Nordrivordr

This is a building-ship I'm not looking to win with, and am honestly struggling to write it.

The oldest intact building of Port Frostfind sits at the top of a hill overlooking the harbor and the North Sea beyond. The Nordrivordr looks like a ship turned into a building, and most historians agree that it was not a building made to look like a ship and was instead a ship made into the building it is now. Ever since Norrasjo seceded from Vetheriss, the Nordrivordr was the seat for the Arles of Norrasjo, making Port Frostfind the capital of the Arling.

History

The origins of the ship-turned-building are known to be ancient, predating the Adrakian Empire and built to be large or to potentially accomodate large beings. Stories have told of a Goliath standing in the main hall, and still being unable to reach the ceiling - but the stories about Goliath companions of heroes also describe people traveling through time or doing impossible things no mage could dream of achieving at the time or presently, and they're often dismissed.

The ship was beached up onto the hill after a waterspout threw it from the North Sea and the survivors either flipped it, or it landed that way and they just made their home there.
— historian

Alternative Name

The Ship-Keep

Type

Keep, Capitol Building

Formerly

Ship

Parent Location

Port Frostfind

Owner

Arle Sten Stormwatch

Owning Organization

Norrasjo

Ruling/Owning Rank

Arle

While I disagree with the use of the term "capsize" as the ship was not likely flipped in water, the beaching was clearly done in an attempt to protect the ship from the storms the region is known for. The only question is why the Nordrivordr is the only ship left.

All along Theydim's northern coast, we see ships repurposed into homes and buildings after a ship is no longer seaworthy and assuming it reached shore, but those are generally near the harbors.
— historian

The Nordrivordr is one of the pre-Adrakian structures scattered about Theydim, suggesting it was used by the ancients before the Empire took over, and the Empire had no interest in taking it town. From what we've put together of pre-Adrakian Thydian runes, the name has survived mostly intact, as "Northern Watch."

The prow faces the North, where we believe the building once had eyes painted along the sides. There were threats to the north we may not know of now, or threats we no longer deal with or fear to the same extent, that the ancients were concerned with.
— historian

In the preserved histories, the once-ship was used as a meeting hall and as a defensive position for uncountable generations before Port Frostfind became a city. Where the oars would once have been when they would be needed, inhabitants of the region have built up ramps and steps to repurpose the openings into sources of light for the upper level or shuttered mostly closed into arrowslits.

Structure, Modifications, and Adaptations

The ship is build of wood, though the type has been hard to identify. Some speculate it is from timber before the wood became salt timber though other argue that the wood is not the same type and pieces of the Nordrivordr broken off over time have different properties from salt timber in regards to floating, lichen-growing, and some other uses.

Over time,

Historical Inhabitants

Current Design

Entry for The Shipwright Challenge

Competition Homepage

In response to the prompt Tell us about a famous wreckage in your world. What happened to it?

Comments

Author's Notes

Happy to take in questions and the like as I am floundering on ideas of things to write about - ships don't usually come to mind as something I worldbuild often.

I think you could/should go into what the ship is currently used for, maybe go over its past tenants, have different people use it for different things over time, myths surrounding it, etc.
— Timepool of Qet

What is it being used for now? I mean, sure, it's a building, but have they modified the ship internally? How many rooms are there? What are they being used for? Is the ship of similar design as modern ships of the time or is it outdated and old?
— Toblin of Celenia

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Councilor of the Inner Sanctum Serukis

Oct 1, 2021 10:46 by Dr Emily Vair-Turnbull

I like the quotes you have in the history section, especially the couple of theories about why the ship ended up where it did. I'd love to know more about what the building looks like now, especially on the inside. :D

Emy x
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Eternal Grandmaster Lyraine Alei

Oct 4, 2021 22:46 by Lyraine Alei

The interior is what I've been mulling over between what a keep would need and what a ship would have already, so I'd love to know what the inside looks like as well! XD I enjoy presenting conflicting lore as an explanation for why things are where or why they are the way things are. the Unreliable Narrator is a tool I need to work at using more.

