Beldan

"Yes, I have been to Beldan many times. Of the Orth, my people live closest to the border of Grara. Frequently we travel there to trade hides, furs, and carvings for things we can't get ourselves like sugar and high-grade flour."

— Tasiir of the People of the Horse

On the Edge of the Orth

Of all of the towns and villages of Grara, Beldan is the closest to the Orthlands and despite its distance from the center of Graran politics it is not as small or remote as many other communities in the nation. It is located along a well-worn road which makes travel to Beldan easier than travel to other places in Grara. While Beldan isn't a huge industrial centre like Cliffside, a few traveling merchants make the journey there to purchase Orth art which they sell to wealthy individuals in other parts of Grara.

Where the Grass is Wheat

While the landscape surounding Beldan may look much like the Orthlands with tall grass and gentle windblown hills and plains, the makeup of the soil is different. This allows the people of Beldan to grow a modest wheat crop. The wheat is not of any notable quality but they produce enough to feed the village and trade with the Orth.

Resources on the Plains

Water is always the most difficult resource to source on a skyisland - especially clean water - as it always finds its way to the edge and flows off the side. Beldan benefits from a seasonal river which appears in the spring as the snow and ice melts up on the Alsarat Mountains. The people of Beldan have dug huge resevoirs into which they divert the spring thaw-waters. In addition, they - like many peoples of Breharan - use large tarps to capture rain water and refill the resevoirs throughout the year.