Incoyadvergr Empire

## Overview - A People Hidden in the Clouds

The incoyadvergr are a resiliant and skilled people, who rarely come down from their mountaintop fortresses, citadels and cities, preferring to spend their time producing incredible feats of architecture and engineering into those peaks and summits they colonise, one by one.

While having no official title, the colloquially named Incoyadvergr Empire is unique in that it lacked many of the features typically associated with an advanced civilisation. Anthropologist Nefyros wrote that the incoyadvergr were able to construct "*one of the greatest imperial states in history without the use of the wheel, draft animals, magic, or even a system of writing, well before first contact with intrepid mountain explorers*."

Notable features of the Empire includes its monumental architecture, especially stonework, extensive road network reaching around the mountains of Manhan, finely-woven textiles, the use of knotted strings for record keeping and communication, agricultural innovations and production in a difficult environment, and the organisation and management imposed on its people and their labour.

The Empire functions largely without money and without markets. Instead, exchange of goods and services is based on reciprocity between individuals and among individuals, groups, and rulers. "Taxes" consist of a labour obligation of a person to the Empire. The rulers reciprocate by granting access to land and goods and providing food and drink in celebratory feasts for their subjects.

## Society

Despite the implication of a single state under which the entire land is goverened, the Empire is merely a collection of smaller chiefdoms and clans, with a varying mix of political complexity. Those states do however ultimately answer to a "tax co-ordinator" elected by the ruling bodies of these states who functions as a distributer of taxes. As stated by Master Nefyros, "*Redistribution, a practice employed by the empire's administrator, ensured that all agricultural goods not exchanged by reciprocity were to be distributed in the different areas of the empire in the case of bad crops. In essence, this 'tax coordinator' functions as a safeguard against mass starvation."*

Male and female dwarves perform much the same roles, with little emphasis placed upon gendered behaviour. Committed relationships rarely occur amongst the incoyadvergr, with polyamorous and short term relationships being the norm until a pregnancy occurs, in which case a temporary partnership is established, lasting until a child is old enough to fend for themselves.

## Agriculture and Infrastructure

The main crops produced by the empire are potatoes, sweet potatoes, maize, chili peppers, cotton, tomatoes, peanuts, an edible root called oca, and the pseudograins quinoa and amaranth. To grow these high up they make extensive use of terraced fields, which not only allows them to put to use the mineral-rich mountain soil but also takes advantage of micro-climates conducive to a variety of crops being cultivated throughout the year. Their terraced field farming technique allowed a massive population to live in traditionally inhospitable lands. A speciality of the incoyadvergr are vast storehouses, which allows them to live through years of poor crop return while some neighboring civilisations suffer.

Their expansive and sophisticated road system is also key to farming success, as it allows the distribution of foods over long distances. The network is composed of formal roads carefully planned, engineered, built, marked and maintained; paved where necessary, with stairways to gain elevation, bridges and accessory constructions such as retaining walls, and water drainage system. The road system allows for the transfer of information, goods, soldiers and persons, without the use of wheels, within the Incoyadvergr Empire throughout a massive territory and a large population. Exact numbers are not know, but scholars estimate 25,000-40,000km of roads exist.

The roads are bordered, at intervals, with buildings to allow the most effective usage: at short distance there are relay stations for running messengers; at a one-day walking interval are buildings that allow for support to the road users and flocks of pack animals. Administrative centers with warehouses for re-distribution of goods are found along the roads. Towards the boundaries of the Empire and in newly conquered areas fortresses are established.

## Architecture and Engineering

The architecture is the crowning achievement of the incoyadvergr, who perfected their trade long before encountering magic and the precision it brings for what is percieved by these master stoneworkers as "little effort".

Extraordinary dwarfpower is necessary for large construction projects. The Empire employs its system of tribute to the co-ordinator in the form of labour, required of all between 15-300, to work on large public construction projects. Nefyros comments that the 'secret' to the production of fineworks “…is the social organisation necessary to maintain the great numbers of people creating such energy-consuming monuments.”

