Lark Castle

Lark Castle (/lɑrk/ [Translation Unavailable]) is a subtropical Large City located in Fersá̋ōw Dutchy, Dāmêvr Kingdom, within the Sylvan.

The name Lark Castle is derived from the Sylvin language, as Lark Castle was founded by Dā̌ Sēy 'Dazzle Stunner' Māshīy Dä̂ Bë̌s Gōw̄y Vú̄ Coates, who was culturaly Sylvin.

Climate

Lark Castle has a yearly average temperature of 13°C (55°F), with its average temperature during the summer being a cool 17°C (62°F) and its average temperature during the winter being a cold 10°C (50°F). Lark Castle receives an average of 221 cm/y (87 in/y) of precipitation, most of which comes in the form of snow during the pleasantly short winter months. Lark Castle covers an area of nearly 197 km² (78 mi²), and an average elevation of 324 m (1062 ft) above sea level.

Overview

Lark Castle was founded durring the late 14th century in spring of the year 1257, by Dā̌ Sēy 'Dazzle Stunner' Māshīy Dä̂ Bë̌s Gōw̄y Vú̄ Coates. The establishment of Lark Castle was only bairly constructed. The sheer number of problems with its founding were enough to make several of the backers funding Lark Castle's construction back out of the project. Dā̌ Sēy 'Dazzle Stunner' Māshīy Dä̂ Bë̌s Gōw̄y Vú̄ Coates pushed on reguardles, and Lark Castle was finished, but starts off as a terible place to live.

Lark Castle was built using the conventions of Sylvin durring the late 14th century. Naturaly, all settlmentss have their own look to them, and Lark Castle is no diffrent. The city's buildings feature waddle and daub construction with good timber frames and a stone foundation protected by thatched or shingled rooves. Most buildings with second floors are built in such a way as to overhang into the streets on the upper floors for more space, as building size seems to be the primary indicator of wealth within the community. Most buildings are not decorated with any integral features, but instead use ivy, flowers, and other natural elements in planters of on trellices to breathe life into the structure they grow upon.

Lark Castle is buildings have been located at convienant points along the gorge Lark Castle was built upon. Navigating the town is therefore a little chalanging as the distance between buildings verris greatly and the restrictive packed earth streets flow where they are able to be made rather than folowing the most convienant paths. The city has a set of well fortified walls, with gatehouses, watch towers, battlments, and even a moat, which are fashioned from stone and timber. Lark Castle's walls are, howeaver, fashioned from stone and timber. While unorthadox, the design looks to be functional to a reasonable degree. With luck, the untested design will remain untested for years to come. Lark Castle's unusual though effective defenses are suffering from significent damage, so much so that examples can be pointed to no matter which section one might have within their line of site, and most of which render sections inoperable at present.

The first thing you notice about Lark Castle is the large sign at the entrance welcoming you to their humble city. Children come up to you and say hi, some asking if you’ve fought any big monsters, and others just zipping away after their hello. The adults are much the same. By the time you’ve made it a significant way into the town you’ve been invited to a tavern for a pint to drink in exchange for news of the world. You’ve also had no less than three older women give you a sweetroll and direct your attention to their still unmarried children. It would be creepy if it wasn't so sincere.

Civic Infrastructure

Lark Castle possesses a Aethary Link for its accademic, government, and financial institutions. Public Aethary access is available through one or more of these intitutions.

Lark Castle has an animal control department which works to enforce local ordinances relating to the control, impoundment, and disposition of animals.

Lark Castle has an Office of Civil Groundskeeping, which works to enforce local ordinances relating to the construction and upkeep up of all plant life, water features, and other natural decorations within Lark Castle. They are also responsible for the maintenance of these features. Notably, the OCG is not responsible for Lark Castle's parks.

Lark Castle has an Office of Civil Vicary, which is responsible for providing a livelyhood for all officialy recognised religious figures within Lark Castle.

Lark Castle has a government-funded child care program, overseen by the local Department of Nursemaids, which is responsible for providing childcare to working-class citizens according to local ordinances.

Lark Castle has a Gravedigger's Guild, which is responsible for collecting the dead and laying them to rest according to all applicable laws and religious customs.

Lark Castle has a Guild of Nurses, which is tasked with caring for the elderly and infirm in accordance with local ordinances, religious values, and customs.

Lark Castle has a Department of Firefighters, which is responsible for organizing fire fighting efforts during a fire and enforcing local ordinances relating to fire safety.

Lark Castle has a Highwayman's Guild, which is tasked with maintaining the roads and highways leading into town as well as keeping them safe for travelers.

Lark Castle has a Hall of Slayers, which is tasked with maintaining the roads and highways leading into town as well as keeping them safe for travelers.

