[OOC Chat]Beware of Frozen Noses

[Chev]

Hello, guys! Chev wants to join the Icewatch this summer, if possible! He’ll need training in Unarmed Combat and Wilderness Survival, as I believe that’s basically what you need to pass the initiation test, right? If there’s anything else Chev should know, or is recommended, then please tell me before he fails the test! Otherwise, if you know you can help in Chev’s training, it’d be much appreciated if you could shoot me a PM! Thanks! Oooh, guys, there should be an actual holiday where the members of the Icewatch race on top of their Kelvic bondmates. That’d be sweet!

[Meville Brightshade]

Hey there, everyone!

Note There are places missing from this map at the moment, which I will add in once these major places have found a home!

So I've been working on a map of our dear snowy city! It's still in progress, I but I wanted to show you all what I've been picturing in my mind.

I love LOVE feedback! Though I'll just let you know what shouldn't be changed only because of the previous version of this map made by the DS.

Edit Locations not shown:

Snow Stained Bows - FFM
Laria's Furs - FFM
Nimble Thimble - FFM
Northern Inkantations - FFM
Drunken Apple - Winterflame
The Port - Coolwater Hold
Frostfawn Arvinta - Frostfawn Hold
Skyglow Arvinta - Skyglow Hold
Coolwater Arvinta - Coolwater Hold
Hall of Aural Creation - Snowsong Hold
Strings 'n' Things - FFM
Hunter Savant Lodge - Located outside

Fixed locations:
The holds. If you think they should shift slightly north or east or something like that (or have more buildings to better represent their size) that's great! But the Winterflames won't be able to switch with the Iceglazes.

Morwen's palace, the Crystal hall, and the Icewatch bulidings. Not to say they can't be rearranged with how they are now, but they'll have to stay in the middle. Other than that... I'm a little confused on where they should be, so any help in that regard would be great!

Pending locations: These locations are just what I came up with. They could really go anywhere, I think.

Grey areas. I have no idea where those should go so I stuck them where I thought it would make sense.

The springs and the prison.

The Chapter house and tower.

The tree retreat.

Finally, I forgot to key in the color codes haha. So here it is:
Dark Blue : Coolwater
Light Brown : Winerflame
Light Grey/Purple : Iceglaze
Yellow : Snowsong
Purple : Skyglow
Red : Whitevine
Orange : Frostfawn
Dark Grey : Savintar Warrens

Grey-outline Green : Gardens

Thanks all! I hope we can work together to be able to create a legit map for our happy little city!

[Minosayaa]

I was wondering if anyone would want to help get some of the locations up that are on the link map? such as,

The Rancid Reindeer - A seedy bar located near the Avanthal docks
Art Supply Shop
Snowshoe and Ski Shop
Herbal and Wet Sauna
Bejeweled Tusk - Night club
Medical Classrooms
Craftsman Workshops
Practice Kitchens

I would personally love to get to work on The bejeweled tusk. But the sauna, classrooms, and kitchens sound fun too. If we all chip in we'll have new places to explore!

[Meville Brightshade]

Heya, Minosayaa!

Work done on the Linkmap is definitely something I'm looking forward to as well! If you're feeling volunteery, definitely hit up Noblesse and chat with her a little bit about what you're thinking and she'll help you out!

[Minosayaa]

Thanks you know, I think I will!

[Noblesse]

So first of all Meville, I sincerely thank you for helping me on this project. I only wish you upload this to Miza's galleries instead of external image hosting sites. I've found, from personal experience, that having an image disappear on you and being helpless about it is not a pleasant experience at all.

Going back to the topic of the map, here are some comments I have at the moment:

• Avanthal is actually a city consisting of a cluster of micro-settlements surrounding a main city proper. The main city have all of the locations that would not be categorized as exclusive property of only one Hold.
• You drew the Holds as a cluster of small buildings spread out in a specific area. Actually, a Hold consists of one large structure for the arvinta (think of longhouses a la apartments) and only a number of smaller Hold-specific buildings that surround it. A Hold will never come close to the size of Avanthal's city proper, probably except for Frostfawn since it's hands down the Hold with the largest land occupied in the city.
• Holds are actually a ways away from other Holds and Avanthal's city proper. An exception would be Winterflame since their professions demand them to always be at the hub of Avanthal, and closer proximity to the central city locations saves them valuable travel time.
• I'd like for you to keep to the alloted areas the individual Holds and main city occupy in the map I gave you. However, it would be best if you can make a list of which locations wouldn't really work well in where they're placed right now. We will see what's best to do about them, and then work from there.

And to Minosayaa, I will be waiting for that PM when you are ready to work on one of the locations you had listed above.

[Meville Brightshade]

AH, I think I kind of understand now... The idea of the Holds was really fascinating to me, but I still struggle with the concept of one giant building, haha.

So, for example, using the Winterflame hold:
Is it a giant building with a few close to it (e.g. the Commons and the Red Diamond) or a bunch of buildings that are connected?

And as for the proper, is it kind of like a city plaza with the Crystal Hall as the epicenter?

Thank you so much for your notes! Maps are a lot more work that I thought, haha, so I think I understand why we haven't really had one until now! I'll definitely want to chat with you a little more when we have time!

Oh also, when the map is finished, I plan on uploading a smaller sized one to Miz (the current one is too big, haha), but since we're still working on it, I don't want to put partials on the site. (I also have all the files backed up on my computer, so if the link does break, I still have it.)

