The Dales
Above the devastation of the The Ledges, above the falling waters of the Thulin river, lies the region called The Dales.
If we climbed up the rock face behind the thundering waterfall, we would climb up several hundred feet, then we would find a Thulin river choked with the rocks and boulders that fell with parts of the mountain that used to shade the path at times.
The remnants of the river now flows through a maze of fallen rocks over the cliffside into The Ledges where it becomes the Rockside river. A river that is lined with broken earth, weakened plants and sickly creatures that live at the bottom of the newly formed gorge. After the Destruction, the path that ran alongside the Thulin was broken as well. That path used to lead traders and travelers into highland grasses and villages with the other children of Sestus: The Gelendry.
The people that lived in the Dales were the Gelendry. They lived in harmony with the seasons and traveled throughout Merida to trade with the children in the lower country below the Thulin river. When Sestus called his children to battle, most Gelendry were otherwise occupied or couldn't be bothered. Theirs is not the way to stir up trouble when there is no cause to stir up trouble.
When the Thulin river fell, and with it, the path that led out of The Dales, they were trapped in highlands until Ataos shaped another path that ran through the mountains. The Summer path is only open in the Summers and Early Fall. If people in Merida are looking to disappear or be lost beyond the finding of those that are tracking them down for good or ill, they can take the narrow path up into The Dales.
The difficulty of traveling from The Dales in any other time of the year make it a refuge for many folks who are down on their luck or those of questionable past. They can join the Gelendry and their ways of sharing. It does not mean that they can settle into the The Dales and become a curse to the current inhabitants. The Gelendry are a forgiving people, of course, given the god who shaped them, how can they be anything else, but they are protective of their own.
If a troublemaker comes amongst them they have their own justice, and god knows that they have only themselves to rely on from Winter to Summer, so they address troublemakers harshly and quickly. Everyone that enters a Gelendry town is welcomed and the rules are made clear. The town's wisewoman comes to call on them to share a basket of sweets and a few tales of those that came to town to disturb the peace.
"All that live here wish to dwell in peace. Those that bring trouble will wreak a harvest of grief."
Most that travel up the summer path to The Dales settle down and prosper. Those that cause trouble may one winter's day disappear in the drifts outside of town, only to be found when the snow melts in spring. For those who hear and understand the wisewoman's warning, they live outside the towns and mind their own ways. Other misfits build their own homesteads beyond the Gelendry's towns and live alone in peace.
If we climbed up the rock face behind the thundering waterfall, we would climb up several hundred feet, then we would find a Thulin river choked with the rocks and boulders that fell with parts of the mountain that used to shade the path at times.
The remnants of the river now flows through a maze of fallen rocks over the cliffside into The Ledges where it becomes the Rockside river. A river that is lined with broken earth, weakened plants and sickly creatures that live at the bottom of the newly formed gorge. After the Destruction, the path that ran alongside the Thulin was broken as well. That path used to lead traders and travelers into highland grasses and villages with the other children of Sestus: The Gelendry.
The people that lived in the Dales were the Gelendry. They lived in harmony with the seasons and traveled throughout Merida to trade with the children in the lower country below the Thulin river. When Sestus called his children to battle, most Gelendry were otherwise occupied or couldn't be bothered. Theirs is not the way to stir up trouble when there is no cause to stir up trouble.
When the Thulin river fell, and with it, the path that led out of The Dales, they were trapped in highlands until Ataos shaped another path that ran through the mountains. The Summer path is only open in the Summers and Early Fall. If people in Merida are looking to disappear or be lost beyond the finding of those that are tracking them down for good or ill, they can take the narrow path up into The Dales.
The difficulty of traveling from The Dales in any other time of the year make it a refuge for many folks who are down on their luck or those of questionable past. They can join the Gelendry and their ways of sharing. It does not mean that they can settle into the The Dales and become a curse to the current inhabitants. The Gelendry are a forgiving people, of course, given the god who shaped them, how can they be anything else, but they are protective of their own.
If a troublemaker comes amongst them they have their own justice, and god knows that they have only themselves to rely on from Winter to Summer, so they address troublemakers harshly and quickly. Everyone that enters a Gelendry town is welcomed and the rules are made clear. The town's wisewoman comes to call on them to share a basket of sweets and a few tales of those that came to town to disturb the peace.
"All that live here wish to dwell in peace. Those that bring trouble will wreak a harvest of grief."
Most that travel up the summer path to The Dales settle down and prosper. Those that cause trouble may one winter's day disappear in the drifts outside of town, only to be found when the snow melts in spring. For those who hear and understand the wisewoman's warning, they live outside the towns and mind their own ways. Other misfits build their own homesteads beyond the Gelendry's towns and live alone in peace.
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