The Dust Galleon

The Hulk of Hpahin'ska

Located in the heart of The Empty Quarter, Hpahin'ska is the capital city of Ochi O'hka, and is best known in Low Tongue as "The Dust Galleon." It is represented by a sigil of Onkakaska, the elaborate knotwork that is common currency among the Caravans and Wamonthinkeh.
Hpanhin'ska serves as a Trade Grounds, watering hole, and central point on the Caravan routes, as it is the only settlement of any size in the area.

Demographics

Though smaller and not quite as diverse as The City of The Fingers, The Galleon sees a fair amount of both Ni'kashiga and Walkingfolk, with some Foxen, all thanks to the Caravans that pass through. The permanent residents are almost entirely Ni'kashiga Wazhinkakeh.

Defences

The enemy of The Dust is the wind, sun, and sand: as such, the primary defense of Hpanhin'ska is the high, gated adobe wall that surrounds the city. The shape of The Galleon itself serves an aerodynamic purpose, sending wind and sand around the towering hulk, and the many additions to the lower areas help anchor the ship as well as provide shade from the brutal heat.
The Outer Gates serve primarily to protect against the occasional sandstorm, but once the sun begins to set, the city withdraws into a microcosm of the ancient labyrinthine earthenworks: the Inner Gates, which isolate and protect certain marketplace districts, close at twilight. Within The Dust Galleon itself, the inner corridors of the ship are usually locked from within at evening. The result is a winding maze of Open Paths, not easily navigated by those unfamiliar to the City, which keeps the majority of visitors near the Outer Wall.
This act of "Mazing" the city is said to transform Hpanhin'ska into a living version of Onkakaska, the elaborate knotwork that sometimes serves as currency in Ochi O'hka.

Industry & Trade

Trade is the missive behind Hpahin'ska, and without which, the city would slowly wither: much of the goods present in the city are due to the Caravans, who barter needed items in exchange for water drawn from the Adagamutse Aquifer below Hpanhin'ska.

Guilds and Factions

Because of the Caravans and the site's reputation as a Ni'kashiga Trade Ground, numerous representatives from the various Flocks can be found, making deals or in convoy to advocate elsewhere. It is said that if a deal is able to be made, it can tied in Hpanhin'ska.

History

Hpanhin'ska is an ancient city, echoing the motto of the greater Ochi O'hka: "long before, long after." The Ni'kashiga revere the ancestors who built the fortifications and who are attributed with the construction of the Galleon itself, but have inhabited the city for much of their known history, and are not fully aware of who had come before.
The figure of Coyotl is associated with Hpanhin'ska, and is said to have secret knowledge of its past.

Architecture

The Dust Galleon is known for and almost entirely composed of an ancient and enormous rusting hulk, resembling a sort of ship. Cantered towards one side, over the years the residents have modified the original and added to it using metals and other materials scavenged from The Dust, creating a city within the original mass and extending outwards into the ground around it. The outskirts of the Galleon have a high, gated adobe wall, which help mitigate the effects of sandstorms, but the ship towers over anything the Ni'kashiga have built on their own.
It forms an unmistakable mark on the landscape, and as such, is used as a bearing point for many of the Caravans.

Geography

The area around Hpahin'ska is relatively flat, owing in large parts to the adobe wall that surrounds the city, and in some part to "The Thicket." These ancient earthenworks and stonework remnants, which curl loosely around the primary area in fragments, suggest a much more thorough wall system had once existed far before the Ni'kashiga, and is largely attributed to the same ancestors who built Xowi' Canyon. (Those examining the site suggest that some of the breakdown of the walls actually happened much earlier in history, though the decay has increased over the weathering of time, and reviews of the site from the air suggest that the overall shape may have once been more labyrinthine in nature.)
North of Hpanhin'ska are the Bone Fields, massive areas of relatively flat scrubland. Archeologists in the area have uncovered the bones of large animals, and as such, the area is considered a sacred site.

Natural Resources

Hpanhin'ska is blessed with the Adagamutse Aquifer, as well as near to the oilfields of Weli Ni'ni. The ancient fortitications of The Thicket suggest that the previous inhabitants were aware of the treasures beneath their feet, and at some point in history, had fought to defend them.

Alternative Name(s)

Hpahin'ska, Caravan Central, Central Station, The Galleon

Type

Capital

Inhabitant Demonym

Waxakaothin ("Dwellers of the Thicket")

Owning Organization

Ochi O'hka