Dashrae
Dashrae is a small community located in the desert about ten miles northward from the Craterhold city limits. Rural and proudly isolated, Dashrae's primary claim to fame is as one of those little remote airship refuelling spots where travellers have 'wierd' experiences. Whether it's an uncomfortable social interaction with the insular locals, a spotting of an unusual piece of art or slapdashery in someone's yard, or rumors of wildlife of unusual proportion or shape, every traveller who passes through Dashrae's airship terminal comes out of it with a little story to tell. In truth, the people of Dashrae are harmless, if eccentric, and simply enjoy their privacy in the midst of primeval desert nature.
Demographics
The population of Dashrae is less than 1,000 and trends older than communities in the surrounding countryside. Most children born in Dashrae eventually move to the big city to find employment, then, in time, migrate to other parts of the Coalition which better suit their individual temperaments. A rare few Dashrae natives eventually find their way back, whether in the biofuels industry or out of a desire to return to a simpler life, and bring their families such that the population never seems to drop.
Government
As with most places in Craterhold, governance in Dashrae is an informal affair involving a sort of direct democracy. Each local family - functionally, each head of household - expresses their intents at bi-weekly meetings at the local schoolhouse.
Defences
The outermost extents of the local families' properties are merged together by fencing to give the illusion that the whole region is private property. This is done to discourage outside developers and better support locals' claims of trespassing. Effectively, every household in Dashrae is a set of light fortifications. Almost the entire population is armed, and the already relaxed laws surrounding weapons and enforcement of property claims are even more relaxed here. The relative dearth of zoning regulations or approval requirements for construction means that there are more dividing walls on private property in Dashrae than might be found in other regions. Landowners are prone to seeding their properties with traps which, while ostensibly set for varmints, would do just as well at maiming human trespassers.
The insularity, self-reliance, and rejection of authority on the part of the Dashraeans is, however, a double-edged sword when it comes to defense. While it is true that any ground assault on the town (i.e. by invading Grand Army of Voxelia elements) would be stymied by vicious guerilla fighting, the town's air defenses (i.e. against Avarix Corps raiders) amount to a few privately-owned biplanes and autogyros made more for agricultural work or recreation. Moreover, Coalition Defense Forces would by disinclined to expend resources on Dashrae in the event of such an incursion. For better or for worse, Dashrae stands alone.
Infrastructure
Aside from a single packed dirt and gravel road leading there from Craterhold, the only major piece of infrastructure in Dashrae is the 100' airship loading and fuelling gantry. Situated atop a large subterranean biodiesel tank in the town's central plaza, this truss and guy wire tower ensures that airships need not even land to resupply - indeed, the townsfolk prefer to conduct all refuelling business at an 'arm's reach' in this manner, as it disincentivizes contact with tourists without disincentivizing commerce. The plaza itself is kept barren, but is not closed to the public, meaning that visitors in the airship above can sometimes witness locals playing impromptu terraceball games there.
Architecture
Dashrae residents live in family 'compounds,' with extended families living in clusters of one- and two-story homes on large, fenced-in properties. Each plot features a series of outbuildings, fields, and copses of trees depending on the sort of cottage industries the given family participates in. The central plaza is surrounded by a light commercial district comprised of single story warehouses, shops, and assorted stalls. This district is also where the tiny local Navigator's Guild office is located.
An inn decorated with neon signage and red and orange steel siding, a couple of stone picnic tables, and a set of three red MartMart Mobile Marketplaces - all located near the base of the airship refuelling gantry (see Infrastructure) - provide the closest thing Dashrae has to tourist accomodations. The vibrant colors of this place, as compared to the more stolid brick-and-stick construction of the surrounding households, is designed to draw the eyes of visitors first and, thus, enhance the privacy of the locals.
Climate
Medial C is situated across the inflection layer from the Eastern Tesseract; thus, like much of Craterhold, Dashrae is dusty and relatively flat, with an arid climate that experiences large temperature swings between day and night cycles. Dashrae is slightly warmer than the capitol because it is further from the commissure leading to the Caudal-associated Medial D, but the relative dearth of intervening terrain features means that the region experiences intense winds in autumn.
Natural Resources
The land around Dashrae is arable, if dry, and is good for the production of alfalfa, onions, and garlic. Some families grow lemons or force rhubarb on their properties for sale in the local farmer's market, though small quantities of a wide variety of fruits and vegetables are also available (albeit for inflated prices). Soil conditions vary somewhat from plot to plot; the local economy is partially market-based and partially gift-based, as, while the local families are each insular, they also have known one another for generations and rely on one another for goods requiring specific means or conditions of production. There were once petroleum and iron deposits in the area, but these have since largely played out.
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