Willowfield

## Climate

The climate of Willowfield is continental, with cold winters and hot summers. The daily average temperature ranges from 0.5 °C (33 °F) in January to 24.5 °C (76 °F) in July.

Willowfield covers an area of 60 square kilometres (37 sq mi). The Mekon Lake forms part of the border with neighboring Concordia. It can be reached from the Eastern Reach through Horn Crossing, where the highway leads south towards the city. The Thousand Mountains is on a stretch of the west, funneling travelers of the north to the crossing.

## Background

#### History

From the 1st to 9th centuries CE, Willowfield was part of the Kesser and then Council authority. Between the 10th and 13th centuries, it was part of the rising Concordian Empire. In 1450’s, the area came under the control of Concordian General Lan Ngum’s conquest. His empire went into decline between the 17th and 18th centuries when it was pushed back by the rise of the Eastern Reach. In 1876, Willowfield became one of three cities arising from a dissolved empire, surrendering back to Ordene upon religious emancipation. The city had only had three council representatives, Cole Sisamut (1896–1942), Sandra Kuman (1942–2012), and lastly Faris Napel (2012–2062). Many of the Concordians in Willowfield arrived recently from nearby provinces or generational pilgrimages, taking part in Gaian’s Golden Circle along with Yellow Pass, Cardengate, and Port Emall as a symbol of peacetime equity.

The economic output of the province consists primarily of agricultural products—especially the production of coffee, tea, and rattan. It is one of the most important coffee-producing areas of Ordene along with Briarcross and Kesservault. Willowfield is the main trade and travel link with Concordia and the Eastern Reach. Following the building of the Kuman Bridge across the lake west of Port Emall in 1913, trade with Concordia has multiplied several fold.

Consequently, the marketplace at the near the bridge became one of the largest in Ordene. Improved infrastructure has also led to an increase in tourism in Willowfield which was repelled in favor of social and cultural isolationism. The former junction became what is now Crescent Lake, an independent Ordene city.

#### Culture

Unlike most Ordene cities, Willowfield minimalizes travel making the bulk of their culture and lives indoor activities. They hold festivals in great halls and limit world exposures beyond trade in order to ‘preserve their present state’. Even agriculture is urged to remain in greenhouses or enclosures, allowing the city to remain small as well as alienate outsiders. Culture is then traditionally passed down by the recital of stories, allowing their refined generational views to thrive under controlled conditions. Some Willows are heavily tattooed in reflection of this, for both historically decorative and religious reasons. It represents their liberation from Concordian repression as well as enduring purity and expression among the Gaian Golden Circle.

Residents believe that a Willows’  house, town, and its surroundings are integrated with the souls of the land, and so houses and villages are considered holy or ritualized spaces. Typically, the entire town is enclosed in fences with three or four gates that separate the people from their granaries and barns. Altars are placed outside the perimeter to ward off fires and storms.

An ancient Willows house must be laid long along the direction from east to west and never intersected the direction of the sun. However, there are people who people built their houses intersecting the sun direction. Each house must have a door in the east and another one facing to the north or south. This depends on the situation of the area where the house was built and never build a door on the west side of the house.

There are three explanations for the directionality of house construction: 1. to expel ‘the unwanted’ out of the houses (ancient Willows people believed that the sunlight repels unholy sights); 2. to expel and wash out bacteria and any kinds of small insects dangerous to body and health; 3. Willow people also believe that the early morning sunlight is pure and fresh, so exposing one’s own body to the early morning sunlight makes one’s own mind fresh, good-tempered, healthy, and active at work. Nowadays, most people ignore the beliefs and rules and don’t practice this way of building their houses. Roofs of houses are covered with wooden tiles or thatch.

Willowfield cemeteries are traditionally divided into four sections; one for natural deaths, one for accidental deaths, one for children, and one for those who died away from home.Traditional peoples place emphasis on the concept of taboo, as villagers believe that violations of taboo result in masses of impurity or corruption. Forbidden activities include birth ceremonies for children born feet-first, and entering any house or structure without permission, tampering with architecture beyond your possession (including the roads), and violating codes or secrets relative to Willowfield law.

#### Law and Order

Under Faris Napel’s representation, Willowfield pushed its policies further than before. With the social tendencies of Ordene peoples, Willowfield offers contracts that may shackle woven empathy. In other words, residents can consult with authorities to shroud elements of their life. In doing so, negative memories of your peers may become limited, and therefore encourage better communal purity. The most prominent contract is called a ‘Pact of Discretion’. Under the authority of the Council representative, a resident may sign this pact with affiliated persons to halt the spread of public information. This is most commonly used in regards to divorces, loss of jobs, sudden moves, or privatizing funerals. Actual impure activities such as crimes or scandals are not approved by the representative, and therefore cannot be contained by the pact.

This unique policy is in reflection toward Willowfield’s public courts. Because of the private nature of residents, testimonies carry greater weight due to the rarity of information. This enables open courts, allowing residents to contribute as they please. Court cases are hosted similar to communal events, brought to public attention through means such as the morning paper.

## Places

**Cemetery** – Some of the graves are not labeled. While it fails to preserve one's legacy, it’s still not a cultural surprise. Between the pact of discretion and a fear of the impurities in mourning, unmarked graves are an easy solution towards respecting the dead while not intruding on living.

**Lan Ave** – Primary street stretching from the east to the far west of the town. It's where the stores and eateries are most dense, mirroring the layout beneficial to its tourism history. During this time of reclusion, most buildings have been repurposed to living spaces.

**Willowfield School** – Upon exploration, the Parable crew found the joint grade school to be hub for teacher-parent drama. This is the only location that children freely travel to provided the lack of playgrounds or leisure spaces in the town.

## Trivia

* Has one of the most open, friendly police departments for fishers to work with. It's speculated it's due to the Pact of Discretion making their jobs easier when dealing with clashes of interests and law.
* Primary location of the 1.1 Bounty investigation.