Author Topic: Essays penned by Madeleine Picaud  (Read 204 times)

WitchOfTheCity

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Essays penned by Madeleine Picaud
« on: February 10, 2025, 07:22:18 PM »
Somewhere at the University of Dementlieu, at the Faculty of History and Faculty of Natural Sciences, deposited in pine drawers and oaken cabinets, possibly accessible by the staff, students or maybe even an inquiring visitor, are essays and other works submitted by the freshly baked student known as mme. Picaud.
« Last Edit: February 10, 2025, 07:28:40 PM by WitchOfTheCity »

WitchOfTheCity

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Re: Essays penned by Madeleine Picaud
« Reply #1 on: February 10, 2025, 07:27:07 PM »
Har'Akir Survey Report


Quote
Foreword:
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The below reading and attachments have been penned in accordance with requirements of Cartography and/or Akirology classes, in the Faculty of History, at the University of Dementlieu. A geodetic survey of Har'Akir has been conducted in Janvier 780. The purpose of this work is to craft a map and list summarised information on the realm with occasional commentary. Furthermore, it examines potential excavation sites to be pursued on future field trips.

Geographical Facts:
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Location:
Amber Wastes Cluster (north)

Geographical features:
 c. 19x26 league swath of sandy desert, bordered to the south by arid red rock mountain range and by mists everywhere else, with a single settlement. Two oases are the sole source of sustenance for the entire land: one by the village of Muhar provides irrigation through specially fashioned canals to the indingenous population's crops, the other, Oasis of  Apep, waters a broad range of exotic wildlife. Humans drinking from the latter have been observed to suffer nausea and weakness.

Climate:
Extremely hot and dry. No significant seasonal nor geographical variations.

Natural Hazards:
Burns, dehydration, scarcity of sustenance, loss of orientation, unusual mist phenomena (mirages, fatamorganas, sandstorms)

Fauna:
 Mammalian, herbivores:
  Camel
  Zebra
  Buffalo
  Gazelle
  Rhineceros
 
 Mammalian, omnivores:
  Monkey

 Mammalian, carnivores:
  Jackal
  Lion
  Hyena
  Hyenodon
 
 Avian:
  Madrill
  Egret
  Crane
  Ostrich
  Peacock
  Blood Hawk
 
 Reptilian:
  Rock Lizard
  Tortoise
  Greater Flame Snake
  Spitting Cobra
  Sidewinder Snake
  Crocodile

 Arachnid:
  Scorpion

 Monstrous:
  Death Dog
  Large Fiendish Scorpion
  Scorpionfolk
  Flamebrother Salamander
  Noble Salamander
  Desert Troll
  Werejackal
  Jackalwere
 
 Animated Botanical/Fungal:
  Shambling Mound
  Dusanu
  Assassin Vine

 Elemental:
  Pyre Elemental
  Dust Devil
 
 Undead:
  Mummy
  Huecuva
  Desert Zombie
  Dry Lich

Flora:
 Farmed:
  Couscous
  Beans
  Dates
  Grapes
  Fennel
  Fig
  Sesame
  Garlic
  Wheat
  Sahlab
  Walnuts
  Flax
  Millet

 Botanicals:
  Fendrake Root
  Cobratooth Cactus
  Nomad's Friend
  Scarab Cap
  Moon's Lover
  Fruit of Geb
  Phantom's Feast
  Grave Rot
  Cobweb Palm
  Tomb Scarab
 
Natural Resources:
 Copper
 Tin
 Saltpetre
 Iron
 Gypsum

Societal Facts: Economy, Politics, Religion
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Economy:
 Barter-based. Bronze, silver and gold Akiri coins have been discovered, however these are not minted contemporarily.
 
 Produce:
  Industry:
   Stoneworks, bronzeworks, scroll scribing, textiles, alchemy, leatherworks

  Drink:
   Yrp (grape wine)
   Hnqt (barley beer)

  Food:
   Coarse Bread
   Offering Bread
   Duqqua

 Imports:
  Lemon, Lime, Onion, Beeswax, Honey, Olive Oil, Pomegranate Molasses, Saffron, Rosemary, Lentils, Peach, Pomegranate, iron weapons and tools. Primarily Pharazian.
 
 Exports:
  Papyrus, Scrolls, Jewellery, Linen, Dyes, Gypsum, Flax, Millet

Population:
 99% Human: Akiri (c. 300-500), Pharazian (c. 20-100, nomadic), foreign slaves (c. 100-200).

Political System:
 Theocratic Regency, with rigidly stratified castes (clergy - nobility - commoners (artisans, soldiers, farmers, miners) - slaves). Previously: Theocratic Monarchy. The Akiri society has seen a drastic decline, ever since the demise of its monarch de facto power has rested entirely in hands of remnants of priesthood and nobility.

