High Ostre

High Ostre is the oldest city on Lamaria, dating back to around 22 years before the first calendar was instated during the Gathering of the First. It is considered the capital of Rhoman. It lies on the manmade branch of the Great Tornwater river that feeds the network of canals and irrigations around the city. The city remains to be considered the largest in Lamaria, though the roaming and undefined nature of the forest dominions of the tallmaya and the stretching lakes of the delphynn makes this difficult to substantiate.

## History

### Pre-Calendar Events

#### The Shadow

The Shadow of Ostre is the first recorded event in Lamaria for those born under the empyreans. Descending from the Heavenlands, Ostre made is first peoples and placed them in the place the girdle of his shadow lay. These two beings he called Gwathredion and irennae.

*"He looked out across the land, and saw that the great blazing lamp of sky cast light around him, leaving a shadow of dark from toe to the great clashing tide in the west. And it was upon this shadow his first peoples were created in his image, and he placed them upon the stone and soil in the girdle of the shadow, in the crux of the land."*

#### The Birth of High Ostre

In the 22 years before the Gathering in the First the city was raised from the peoples placed there. For Gwathredion and Irennae were the first, and after a time thought to be around a year Ostre placed others with them. Gwathredion decreed that despite there reverence their new companions placed towards him and his spouse, the prerogative of the peoples was to build themselves steadings, and farms and workstations, and so was erected the first form of the city.

Once this was done, and livlihoods could take over the necessary labour, the people volunteered to assist Gwathredion and Irennae in growing their own halls. And when the halls of the first-placed had been evolved into what was first called the fortress of High Ostre, celebration was called for.

#### The Gathering In the First

Such a celebration was the infamous Gathering in the First, where the peoples of the shadowed garments, of boot, knee, breast and helm converged and met at the girdle for the first time. And it was here a common language and coin was agreed, and the peoples were equalised so they could thereafter co-operate and live beside each other.

### Years 0 - 1000

#### 146 - The Filling of Canals

In the year 146, Queen Evebruel II- great-grandaughter of Gwathredion and Irennae- ordered the construction of a system of canals to feed water directly to the city from the Great Tornwater river. It took seven years for a tributary to be dug, but the network would not be completed until the year 210.

## Education

Though there are several academies in High Ostre, there are few that give a general education with most schools dedicated to training a particular vocation. The most renowned school in the city is the White-Steel Institute which is famed across Lamaria for the calbre of soldiers is generates

## Events and Celebrations

The events hosted by High Ostre range from the upper to bottommost classes. They include athletic contests, social gatherings, memorial ceremonies, and holy reverance.

### Communions

Communions are held in five times a year, to commemorate the five cities at the Gathering in the First. The days are marked on the day of year the names of a new city begin when Gwathredion listed the 365 in the Year 0. The days are the Day of Gwathredion (1st January), the Day of Ashildhe (15th April), the Day of Cathrynn (6th July), the Day of Ombre (15th September), and the Day of Ulf (2nd November).

These communions are held in the High Chantry in High Palace, and involve reading the names that of the days until the next communion. After the reading of names, the traditional drink from the relevant city is drunk. In High Palace this is meade to immitate the Godsdrink gifted to Gwathredion by Ostre before his people learnt how to brew. In Crianta this is Lightwater drank from a challice made of the same crystals as the steeping windows of the Alyceus- it is said be trap sunlight that imbues the water. In Steaderstone this is a viscious whisky called Dreadnoose, and some have gone as far as to say that the dhaarls once stole this and took it to Otaerr. In Marketown the drink is a juice made from a drop of all 480 crops the city is recognised for growing. In Westing Vale the delicacy is Voyageland Wine grown from the grapes that grow only by the salt and in the wind that blows in from the sea, and are found nowhere else on Lamaria.

This ceremony is by invitation only, though most chapels throughout the city will host their own, public ceremony. The Kingsguard are expected to attend, and an allocation of Skard and Orthenwick also. The remaining invitations are then issued by the High Priest, and may go to anyone he chooses. These may involve figures of great importance, icons of the current times, personal friends, or people whom he owes favour to.

## Districts

There are eleven districts of High Ostre. The hill upon which the city lays is split into eight equal sectors, with incraments beginning at the axis of the Five King's Road. Two outlying districts, one to the south and one to the north, lie slightly off the hill. The final district is encompassed atop the Gathering Hill by the Orthenwick. Aside from the Wheatlands, the districts are all names after prominent gods who followed Ostre to the Plane, whose arts the men and women of the city indulge in. The Easting and Westing districts, which sit alongside the Five King's Road, are the most lucrative in general trade, though all districts have their markets.

### The Hillcrown

The Hillcrown is the district at the top of the hill, and includes everything inside the walls of the Orthenwick. Unlike the other districts, it is not self-sustaining, but with this region being the halls of parliament and royalty, produce can be afforded to be sought and outsourced. Notable structures of the Hillcrown include the Orthenwick, High Palace, the White-Steel Academy, the Royal Gardens, the White-Steel Barracks, and the lodgings of those with business there.

### The Brenna District

#### The Opal Exchange

One of the Easting districts, this is the first port of trade for any traveller approaching High Ostre from the east. Apart from the King's Market on the Hillcrown, the Opal Exchange in the lower tiers of the district is the largest and most affluent market in the entire city, filled with vendors vying to present wares to those rich enough to travel. Since this is one of the main vocations of the province, it is around the market that most of the housing is located.