### Methods

Stones are initially fit using hammerstones. The stones are lifted into place with a rope sling tied to bosses near the stone's base. Adjustments are performed by eye alone, or aided by the use of a compressible dust. Abrasive finishers, such as sand or pumice, are also used. Additional surface smoothing near the edges of blocks is done with a chemical etching "mortar" composed of pyrite slurry and plants containing calcium oxalate. Another building method is called "pillow-faced" architecture. The incoyadvergr sand large, finely-shaped stones which they fit together in jigsaw-like patterns. Pillow-faced architecture is typically reserved for temples and holy places.

### Hyrdraulic Engineering

The builders of the empire planned and built impressive waterworks in their city centres, including canals, fountains, drainage systems and expansive irrigation. The infrastructure and water supply system are still considered “the pinnacle of the architectural and engineering works of the pre-magical civilisation”.

### Terraced Cities

City planners have to consider the steep slopes at many potential sites of new cities, as well as the rainy climate. For mobility, these cities are made full of staircases and sculpted rock. Making models out of clay before beginning to build, the city planners remain consistent with incoyadvergr traditions and lay out a city to the following standard:

* Agriculture and urban areas are separated
* Before construction begins the engineers assess water access, and whether it could provide for all of the city’s anticipated citizens
* After evaluating the water supply, the civil engineers design a canal to what would become the city’s centre. The canal descends the mountain slope, enters the city walls, passes through the agricultural sector, then crosses the inner wall into the urban sector, where it feeds a series of fountains
* The fountains must be publicly accessible and partially enclosed by walls that are typically about 1.2 m high, except for the lowest fountain, which is a private fountain for the Temple of the Gods and has higher walls
* At the head of each fountain, a cut stone conduit carries the water to a rectangular spout, which is shaped to create a jet of water suitable for filling a typical water jug
* The water collects in a stone basin in the floor of the fountain, then enters a circular drain that delivers it to the approach channel for the next fountain

The canals are on on steady grades, using cut stones as the water channels. Most citizens work on the construction and maintenance of the canal and irrigation systems to complete the water-tight stone canals. The water then travels through the channels into the fountains known as the "stairway of fountains", reserving the first water source for the local ruler. This design can supply the 1,000 households and also helps irrigate water to the farming steppes.

To accompany this an equally extensive drainage system must be built as well. For a city of 1,000 households, the requirement is 130 outlets in the center that moves the water out of the city through walls and other structures. The agriculture terraces are a feature of the complicated drainage system; the steppes help avoid erosion and are built on a slope to aim excess water into channels that run alongside stairways.

These channels carried the runoff into the main drain, avoiding the main water supply. This carefully planned drainage system is key in the stability of the empire.

### Terraced Farms

These terraces are a work of considerable engineering, built to ensure good drainage and soil fertility while also protecting the mountain itself from erosion and landslides. Terraces provide fresh water for crop production, and can serve more than the minimum 1,000 households. The different layering of materials is part of what makes the terraces so effective - it starts with a base layer of large rocks, followed by a second layer of smaller rocks, then a layer of sand-like material, and finally the topsoil. The larger rocks at the base of each terrace level are what allows the water to flow more easily through the larger spaces in between the rocks, eventually coming out at the “Main Drain”.

The first step to production is excavating into the slope, and then a subsequent infilling of the slope. A retaining wall is built to hold the fill material. This wall has many uses, including absorbing heat from the sun during the day and radiating it back out at night, often keeping crops from freezing in the chilling nighttime temperatures, and holding back the different layers of sediment. After the wall is built, the larger rocks are placed on the bottom, then smaller rocks, then sand, then soil.