Lyraine, Consumer of Lore, She/Her, primary project: Corive

Sage Ellysium

Oct 4, 2021 20:01 by Ellysium

It's a really cool idea to have the wrecked ship being used as a building. I'd love to know more about its use before it was wrecked, it seems like it had a really crazy history even before it was "beached." Good job!

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Eternal Grandmaster Lyraine Alei

Oct 4, 2021 22:43 by Lyraine Alei

The challenge about knowing how the ship was used before it was wrecked is that there are conflicting theories that are plausible as to how it was wrecked due to the age of the structure. I'd not gotten too deep into the details yet, but the early middle era of the Adrakian Empire's history is about as far back as currently readable/translatable written history goes and historians haven't found a "Rosetta Stone" parallel with the scraps of writing that may or may not predate the Empire's earliest preserved writings.

Lyraine, Consumer of Lore, She/Her, primary project: Corive

Eternal Grandmaster Lyraine Alei

Oct 4, 2021 22:44 by Lyraine Alei

All being said, I'm really glad you enjoyed reading the concept!

Lyraine, Consumer of Lore, She/Her, primary project: Corive

Sage ChroniclesofEvalaw

Oct 5, 2021 10:32 by Olarae & Astaroth Arcaine

A ship turned building is a fantastic concept, especially that it was once used as a defensive position in years gone by. It's reminded me of such an instance occurring in a town local to me centuries ago. Where a beached ship was dragged onto shore and turned into a pub, or so local legend tells. The quotes are great, it's always interesting hearing a settings own historians take on events and landmarks.

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Eternal Grandmaster Lyraine Alei

Oct 5, 2021 23:11 by Lyraine Alei

I generally try to worldbuild from within the perspective of the world, and having quotes is another handy tool to help me with that. Turning ships into a building makes sense if you ask me, so your local town's pub sounds like an awesome place to go! I'm glad to remind people of places they know of in real life. =D

Lyraine, Consumer of Lore, She/Her, primary project: Corive

Eternal Sage AmélieIS

Oct 6, 2021 12:47 by Amélie I. S. Debruyne

I like the idea of turning a building into a ship :D First question I have is about the height of the ceiling. I'd imagine them to be rather low in most ship, but since you said it was probably made for large being there must be a lot higher. You say that the paintings of the eyes is gone, did they repaint the rest walls over time (inside or outside, keeping the same colours or wanting to change them for whatever reason)? What about sculpture? Are they upside down now? Now that the empire has taken over, I imagine the region is more peaceful. Would they just use the building as a kind of town hall or meeting place? I like historians' opinions, that would be interested to see more of those, especially if they have different opinions or are contrasted with local people speaking about what they think.

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Eternal Grandmaster Lyraine Alei

Oct 8, 2021 00:00 by Lyraine Alei

*makes notes* The Adrakian Empire was overthrown about two thousand years before the current day in the setting (thanks for letting me know that I need to make that more clear as well! I forget so easily what *I* know that I forget what everyone else may not know!) The eyes were engraved on the outside, but the inside likely has been repainted and redecorated in the ages since it became a building. Any structures (I currently have no idea what they would be - whoops on this worldbuilder's part!) that were part of the original construction would be upside down, if they've been preserved/restored at all. It is currently being used as a keep where the Arle (in the absence of a High King, Arles are the highest authority over their regions) lives, and where the Arles of the past have lived ever since the region split from what is now the neighboring region. The historians of this time period are mostly dependent on local lore and lining up the local lore with what they've studied in the larger whole, and the local lore mostly consists of the three theories presented because they're backed by wreckages in the past and sailor tales, though there may be some more fantastical stories from those sailors the historians ahve toned down ... hmmm, something to consider. That you so much for the comment, and I hope you don't mind this long comment response. =D

Lyraine, Consumer of Lore, She/Her, primary project: Corive

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Nordrivordr

History

Structure, Modifications, and Adaptations

Historical Inhabitants

Current Design

Entry for The Shipwright Challenge

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Author's Notes

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