Atoce is the ocean-facing city of the Erol'a, and the only one with walls. It's a built-up city, in a literal sense -- rather than taking cover from the wind and storms behind Atoce's study barricades, the Erol'a have built on top of them, up and up like a ziggurat. As a result the whole city has a high-and-low dichotomy -- the conventional streets, between buildings and walls, are decently sized; but the walls themselves are surprisingly thick and used as roads, facilitated by regular ladder-like stairs. Colloquially the walls are called the Height and the streets are called the Deep.
The Heights are used only by Zeshora's citizens -- that is, anyone 18 and under, whereas anyone older is relegated to the Deep. It's a decently common pastime for those on the Height to play scoring games against those in the Deep, using squid giblets or spit; this is accepted with resigned exasperation at worst, and it isn't uncommon for those in the Deep to make a game out of avoiding such projectiles (often with wagers attached). The idea of any youth resorting to the Deep for no apparent reason will be met with shocked incredulity. The Deep gets cold; what if you get sick?
From a distance Atoce sparkles like mother-of-pearl, but up close the walls are made of a smooth coral inset with tiles. It's husbanded beneath the water's surface, in the deepest trench beneath Atoce. There, the pressure makes it one of the densest materials on Konryu, but the cold keeps it semi-liquid. Bringing it to the surface is an act of artistry, since the warmth causes it to compact into one of the hardest but lightest substances available and the builders must shape it to their specifications before that happens -- once hardened, lowering it back into the depths only makes it brittle. The Erol'a call it 'lorell'an' and it's their most prized material, unavailable for barter except under highly illegal means.
Most of Atoce's economy relies around the harvesting of deepsea materials, and they supply the majority of it to the whole of the continent. This includes lorell'an, deepsea glass, fuzzy sea-urchins and the pygmy squids the Erol'a husband as deepsea guides, defensive weapons and pets -- they're essentially the underwater version of a skunk.
As a result of the massive and numerous underwater operations, the water's edge on the ocean side is filled with buildings and docks, many of which are below the water-line, and recreational swimming is strictly disallowed; the ocean is their workplace and the Erol'a enforce this. The water's edge on the continent side is less restricted, but even so the swimming areas are clearly delineated. Once beyond Atoce's boundaries, however, it's quite easy to find nice beaches (often used for swimming) and beautiful reefs.
Atoce - City of Pearls
The Heights are used only by Zeshora's citizens -- that is, anyone 18 and under, whereas anyone older is relegated to the Deep. It's a decently common pastime for those on the Height to play scoring games against those in the Deep, using squid giblets or spit; this is accepted with resigned exasperation at worst, and it isn't uncommon for those in the Deep to make a game out of avoiding such projectiles (often with wagers attached). The idea of any youth resorting to the Deep for no apparent reason will be met with shocked incredulity. The Deep gets cold; what if you get sick?
From a distance Atoce sparkles like mother-of-pearl, but up close the walls are made of a smooth coral inset with tiles. It's husbanded beneath the water's surface, in the deepest trench beneath Atoce. There, the pressure makes it one of the densest materials on Konryu, but the cold keeps it semi-liquid. Bringing it to the surface is an act of artistry, since the warmth causes it to compact into one of the hardest but lightest substances available and the builders must shape it to their specifications before that happens -- once hardened, lowering it back into the depths only makes it brittle. The Erol'a call it 'lorell'an' and it's their most prized material, unavailable for barter except under highly illegal means.
Most of Atoce's economy relies around the harvesting of deepsea materials, and they supply the majority of it to the whole of the continent. This includes lorell'an, deepsea glass, fuzzy sea-urchins and the pygmy squids the Erol'a husband as deepsea guides, defensive weapons and pets -- they're essentially the underwater version of a skunk.
As a result of the massive and numerous underwater operations, the water's edge on the ocean side is filled with buildings and docks, many of which are below the water-line, and recreational swimming is strictly disallowed; the ocean is their workplace and the Erol'a enforce this. The water's edge on the continent side is less restricted, but even so the swimming areas are clearly delineated. Once beyond Atoce's boundaries, however, it's quite easy to find nice beaches (often used for swimming) and beautiful reefs.