Religion:
 Polytheistic, veneration of order and harmony. The pantheon of Akiri deities is typically depicted as humans with extraordinary features (animal heads, green skin, wings). There appears to be a schism between the doctrine of the temple of Muhar and oral tradition, surprisingly the latter seems to be a more objective and detailed of the two views.
 
 Central to Akiri morality is the duality of Ma'at and Isfet: abstract concepts embodying respective harmonious order and chaotic inexistence. All Akiri are taught that to uphold Ma'at is to live well.

 Akiri exhibit a strong belief in existence of the afterlife, and its quality strongly dependent on the fate of preservation of the remains of their deceased. To that end, the bodies of the deceased have their organs removed and preserved in canopic jars. The remainis are then embalmed in resins in the process of mummification.

Social norms:
 Though suspicious of foreigners and highly backwards, the Akiri are permissive of most behaviours that do not endanger hydration: theft of water is the highest crime, waste of water is seen with disdain and stepping into oasis' waters is profoundly repelling.

Anomalies:
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  • Wall of Ra
A special variant of mists, referred to by the locals as the Wall of Ra, surrounds Har'Akir. Movement is not impeded upon attempted entry, however, one is subject to extreme heat so long as one remains there. Heat transferred over time seems to follow an exponential growth: whilst commonly available protections from heat may assure an almost risk-free passage over the course of ~20 seconds, almost any material and creature is guaranteed to be vaporised in less than a minute. A complete immunity to heat transfer (e.g. from arcane sources) also negates the effect of Wall of Ra entirely (verified experimentally) for its duration. However, the survey was unable to discover anything of note past the Wall of Ra except a well-preserved temple of the Akiri god (incidentally) Ra. [Site I]

  • Valley of the Pharaoh's Rest
A large complex of monumental, well-preserved structures lies to the far south of Har'Akir. A large adorned door appears to be the entrance to the deeper parts of the complex though it would not budge. Shielded by cliffs the valley appears unpopulated save for packs of two-headed canines that the indigenous population refers to as Death Dogs. According to numerous spoken and written accounts, this is the resting place of the last monarch of Har'Akir, Ankhtepot. The indigenous population exhibits particular aversion and fear of this location. Less reliable verbal accounts have it that the tomb was last opened c. 736-739 BC, relating it to the third verse of Hyskosa's Hexad ("Seventh time the son of suns doth rise, To send the knave to an eternity of cries."), though no solid evidence of such events transpiring has been discovered of yet. It is likely that the monumental tomb is well preserved inside and that it houses rich evidence of the past of the region. [Site IV]

  • Ruins
Situated in central east of the region, a concentration of remnants of small buildings surround a well-preserved podium of likely occult purposes. Given the lack of prevalent megastructure akin to monumental temples and palaces the ancient Akiri tended to construct, the buildings were likely commoner dwellings or workshops. However the presence of an ornamented, well-preserved ceremonial podium hints to a yet undiscovered purpose or a more recent happenstance in the area. [Site V]

  • Titan heads
Throughout the dunes there are many carved heads over 10ft high to be found sticking out of the sands. Their nature is uncertain. As none of these megasculptures have any animalistic features, it is likely they depict previous monarchs of the region. Many are well-preserved and they are almost exclusively found in upright position, which may hint that only a portion of these statues is visible above the sand. [scattered throughout]

  • Ship graveyard
A concentration of shipwrecks located to the central west of Har'Akir occupies sandy desert. Their nature is uncertain: the main hypothesis, due to proximity of the Wall of Ra, is that they were displaced from the Nocturnal Sea through one-way mistway referred to as The Jackal's Ruse. The hypothesis could prove straightforward to prove or disprove through analysis of the ship remains on site. Logbooks and ship names could be compared against port registers, fleet reports and insurance claims to provide a compelling resolution. [Site II]

  • Black Sands
Though a c. 11 square league swath of land in the north-east is referred to as "black sands" by the indigenous population, most of that area's surface is covered with normal yellow sand. However, small concentrations of black soil have been found in the sole ruined structure towering over the plain. The leading hypothesis is that there may be more black soil to be found under a layer of yellow sand, which over time, under exposure of winds and movement of dunes, has been swept across the surface. Confirmed it could lead to new discoveries about the region's past. [Site VI]

  • Cliff Dwelings
Numerous rectangular incisions have been found along the cliffs to south-west and south-east of Har'Akir. They rocks are cut in likeness of windows and the sheer number of these cases makes it unlikely that these just happened upon incidentally. It is hypothesised that there were dwellings carved into the sides of the cliffs, however, their entrances appear long since buried. Were this true, they would significantly differ from dwellings Akiri are found in contemporarily, and hence could point to remnants from a previous period or influences of a different civilisation. [Site III]

The map of Har'Akir
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There is another copy of the map with some hand-written marks on it. This map is for internal use, marking potential excavation sites referred in the Anomalies section of the report.
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« Last Edit: February 10, 2025, 08:55:22 PM by WitchOfTheCity »