|Sketch map of Straven}}
===== Community =====
There are about 60 people living on Straven, from newbo... _isles|Lord of the Isles]].
As well as fishing there are as many sheep as people on the island, they r... a major part of keeping Straven self-sufficient. There's also meat from the spare sheep, most of the mal... o bad for fishing.
The fish are mostly smoked, there are three smokehouses downwind of the main halls
Daels leave the area and seek their fortune elsewhere, and it is common to find little groups of Daels onboard a Skyssian ship, or in an enclave somewhere in a civilised town in another country. One thing... industries of Dael Riata are inshore fisheries, there are substantial islands off the west coast, parad... ter Isles. This name harks back to the days when there was no difference between the Daels and the Skyss
exists}}
{{:skyss:places:skyss_world_north_hemisphere_v07_for_book_cover.png?1200 |A map of the northern hemisphere, click for the detail (this is a huge map)}}
===... tched out a broad shape and then went to work on where the tectonic plates were, so that I knew where the mountains and volcanoes were. After that I ad... space with deserts, forests and plains based on where the winds would take the rain. After that there were a load of political boundaries drawn.
From
ine one of the channels, known as 'the yards'.
There is a well established university on an island bet... y of the nobles of Dael Riata have been educated there, and the 'Library Annex' is one of Dalreoch's not... "forest of masts" characterizes the riverfront, where ships dock four deep at various jetties to unload... * [[:skyss:chars:daels:alasdair_ranald5]] lives here
=== Places ===
There are several notable taverns
supporting Skyssians when they get into trouble. There's also a diplomatic function in many of the more ... t has the following departments:
* Operations. There are over 1,000 [[BoT_Ops|port teams]] spread arou... As well as the port teams gathering information there is also [[resolutions]] that deal with unusual or... es:wheel]]
* [[:skyss:places:dalreoch]]
* NB there are over a thousand Board of Trade outposts acros
nt King and several Earls, were wards or students here.
===== History =====
The university’s true age i... s:alasdair_ranald5|King Alasdair V]] was educated here under the guidance of the Earl of Ardmor. Current... ominent alumnus who received a top-tier education here.
* [[:skyss:chars:daels:gilruary|Ian Gilruary]]... alreoch:kings_keep|King's Keep]]: The royal seat where many university graduates go on to serve as clerk
the primary setting for the climax of the story, where a diplomatic dinner intended to secure the "King'... ke any attempt to cross in boats very dangerous. There’s a wider curtain wall around Caer Suibhne, enclo... keep by a wooden bridge, which raises overnight. There is no safe access to Caer Suibhne other than thro... archs. During the events of 774, it was the site where the rules of hospitality, traditionally sacred to
al announcements to the people of Dalreoch. It is here that [[:skyss:chars:daels:alasdair_ranald5|King A... nfluence was curtailed by the King's proclamation here.
==== Places ====
* [[:skyss:places:dalreoch|D
Unlike the more austere fortifications found elsewhere in the realm, the King's Keep was designed to fun... bedchamber, a dressing room, and an ante-chamber where visitors wait for a private audience.
* **The Q... r royal feasts and diplomatic negotiations. It is here that the King and his senior nobility gather to k... :** The inner bailey is protected by a gatehouse where twelve trumpeters traditionally signal the arriva
e main site for high-level state administration, where the secretary of the [[:skyss:places:bot|Board of... er|Lady Helga Trollslayer]] maintains a residence here in her capacity as Second Sea Lord. These buildin... ectors|Council of Electors]]: The body that meets here to determine the succession.
* [[skyss:chars:ki
mains largely outside the formal administrative sphere of the [[:skyss:places:skyss|Kingdom of Skyss]], ... hildr]] and [[:skyss:chars:eskil|Eskil]] operated here extensively, neutralising members of the [[:skyss
straints of [[:skyss:places:dry_hook|Dry Hook]], where land has been reclaimed from the [[:skyss:places:... system for the southern agricultural trade. It is here that contracts are negotiated and sealed for the ... Skyssian maritime authorities.
The social atmosphere is one of pragmatic commerce and professional hon
nes]]. It functions as a specialized relay point where Zushonian canal and river barges exchange goods w... s trading in silks and spices, a rare sight, but there's usually one in loading or unloading most days.
... nd had become a densely packed urban environment where space is at a premium. Dry Hook supports an estim... ** The most successful and wealthy traders reside here in narrow, high-status terraced housing.
* **Th
directly out of the sea, the city is positioned where two major fjords converge, creating a strategic h... rban stench. It contains the birch-panelled room where the [[:skyss:chars:small_council|Small Council of... [:skyss:chars:kings_justices|House of Justice]], where elite officials—often Heroes sworn by geas—compel... Trade]] (BoT) maintains its primary headquarters here, often identified by its distinctive blue flags f
merely a shelter but a place of industrious work where the foundations of civilisation were laid. It was here that the gods first practised the old ways of sac... nines]]: The land she dreamed into existence and where the house was built.
* [[:skyss:places:trollhei
