THE
FISHING
VILLAGE
OF
NEPRIS |
The village of Nepris is a small fishing village of about 200 people. The fishermen there harvest several species of fish, seaweed and shellfish that they trade or sell to the local dwarves or traders from the Mithral Route.
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Description. The
village has sturdy houses of wood and stone mostly built by dunes or large
boulders for protection from the sea winds. These houses are usually two or
three rooms with flat roofs slanting slightly to the back. All have a covered
area at the front of the houses to give some protection from the sun and a place
where the family often gathers for an afternoon break. A pole about 3 peds
from the side of each house is planted in the ground with a crosspiece attached
at the top and roof of the house. Here netting can be found hanging while
repairs are made. Each house usually has two knee high railings about 3 peds
long separated by about 5 peds. Across these are laid their
ducraer for
repairs, maintenance and off-season storage. At the east side of the village
are two large sturdy wooden structures. They have only one door with a hand span
of open space around the bottom. These are used to smoke some
fish catches. At
the front of the village near the beach are several triangle shaped racks with
cross pieces every few finger spans. These are used to dry some
fish catches and
seaweed.
Location. Nepris is located in the eastern part of
the Santharian province
of Manthria on the
shores of the Adanian Sea. It is in Mossy Rocks Cove below where the
dwarven
enclave of Kor Mithrid is located.
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Picture description. The location of the fishing village of Nepris close to the Adanian Sea at the east coast of the Santharian Kingdom. Nepris lies near the Mithral Mountains to the west, the domain of the Mitharim dwarves. Maps drawn by Artimidor. |
People. The people are a mixture of many tribes and these tribal characteristics have also been mixed. The reason for this is simply that other fishermen came to ply their trade and stayed and many found marriage partners from other areas. A practice they still maintain. There is no common description that would represent this village exactly but generally the males are around 2 peds with the females a little less. Inhabitants mostly have brown hair and brown eyes. Their skin is a general leathery brown due to the constant exposure to wind, sun and sea. As stated, there can easily be found exceptions to these descriptions.
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Everyone shares the work when it comes to the daily catches. This means
all will pitch in to get the fish prepared for the smokehouse or drying, or lay
out the seaweed brought in for drying or they will all shell the
sisters if that
is the daily catch. But each family will take care of their own boats and
netting or all equipment needed or used. People of Nepris are fond of saying "The sea is
my life and my life is the sea", and they will not put their lives in the hands
of anyone else. The men more often do the fishing because of the heavy physical
nature of this, whereas the women usually repair the netting because they are
more nimble of hand. Even so, everyone in the village knows how
to do the necessary tasks and can do any
job that is required.
Clothing. Men and women usually wear the same working clothes. In summer they
wear open leather sandals for the feet, which are replaced in winter by
heavier leather boots. The pants are a heavy and sturdy type of cloth with the
legs ending just below the knees. Hemp roping at the waist usually holds these
pants up. Longer legged pants replace these in winter. The shirt is
commonly
baggy, hanging below the waist and of a light material with short sleeves. These
shirts are often tied up just under the breasts or discarded entirely so they do
not interfere with their preparations when a fresh catch comes in. These clothes
are all a sandy or light brown in color and are oiled to make them resistant to
water.
In winter the Neprisians wear a heavy woolen sweater. They are also oiled for water
resistance but here the villagers also dye them in bright colors. When there is
a wedding or a celebration for whatever reason, the village brings out their
special clothes. This is usually a full-skirted dress for the women that reaches
to their calves. The skirt is pleated at the hips so it can flow out making a
flying circle around the women when they are dancing and twirling. The sleeves
are baggy and tied at the wrists making them bell shaped. The men wear pants
that are tight at the waist with baggy leggings tied at the ankles giving them
also bell shape. They also wear baggy shirts that they partially tuck into the
waist of their pants. The sleeves are also baggy and tied at the wrists to give
them a bell shape. These clothes are made of a light material, as all weddings
are usually in spring and summer when it is warm. These clothes are all dyed in
bright colors.
