in the footsteps of a stranger
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: To create a location for roleplay on Fondor and to enter the Paradigm Shift Codex Contest
Image Credits:
- Julien Gauthier for The Rings of Power | Jeremy Fenske for Elder Scrolls Online | Sara Han
- Recolors and frames via Canva
Canon: Not applicable
Permissions: No permissions
Links:
SETTING INFORMATIONCity Name: Deep Well
Classification: Underground settlement
Location: Fondor's largest remaining desert, The Untouched Desert
Affiliation:
- By occupation, Fondorian Luddites
- Local governance: Satrap Dyad [See Stability section below]
- By planetary alignment, The Galactic Alliance
Population: Relatively SPARSE compared to the nearby ecumenopolis; ~20,000 individuals
Demographics: Currently, mostly near-humans of various species; all non-fondorians, including baseline humans, have immigrated to Deep Well after its initial construction
- Modern
- 92% fondorian/human
- 3% mrlssi
- 3% twi'lek
- 2% other
- Historic
- 100% fondorian
Wealth:
- In terms of money, LOW; Deep Well has a very small amount of galactic credits in circulation. They either date back to the time of the settlement's construction, then relocated underground with the residents, or have been introduced into the settlement by the few outsiders who make the journey into—but normally not back out of—Deep Well. The credits rarely change hands. Instead, they are kept in the home of those who own them as decoration. Deep Well operates almost entirely on the economic systems of bartering or gift-giving and -repaying.
- In terms of goods, MEDIUM; Deep Well is entirely self-sufficient. Everything that its people need to live simple but comfortable lives—food, clothes, stone and wooden furniture—is provided for. Sometimes there is not quite enough to go around, mostly because the harvest underground can be fickle, but the residents manage through.
Stability: HIGH; Deep Well is a peaceful city of law-abiding citizens. The populace regards the local leaders, the Satrap Dyad, as fair and just. One satrap oversees the Near-surface Quarter and one other oversees the Main Cavern. [See Points of Interest section below]
Freedom & Oppression: The populace of Deep Well is fairly free to act as they wish within the confines of the city. Individuals are also free to leave anytime they wish, but both the design and geology of the caverns makes getting to the surface a challenging feat.
Accessibility:
- Desert entrances: HIGH; Should anyone wander the largest of Fondor's deserts for long enough, they will likely stumble across at least one of the ventilation wells dug from the surface into the depth of this underground settlement. These holes range from 10 cm to 1.5 m in diameter. Each reach about 0.5 km into the planet's crust before opening into the excavated caverns of the Near-surface Quarter. Be careful not to fall in!
- Lower caverns: LOW; Most of those who live in Deep Well never leave it because there is no easy way out. Unless one comes prepared with climbing equipment to rappel with, they cannot access Deep Well itself. Likewise, if one does not have significant motivation and upper body strength, they will find themselves stuck in Deep Well.
Description: Underneath one of Fondor's undeveloped stretches of desert is a city excavated into the crust. It has two levels that, in total, extend a little more than a kilometer into the crust.
POINTS OF INTEREST
The six chambers nearest to the planet's surface collectively make up the Near-surface Quarter. They are connected to one another by tunnels. The bottom of the Quarter cuts into the water table, causing underground rivers to form. Long ago, fishes and other freshwater life brought from offworld for trade was introduced into them. All of Deep Well's animal products come from the Quarter.
Only one river is allowed to flow into the Main Cavern about another 0.5 km below via waterfall. The rest are restrained by canals as to control and reserve groundwater.
Below the Near-surface Quarter is a Main Cavern. Dozens of neighborhood columns structurally support it. Each column is specialized in terms of use. Some are only for individual or family dwellings while others are designated for artisan workspaces or storefronts. The columns are connected to one another by skybridges and to the ground of the cavern with winding staircases as well as elevators operated via treadwheels.
Mine shafts and farms surround the neighborhood columns. The Main Cavern, as well as the Near-surface Quarter, is lit during the day with an ingenious daylighting system that uses mirrors to reflect the natural sunlight shining down the ventilation and trade shafts to illuminate the entire cavern. As night draws near, a network of torches and wall sconces are lit.
The central neighborhood column in the Main Cavern houses a multi-levelled underground bazaar. The bazaar's purpose is local trade, assembly, ventilation, and vertical transportation. A central well, which extends up into the Near-surface Quarter, allows for both transmission of air and goods. Ropes hang out of the well but is not used for climbing. Instead, they are used to move goods between the Main Cavern and the Near-surface Quarter.
SECURITY
LOW – Deep Well has no manufactured defenses and its people are pacifist. The only protection that this city enjoys is that imparted by its geology. [See Accessibility section above]
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
Ages before Fondor grew into what it is today, a group of fondorians began to excavate Deep Well in the desert near the planet's equator as a sanctuary from the intense sun and heat. This tribe, which would much later become known as the Fondorian Luddites, was threatened by nearby clans' effort to unite the wastelands under one empire. The Luddites responded by deciding to occupy the harshest stretch of desert known as The Untouched Desert in hopes of remaining independent.
Once most of Fondor was industrialized, plans for for further urban development began to consider the planet's remaining patches of wasteland, the largest being The Untouched Desert. Citizens of Oridin City circulated a petition asking the Guild of Starshipwrights to protect the Desert and therefore Deep Well. The petition went viral over the global holonet, gaining planetwide recognition and overwhelming public support virtually overnight. Soon after, the planetary government negotiated the Treaty of Near-Surface with Deep Well's Satrap Dyad, which designated Deep Well's under- and aboveground territory as a cultural heritage site and also as a reservation protected from both urban and political encroachment.
Deep Well's autonomy was respected for eons. Fondor's many affiliations throughout galactic history did not affect the underground settlement. For example, the Besadii hutt kajidic, which once used Fondor as one of its main slave markets, spared Deep Well's residents because of the city's inaccessibility. Likewise, during the Second Battle of Fondor, Deep Well suffered very minor structural damage and residential casualties because of its distance from Oridin City and other targeted surface urban centers.
Now that the Galactic Alliance has relocated their capital to Fondor, what will become of Deep Well? Will the Jedi explore its rich culture? Will it be somehow integrated into the war effort—if so, will its people support this shift from neutrality?
