Thornhaven

Thornhaven is a Mobythian settlement in the middle-eastern meadows of Gojera. It is the most successful settlement during the Plague Age. It contains the most advanced weaponry, irrigation, and sewage system among all the tribes. They have utilized the Gigatan River for several mills and irrigation. The wall built around the settlement has created a fortress that keeps other megafauna and Mobythian tribes away.

Demographics

The second stage citizens are the higher class. Wealth and land are mostly distributed among them. First stage inhabitants live in the servant quarters of the house in which they serve. Stage three citizens have their own land away from the main settlement to avoid any damages.

Government

Thornhaven thrives under a constitutional monarchy. The king or queen can enact almost any policy, but the major governing houses may choose to declare something as a law only with an overwhelming majority, which overrides any previous, current, or future policy a king or queen may enact. This is to ensure the safety of the settlement. Only second stage citizens can participate in the government.

Defences

Thornhaven gets its name from the giant wall around the majority of the settlement. It is made of wood palisades and stacked stones. It is stocked and defended with various stakes, lances, traps, barricades, and guards. The wall is the strongest and first line of defense against megafauna and other tribes. However, the strongest in the settlement are chosen to guard the wall, police the village, attack dangerous animals around the settlement, or fight as an army if needed.

Industry & Trade

There are some citizens who travel to other friendly tribes to trade and gather supplies. Thornhaven exports large amounts of mammoth hair (for mattresses and coats), salt (harvested from the nearby sea), pottery, weapons for allies, crushed bone (to the tribes that believe in bone-dust cures), maps, and various crops. Their main imports are stone, lumber, spices, bone for architecture, and metals.

Infrastructure

Within the walls is a close-quarters community with thin alleys, suspended walkways, and rope bridges for citizens to get from one place to another within the settlement. There are some farms within the walls, but most are outside along with the various watermills and the giant stone roofs for the third stage citizens. Nearby are giant grazing cattle, hogs, and mammoths that are kept by a shepherd. The river partially runs through the settlement to wash away the sewage system. Because the settlement is made of mostly wood logs and planks, fire is prohibited outside of the communal pits stations around the settlement.

Assets

Equipment: Citizens of Thornhaven have developed advanced tools and methods of agriculture. Their tools and irrigation system have been vital to their success. Thornhaven contains some of the most advanced traps along the wall to stop other animals attempting to raid their food stash.
Valuables: Gold, silver, obsidian, certain vibrant feathers, and wool are quite around their land, so few stores sell pieces that incorporate them. Some swindle nomadic traders and then the richest in Thornhaven have bidding wars where citizens gather from all around to watch. Treenware and pottery are the valuables to the commoners. Paints are collectible, for they add vibrancy to any home or personal item. Spices are also valuable, and a new spice store opening may sell out in a day. First stage children may have mammoth hair dolls or hoops to play with. Second stage children can afford various things the toymakers might invent.
Places of Interest: Within the community, there are four important buildings that have been influential for their culture. The Wash House is where all first and second stage members of the community go to bathe. It has been an important feature in fighting off diseases. The Inlet is where royalty lives, and where the major houses gather to govern the haven. The Dome is the school for the second stage children or first stage children who were chosen to undergo metamorphosis. The Cavern is where citizens go to hibernate and cocoon for metamorphosis.

History

Development started when the founding king, Thal, desired a home for his tribe. He found the richest soil in the plains, sun-dried the first brick for the foundation, and placed it. After several years, the first form of Thornhaven was complete, starting what they call the Age of Foundation. After eighty-seven years of growth, Queen Althome created plans for the wall. When it was finished two years later, the Age of Thorn began. Their success attracted the Axix tribe from the savannah. The Axix attacked Thornhaven, but they were unsuccessful. Several other tribes attempted to sack the village for the next 120 years. When the population grew, they moved most of the farmland outside the walls to accommodate. When they began construction on more living quarters, the Plague Age hit. The Mobythians all over Gojera were hit with dozens of severe diseases. A woman in Thornhaven named Ojin realized there were several reasons for the problem, including their hygiene. They limited contact with other tribes and developed a sewage system and a bathhouse where more houses were meant to be built. For this reason, they began building homes closer together and stacked them. They still suffered during the Plague Age, but the damage was limited compared to the devastation in other tribes. After the plagues were under control in the rest of Gojera, major trade routes and alliances were settled. The Cartography Age soon began with well-known papyrus artists creating maps of hunting lands. Their new goal was to be the first tribe to map Gojera in its entirety. They sold the maps to allies. At the start of the Elk Age, Thornhaven was already 337 years old. This age started as a peaceful time for the second stage citizens. But whispers of a revolution began circulation. The enslaved first stage inhabitants were restless. There had always been murmurings of freedom, but one man, Kalomide, took the idea past talk. He and a band of revolutionaries set fire to certain areas of Thornhaven to send a message. The queen at the time had them executed, but the whispers of revolution persisted. Kalomide's followers committed hundreds of attacks over the next few decades. The only thing to stop it was what would come in the Sentinel Age. The people of Thornhaven knew not whether the Sentinels were a threat, but all were willing to protect their home no matter what.

Architecture

The foundation is sun-dried brick. It is a close-quarters village made of bone and wood with a defensive wall around the perimeter. The thin alleys are dark and rarely adorned. houses are stacked with stairs, rope bridges, and walkways connecting them. Citizens paint their area or decorate with valuables. There are communal fire pits in certain areas made from stone. Every section has communal outhouses with a sewage system that leads downriver.

Alternative Name(s)

To other Mobythian tribes it is known as Ittiquatl, Meadowpeak, or Oakjaw.

Type

Village

Population

First stage population fluctuates between 100 and 120. Second stage population is kept between 50 and 60. There are usually only 10 to 20 inhabitants in the third stage.

Inhabitant Demonym

As a species they call themselves Mobythians. Others may call their tribe Meadonians or Ittiquats (meadow people). They have no moniker for themselves other than "we of Thornhaven."

Location under

Gojera