Saturday 30 April 2016

Ys Old Town

In Old Town:

the streets are twisting lanes;
upper storeys overhang them;
cobblestones are lumpy;
people are more numerous;
their garments are cheap;
they bear marks of work and sometimes of ill health;
but there is no hunger or poverty;
no smell of refuse or unwashed bodies;
sea air, smelling of salt and kelp, blows here as throughout the city;
there are gulls overhead;
the area is compared favorably to Londinium (the capital of a later Empire);
ancient Shrines and a pre-Ysan Menhir are respected and preserved;
there are cheap hospitable taverns.

An ideal city where even the slum does not sound so bad.

3 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

I dunno, maybe the "Fishtail" of Ys seems a bit too implausibly clean and well managed? If the slum of Ys had been a bit more dirty and shabby, it would seem more realistic.

Sean

Anonymous said...

Kaor, Sean!

Well, Ys is supposed to be a more beautiful city and a better place to live than most, which contributes to its living on in legend. Ysans do suffer ordinary misfortunes, which can include being picked by the gods to become bride to someone like Colconnor.

Best Regards,
Nicholas

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Nicholas!

A good point, about Ys being more beautiful and pleasant to live in than most cities of that time. And being forced to marry a brute like Colconor would be MORE than an "ordinary" misfortune.

Sean