Submission (#467) Approved

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Submitted
30 May 2025, 01:05:55 CDT (4 weeks ago)
Processed
30 May 2025, 18:39:37 CDT (4 weeks ago) by BrokenBottleChandelier
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feel free to use this for anything in the future!

Goldmeadow is a cozy town of farmers and bakers nestled in fields of The Deep Basin. Before it got its current name, the town was actually known as The Golden Sea, due to the hills of golden grains found growing there naturally. The town was founded by a small family of farmers who settled there after finding those very fields. After that family settled in, the population quickly expanded, many farmers following for the exceptionally rich soil. There isn’t particularly a governing body in Goldmeadow, but some of the elders and larger farm owners are sought after to solve conflict. The town’s homes typically follow the common architecture of layer one, small cabins and lodges nestled into the hilly landscape, though there are quite a few larger buildings set up for travellers and merchants. Most of these larger buildings are newer and further from the center of the town and are typically rented out to merchants by farm owners. Goldmeadow has a bustling market settled in the center of their town where these merchants are able to rent booths to sell their merchandise. There are beautifully painted stones covering the ground of the market, all of which are painted by the town's own dyes. They also have large pastures of livestock, though kymakorn tend to be the most common. Chooks are found free-roaming in the pathways of this town, sometimes found being chased after by travellers who haven’t managed to protect their belongings well enough. Goldmeadow’s fields are nearly 3 times the size of the actual town, seeming endless when viewed from the ground. Many of these fields are actually natural and not maintained by the town’s own residents.

There are shrines scattered throughout pathways and resident’s homes. Nobody remembers what the shrines are to, but they are thought to be offerings to the creature that created The Golden Sea. This being doesn’t have any solid depictions, leaving the historians who have tried to uncover its origins baffled. Residents of Goldmeadow are typically vegetarian, never consuming their livestock nor hunting game. This is thought to have originally stemmed from the creature the town worshipped in the past, having ended up part of the culture eventually. The selling of meat is actually highly taboo in the town. Though not completely banned, merchants who are seen selling meat are generally given the worst accommodations and sometimes completely kicked out of their rented lodgings. When the town’s neighbouring Goldmeadow suffered from droughts, this town somehow continued thriving. This has led to some conflict with their neighbouring towns, though they never escalated to more than small feuds.

Goldmeadow isn’t known for tourism, but that doesn’t mean they don’t get visitors! Aside from traders from other villages in The Deep Basin and merchants from higher layers frequently visiting Goldmeadow to exchange goods, there are also many tatsukoi who come to the town to try their famous baked goods! Due to their high quality grains, the bread in this town is delicious and well known all throughout the Cascades. Products from higher in the falls are very sought after for citizens of this town, seeing as many of them can’t leave their farms to get these products themself. Products from other layers are also seen as exotic and sometimes go for nearly double their normal pricing! Many tatsukoi will show off items from other layers as trophies. Despite how welcoming they are to visitors, actually moving into this town can be difficult, as they guard their farming techniques intensely. However, if you can manage to get the village to grant you to stay, the citizens are very kind!
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