Orm'kela Terraces

Place

Place Name:

Orm'kela Terraces

Biome:

Terraces

Size:

Unknown

Continent:

Unknown

Subcontinent

Unknown

Geography

Being a curious place, the Orm'kela terraces are known for their tall buildings, while housing is on the ground floor, the upper floors tend to be used by the people as a communal living and workspace, sparing the rooftops for plantations. Nowadays the Terraces are located within a large forest, making so it's almost impossible to find a way out or in for the people living there. No one is sure if the forest was always like that, or if it grew bigger given the outbreaks. For some hunters in the Orm'kela Terraces, the surrounding forest is a great place to find food.

Since one of the main food sources of the Terraces is meat. Also around the Terraces, it's possible to find a clear water river, used by the people as a source of water and called The Chief's River. The Terraces by themselves are a gated society, the thick brick walls were already there when the fugitives founded the place, setting the borders so the people inside could feel safe, but with time these borders were expanded. Considering the need for hunting and a water source, with time the consecutive monarchs kept building wooden fences and trenches.

Nowadays it is possible to explain the Orm'kela Terraces by parts. The first and original bit is the place for housing and communal living, where people cook and dine and where it's possible to find the tall buildings with plantations atop of them. The external plantations are the farms around said buildings, still in the original gated area, said plantations were needed once the tribe kept growing and the rooftop plantations weren't enough. Outside of the original gates is the man-made pound, created by old rulers, the initial idea was to make it easier for the people to wash their clothes and gather water.

Surrounded by trenches and wooden fences, it is possible to access this bit by a gate on the original walls, without having to leave the gates security. Even if the pound is connected to the nearby river, sometimes it is needed for hunters to gather water from the river itself, as the water level of the pound also depends on the rain, not only the river. Delimited only by marks at tress is the area called "Hunting Zone" by the members of the tribe. Said area is the main place for hunting, as nowadays it is considered to be a safe place, although, given the lack of surrounding gates, the area is forbidden for most of the folk, only allowing certain hunters that have the experience to hunt there.

While the "Trap Zone" known to be a place to set up traps for smaller prey can be accessed by most hunters, still an ungated area, it is closer to the gates of Orm'kela Terraces, with a safe and clear passage known to the members of the tribe. These areas are the areas mapped by the members of the tribe and called known sites, considered to be part of the Terraces.

Plants

As it's common to cultivate farms in the Orm'kela terraces, agricultural knowledge makes itself very important. All the vegetables and grains planted in the Terraces have their own plating schedule. Normally root vegetables are planted in the ground farms with grains, while leaves and more delicate foods are planted in the rooftops. In the rooftop farms, also called Terrace Farms by the tribes, the commonly planted crops are; Lith; A type of grain commonly used to make soup, it is possible to boil this grain to a point of melting, once it is melted, the soup gets a creamy consistency, with a salty and earthly flavour.

Lith normally grows with a flower, it is necessary to open the stalk of the flower to get the grains.

Minod; A small grain that can be sun-dried, the flavour is a bit sweet but Minod is normally used in salty foods.

Flockeet; A type of crunchy leaf, not with many flavours but very important for nutrition, this plant can be cultivated all year round, even in winter, making it a very present item in the tribe's culinary. Flockeet grows in what the tribe calls "flockeet head", similar to a big flower.

Zucki; A big vegetable type of food, that grows atop the ground, it is possible to plant the Zucki on the same farm as Flockeet. The vegetable can be boiled to achieve a soft consistency.

Commonly planted in the ground farms are:

Forcul; Growing underground during all seasons, this vegetable can be used as a meat replacement, after being boiled to a soft consistency, it is possible to fry it in a pan, adding a mildly spicy flavour.

Hiba; Commonly grown in the summer, this plant actually has two uses, the stalk can be dried and cut to be used in the fabric production, while the roots can be cut to very thin pieces and fried, used to give flavour to soups and more.

Torgrash; During fall and winter, this underground vegetable can be harvested, normally cooked with meats, the tribe uses it to add more nutrients during the colder season when it's harder to hunt and most crops can't grow.

