Cliffsedge

Overview

Cliffsedge is a stark, whitewashed cliff-town on Avalon’s eastern seaboard, built high above a sheer drop where the land falls away into the sea and mist. Founded in Year 1623, it grew around an older shrine site associated with Aldore, the Exiled Ayla, and the legendary sword Seadon.

Every stone façade, every stair, every parapet in Cliffsedge is kept white—by law and by faith. From the sea or the lowlands, the town looks like a bleached growth clinging to the cliff, almost too bright, almost too ordered. Visitors often describe it as beautiful and unsettling at the same time, a place that feels more like a temple than a town.

Location

• Region: Eastern seaboard of Avalon, on a basalt headland above the future East Rail corridor
• Topography: A sheer sea-cliff with a narrow natural ledge midway down; switchback paths cut into the rock; a thin strip of road and shore far below
• Orientation: Most of the settlement faces east and southeast, taking the full force of sunrise and storms

The cliff itself has been known since antiquity as Aldore’s Edge, a place where the rock is scored with strange vertical grooves and fractures. Local legend claims these are the scars left by Seadon when Aldore drove the blade into the living world.

Aldore & the Sacred Edge (Pre-Founding History)

c. 0740–0780 – The Exile of Aldore
Most traditions agree that Aldore, once an Ayla revered for his mastery of metal and oaths, was exiled in the late 8th century after forging Seadon, a blade said to “cut through fate itself.” Seadon’s forging split the allegiance of the other Aylas; Aldore’s followers insisted the sword was meant to defend the weak, while his opponents feared it would unmake the balance of the world.

A cycle of tales places Aldore’s wanderings all along Avalon’s coasts and high places, but Aldore’s Edge becomes one of the key sites:

• He is said to have climbed the cliff barefoot, leaving bloody prints in the rock.
• At the summit, he drove Seadon into the stone and swore never again to raise it for kings or tyrants.
• When he pulled the blade free, the cliff beneath was scarred in deep, straight cuts running down toward the sea.

Whether literal or symbolic, this story anchors the cliff as a holy wound in the land.

1183 – First Recorded Pilgrimage
A monk from the inland town of Gainsford writes of a “white rock over a falling sea, where men leave iron tokens and broken knives for the Exile.” This is the first written mention of organized pilgrimage to the cliff.

1309 – The Cliff Altar
Stonecutters from a nearby coastal village carve a small altar directly into the summit rock—a shallow recess with a ledge where rusted tools and bent nails are piled. This primitive shrine, no larger than a single room, is considered the seed from which Cliffsedge will grow.

Founding of Cliffsedge (1623–1700)

04/19/1623 – Charter of the Edge
With piracy increasing along the eastern sea and rumors of foreign sails on the horizon, a regional council of coastal lords issues the Charter of the Edge, commissioning a fortified settlement at Aldore’s Edge. The town is meant to serve three purposes:

1. Watchpost: A line of sight over the sea and the lowland road.
2. Refuge: A defensible last stand if invasions press inland.
3. Pilgrim House: A permanent community to maintain the growing Aldore shrine and regulate pilgrim traffic.

The charter officially names the settlement Cliffsedge.

1623–1639 – Cutting the First Streets
Over sixteen harsh years, laborers and stonemasons carve the first terraces and steps:

• Lower Gate Terrace – the entry level for caravans and visitors, cut into the upper third of the cliff.
• Pilgrim’s Stair – an unbroken, exhausting stairway of several hundred steps, rising from the lower terrace to the central square.
• The White Court – a small, open plaza beside the old cliff altar, expanded and paved.

Early houses are simple stone boxes with flat roofs, built directly against the rock. Limewash is used on a few façades for weather protection, but there is not yet any formal “white law.”

06/07/1641 – First Storm of Bones
A violent ocean storm sends spray and wind up the cliff. Sections of the unfinished outer wall collapse, killing eleven workers and two pilgrims sheltering in half-built homes. Surviving masons insist the exposed stone is “stained” by the deaths and must be sealed. More and more buildings are limewashed in full, supposedly to keep the dead from seeping into the walls.

1669 – Guard and Shrine Unified
The Watch Captain and the Warden of Pilgrims are, by decree, merged into a single office: the White Warden of Cliffsedge. From this point onward, defense and devotion are administered together. This fusion of garrison and priesthood sets the tone for the town’s “almost cult-like” discipline.

The Vow of White (1701–1799)

03/01/1701 – Edict of Unblemished Stone
After a series of disputes about tavern signs and colorful market awnings, the then-White Warden issues the Edict of Unblemished Stone:

• All exterior walls within Cliffsedge must be whitewashed.
• Roof tiles must be pale: white, sandstone, or weathered gray.
• External decorations are limited to carved stone, bare wood, and iron; bright paints and fabrics are prohibited on façades.

This is justified as an act of devotion—“so that Aldore, looking back from exile, will see only a single unbroken blade of white upon the cliff.”

Over time, the edict is extended to:

• Require white cloaks or tunics for all residents during festivals and processions.
• Limit the colors merchants may display: markets are a study in white tents, pale wood stalls, and unpainted crates.

