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This map shows the city as it looks to the current geosynchronous satellites. It has changed little in the last two and a half standard centuries except that more high rise buildings have been completed. Most of the white continues to be smallholds that are not large enough to grow all that the residents eat. They are large enough to grow most perishables consumed in the city.
There has not been as detailed a survey of which properties actually grow more than the inhabitants eat as in the Yakhan so that the map shows a lot of fairly uniform white when a detailed analysis would cause the map to be somewhat more detailed as in the Yakhan. This is actually not a loss of accuracy because the exact amount grown on each property changes from time to time and a case can be made that the Yakhan map is accurate only for the year it was made.
The ancient principate boundaries are shown where they do not follow a river. The eight major principates are named, but the nine smallest ones cannot have their names shown on this scale. From west to east along the canal they are: Khanitone, Barinzide, Belam, Meesreeg, Parkstance, Orazig, Ptondrin, Exanthii and Mefmeere. There are no principate governments since approximately 300bc, but people are still conscious of them and the slight cultural and economic differences between them. These boundaries predate the city of Terassadran by almost three thousand years, its site was just a low hill at the time with a cairn of stones marking the boundary of Boomig and Hest.
The ancient canal is shown as wider than the modern ones. That is not always the case, some points of the ancient canal are barely wide enough to take modern barges. The Heesneerop bridge and causeway is only able to take them one way at a time and a lot of the shipping goes around. The roads from the Ydlontrostl Canal to the city are not shown on this scale, but can be followed by the lines of small towns along them. Today a lot of the freight comes up the Heesneerop River on specialized barges pulled by the water power from the stream.
Geographers in this area use a greyish color to designate property that grows barely more than required to feed the residents, but is planted in lots of flowering and other ornamental plants. These areas are called what could be translated as 'garden suburbs' or 'dorpeem' in Kassidorian, literally 'flower land'. This is especially common in the areas that are sometimes known as 'Puuiren' and 'Puuiwark', the North and South Dells.
The temple of Karasis Yuhal is clearly visible, both the square mile that is still in use and the ancient extent. Where there are extensive ruins they are shown as grey, the old north wall is the most prominent. Most of the Courtyard of Sunset is now given over to smallholds with two villages in the middle. Most of the northern courtyard is covered with the smaller gardens and townhomes of the modern city.
The city of Terassadran is not considered part of the city of Ydlontrostl. There is no connection of abutting properties to the remainder of the city and it has a very different character with many crystal buildings and three layers of steets in the center. It is much newer than the other cities and has a strong Elvish presence.
Many of the names predate the Kassidorian language, such as Orazig Hest and Mefmun. Yuhal is believed to be a tribal name from the earliest days of settlement in the area. Legend says the first to camp here camped in what is now the Court of Sunset of the Karasis Yuhal. Some of the names are rather colorful if translated, Klntyiren is literally 'Bluff of the Great North View.'
The city is scattered, leisurely and quite beautiful in its way. If Kln is the Marsalis of Kassidor, then Marsalis is the Ydlontrostl of Naiho. There are isolated crystal towers with elevators, but most of the city is fairly low and spread out. Few areas have a second level of streets. In modern times motor busses have been introduced, but most traffic is still keda-drawn and the motorbusses move at the same speed and people still jump on and off as they're moving. The city, as it exists today, is very new. The ancient canal wasn't restored until the 44th century (499ad.-729ad.) and a building boom began. The tube system wasn't started til about 3540ad. and is still under active construction. Lines follow the avenues, not the canals, but they already cover much of the city. They are relatively cheap, a bit spartan, and crowded with long lines during a very Centorin-like 'rush hour' as commuters head home.
The city had less than thirty million people at first contact, nearly forty million today. That is explosive growth for Kassidor, making it one of the fastest growing large cities on the planet. During the starship age there were always construction projects going on, and even today there are new crystal towers growing in many areas of the city.
Most of the 'urban' population grows most of what they eat. Many have a surplus of produce but buy commodities that are shipped into the city. The forty million urban people grow a total of nearly 80% of the food consumed in the city. The city is nearly as diffuse as Trastrab, but the culture is different. The people consider themselves urban sophisticates. They are familiar with many parts of the city, even those that are a week away by motorbus.
There are many neighborhood eateries and taps, but the people of Ydlontrostl are more likely to cook their own meals than people in most cities. Most homes have very up to date kitchens. Many homes have automated machinery for producing ice or chilled water on the roof during Dawnsleep, and circulation of that chilled water to a storage box in the kitchen, thus producing a pretty good approximation of a refrigerator. Methane is readily available for cooking in most parts of the city. Alcohol stoves are used in the reminder of the basin. Very few use wood fires to cook with in this basin.
There is a strong electronics industry and this is the third most likely city for someone to have a pocket eye, what we call a 'comm'. There is a lot of content, people follow celebrities, there is serious news and documentaries. There is a good cinema but it does not reach Centorin because the themes are more love and sex than crime and violence. There is enough nudity to cause censorship problems.
This is one of the most prosperous cities on the planet, on the level of Kln, Dos, Vclel-vi or Norbin, and just below Kassidor Yakhan or Bordzvek. People tend to live in homes on small garden plots or in townhouses of four or five levels. Their decor tends to be a little austere and spare. 'Less is more' is their decorating theme. The bath is not used for entertainment in this basin and an invitation to dinner at someone's home is not automatically understood to include group sex, though it may happen. Most homes have lanterns, the poor have candlelanterns a lot like those that are common in the Zhlindu basin. There are very few homes without water-spray toilets and water heaters. About half have alcohol heaters for the dark, about half have wood. Frost is assured during winter Dawnsleeps thruout the city.