Production/Trade. The village trades for most of their needs with catches they bring from
the sea. The fish they bring in is the main staple of their trade but they do
trade in several varieties of seaweed and the nacre from
sister shells with the
dwarves. It is also rumored that
the fishermen of Nepris occasionally deal in pearls, but if this is
true it may only be with dwarves.
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Government. The villagers govern themselves by elders. These are usually the old
fishermen who can no longer go out to sea. They are accorded honor for surviving
and judged to possess wisdom by experience. When there are any disputes that can
not be settled normally, the aggrieved parties present their sides to the
elders. The elders then decide the outcome and decisions once made can not be changed.
Other than that, the married members of the village decide on village matters.
The elders can also call meetings to discuss decisions if they feel there may be
unwise consequences.
Myth/Lore. Like fishermen
all over Santharia the
inhabitants of Nepris honor the
Goddess of the Sea, Baveras. They make
no special rituals other than a quick prayer for good fishing, a safe return
from the sea, or protection. It must also be noted here that the villagers are
very superstitious. Although they deny it, they are often looking for things that
bring luck. Or, if they think that
something once brought them luck they will
always use it as a good omen until it is proven to have lost its
power. This is not something that
actively controls their waking life but
Neprisians are still very careful and cautious in this
respect and try not to do anything wrong which might have as a a result that
they'll lose their luck. By the same idea, if something appears to have
brought bad luck they will instantly stop doing something
or using an item or change
their habits.
History.
Various dispersed, but believable sources tell us that the ancient history of
Nepris dates back to the 5th or 6th century before
Santhros, when the region of
Mossy Rocks Cove was settled extensively by
Avennorian people. In these times
two independent settlements were established. The first was Phris more to the
south of Mossy Rocks Cove, close to the
Twynor Grasslands. Tough there were several dangerous cliffs and reefs on the
coast in this region, people settled there as pearldivers had found many riches
in the Adanian Sea and the
dwarves of the
Mitharim to the north were willing
to pay high prices for such items (the Thergerim
themselves are a very water-shy race and therefore have to rely on trade in
order to attain pearls). However, the pearl riches in the southern
Mossy Rocks Cove region turned out not to be
as satisfying as initially expected, and in hope for
better success some people moved up north, founding a second settlement to the
north. The second settlement was close to what is now named the Cliffs of
Hyndillan and thus also closer to the Thergerim
enclave of Kor Mithrid. It was named Nehlan, but
consisted in fact only of a few houses. Pearl findings became more and more
rare, and while Phris turned slowly into a slightly growing fishing village,
Nehlan became more and more deserted. Even the
Mitharim who once extensively
traded with the Avennorians
became suspicious after the founding of the second settlement, which to them
revealed the greedy nature of this human
tribe. Soon the initial good relations between
humans and dwarves in this region were
not further intensified and an alienation ensued.
The co-existence of the settlements of Nehlan and Phris lasted several
centuries. The two seperate villages survived the Third Sarvonian War unharmed
and even a local hero emerged from this area, the simple fisherman
Annils
Norgerinth. Norgerinth initially hailed from the southern Fang Julin and decided
to settle in Nehlan. He managed to successfully fend off an assault of
orcs who tried to reach the
Mossy Rocks Cove region through
Crazy Woman Pass. Though he died during the
fight, his death brought the two seperate villages closer together, and also
restored respect of the Mitharim
dwarves towards the Avennorians.
In the following decades after the Third Sarvonian War
several houses were built connecting the two settlements, though the first
official mentioning of the joined settlements as one village bearing the name of
"Nepris" didn't happen before 320 a.S. Seemingly the new name derives from a
combination of the previous names "Nehlan" and "Phris".
Nevertheless the exact date when Nepris was founded as
an own village is not known.
The villagers themselves maintain only oral histories they pass down but seldom if
ever have any dates. Many of these oral histories deal with daily life or
village matters and are moralistic and used for teaching. A few deal with major
events and a date can be associated with them.
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"Theme of Nepris", composed and performed by Vladeptus Format: MP3, Length: 2:34, Original Title: "Hero''s Rest" from the album "What the Dragon Heard", Track #18. Click here to download the song, use right-click and "Save as..." (2.36 MB). ![]() |