#### Old Town

This district has some of the best-preserved walls from the old city, some of which are still walkable and partially operational. Along these walls is the last remaining fortress. One named Fort Pagrevayne, the bastion has been repurposed into a library, and has become known as the Delic Elrelean. The old statue of Vulthur still stands in the grounds of the Elrelean, but since Vulthur was given a province of his own, a new one has been erected accordingly.

#### Legacy

In the centre of the district stands an effigy depicting the region's namesake. Being the patron of arts, it is to this sector of the city that artists and composers flock to set up their businesses or studios. Despite the broad locale of studios, most artists live close to the markets due to convenient housing and sales opportunities. There are several small galleries, as well as the Danbara Pavillion of which it is a great honour amongst painters to recieve request to showcase work there. Brenna is often associated with Soredies, patron of crafts.

#### Agriculture

The people of Brenna are responsible for the sheep of the city, and they are kept in the crook of the Great Tornwater river, which provides a natural frontier. Dogs, and even sometimes bears, are kept in order to round herd them. As for crops, the moist land, which can on occasion flood, provides the perfect loam for wheat. This is processed by the several mills.

### The Helvorri District

#### Legacy

Helvorri is the god to hold the sphere of war. As a result, it is a district the blacksmiths, armourers, steelworks and ironmongers have made their own. Not that there aren't forges and other weaponries around the city, but those under Helvorri are considered the best, and the workers there the most skilled. The statue is lacated in the middle of the Sparkhammer, a circular street where the higher-end enterprises are located.

#### Maris Mine

Maris Mine is an extensive iron mine on the outskirts of the city. In fact, so far removed it is that it is not really part of the city at all. A small hamlet is set up there, with minor fortifications against raiders. The iron is mined and turned into ingots on site. Some ore is also converted to steel in-house. It was this which determined the position of Helvorri's sector upon the city, and is thought to stretch for several miles north.

#### The Jaymien Forge

Forgemaster Jaymien long ago found flames so hot they would turn steel white, and his forge is still run by his family line. This is the jewel of the province, for Whitesteel is seen as the most prostegeous metal one of Rhoman might wield, for it is a symbol of the crown. All in service of the monarch are issued one, and this has always served the Jaymien family most lucratively. It is a trade secret how it gets so hot. Many have guessed and produced similar results, but the Jaymien family are so far ahead in this field that there is little point competitors attempting to rival it.

#### Agriculture

To complement the ironclad craft of the district, it is entrusted to the Helvorri District to be the city's horsemasters. Horses are bred and ridden and traded across the many different farmships of the city as mounts or for manual labour. These are called the Saddles of Helvorri, and are the strongest in the city. Moulds are kept in the steelhouses should the need ever arise to deck a unit of cavalry in battle armour at a day's notice. Potatoes and other root vegetables are the favoured crop of the district due to the steam and smoke tainting anything to grow above the ground.

### Harroloam District

#### Legacy

Harroloam is the Rhoman patron of agriculture, and the district is dedicated to farming. It faces closely the inner meander of the Great Tornwater, which saturates the soil into loam fertile and versatile. The statue of Harroloam is situated near the edge of the district, looking out over the plains.

#### Agriculture

A great variety of crops are grown here, primarily wheat, but also rice is possible in part due to the proximity to water, and small terraces are cut near the banks. Two bridges span the river leading to the woodland and orchards. The livestock of care is chickens, though there is a large established apiary in the archards.

#### Woodland and Orchards

In the early days of High Ostre, a small forest was cultivated by Lynnus and Hylet, and was divided into an area of woodland shrubbery and an area of orchard. The forest is now over three times the size, and supports ecosystems large enough that on occasion the hunters of Soredies use it. The orchards support a fair portion of the fruit of the city. The Lynnus Bridge and the Hylet Bridge lead to the forests respectively.

#### The Sail Bellows

To keep away the pollution from their neighbouring steelworkers, great mechanical bellows are errected close to the border. These comprise of a bamboo framework and a cloth sail. These are operated through a combination of engineering and manual labour. The sheets are raised and lowered in a great fanning motion, and the smog and fumes are kept at bay. There is always a tanner and weaver in service nearby should fire or bad weather damage the sails. There are twenty-five bellows in all, all named after the their builders.

### The Teth District

#### Legacy

Teth was adopted into the Rhoman pantheon as they who taught, and is established as the centre of education and schooling in the capital. There are three academies for children, two for what is considered Higher Education, and several establishments designed to assist adults with trades or knowledge they are not familiar with.

#### Schools and Academies

Outside the Whitesteel Academy, the School of District Teth is perhaps the most prestegeious in all of High Ostre, and provides a diverse school of learning. The other two traditional schools are Melyon Institute (named after she who founded it) and the School of St. Dristian, a figure who supposedly raised money in order to give poorer children an educated upbringing.

The High Ostre University is the only form of Higher Education in the city, and the largest in all of Rhoman. It is situated in the reformed battlements of the old city (near the Hillcrown) much like the Delic Elrelean, in an almalgamtion of two forts and a rennovated wall escarpment. Only the Sagestone, the college in Crianta, can rival it in reputation.

#### Agriculture

Alongside the woodlands of the Harroloam region, the people of Teth have transformed the terrain into a paradise for buck and deer, and even encourage them to graze on the crops. There is alsways a sentry on guard near the outskirts to spy any predators, and in this event a flare is sent and the hunt come to kill or run the predator away.