1728 – The Silent Procession
A freak landslide on the sea-facing path kills eight pilgrims. The town responds with a yearly rite: on the slide’s anniversary, the populace walks the length of the cliff paths in total silence, dressed in white. Even children are expected to participate. Outsiders often describe this ritual as unnerving; for locals, it is the town’s holiest day.

1762–1770 – Whispered Schism
Within Cliffsedge a stricter group forms, later known in rumor as the Order of the Unbroken Edge. They insist that:

• No color at all should be visible within the town, even indoors.
• Residents should remain celibate or at least childless “until Aldore is forgiven.”
• Aldore’s exile was not tragic but just, and the town must be a living confession.

The Order is never openly acknowledged, but several families vanish from property records, and certain houses keep their shutters perpetually closed. By 1770, most of this stricter movement has either left the town or faded into quiet eccentricity, but stories of “the pure white rooms” linger.

The Age of Watching (1800–1893)

1804 – Lanterns on the Edge
A series of stone lamp-towers is added along the outer parapet. At sunset, acolytes in white robes light the lamps in sequence from south to north, a ritual now called “Drawing the Line.” The town’s role as sea-watch and symbol merges again: the lit line is said to be both a warning to ships and a visible vow to Aldore.

1836 – The Tide Famine
Heavy storms and poor fishing years hit the region. Cliffsedge’s growing reputation as a holy site brings pilgrims who must be fed while the sea yields less. The White Warden at the time allows a limited relaxation of the color laws indoors, permitting colored blankets and utensils in the poorest houses “to keep the cold from the bones.” The exterior whiteness, however, remains absolute.

The Great War & the White Guns (1893–1920)

1893 – The Great War Reaches the Edge
When the Great War erupts in Avalon (Year 1893), Cliffsedge’s strategic position on the cliff becomes vital. Though far from the largest theaters of battle, it serves as:

• A signal station, flashing coded light down the coast.
• An observation post monitoring sea traffic and potential incursions.

09/17/1893 – Scorching of the White Wall
Enemy ships test the coastal defenses, firing shells toward the visible white mass of Cliffsedge. One round strikes the outer parapet, scorching the limewash and shattering part of the wall, but the rock beneath holds. Two defenders and one pilgrim are killed.

The blast leaves a persistent gray-brown scar on the wall. After the war, there is debate about repainting it; the town ultimately decides to leave the scorch mark visible, a single deliberate imperfection on the “unblemished blade”—a reminder that devotion does not stop steel.

1901–1919 – Post-War Retreat
Exhausted and wary of the outside world, the town retreats further into its own rules. Trade is limited. Visitors are scrutinized. The population shrinks as younger residents leave for inland cities with better prospects. The white façades remain immaculate, but behind them, many homes grow quiet and thinly populated.

Opening to the Modern World (1921–1999)

05/12/1924 – Road of the Lower Line
A modern road is cut at the base of the cliffs, linking the route that will eventually parallel the East Rail corridor. Simple lifts and switchback paths are improved, allowing vehicles to ferry goods up and down. Cliffsedge moves from isolated stronghold to eccentric tourist destination.

1937 – First Postcards
A Steel Port City printer begins selling black-and-white postcards of Cliffsedge: a stark white town against dark rock and sea. The images, popular in coastal markets, cement the town’s identity in the modern imagination.

08/03/1961 – Night of Falling Teeth
A section of overhanging rock breaks away after heavy rain, sending boulders—“the teeth of the cliff”—down past the lower terraces. Thirty-four pilgrims on the outer path are killed. In response:

• The Silent Procession is expanded into a three-day observance.
• Certain outer paths are permanently closed.
• The white laws remain untouched; instead, residents double down on maintenance, believing that any crack or stain invites catastrophe.

1975–1990 – The Color Debates
Younger residents begin to push back:

• Proposals are made to allow pastel window frames or colored flower boxes.
• The town council repeatedly refuses, citing tradition and the need to maintain the “line of white” visible from the sea.

Some small compromises appear:

• Colored rugs and art are openly tolerated indoors.
• A few rebellious households paint unseen inner courtyards with bright murals, turning their hidden spaces into explosions of color while presenting perfectly white façades to the street.

1998 – End of Sacred Law, Persistence of Custom
Formal references to Aldore are removed from the town’s civil law code under pressure from regional authorities who want clearer separation of faith and governance. However:

• The Edict of Unblemished Stone is retained as a “heritage ordinance.”
• The White Warden’s powers are reduced, but the office continues as a cultural and ceremonial role.

In practice, little changes. The town remains white.

Cliffsedge in the Present Day (2000–2025)

2003–2015 – Tourism and Uneasy Prosperity
Cliffsedge is marketed as “The White Town on the Edge” in travel pamphlets:

• Pilgrimages blend with sightseeing tours.
• Small guesthouses open, all painted white, with staff dressed in pale uniforms.
• Local crafts focus on white ceramics, pale stone carvings of Seadon, and simple silver jewelry.

Some older residents resent the shift, seeing it as a dilution of devotion. Others welcome the income but grow wary of outsiders treating their rituals as quaint performances.

