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==The Resource==
==The Resource==
The Cliffs are well protected with a sequence of fortifications to guard the approach. Damation granite is flecked with silver marks although these are purely cosmetic and do not lessen its value.
The mountains of northern Kahraman are rich in stone and ore, and site of the richest white granite quarry in the Empire. Damation granite is easy for an expert to spot, because it is usually flecked with faint silver marks. These impurities are purely cosmetic and do not lessen its value, but a skilled stonemason who can extenuate them and work them into a structure can create breathtakingly beautiful buildings and statues.  


Each of the fortifications is built of granite mined at that location, and each garrison is fiercely protective of the stone that protects them in time of need. Each of them identifies and names "constellations" of the greater silver flecks on their walls, and it is by their major constellations that each is known.
Almost every significant Imperial [[fortification]] has foundations of Damatian granite, and it has been a point of pride for Seats down the ages to ensure that new fortresses and castles from [[Wintermark]] to [[Urizen]] use at least a little of their stone. It is traditional for those who have worked the cliffs here to be dismissive of the longevity of any major structure that does not use Damatian granite. Perhaps the best known fortification built with Damatian granite is [[Kahraman#Braydon's_Jasse|Fort Braydon]], built in the earliest days of [[the Brass Cost]] with the first granite quarried in Serra Damata. There are also three smaller castles built into the sides of the mountains overlooking the great quarries, each garrisoned by Freeborn soldiers.


Every great Bourse member personally finances the building of a fortification, and some Bourse members have bankrupted themselves attempting to build the strongest, most impressive fort along and up the Damation Cliffs. The best known of these forts is of course [[Kahraman#Braydon's_Jasse|Fort Braydon]], built with some of the first stone quarried from the Damatian Cliffs long before the foundation of the Empire. Once the Bourse was established, the Damatian Cliffs Seats took a measure of personal pride in ensuring that most of the new fortifications built in the western Empire used stone from Damata in their construction.
There are several armed camps, small-scale fortifications, along the mountains above the Cliffs that protect both the quarries and the rest of Kahraman from the bandits and outlaws who dwell in the hills and mountains along the borders with [[Mournwold]] and [[Liathaven]]. There are five fortresses in all, each built of granite quarried nearby. The five garrisons are named for distinctive patterns of silvery inflection on their walls, which are said to take the form of one of the [[astronomancy|constellations]]. They are, from east to west, [[the Key]], [[the Oak]], [[the Chain]], [[the Mountain]], and [[the Web]].


Not every fortification has been built without incident; several were plagued with accusations of corruption regarding their financing. During the reign of [[Empress Deanne]], for example, the noted philanthropist and popular stateswoman '''Inacia i Correrro i Riqueza''' was convicted for embezzlement and misappropriation of Senate funds. In a show of good faith, she volunteered to work the Damation Cliffs, in the shadow of the fort that she had stolen the funds to build. The irony was not lost on the troops, who would stand at attention and salute at the beginning and end of her every shift. Of potential interest to modern treasure-seekers is the story that Inacia's personal fortune was never recovered, and that she lived out her life in penury. Rumour persists to this day that there are coffers full of Thrones and Crowns buried somewhere near the Damatian Cliffs, and barely a year goes by without someone claiming to have insight into their likely location. Such treasure seekers are figures of regular mockery to the hard-working quarry workers, of course.
'''Inacia i Correrro i Riqueza''' was the architect who designed four of the five small castles (the Fort of the Key was built a hundred years after the other four as the quarries were expanded). She was paid a small fortune by the [[the Brass Coast leadership#dhomiro]] of Kahraman for her work, but died shortly after the last castle (the Fort of the Web) was completed. She died without other family, and her fortune was never accounted for. Inacia also drew many of the designs for Fort Braydon, and for several other structures both in Kharaman and beyond, and in addition to silver was regularly paid with small amounts of [[ilium]], which she wore as jewelry on her fingers and in her hair. Always eccentric, rumours quickly surfaced after her death that she had concealed the bulk of her fortune somewhere in the mountains near the Damation Cliffs, and barely a year goes by without someone claiming to have insight into their likely location. Such treasure seekers are figures of regular mockery to the hard-working quarry workers, of course.


{{Bourse Seat|the Damatian Cliffs|white granite|27 Imperial wains|Summer Solstice|As an Imperial seat, any Imperial citizen may participate in the auction and hold the title.}}
{{Bourse Seat|the Damatian Cliffs|white granite|27 Imperial wains|Summer Solstice|As an Imperial seat, any Imperial citizen may participate in the auction and hold the title.}}
[[Category:Steve]]

Revision as of 11:06, 29 February 2016

Overview

The Damatian Cliffs are located near Damata in the Freeborn territory of Kahraman. Custodianship of the Damatian Cliffs grants an Imperial title; a seat on the Imperial Bourse; and a seasonal bounty of valuable white granite.

The Resource

The mountains of northern Kahraman are rich in stone and ore, and site of the richest white granite quarry in the Empire. Damation granite is easy for an expert to spot, because it is usually flecked with faint silver marks. These impurities are purely cosmetic and do not lessen its value, but a skilled stonemason who can extenuate them and work them into a structure can create breathtakingly beautiful buildings and statues.

Almost every significant Imperial fortification has foundations of Damatian granite, and it has been a point of pride for Seats down the ages to ensure that new fortresses and castles from Wintermark to Urizen use at least a little of their stone. It is traditional for those who have worked the cliffs here to be dismissive of the longevity of any major structure that does not use Damatian granite. Perhaps the best known fortification built with Damatian granite is Fort Braydon, built in the earliest days of the Brass Cost with the first granite quarried in Serra Damata. There are also three smaller castles built into the sides of the mountains overlooking the great quarries, each garrisoned by Freeborn soldiers.

There are several armed camps, small-scale fortifications, along the mountains above the Cliffs that protect both the quarries and the rest of Kahraman from the bandits and outlaws who dwell in the hills and mountains along the borders with Mournwold and Liathaven. There are five fortresses in all, each built of granite quarried nearby. The five garrisons are named for distinctive patterns of silvery inflection on their walls, which are said to take the form of one of the constellations. They are, from east to west, the Key, the Oak, the Chain, the Mountain, and the Web.

Inacia i Correrro i Riqueza was the architect who designed four of the five small castles (the Fort of the Key was built a hundred years after the other four as the quarries were expanded). She was paid a small fortune by the the Brass Coast leadership#dhomiro of Kahraman for her work, but died shortly after the last castle (the Fort of the Web) was completed. She died without other family, and her fortune was never accounted for. Inacia also drew many of the designs for Fort Braydon, and for several other structures both in Kharaman and beyond, and in addition to silver was regularly paid with small amounts of ilium, which she wore as jewelry on her fingers and in her hair. Always eccentric, rumours quickly surfaced after her death that she had concealed the bulk of her fortune somewhere in the mountains near the Damation Cliffs, and barely a year goes by without someone claiming to have insight into their likely location. Such treasure seekers are figures of regular mockery to the hard-working quarry workers, of course.

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