Besides the foods planted by the tribes, it is possible to find food growing in the area, such as:

Ratica; This type of tree grows inside the gated areas, giving fruit during the spring, but the bark can also be eaten during all seasons. The fruit has a sweet taste with a mushy consistency.

Palka; This fruit grows in bushes inside the gated area of the Terraces and outside, it's a big round yellowy fruit, with a tangy taste and hard consistency. In the tribe, it is commonly eaten with meats during summer and used to preserve certain items.

Some plants naturally found in the area are not used to consumption, but the tribe has found a way to apply said plants to their daily life; such as: Stally; A type of dark-grey moss that grows in the trunk of Ratica, the moss is used as a disinfectant for bleeding wounds.

Zurfewed; A long grass type of plant, which the soft fibre can be used for fabrics.

Animals

Around the Orm'kela Terraces its possible to find a variety of animals in the forest and the river nearby, most of those used by the Tribe as resources.

In hunting and trapping, it is common to find seven animals;

Eckle; A four-footed furry mammal that lives in the regions during colder seasons, an adult Eckle weighs around 450kg, to kill it it's necessary three to four hunters, normally they trap the animal and kill it with a sharp spear right through the heart. The meat from the animal is eaten by the tribe members, they also make use of the pelt and the bones.

Rentatter; A large reptile with eight legs, an adult weights around 80kg, found in the region all year long, used by the tribe as food and commonly catch with traps. The animal also lays big eggs that are also consumed by the tribe.

Garlief; Also a four-footed mammal, used by the tribe as food, commonly found in the area during the hotter seasons, an adult weights around 200kg. Normally used for its leather, the tribe also takes its internal organs, used to conserve certain vegetables and meats.

Cottnat; A very small hopping mammal, around the area all year long but winter, when the animal tends to hibernate. An adult cottnat weights around 2kg, being the smaller animal found in the area. Traps set by the tribe tend to get around 8 cottnats per day, this way, the animal's meat is sundried and preserved in garlief's stomachs with a mixture prepared with salt and palka.

Raotor; This furry mammal was tamed by the tribe, becoming cattle. An adult weighs around 800kg and can be used for its meat, milk and fur. The tribe tends to only use the animal for the milk and the fur since both products can be harvested without killing the animal. Its fur is normally used to produce fibre.

Beowief; The most violent animal around the area, beowiefs are birds of prey, back in the early days of the Terraces, people used to be attacked by these animals, but nowadays they keep their distance. Beowief eggs are not that rare in the tribe, normally found in their diet once or twice a month.

Shida; Another reptile found in the area, this one tends to weigh around 600kg, being a violent wild animal located in and outside muddy waters, tends to be caught by the tribe with traps alongside the river, but, since the scaley skin of the animal can't be used by the tribe, hunters they tend to simply avoid shidas.

About fishing in the area, not being the most common activity, still, it is possible to find some types of aquatic animals in the life of the tribe, these being;

Picu; A long type of fish, weighing around 20kg, it's the most common fish in the Orm'kela Terraces diet, normally the meat is sundried and eaten like a side dish for some grains and vegetables.

Montar; A smaller fish, easily caught by nets, tend to be sundried and put to preserve.

Historical Timeline of Ages

Age Name	Dates	Controller
Stone Age	Before 1E 0	Unknown
Copper Age	1E 1–1E 2200	Unknown
Bronze Age	1E 2200–1E 4400	Unknown
Iron Age	2E 0–2E 700	Unknown
Ancient Age	2E 700–2E 2200	Unknown
Middle Age	3E 0–3E 2050	Unknown
Early Modern Age	3E 2050–3E 2600	Unknown
Industrial Age	3E 2600–3E 2700	Unknown
Machine Age	3E 2700–3E 2800	Unknown
Atomic Age	3E 2800–3E 2850	Unknown
Space Age	3E 2850–3E 2875	Unknown
Information Age	3E 2875–3E 2900	Unknown
Genetic Age	3E 2950–3E 3000	Unknown
Awakening Age	3E 3000–3E 3415	Unknown
Twilight Age	4E 0–4E 500	Dener Tribal Zu'aan

Place

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Orm'kela Terraces

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This article is written by Mônica Minieri. Copyright 2026 Mônica Minieri. All rights reserved.