There are many new canals today, and kayaks are common, but not ubiquitous like in the Yakhan. Some of the wealthy actually own private motorcars. They are very well made and come in two basic styles, a slow moving gazebo on wheels, and a sports car. They are so rare that you might be in the city a local year before you see one. A few people in less congested areas may keep a keda and carriage, but there are so many streetcars there really is no need.
There are lots of big businesses employing hundreds or even thousands of people. Many are associated with the church in some way. Ydlontrostl is the area where seeking employment is the most like Centorin in that you will apply and be interviewed and maybe even investigated. You will sign a contract and be given responsibilities. Your contract will be renewed (or not) every local year. There are still plenty of daywork, piecework jobs and some people live exclusively on them. Many do an extra day per week at one of them when they need extra money.
The city does not dominate the basin in manufacturing the way Zhlindu, Korsto or Yclel-vi dominates its basin, but it is still the largest manufacturing center in the basin. In all other ways such as media, finance and culture, the city dominates the basin.
There are actually chains of inns out on the avenues of the urban area, and they are not as drab and identical as the chain hotels of Centorin. There are also ancient stone-built things along the ancient canal that look like they once housed Mayan kings. There are ultra modern palaces on towers and little rows of flower-covered cottages with shady, private patios overlooking tight little gardens. A cattleman's flop is cleaner than the ones in New Heartland or the upper Navorken, there are no fights of course, the women that visit are prettier and the food is better, but not much different.
All media in the city is concentrated in big 'clubs' that contain video rooms, music rooms, bars, games, gambling, terminal rooms, news rooms, and so on. Anything that needs electronics. They have lanterns and are open on Nightday but there are no city wide networks during the dark like there are in Bordzvek, it is just that one building or business that is connected.
The big clubs use the very latest in holographics, animatronics, psycho-acoustics and hallucinogenics to make the experience as total and as abstract as they can. Some have claimed they make the 'trips' of Zhlindu look like a back-yard corn maze. Those people are talking about a few dozen clubs scattered over the urban area, usually in the lower floors of high rises out on the major avenues. The average neighborhood place has some screens and speakers like a neighborhood place in Zhlindu.
The wildest club in the whole city in 4100ad. is probably the Lightning Ball. It seems to be just that, it caps a high tower on the crest above Belambectai and really is much more electric than anything in Kex or Dlondai. At the same time it is relaxed and spacey. There's a lot of very futuristic lounging furniture giving outstanding views of the city from the 34th thru 39th floor. There are hallucinogens in the air that make you feel like you are under water or under reduced gravity. Don't let them fool you into thinking you can step off the balcony rail. The sex scene is really not too wild to watch if you've survived this far. A lot of really wild mutations hang out here, but they are not usually obscene. The man with brilliantly colored dactyl wings was getting the most attention as this went to press.
Not every tap and grill is as busy as all that. There are plenty of quiet places with a guy doing short-order and pulling yaag or ale. If you have a pocket eye, wireless service in the Ydlontrostl urban area is flawless except in the deepest catacombs. The food has more meat in it than many parts of Kassidor. Strips and mashes are common, but you're expected to bring your own plate to a neighborhood cook, so you'll probably need to get the strips or go to an upscale place with fine dinnerware. Their Fmak heritage is visible in the food. Vegetables from the anosec family are common. Those dishes that look like jello molds are common, but they are tastier and richer than what you find in the Fmak basin.
Out dining or in the clubs are where you meet people. The rules here are simple, wait for her invitation. Don't get impatient, you won't wait too long. They will invite by word or deed. As much as it is understood that the male will make the first move in Centorin society, it is understood the female will here, as in Kshoned. They don't undress at the taps and clubs as much as most places on Kassidor, but most girls you meet would still get arrested at any public area in Centorin space. This is the second most common basin for a female to flash her genitals and that is most common in the city. It's done quickly and it means 'Please follow me home'.
You wouldn't come here without seeing at least some of the Karasis Yuhal. The best place is the north wall. There's nearly six hundred feet of the ancient stone standing in spots. There are ropes and guides but the climb is exhausting. It's possible to climb where the wall has fallen, any loose blocks have been reclaimed centuries ago. It's still a dangerous climb, and the rubble pile is at least a hundred feet high all along the north wall. From here it is possible to see over the new city that has reclaimed much of the northern half of the ruins, and to the Court of Sunset and the south wall. Not much of the south wall remains, you just notice the edge where the plain is perfectly flat.
Today the remains of the Karasis Yuhal is one of the biggest ruins you'll see anywhere. There are two villages in the central court today. Most of the main part of the temple is built over into a couple different neighborhoods. Some have picked up some of the architectural schemes of the ruins. Sticking out of a fashionable urban neighborhood is a pile of stone about the size of the great pyramid of Cheops. As you look over the Court of Sunset from there, a few clumps of modern towers go on into the distance below you, but the view doesn't look too much different than it did when the temple was whole. It is a view of an endless land sloping down into forever to the west. Behind you, Skegidiah Street goes thru the bases of one of the great temple walls every few blocks. Many of the fallen blocks have been walled into place and a lot of them have been hollowed out for stalls now that they no longer have to bear the weight of fifteen stories of creaking government housing above them. The modern crystal apartment blocks have their own supports to bedrock.