Grovestead

Grovestead (/grovestead/ [Translation Unavailable]) is a subtropical Small Town located in Ruldzafechtu Hold, Emzada Kingdom, within the Sylvanian Empire.

The name Grovestead is derived from the Sylvin language, as Grovestead was founded by Tseli Fitzpatrick, who was culturaly Sylvin.

Climate

Grovestead has a yearly average temperature of 16°C (60°F), with its average temperature during the summer being a pleasant 25°C (77°F) and its average temperature during the winter being a cold 8°C (46°F). Grovestead receives an average of 136 cm/y (53 in/y) of precipitation, most of which comes in the form of rain during the spring. Grovestead covers an area of nearly 3 km² (1 mi²), and an average elevation of 5794 m (19009 ft) above sea level.

Overview

Grovestead was founded durring the late 12th century in spring of the year 1094, by Tseli Fitzpatrick. The establishment of Grovestead was somewhat plagued by a lack of willing colonists, leading to Tseli Fitzpatrick electing to pay people to resettle in Grovestead.

Grovestead was built using the conventions of Sylvin durring the late 12th century. Naturaly, all settlmentss have their own look to them, and Grovestead is no diffrent. The town'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.

Grovestead is buildings are arranged arrounded a highly ordered system of narrow paverstone streets which form triangular paterns, allowing the incides of the octagons to be common grounds for the buildings on the edges, be it for parkland, yardspace, plazas, or markets. The town resides behind a palisade wall complete with battlments, a moat, and timber gatehouses with drawbridges. The robustly designed timber walls have not been wellmaintained over the years, and while functional are in dire need of some loving care and perhapse light renovation.

Right off the bat Grovestead hits you in the face with its success. Everyone, even the peasants, are dressed in well made clothing. Every tool and implement you can see is finely made, and people will boast to you as obvious strangers of the wonders which can be found in their markets. More interestingly is a total lack of beggars, and plenty of new buildings are going up even as you speak. Somehow this town has come into quite a lot of wealth, and recently from the looks of things. The new wealth has created some worrying attitudes in many passers by, such that it’s clear new laws have recently been enacted and enforced with such extreme scrutiny the locals seem to be going about their day as if by clockwork.

Civic Infrastructure

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

Grovestead 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.

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

Grovestead has a Parks and Recreation Department, which is responsible for the construction, management, and usage rights for all of its parks and parklands.

Grovestead 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.

Cultural Notes

Grovestead's garrison was built using a different architectural style from the rest of the town. The style used is characterized by towering round arches, massive stone and brickwork, small windows, thick walls, and a propensity for housing art and sculpture depicting mythological scenes. The building's general shape would be a clever and ascetic combination of geometric shapes, which would be blended together by joining elements. The style's decorative features were largely internal rather than external and incorporated semicircular arches for windows, doors, and arcades; barrel or groin vaults to support the roof of the nave; massive piers and walls, with few windows, to contain the outward thrust of the vaults; side aisles with galleries above them..

Due to the actions of local Kami, winter is recurring in Grovestead.

The Slithering Pit near Grovestead are known to be a mutant strain of the creature.

Grovestead's citizens partake in a curious ritual relating to their local kami. It takes place in summer and involves long periods of drunkenness to channel Invocation energies of tier 1 via oratory performances.

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.

Grovestead Census Data: Year 2000

252 of Grovestead's population work within a Foundational Occupation.

• 20 work in Agriculture
• 53 work as Craftsmen
• 19 work as Merchants
• 41 work as Service Workers
• 26 work as General Laborers
• 7 work as Skilled Laborers
• 36 work as Civil Servants
• 26 work in Cottage Industries
• 9 work as Artists
• 15 work in Produce Industries

599 of Grovestead's population do not work in a formal occupation, but do contribute to the local economy. 73 (8%) are noncontributers.

Points of Interest

Grovestead's roads were poorly made when first laid. Rather than repairing them correctly, a series of new roads was laid atop the old, leading to the streets of modern Grovestead suffering from potholes, cracking, and even sinkholes. The locals often repair the road by putting down wooden decking.

POI

History

Grovestead's residents established a new industry (26767 % 6)+1 years ago, and it’s making them a great deal of profit. Old patterns of authority and wealth are being disrupted, and the old gentry are unlikely to be pleased about it. They may be trying to take over the industry, or they may have been the ones to enable it in the first place and are using it to crush the life out of any rival power bases. Outsiders might be playing a major role as well, and it could be they plot to siphon off the profits.

The the a battleaxe of Mysticism, an a battleaxe imbued with potent amounts of Mysticism energies was created near Grovestead by in time immemorial, reportedly some time during the early 2nd century.

History