2019 – The Hidden Rooms
Rumors spread online of “pure white interior cells” in certain houses: rooms with no color at all—white floor, white ceiling, white bedding, white clothing hung on the walls. The stories tie these rooms to a supposed revival of the old Order of the Unbroken Edge, though there is no formal confirmation. Urban explorers claim to have glimpsed such rooms but rarely have proof.

2025 – Current Character
Today, Cliffsedge exists in tension:

• Outwardly, it is serene, immaculate, almost otherworldly:
• Buildings and walls are bone-white.
• Public clothing trends toward white, pale gray, or sun-bleached linen.
• Dawn and dusk rituals still draw lines of silent residents along the parapets.
• Inwardly, there are fractures:
• Some youths repaint their bedroom walls in dark colors and posters, closing doors against disapproving elders.
• A quiet minority wants to relax the white laws and invite more color and art into public life.
• Devout Aldore followers worry that any change will weaken the town’s vow and invite disaster—through cliff, storm, or war.

Architecture & Aesthetic

• Material: Local stone, carved directly from the cliff and faced with lime plaster.
• Color: Exteriors are strictly white—from walls to stair rails to parapets. Even repairs are carefully blended so no patchwork appears.
• Layout:
• Narrow, stepped streets; no wheeled traffic inside the old walls.
• Small plazas at turns in the cliff, often centered on a simple stone basin or shrine niche.
• Flat rooftops used as lookout decks, all ringed with low white walls.

Windows are modest in size to withstand sea winds. Doors are usually unpainted wood, bleached and grayed; any colored detailing tends to be hidden just inside the threshold.

Faith, Ritual, and the “Culty” Atmosphere

Cliffsedge has never been officially declared a monastic city, but its daily rhythms feel close:

• Dawn: Bells ring once. Residents step outside in pale clothing and stand along the outer parapets, facing the sea in silence as the sun rises.
• Midday: Short spoken prayers at various shrine niches, asking Aldore to watch the edges of their lives—their work, their vows, their anger.
• Dusk: The Drawing of the Line—lamp-lighters move along the parapet, kindling lights in sequence while others watch in quiet.

The whiteness itself is treated as a vow:

• Stains are scrubbed away within hours.
• Graffiti is almost unheard of; when it appears, it is white-washed over the same day.
• Breaking the “white line” with a colored façade would be seen as a kind of sacrilege, even now that the law is technically secular.

To outsiders, this disciplined uniformity—white walls, white clothing, synchronized rituals—reads as cult-like. For most residents, it is simply the way life on the Edge has always been lived.

Notable Sites

• The Original Cliff Altar (1309): A rough stone recess at the highest point of the town, still piled with rusted metal offerings. The limewash around it is always kept slightly thinner, letting some of the original gray stone show through.
• The Scorched Wall (1893): A long, faintly darkened patch on the outer parapet where a shell struck during the Great War. A single iron plaque nearby bears the names of the three dead.
• Pilgrim’s Stair (1623–1639): The main stairway from the lower gate up to the White Court. Tradition holds that those who climb without speaking a word may leave one old burden at the top and never speak of it again.
• Silent Procession Route: A loop of inner and outer paths walked each year on the landslide anniversary. Certain sections are closed the rest of the year, opened only for this ritual.

Timeline (Key Dates)

• c. 0740–0780 – Exile of Aldore and the Seadon legends; Aldore’s Edge enters myth.
• 1183 – First recorded pilgrimage to the cliff.
• 1309 – Cliff altar carved into the summit rock.
• 04/19/1623 – Charter of the Edge; Cliffsedge officially founded.
• 1623–1639 – First terraces, walls, and Pilgrim’s Stair cut into the cliff.
• 06/07/1641 – “Storm of Bones” construction disaster; walls increasingly limewashed.
• 1669 – Offices of Watch Captain and Warden of Pilgrims merged into the White Warden.
• 03/01/1701 – Edict of Unblemished Stone; town’s white aesthetic made law.
• 1728 – Silent Procession instituted after a fatal landslide.
• 1762–1770 – Whispered rise and fading of the stricter Order of the Unbroken Edge.
• 1804 – Lamp-towers erected; “Drawing the Line” ritual established.
• 1836 – Tide Famine; minor indoor color concessions for the poorest families.
• 09/17/1893 – Scorching of the White Wall during the Great War.
• 1901–1919 – Post-war retreat and population decline.
• 05/12/1924 – Road of the Lower Line completed; easier access from the future East Rail corridor.
• 1937 – First Cliffsedge postcards printed.
• 08/03/1961 – Night of Falling Teeth rockfall disaster.
• 1975–1990 – Color debates; hidden interior murals appear.
• 1998 – Aldore removed from civil law; white ordinances reframed as heritage rules.
• 2003–2015 – Tourism boom; town branded “The White Town on the Edge.”
• 2019 – Modern rumors of pure white interior cells and a revived Unbroken Edge.
• 2025 – Present day: Cliffsedge remains a blinding line of white on the cliff, caught between devotion, heritage, and change.