Since the soil is now level, the water does not rush down the side of the mountain, which is what caused erosion. Previously, this erosion was so powerful that it had potential to wipe out major areas of the roads, cities and farms, as well as wash away all of the nutrients and fertile soil. Since the soil never washes away, nutrients are added from previously grown crops year after year. The incoyadvergr even grow specific crops together, to balance out the optimal amount of nutrients for all plants. For example, a planting method is known as "three sisters" incorporates the growth of corn, beans, and squash in the same terrace. This is because the fixed nitrogen in the beans helps the corn grow, while the squash acts as mulch keeping the soil moist, and also acts as a weed repellant.

### Vatnarborg

Due to high rainfall collecting in the valleys between mountains, further use of stonework and hydraulics was put to use in the creation of cities in the plateaus between peaks. Despite being best know for the terraced cities, the de facto capital of the empire, Vatnarborg, is at the heart of a high up lake, flat, and full of canals.

Vatnarborg is connected to the slopes by bridges and causeways leading to the north, south, and west. The causeways are interrupted by bridges that allowed canoes and other water traffic to pass freely. The bridges can be pulled away, if necessary, to protect the city. The city is interlaced with a series of canals, so that all sections of the city can be visited either on foot or via canoe.

Two double aqueducts, each more than 4 km long and made of terracotta, provide the city with fresh water from the springs, as the lake is endorheic - the water is still and is not fresh. The aqueducts are intended mainly for cleaning and washing. For drinking, water from mountain springs are preferred. Most of the population like to bathe twice a day. A bodyguard of the first outside explorer discovering Vatnarborg recalled "*When we saw so many cities and villages built into the water we were amazed and said that it was like an enchantment on account of the great towers and cues and buildings rising from the water, and all built of masonry. And some of our soldiers even asked whether the things that we saw were not a dream? I do not know how to describe it, seeing things as we did that had never been heard of or seen before, not even dreamed about."*

In the center of the city are the public buildings, temples, and palaces. Inside a walled square, 500 meters to a side, is the ceremonial centre. There are about 45 public buildings, including a games court, the ceremonial rack of skulls, the platforms for the gladiatorial arena, and the Grand Palace with 100 rooms, each with its own bath, for the lords and ambassadors of allies and conquered people. Also located nearby is the house of the songs.

The city has precise symmetry - all constructions have to be approved by the functionary in charge of city planning.

### Road Network

In the mountains and the high forests, precisely arranged paving stones or cobbles are used for paving to produce a uniform surface. Stones and walls serve to mark the width of the road and signal it. Retaining walls are made with stones, adobes or mud, and are built into the hillside. These walls contain leveling fillings to form the platform of the road or to support the soil that could otherwise slide down a slope.

Drainage by ditches or culverts are frequent due to regular rainfall. Along other road sections, the drainage of rain water is carried out through an articulated system based on longitudinal channels and shorter drains, transverse to the axis of the road. Retaining walls are used along the mountain slopes, and are similar to those used to support the terraces. When crossing wetlands, roads are often supported by buttress walls or built on causeways.

In order to overcome the limitations imposed by the roughness of the relief and the adverse environmental conditions, the engineers designed different solutions. On rocky outcrops the road become narrower, adapting to the orography with frequent turns and retaining walls, but on particularly steep slopes flights of stairs or ramps are carved in the rock.

There are multiple types of bridges used throughout the road system and they are sometimes built in pairs. The construction of bridges is accomplished by the help of many workers, first with the constructions of abutments, normally made of stone both rough and dressed. The masonry is extremely well fitted, with no evidence of any mortar being used to keep the stones in place. Stone bridges span shorter lengths and need shallow rivers to be built, consisting of a relatively small opening to allow a stream to flow and a quite imposing stone embankment filling the valley sides in order to allow the road to pass on top of it.

Rope bridges also provid access across narrow valleys. Rope bridges are replaced about every two years: to this end, the communities around the river crossing are perform their tax obligation in the construction of the new bridge, while the old bridge is cut and let fall into the river. This type of bridge is built with cords and ropes which constitute the bridge floor cables, the two handrails and the necessary connections between them.

Using this network a single runner can travel 240km a day unassisted.