and harden into plaster covered walls. The walls in Ch'iquy were made from sturdier stuff than other mud sites such as sandstone layered with ash, the typical acidic mud, stones; and most uniquely, wooden beams.Geography
Cliff
Ch'iquy was built into a natural sandstone cavity which also dictated the shape the houses could take. This restricts the total number of rooms to 200.Natural Resources
Fertile Soil: The cliff maintains a very rich red soil that holds a lot of moisture and is replenished on the wind.
Underground Springs: There is such an abundance of wells that the cliff is sure to be resistant to drought.
Type
Ward
Population
150
Related Ethnicities
Inhabitant Demonym
Mud Men
Owning Organization
Related Professions
Comments