Dijishy

At a Glance

The dusty desert gives way suddenly to a rocky ridge at the edge of the Elos Desert. Dijishy rests on the edge of this ridge, perhaps 70 Feet above the level of the desert. A single wide ramp of brick and packed earth leads to the level of the desert, extending 200 yards to make a gentle slope for wheeled traffic and exhausted beasts arriving from the desert.
Most inhabitants of Dijishy are shepherds that graze their flocks in the nearby hills. The citizens wear untinted leather clothing of great softness made from the hides of tiny antelope that spring across the Norga Tors. Men and women alike wear a loose head garment, called a chol, from which they usually tuck a flap in place across the face below the eyes. The chol protects the wearer from the desert glare, and the Dejy recommend that visitors follow their example.

City Map

 

Temples

The Inevitable Order of Time maintains the Great Sanctuary of Knowledge, and the Prophets also act as Librarians. Part of the tithes collected by the faith go toward -OW 4211hk, maintaining and expanding the library, as do the fees collected by visitors. Within the walls of Dijishy, a sanctuary for the Disciples of the Creator also exists. Rumor has it that its architect modeled it after a larger one in the ruins to the east.

Mages & Sages

Because of the Great Sanctuary, Dijishy is temporary or permanent home to many sages, idealists, and crackpots. The city is home to Durvak Angklin, a dwarven engineer who designs impractical steam engines; Thorak, an illiterate native of distant Drhokker who has tried six times to "destroy the den of evil" with flaming oil; and Sender Elkin, a hall-elf scribe who wishes to copy every tome in the library so she can take them back to her people in O'Par.

Underworld

A city this size has few problems with crime. Such criminals that do exist are minor con artists trying to sell worthless hooks or maps for outrageous sums of money to pilgrims, fraudulent sages and fortune-tellers, and "guides" who agree to take adventuring parties to the Great Fissure and then flee with their money.

Government

The High Prophet of the Inevitable Order of Time rules the city. The Prophet actually prefers to appoint lay personnel to government offices so that his clerics may devote their full time to worship and spreading the word of the Fate Scribe. The current High Prophet is Elamar Crandin, an Eldoran by birth who moved here as a child with his parents and six dozen other pilgrims visiting the library.

Defences

Dijishy is distant from any major military threats. Eighty infantry (leather armor, spears, daggers) and 25 light cavalry (no armor, but metal shield, lance, and scimitar or battle axe) patrol the area to deter any humanoid incursions.

Industry & Trade

The city-state is necessarily self-sufficient (water comes in thin streams from the Elenon Mountains), since caravans through the desert have no guarantee of survival. Incoming caravaneers receive a welcome fit for heroes and their stay (as long as it is short) costs nothing. The thankful citizens provide everything from rooms to meals to entertainment. Preferred trade goods include dried fish and ivory from ll Ehzhimahn, wines through Prompeldia, and bacon or salted pork from anywhere, since pigs do not survive well locally. Exotic foods, especially rice from Basir and Kalamar, also fetch good coin. Dwarven miners from he Legasas bring metals for tools (tin and iron; their precious metals go west for higher prices).
The merchants leave with brightly colored robes (not as bright as Tharggy cloth, but as close as you can buy), natron, colored glass, and valuable tomes that sell at high prices in large cities. The one staple that manages to find itself on virtually every outgoing caravan is salt, a bulky but certain commodity that will not spoil, invite theft, or lose its value.
The caravans always seem to bring a bard as well. Bards from across the Young Kingdoms find the idea of the library romantic, and many of them come to the city hoping to find exciting stories about fearless heroes, angry gods, and cursed lovers. The procession of bards keeps the city in touch with the outside world.
Occasionally, Pel Brolenese slave caravans and Krangi merchants pass through Dijishy. They purchase goods Freely, but are not warmly received.

Points of interest

Interesting Sites: At the heart of Dijishy sits the oldest library on Tellene, a four-story building built of stone. Different styles of architecture clearly show that it has been enlarged several times. Entry into the Great Sanctuary of Knowledge is reserved for those who can afford it (10 gp per visit, or 1,000 gp for a lifetime membership), and for those who maintain it.
Eons ago, a great civilization sprawled across the lands to the east of Dijishy. Its might crumbled, the empire's cities lay buried below the Elos for untold generations before wandering Dejy nomads discovered them. Dijishy is now all that remains above the sands aside from the ruins to the east.

Alternative Name(s)

City of History

Type

City

Population

6,000 nearly pure Dejy and a Few dwarven miners.

Location under

Young Kingdoms