Banksiatonne

On the south west part of the Forbidden Forest, close to the river, there exists several small towns and settlements. Banksiatonne is one of these settlements, though technically in the present day this is close to the 15th iteration of the town. It is adjacent to the dry part of the forest, far enough from the river as to not have the moisture but close enough to allow a clear path for the river to run. It lies on a slight elevation and is prone to catching fire.   The town is one of the fruit-towns around Levis, growing Krakyarran and Banksia in small, communal groves, the usual plots of individual garden abandoned in favour of a 'what the town needs' type of system. The existance of the flammable Krakyarran certainly does not help with the town's history of burning down, but the people of the town have become adept at making a hasty retreat should the flames come.

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  The town is held together by a family of Gardeners, their line going to Natare to train when they get old enough only to return home. The other point of interest is the regularly trodden path towards the Last Stop, though apart for a drink, one could not say why the path is made.   The largest fire for Banksiatonne was during cyclone Sortakay, the dry season before had been extra dry, and the cyclone brought with it thunderstorms through the entire Levis region. While many of the larger settlements around Levis were distracted with the high winds and the small spot fires, and Solaris was dealing with the main thrust of the damage - lightning strikes ripped into the area around Banksiatonne. With 13 lightning strikes within the span of 2 days, and extreme heat on the third day, the region was a tinderbox, and ignited in a roaring inferno - often attributed to the Lord of Fire and Birth. Unrelated, the population of Banksiatonne grew in a population boom that season.   Houses in Banksiatonne are fundamental, the basic grown pod, solar cell, and water tank. Window-membranes are a luxury unused, and instead, communal stories around the town fire-blossom and drinks until late are the go-to.   This article and the feel of Banksiatonne is dedicated to Dwellingup and the timber towns of the region and the fire of '61