[Noblesse]

One Hold never really exceeds 700 in population so there aren't really too much people in the arvintas.

You got the idea right about one giant building having a few close to it. That's what consists a Hold after all. People think of just the arvintas when they hear the word Hold, but it's not just that. Hold refers to all the buildings built on the area they own that falls under their exclusive control. There are some locations in the link map built within or connected to the arvintas, but it really just depends on the Hold and the purpose of that specific location.

The Commons and Red Diamond are both found in the city proper instead of Winterflame Hold.

The city proper is like any other city minus the residences and Hold locations. If I remember right Morwen's palace should be at the heart of the city. I will do some rereading in the morning to confirm this.

Sure, just ask away if something confuses you!

[Noblesse]

So I see that both Morwen's Ice Palace and the Crystal Hall claims to be at the center of Avanthal. Disregard the one about Crystal Hall. Literally and metaphorically, Morwen should be found at the heart of Avanthal, not any other location with lesser significance to the Vantha such as a gathering spot. You can situate CH nearby the palace. I will make the necessary changes to the latter's writeup after this post.

[Una Tanta]

So I decided that these two interested me the most so here is a preliminary sketch of my ideas. I didn't want to put too much work into the particulars until I knew if there were any obvious flaws with the design: The Rancid Reindeer The winds bringing the moisture from the docks creates reoccurring creaks, and the soaked wood having expanded makes for a wobbly floor underfoot. The oldest bar in Avanthal it never had a good reputation and was largely filled with fisherman or travelers that had landed on the dock. All of the former were often irritable from the cold wet journey or in the case of the fisherman always hankering for a good night of drinking....heavily. The parties are often loud and fall into the next day leaving men stumbling drunk from the door that always inevitably sticks when opening. Fortunately most other buildings have kept their distance and the Iceguards could be spotted by the sober in the shadows keeping a watchful eye for any violent trouble. But besides the odd bar fight this seedy bar while filled with the drunk scum of the city threatens only your pouch and not your life. Made from wood, ice and stone it is a ramshackle building the middle of the roof sagging like the back of a 14 year old brood mare. To the left is a fireplace often stone cold or a few trails of dusty smoke rising from it, on the odd occasion it may have a low fire, but even that hardly seethes through the logs. The chairs and tables are mismatched and several have fallen through at innocuous moments causing bar fights. The tables are stained with spilled drinks, washed infrequently they are often incredibly sticky. The ceiling is a mix of rafters and storage. Bar food is not served as the kitchen has long since stopped working and the owners don’t make enough to repair the expensive equipment. The walls are made of a deep grey stone, gaps are frequent letting a draft in. These are covered as quickly as possible by tarps of animal fur so that almost the entire interior is coated in them. Jugs/mugs of ale vary in size and thereby the amount you get for your money varies as well. This is the cause of many bar fights as well as cheers of success when someone is handed an unusually large mug. Thus it is typical for frequenters of the pub to be saved the larger pitchers while newcomers often receive the smallest and one can gauge the importance of a member of the bar and the frequentness with which they visit by the size of their mug. While the bar is a presence many Vantha resent it is a beloved spot of the fisherman and hunters alike, and without such people the Vantha would suffer so it is tolerated disapprovingly by the majority of the Vantha populace. Medical Classrooms The medical classrooms are attached to the Whitevine hold. Taking up two stories the classrooms vary in structure. Two large classrooms take up the majority of the floor plan. Long low benches designed for the short Vantha, without backs to force wakefulness in the middle of long lectures. There are long tables in front of each seat and are spacious. With only two classrooms students often spend a majority of their day in one room. Built on an incline and divided into four triangular sections the pathways between sections are not blocked out into steps but are the only part of the classroom with a rug. White and rough it covers the open area. Doors are present at the top and bottom of the incline with a desk and teaching stand at the front. A varnished ceramic board hangs in front of the students, using shale (a rock easily harvested from the north) the teacher can scrawl across the board. Students take turns wiping the boards clean between notes and must later rewrite the notes from a fellow student. Often used as a form of punishment to prolong homework it is a job students resent. The two lecture halls though sparce are much cozier than any other part of the medical classroom area. The rest are small rooms with peculiarly low ceilings to accommodate the vents between floors. These smaller rooms hold a myriad of things, some are soaked in formaldehyde, used for dissections. Others are crafted similar to patient rooms. However each room is meticulous, every necessary item catalogued and placed exactly in the same place after use. This, ground into the students, ensures that expensive medicines never vanish, protects narcotics and hallucinogens from being stolen, and assures easy access in an emergency. While attached to the rest of the hold the students can only gain access from the outside, while staff have keys that allow them to pass through the locked doors that connect the two. If friendly with a teacher or fortunate enough to be by a door when a professor arrives or leaves students may follow the teachers through. Many students during especially cold or snowy summer nights will wait for several hours by the door to avoid going outside. The classrooms are connected by heavily lit hallways, floors covered in the same rough white rug. Between each classroom are a variety of locked and unlocked closets containing anything from drugs to cleaning equipment? Jobs: Cleaner: Student: Receptionist: Nurse: Doctor: Guest Lecturer: (You must be a doctor to be, you must dedicate at least one thread in which one student is present to qualify for the bonus)