people

[hengest]

The Apprentice Healer

Although her head is hooded, her face seems to give its own light. Her crooked smile is not kindly but lively, full of feeling. Her robe shows little of her form, but you can see she is young. Her rolled-up sleeves show her hands to be smooth, slender, and lightly stained. 

She whirls around suddenly as if having remembered something.

[hengest]

Dec 6, 2021 17:23:43 GMT -5 hengest said:

Tathum Farley

The largest settlements in the dukedom are Craggy Swamp, which may be considered the capital, as it is the duke's seat, and Flowertown, long the butt of jokes in Craggy Swamp.  

The name of the capital comes from its location: not far from a steep rocky cliff at the bottom of which is a perpetually moist and burbling bog that extends some distance. This is known as the cragbog or cragswamp, and the large town nearby is Craggy Swamp.

Flowertown is known for the many kinds of airplants that grow there, sometimes on patches of dirt, but much more often on chimneys, external walls of all kinds of structures, and sometimes even indoors. They have almost no root structure, but tend to cling to surfaces with a set of fine adhesive hairs. The blooms vary greatly in color, number of petals, and size. Many are tiny like the humblest wildflowers that can be found in any meadow, but some blooms are comically large, hanging down like a large disc from a short stem, seeming to gaze at those passing below.  The denizens of Flowertown are sometimes called 'petalheads' pejoratively by folk in Craggy Swamp (strictly speaking, the notion that the airplants grow on heads is untrue, as they do not cling to living things, but some will make their homes on hats for a season).

Some twenty years ago, a young man named Tathum Farley was exiled from Craggy Swamp to Flowertown. His crimes, real or imaginary, are now barely remembered. The result, unexpected by those responsible for the ouster, is that Tathum Farley thrived in business in Flowertown almost from the moment of his arrival there. In addition, the town has grown much richer as if by his example and now rivals Craggy Swamp for wealth and prestige. Craggy Swamp and Flowertown were once the largest economic centers, doing business with all the smaller villages and each other. Since Tathum Farley began to reside in Flowertown, its dealings have had less and less directly to do with Craggy Swamp and more to do with other places, including some outside the dukedom. Some say now that the Duke will move his seat to Flowertown, abandoning the fading fortunes of Craggy Swamp.

Tathum Farley, to all appearances, is a man neither puffed up by pride nor falsely humble. He seems unaware of his wealth, but perfectly aware of his many contacts and dealings within the town. His influence is felt everywhere, but is not overwhelming or concentrated in any one place. He wears a plain suit of clothes although he could surely afford much better. Tathum Farley often wears a hat. He is known for being strangely honest, often overstating the risk involved for business partners so that they go into any venture with their eyes open. 

Once again, I cannot believe I wrote this. This is completely nuts. Who came up with this? My life and concerns were very different in December of 2021. I remember the fact of this post, but it's like someone else wrote it.