More Nikean Scenery

Dagny and Yasmin flit on gravity impellers above the Nereid River delta. Some of what is described overlaps with what Roan Tom saw when descending in the Firedrake:

thickly wooded hills and ravines;

rushing streams;

the frost-rimmed crater of the smoking volcano;

the quicksilver bay;

its marshy shore, resulting from the tides of the nearer moon;

a wooden village raised above water level;

fishers' sailboats;

a well-designed motorship;

ruddy clouds quickly dissipating in a gentle wind under the purple sky;
 
very localized weather, she notices;

orange sun on mists above the delta.

These details warrant our appreciation. Although the outcomers are seeing this valley for the first time, it is where Nikeans have lived for generations, a concretely realized inhabited environment. We want to know what will happen but should also appreciate where it happens.