Lark Castle has a monistary of an order of Civil Monks, who provide divine-related services to the general public and maintain Lark Castle's public wards, blessings, and other arcane systems.

Lark Castle has an Arts Academy which provides higher education in many fields including math, language arts, philosophy, engineering, and other such disciplines.

Lark Castle possesses a Galvanic Power Grid, which brings galvanic current to most if not all buildings in town, and permits a great many consumer goods to function within the Large City. Lark Castle's grid is powered by a boiler and turbine based power plant.

Lark Castle's old civil lighting system was converted to Galvanic Lamps recently, and expanded to provide nighttime illumination to all city streets.

Lark Castle has a first rate hospital which caters to anyone in need of long term medical care.

Lark Castle has a library, which keeps a large collection of books, scrolls, and archives all manner of physical items. While not open to the public, the librarians and scholars employed by the library will assist anyone with their research needs, and wealthy individuals can purchase membership to access the library's materials themselves. In spite of being generally closed to the public, the library has a room with several Aether Linked devices available to the public during business hours.

Lark Castle has a Parks and Recreation Department, which is responsible for the construction, management, and usage rights for all of its parks and parklands. They are not to be confused with the Office of Civil Groundskeeping as they do not hold authority over nor responsibility for Lark Castle's natural decorations nor waterways.

Lark Castle has a Guild of Roadworkers, who are responsible for maintaining the roadways and public paths within town. They also have the duty of enforcing all civil laws relating to the roadways.

Lark Castle has a public schooling program overseen by the Hall of Sages who has the responsibility of ensuring access to affordable high-quality education in all basic classes (Reading, Writing, Mathmatics, General Sciences, General Arcana, and Social Education) is made available to all citizens.

Lark Castle has a public septic system, which allows its citizens to have indoor bathrooms. The septic system is overseen by the League of Sewerkeepers, who posses the legal authority to enforce all laws relating to the septic system, and are also tasked with its maintenance and upkeep.

Lark Castle is home to a University which provides higher education in a variety of fields, and also serves as a research institute for those same fields.

Cultural Notes

Lark Castle's mayor's house was built using a different architectural style from the rest of the town. The style used is known for its buildings being predominantly formed through the combination of basic geometric shapes. However, it shown in the detailing given to the structures such as its characteristic tall columns, intricate detail, symmetry, harmony, and balance in their designs to an astonishing degree of precision. Decorative elements for the buildings tended to be built into the structure itself, making great use of fluting, frescoes, inlays, and embossing.

Due to the actions of local Kami, summer is skipped in Lark Castle.

The Ghoul near Lark Castle are known to be quite timid.

Lark Castle's citizens partake in a curious ritual relating to their local kami. It takes place in winter and involves embarking on a group pilgrimage to channel Elven High Magic energies of tier 2 via moments of science.

Economy

The following information was obtained via the Imperial Census Bureau as part of the Eyom Economic Outreach Program. It differs from Standard Imperial censuses in that many of Tom's citizens, regardless of culture, work in more than one occupation or hold more than a single job. The Imperial Census Bureau has ruled that a job is a job, hence, the intigers within the data presented here can count an individual more than once.

Lark Castle Census Data: Year 2000

17515 of Lark Castle's population work within a Foundational Occupation.

• 1080 work in Agriculture
• 3965 work as Craftsmen
• 1422 work as Merchants
• 2647 work as Service Workers
• 1826 work as General Laborers
• 722 work as Skilled Laborers
• 2419 work as Civil Servants
• 1540 work in Cottage Industries
• 980 work as Artists
• 914 work in Produce Industries

25992 of Lark Castle's population do not work in a formal occupation, but do contribute to the local economy. 2777 (6%) are noncontributers.

Points of Interest

Lark Castle is known for its odd use of round-a-bouts, small ring roads used in place of intersections.

POI

History

A vast influx of newcomers over the last 3 years has greatly spiked Lark Castle's population. They may have been drawn by economic opportunities, or fled some pursuing peril, or been forcibly moved there by a ruler who wanted to dilute the existing native cohesion. The natives may not have the resources or opportunities to integrate these newcomers, and it may be that the new population has no desire to stay longer than is necessary.

In time immemorial, reportedly some time during the late 2nd century the Toggèku Forest was struck by a drought when Lake Tauca grew too small to continue feeding Stream Cobalt, which reduced the available water supply nationwide, but was especially harsh in the area arround Lark Castle. As the neighboring regions had no water so spare, Lark Castle lost 222 people, and 237 livestock in the disaster.. The drought lasted for 6 weeks, which are remembered as the Death Thirst.

History