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Surface - misty forest

The Surface — of the world. 

About[]

The Surface is the natural floor of the world where the Spires exist. Most people live in fear of the Surface. It is full of innumerable dangers.

Description[]

Most of the Surface is filled with forests and mist.[1] There are many very dangerous creatures on the Surface.[2] It is described as being a "hell" from the perspective of the humans. It is unclear on what proportion of this is because of the dangerous creatures there, or because humans have become so unused to the exposed sky and a ground not made of Spirestone.[3]

"...she had spent her entire lifetime in curiosity and utter dread about the true nature of the surface world outside the Spires, the land of nightmares made flesh. In all of written history, the surface world had been a hell braved only by the mad, the desperate, and the madly, desperately greedy."[3]

Inhabitants[]

As far as the people of the Spires know, almost no humans have voluntarily dwelled on the surface since the creation of the Spires. Some do occasionally visit the surface, however, to harvest ethersilk and wood. Dwelling on the surface is dangerous, and at least Spire Albion uses exile to the surface as forced labor in lieu of imprisonment for criminals, including for relatively minor crimes like theft or prostitution (possibly due to the constant need for involuntary surface workers), with an encampment roughly 40,000-60,000 strong located at the base of the Spire. Casualties are high, but evidently a term of surface exile is preferable to a certain death sentence.At least one etherealist lives on the surface for research purposes, and references to scavengers outside the Spires suggest some human population may exist on the surface separate from the slave labor encampments.

Creatures[]

There are many dangerous animals on the surface, including the silkweavers. They are considered untameable by the people of Spire Albion , though mostly through propaganda instead of actual experience. Besides the new and more dangerous creatures, bears, fish, and birds still exist in the wild, and cats view the surface as survivable if dangerous.

The Voice[]

It may also be the dwelling-place of the Voice, although it is unknown whether it simply used the landscape of the surface for its mental communications.[4]

Details[]

  • Wood and other products collected from the surface[5]

Connections[]

Events[]

(Spoiler section)

1. Aeronaut's Windlass[]

The residents of Habble Landing use a lot of wood to construct buildings and every door is made of wood.[5] Bridget considers the creatures that enter to Ventilation Tunnels from the Surfaceand what an important role that cats play in hunting downt the smaller creatures.[6]

2. The Olympian Affair[]

Book References[]

  1. Aeronaut's Windlass, ch. 34, p. 320
  2. Aeronaut's Windlass, ch. 29, p. 278
  3. 3.0 3.1 Aeronaut's Windlass, ch. 54, p. 478
  4. Aeronaut's Windlass, ch. 54
  5. 5.0 5.1 Aeronaut's Windlass, ch. , p.
  6. Aeronaut's Windlass, ch. 29
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