#smallhold

got in the Zone and spent 2 hours finishing this.

behold the Empires SMP writing systems (at least the ones canon to the RCU). there are 8 languages represented--yes, i know there are 12 empires, but some of them share languages due to proximity and cultural closeness. below is a list of where each language is used.

Grimmish: the Grimlands, the Crystal Cliffs Mythik: Mythland, Smallhold Gnomish: the Undergrove Mezalean: Mezalea Jungle-Common: the Lost Empire Pixandrian: Pixandria Oceanic: the Ocean Empire, the Cod Empire Elvish: Rivendell, the Overgrown (as a Fae dialect)

hi!! sorry it took a few days for me to answer your question, i got sick irl

so i feel like this question is specifically focused on the Wither Rose Alliance kingdoms? (if i'm mistaken my bad lmao) so i'm going to answer based on those 4--being Mythland, the Grimlands, and the Crystal Cliffs as the 3 founding members, and then Smallhold as the most recent official addition.

all 4 kingdoms have their own distinct cultures, and describing them all in detail would require 4 separate posts, so i'll give a basic summary here. The Grimlands: technologically advanced, with a strong cultural focus on the sciences, logic, and reason. they are very stoic and tend not to show emotion often. highly anti-magic; they see magic as unpredictable and irrational. highly progressive, with technological innovations coming down the pipeline often.

The Crystal Cliffs: magically advanced, with a strong cultural tie to arcane magic in particular (as opposed to nature magic). they prioritize learning, accumulating knowledge, and gaining wisdom. they think the Grimlands' views on magic are stupid, but their allyship is so close that they graciously look the other way.

Mythland: HUGE, very rich, and very powerful. large divide between the wealthy upper class and the poor lower class. massive trade nexus. rich, deep cultural/religious beliefs involving blood, most rituals require blood to be spilled (usually by pricking a thumb or palm).

Smallhold: small, as the name would suggest, but powerful in trade because they are a food-producing breadbasket. one of the few nations to democratically elect a ruler. deeply tied to the earth, nature magic, seasons, the harvest, etc. and have a strong cultural focus on protecting, nurturing, and attending to the land.

now obviously some of these cultural elements--for example the Grimlands' distaste for magic and the Cliffs' love of it--can't really overlap. however, lots of things do, especially in the empires that are nearest each other. common languages, for one--the Grimlands/Cliffs both speak Grimmish as a mother tongue, while Mythland/Smallhold both speak Mythik. there are also common regional folktales, common popular historical figures, etc., as well as the Wither Rose Alliance Festival, which is hosted each summer in Mythland and celebrates the creation of the alliance around 700 years ago. entertainers, speakers, and guests from every kingdom come to this, and it's where you'll see the most cultural mixing.

Wither-Common is also a uniting factor, and in some regions (especially merchant-heavy ones) it's actually spoken more often than Grimmish or Mythik. it is a pidgin language, created for trade, and borrows grammar and vocabulary from both Mythik and Grimmish, so speakers of both can usually understand it okay. as most pidgins do, it started out very simple and sparse, but evolved over time into a vibrant and flourishing language of its own.

hello!

it's been a minute since i've replied to asks (i'm so sorry for being bad at it OTL), but this one is referring to ch.4 of RotWRA, in which Queen Araceli travels to Helianthian territory in her journey toward Smallhold.

in the rcu-compliant history of the Empires world, Helianthia is an area of land inhabited by an indigenous people (the Helianthians), which comes under the colonial rule of Mythland for around 300-315 years. as you can imagine, this causes a great deal of strife between the Helianthians and the conquering Mythlanders, with the result that by Araceli's time, the Mythland royal family is disdained by indigenous Helianthians, chafing under the jurisdiction laid down by the Mythlander city of Smallhold.

after Araceli dies, her successor--a weak ruler--allows Mythland to nearly break apart in civil war, and it is during this period of relative weakness in Mythland's central governing power that Smallhold severs itself from Mythland to become an independent nation.

you'll definitely see more of this in the fic, but this is the basic summary of the history.

NYC Launch Party on May 31st

AGRITECTURE + OUR NAME IS FARM PRESENT the Summer 2017 Event Series Launch Event.

AGRITECTURE has moved into a new, much larger, storefront office in East Williamsburg! Designing a space like the one we finally have has been my dream since I first started the blog in 2011; so now I’m totally thrilled to use this new office to demonstrate and practice my vision for growing in the city. 🌱🏢

http://agnetwest.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/03-30-18-Retail-Market-Mushroom-Farm-AW.mp3

A brand new Whole Foods location in New Jersey is catching a lot of attention in its produce section … with a mushroom farm. In a glowing box with lights, the mini farm features three different kinds of oyster mushrooms — yellow, blue and pink.

The mushrooms are first grown in nearby farms and then brought in during the final stage of growth. Once the mushrooms are ready, they’re placed in bags on nearby shelves for customer’s to help themselves.

Smallhold, the company that produces the mushroom farms, says mushrooms are tricky to transport and have a short shelf life, both problems the mini farms eliminate. These benefits afford retailers the ability to price their mushrooms at a lower price per pound.

The company’s mini farms can be found in a handful of restaurants, but Whole Foods is the first retail partner.

I’m Cathy Isom…

Images courtesy of Smallhold.

How a Mushroom Farm Grows in a Manhattan Restaurant

Snippet: “A lot of people think it is art,” says Danny Bowien, the chef and owner of Mission Chinese Food. “It doesn’t look like anything you’d see in any other Chinese restaurant.” Though intentionally futuristic in design, the installation is more than aesthetic—it’s a miniature mushroom farm. A far cry from the tired and bruised portobello, cremini, and shitake that frequent grocery store shelves, the fungi here radiate life.