Sentry

This is a fortified settlement at the northern tip of Soirenta, looking out over The Scarlet Sea and the skies above with watchful eyes.

Despite their isolation, multiple cities assisted with building and transporting to Sentry what is currently The World Behind's only large-scale telescope. It operates on a swivel, surveying the oceans to the west and skies above in equal measure. The Saurians there take their charge of watching for warning signs of the next world-endangering event incredibly seriously, and are also generally considered to have the best archive of historical accounts of past traumatic events. Eggs laid in Sentry do not stay here, but are transported to requested cities or towns (either based on communal hatching resources or other family, depending on the parents' request), as there is a strong philosophy in Sentry that only those who choose their isolated life should partake in it.

It is a well-fortified city, but not due to the dangers they guard against (those are considered too large for mere weapons to make an impact on). As Sentry is so isolated as to be easily a week away from another city even for the fastest of land Saurians, and much further if you're hauling a cart and goods, wildlife testing Sentry's defenses is a regular occurrence. At this point it is practically a sport, if one where failure has dire consequences.

The population of Sentry fluctuates based on the season. Due to the difficulty of managing a supply chain, many individuals from the herbivorous Saurian races choose to relocate southward during the winter months, as Sentry is far enough north for winter to effect local plant growth. This allows for a larger twice yearly exchange of information between Sentry and the rest of Soirenta, as when the herbivorous guards return they bring not just supplies for the town but whatever news had accumulated since the previous year. The omnivorous and carnivorous members of Sentry are more consistent, as again thanks to their isolation, there is plentiful hunting. fishing, and large supplies of preserved meats.

Sentry has the distinction of being the only settlement in The World Behind to have tamed the largest of azhdarchids, keeping a (physically large, numerically small) stable of Quetzalcoatlus and Hatzegopteryx (known colloquially as Quetzls and Hatzees), who are utilized on the occasions where long, sweeping patrols are needed across the Scarlet Sea, or when news needs to be delivered a long distance very quickly. Their enormous wingspans are perfect for sailing at speeds of up to 80mph for days at a time, even sleeping in the air, and their riders have special training on existing aboard for those lengths of time. As azhdarchids live for up to 140 years, some mounts have been handed down for several generations of Sentry residents, and are said to effectively teach their new riders more than being trained by them. While their ability to travel so efficiently is envied by many other cities, azhdarchids are difficult to keep, and Sentry is very protective of their training methods, so others have not had the same success.