Based on my world building project, Interim. A world for all of humanities; failed, fantastical, and futuristic.
This post is a surface level overview. So, I will only fill in non-apparent info. You should be able to consume most of the available info just by looking at the map below.
All of the names on the map were named after notable surroundings, then ran through an English-Irish dictionary.
To varying degrees, they were corrupted into 1-3 syllable words for ease of reading and to simulate language drift.
I did not take grammar / syntax into account. This was to hard-boil a differentiation into the fake language to prevent it from just being Irish Gaelic.
Irish Gaelic is a root of the language, but as I am still working on it, I want to leave room for other roots and or inspiration.
La’ou is the name of a region in the Interim world. It’s climate is Oceanic, like that of the Cantabrian Coast, Spain.
Part 1: Plateau Places
Aw / Ford : From Irish “Áth”
Meaning: Ford (the river crossing).
A fortified town, its primary defenses include palisades erected on the riverbank to the west, as well as the river itself.
The swift mountain river, more of a stream, has no bridge. So, travel is strictly regulated by the ferry, which is pulled across with the help of a taught rope line, fastened to two posts on either bank.
Dun Alehere / Ft. Westcliff: From Irish “Dun, Aill, & Thoir”
Meaning: Fort, Cliff, & West respectively.
Dun Alehedge / Ft. Eastcliff: Same as above, but repalce Thoir with Iarthar
Meaning: Fort, Cliff, & East respectively
These two sister forts were built to hold the bottlenecks where the cliffs are thinnest. Constructed out stone brick work, these forts were built to last with minimal upkeep.
Thanks to their size, they are just as effectively manned with a skeleton crew of 15 as they are under a full detail of 40 men.
Dun Styreh / Ft. Staircase: From Irish “Staighre”
Meaning: Stairs
This Fort is specially built to secure 1 of the 2 the semi-natural staircases that allow foot traffic up to and down from the cliffs. It is also positioned to cover the intersection of the east-to-west & north-to-south highways.
Minachget (Minaget) / Silvermine: From Irish “Mianac & airgead”
Meaning: Mine and Silver respectively.
A young town, it started as a mining camp / temporary staging ground for the newly discovered silver mines in the mountains further up.
It is a collection of shanty houses and fortified storage halls that has been under construction since its founding. The original fortifications are minimal and nearly overtaken by the urban growth. The “Adjoining-room Tax” was put in place to encourage vertical expansion.
Meanwhile, the original ditches and pit traps that surrounded the staging ground and storage halls have been expanded and deepened to source stone for a new outer wall, and create an inner secure zone, that has been bought out by the wealthy mine operators, to be used as personal quarters.
Tu’Trekeh / Abandoned Tomb: From Irish “Tuama & Tréigthe”
Meaning: Tomb and Abandoned respectively.
Dug into the crevice between two mounds of stone, Tu’Trekeh is a collection of man made vaults and passages. Along with Cyrkul, it is a native historical landmark.
These act as storage places for the ancient dead. It was customary to continually churn the crypts, emptying everything but the skull once the skeleton is de-fleshed. While the skulls are still revered relics, the practice of discarding the rest of the skeleton has fallen out of favor.
So this tomb is held in a holy site state of limbo. Desecrated due to the destruction of the skeletons that took place, but respected for hosting generations of well preserved skulls.
Retilov / No hand: From Irish “Ar iarraidh & Lámh”
Meaning: Missing and Hand respectively
The butte this ancient city is built on is home to the 2nd formation of semi-natural staircases leading into the valley. This city got its name by the way the butte looks like an arm, starting at the elbow, reaching upward, missing its hand.
The city is a historical, architectural, and engineering wonder, with every square inch of the butte being taken in to maximize aesthetics in line-of-sight, skyline, and natural beauty. Its origins are hazy. It was here before Leinster settlers arrived, and has matches the same megalithic construction as Cyrkul, but at a more intricate scale.
It is connected to the rest of the plateau by a thick, single arched bridge, of dry-fitted stone work, some 190 yards long.
Sra’haluf (Haluf) / Underground stream: From Irish “Sruthán & Faoi thalamh”
Meaning: Stream and Subterranean respectively
Built on a limestone deposit with a creek running through it. This city sits along Retilov in a contest for natural beauty. However, it being much easier to access and exit and having room to expand, it is considerably more populated than its rival.
