Gardenia Springs

human miners live in the ruins of House Miyabi's seat. Which has marble quarries cut into the mountain. beneath that, slag has been discovered in recent years. it appears that house Miyabi knew of this but didn't reveal it, as they wished to remain known for their artistic craft and not an industrial one.
Miyabi quote: In upholding beauty, we prepare the way for the day of regeneration when civilization will give first place... to this living virtue on which is founded the common dignity of man (rephrase). camus
V3

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NEED: Holdays, national heroes/founding, joint names, more Happenings
(meta: Decide if there's any connection to the Underdark here. at one point i had an idea to have dark-elf dealings but i'm no longer sure. that opens a new avenue of defense. ooh, but it would make a potential scene as defenders have to flee the settlement into the underdark.)
Add Happenings: maybe a representative from Sporcan Institute of Creative Expression Music History studies is here, hoping to get research into music history. And either has to make distasteful requests for their precious history or authentically gets involved. (interesting if its a human who initially resists caring) or an orc.

Happenings

large invasion on the way

Feel

They have a sort of 300/do-you-hear-the-people-sing kinda vibe. "Cadia stands." they flatly refuse the ossiarchs and have had defneses against them. when the players show up, they're preparing for a huge, expected attack. seven samurai vibe.
Helm's Deep. Humans fighting for their history. the power of art to inspire (that power dwells in the people who need it, BECAUSE they need it. we look for meaning and inspiration and project it onto art. Art as sustenance like that TED talk).

Civic Life

Has the vibe of a self-sustaining protest encampment. People work, sleep, and keep watch in shifts. There are barriers around that are vigilantly maintained and manned. Others work in the mines to harvest Slag that is either used in defenses, or traded (to anyone - not only the Scalatorans. and often, gardenia will trade with pirates in exchange for blackmarket supplies or aid - you'll even find a few Boarding Suits here that were traded from pirates).

Layout

This is a siege defense mounted among what was once an edenic estate built atop a mountainside hotspring. Beyond the defenses, the old keep has a spring grotto (which provides water). Tunnels reach down into the base of the mountain where slag is mined and carefully returned to the top - also within these tunnels are living quarters housing the entire settlement. On another side of the mountain are the marble quarries, which are no longer defended.

Government

the Organizers of Gardenia Springs are not an elected position, but a group of natural leaders who discuss and advocate for direction of the Settlement. The only law is "never surrender a soul." Negotiatoins for trade of Resources, though, must go through the organizers (individual trades aren't handled like this, but large trades or trade for Human artifacts would be).
Players might witness a discussion between organizers, when rubble/cannonshot runs scarce, about if they can take a beautiful marble bust and use it as cannon fodder.

Education

No formal forms of Education. homeschooling or communal classes are done by those that have children. People often come here to learn about Human History or observe the art. A crossbow would be pressed into their hands and they'd be instructed to look around and get involved.

Power / Utilities

A ready supply of Slag allows for certain powered utilities - but mostly only those geared around survival - not luxury.

news

Flyers posted around the springs allow the orgnizers or others to communicate across shifts. there are 3 work shifts (9 hours each) with single-hour overlaps between them, to communicate or delegate changes/decisions.

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Culture

Art

Art is everywhere around. May not be treated with the utmost care that people would expect in our world, but at the same time, it is deeply appreciated. it provides a reminder of why the living hold onto life. It is far from worthless, as it plays an important role in humna life and the defense of the settlement.

Music:

As there are no portions of the 24 hour day without someone sleeping, music is only played outside the tunnels, in the open air. usually as a form of "fuck you" rebellion against the skeleton armies below. a reminder that the living are here, still. Genre tends somewhere between folk and improvisational music, meant to reject the autonomous order of the army of the dead.

Holidays

? probably human holidays are still celebrated here. as a maintaining of their culture. think about what these would be:
Huskinbee - harvest celebration. Winterfeast (name wip) - a winter celebration. Ishmery, a spring celebration. themed around a legendary figure from human history. julenoath a summer celebration. people make oaths/offerings to their favorite gods.
"mournfall" a new holiday marking the fall. followed by the emperor's name day (themed after light and a new day).

National heroes.

Gavrosh Highbridge (human, m) was one of the first famous defenders of Gardenia Springs.
Hanna Miyabi (human, f) was a decendent of the family who came back to set up the defenses after the Fall happened (she was outside the nation when it happened, so spared the fall). She continued to see the ghosts of her family and memorialized them in marble.

Religion

There are CERTAINLY long-extant and elaborate shrines to Kiwana (creation/beauty) and Druyan (love/elation). may also be shrines to some of the others - smaller. here and there (particularly there are a decent number of followers of Sigisma(shelter/service), Athalka(war/victory), and Kiradin(hunt/harvest)).

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Enterprise (businesses: Services/Goods)

There are 3 shifts. each is 3 hours of leisure, 9 hours on duty, 4 hours leisure, 8 hours asleep. The "leisure" portions are simply free time. Only the duty hours are mandated. but that design allows for 3 periods of the day with overlap

Misc Enterprises

Agriculture

shroomfarming in the depths, peas and carrots in caves. Oats on the mountainside. Goats and chickens used for milk and meat. Gardenias are still grown around the springs, despite them not having a value in terms of food. Tea is also grown on the mountain - big Tea place. They maintain some kind of trade with the Orcses of Nuremborc which gives them a decent amoutn of nuremborcian foods (exporting Tea in substantial quantities. Gardenian Tea is a worldwide luxury, but not popular among the dwarves due to their espresso thing).

Restaurants

Food here is communal, and not for sale.

Joints

There are a few outdoor bonfire circles outside, where people gather (Need Names).
the Springs are another gathering-place (__ Grotto).

Arms

A quartermaster (dwarf) oversees the maintenance and distribution of weapons, with two apprentice humans who help when he's off-shift.

black market goods

One of the organizers (human) maintains a stock of tradegoods - illegal stuff they get from pirates and either trade to trustworthy visitors, or use in the fight

Important figures

NEED: create a couple organizers with character to them. one should be the guy with the megaphone from the rayshard protest - calling down to the skelemans and trying to dissuade them.

Demographics

Population:790
Humans: 55%
Orcses: 12%
Galvan: 11% (showing up to defend people)
Kin: 11%
Elves: 6%
Dwarves: 5%

Type

Town