Haighbahn

Haighbahn is one of the many 'lost' cities of Nalys, remnants of a time before The Barrier when the Fae's influence was more widespread on the island. The Fae would know the old city as Zihaen, although with the encroachment of civilised and organised society on the native peoples and land of Nalys, the jungle-born people moved into the remains of Zihaen and named it Haighbahn without knowledge of its old name, although the native Nalysian, known as Itaniougho, are far more familiar with Fae history than the sequestered nobility.

Location

Haighbahn is located in the Ever-Changing Forest of Sielu'montanye, and is the closest Itaniougho-occupied settlement to the largest Fae haeve in the mountains. As such, the boundaries between the secretive Fae and the Itaniougho are a little blurred. Certain special Itaniougho are allowed entrance and passage into Fae-occupied lands and haeves, and most importantly are allowed to leave again. The general populace of Haighbahn is blissfully unaware, or are intelligent enough to keep their suspicions quiet. The Itaniougho share a history with the Fae, it wouldn't surprise many of them to know that some kind of relationship has continued.

Architecture

The stone and wood buildings of Haighbahn are a dichotomy of nature and construction. Intricate, complicated stonework walls and buildings that are built around trees, as much as the jungle around has grown through the stone itself. In its early years, Haighbahn was meant to look as if both stone and wood were working in tandem. The trees weren't taking over stubborn man-made constructs, nor were the pale buildings meant to clear space for themselves in the greenery, but the stone was built with the trees in mind, the trees encouraged to grow to support the newly constructed pathways.
Time and lack of Fae occupation have blurred that intention somewhat. The trees are taking back the city, the Itaniougho only pruning and pushing back what is expressly needed for the safety of those living within it. A handful of nature-mages living within Haighbahn are attempting to recreate and preserve the original blurring of construction and natural, and so although Haighbahn may look like ruins to those that grew up in carefully constructed, planned cities, it's a beautiful balance of nature and construction. The town itself is far larger than the current residents have a need for, so there are some buildings that have been given back to nature, simply due to a lack of necessity.
Notable buildings and constructions include:
* Ngulang, the large central building acting as a town hall for the Itaniougho and would have once been the living chambers for the Mihira and her Xyemiera when occupied by the Fae.
* The rainwater system that stores and delivers water collected from above the canopy to the houses and structures of the town.

Itaniougho

Not all Itaniougho live in abandoned Fae cities. Itaniougho are not-quite-affectionately termed tree-people by the Nalysian lower-class, as many of the villages and towns on the very outskirts of the forested areas of Nalys are built in the boughs and branches of trees, to best avoid disturbing the patterns of ground-dwelling creatures of the forest.

Alternative Name(s)

Zihaen

Type

Town

Population

3000

Location under

Nalys

Included Locations

• Ngulang

Notable Residents:
Heskanghaliam - Book 12 of the Syshir Siblings