While it lacks the architectural monuments of Retilov, it is uniquely stunning in natural beauty. As the plateau around the city is in limestone, it is pocketed with many caves, which served the natives as houses and poor man’s crypts around the same time as Tu’Trekeh’s construction.
Most notable among them is the grotto that runs directly under the city.
The stream that runs through the grotto cuts a nearly vertical path, through a harder granite layer, to the valley below. During the winter, when water levels are low, it is possible to traverse this “path” by foot. This may well be the origins of the other stairs, but there are no springs in those areas, and except for rainfall, they are bone dry.
Part 2: Heart of the Valley
Idir’arida (Idard) / Between hills: From Irish “Idir & Arda”
Meaning: Between & Hills respectively
With a population of ~20 thousand, Idard is the largest city in the region. It sits in the bosom of a foothill and and northwestern rise, on the northern bank of a tributary creek.
The majority of the city lies on the foothill to the south, though it has long since incorporated the northern rise, which is known as a “high-class” neighborhood.
It’s suburbs include the villages of Tuhbar & Kanshlo is the first stop many ships make on their way up the Wenaglown* river.
- From Irish “Gleann & Uaine” | Meaning: Valley & Green respectively
Tuhbar / Spring: From Irish “Tobar”
Meaning: Spring
This small hamlet is the center of a network of farmsteads. The farmers take advantage of the nutrient rich floodplains that once were swamps, but through the draining efforts of their forefathers, they harvest delicious rewards.
Kanshlo / Spearhead : From Irish “Ceann slea”
Meaning: Spearhead
A small fishing hamlet with little to no martial prowess. Its name instead comes from the similarities of the land to that of a spear head, being positioned between two tributary streams that wedge and eventually combine, before emptying into the parent river.
There are spatterings of farmland around the hamlet, however, their agricultural output is put to shame by Tuhbar. Their claim to fame is their fishing fleet, which more evenly rivals Isbak, another fishing centered village.
It sallies out every evening and trawls the waters of the Wenaglown river. Then, returning through Idard’s waterways to sell their hauls, they moor at their docks, sleeping a short night and waking early to rinse and repeat.
Droymoora / Walled bridge: From Irish “Droichead & Múrtha”
Meaning: Bridge & Walled respectively
Originally a simple wooden bridge, it was replaced by a new stone bridge as one of the first renovations funded by the new silver mines. Before the renovation, large ships had to land and be portaged to the other side. The new bridge was built high enough to allow these larger vessels to easily pass under.
This convenience is not without its price, however, with the lord raising the tolls for those passing under and across the bridge, although the latter price rise is promised to be temporary, to pay off the palace construction.
The palace built atop the bridge is entirely funded by the tolls exacted by those crossing under and across. Still under constriction, the lord is making great efforts to compare its expected majesty with that of Retilov.
Isklbak (Isbak) / Muddy fish: From Irish “Iasc & Lábach”
Meaning: Muddy & Fish respectively
Isbak is the oldest settlement in the region and the original provincial center. This title has since been given to Tuhbar, which was far more successful (and profitable), and the “inhabitants” of Isbak are just as happy to be left alone.
Except for the mayor, his household, and other of the local lord’s men, you will not find anyone living in the settlement itself. Most of the civilians have abandoned the small hamlet in favor of the more bountiful, and isolated, swamps to the northwest.
The best reason someone has for visiting the town is for religious ceremonies at the church, as it is the only one west of the Wenaglown river. Otherwise, one would go to Oor, a large family estate, basically a town, of an Isbakian merchant and his extended family.
Farid / High watch: From Irish “Fair & Ard”
Meaning: Observe & High respectively
A stout, wooden watch tower. Farid was built by the lord of Droymoora after the discovery of the silver mines on the plateau.
It is a sore spot for the locals, specifically the residents of Oor, who see it as an encroachment on their privacy. Except for cleared ground, like Oor, the only signs of life the watchtower can keep track of are the smoke trails of small campfires, which break through the swamp’s canopy.
Cyrkul / Circle: From Irish “Ciorcal”
Meaning: Round shape
Megalithic stones in a circle. Same construction Retilov.
