Tamyens in Manhattan
The ship had been traveling north, following the Kikwinaq Stream(A). Tonsen had travelled a long way from the lands of the Tamyen republic. Tonsen, himself, was from the republics heartland of Ohlone. He had been born in the city of Yelamu(B), but had moved to the capital in Socoisuka. It would be from there that the senate and the consuls would agree to send him on a voyage to see the lands that lay to the east, competing with their Chumash rival to the south.
In the past, seafaring had been limited. The Xamarinaq coast was relatively featureless compared to the Opaneyunk with its seas, archipelagos, and barrier islands. A seafaring merchant could expect to go north for lumber or south to trade with the Chumash, the Dineans, the Teotiwakans, and more recently the Mayans. However, with the new canal in Ok’owa, ships bringing goods from the east were more common than ever, and so Tonsen had set out on an expedition to learn what lay to the south and east.
He had been out at sea for well over a year now. Months ago now, after going as far south as the Chavin port of Wayakil(C), his ships had crossed through the Ok’owa canal. He saw a massive growing city, one that seemed to have grown even larger than Socoisuka, Sashpilil, or Tabaah. There were buildings seemingly right up against the canal on both sides and ferries going across. He had spent some time staying in the tropical metropolis, finding himself wandering among every culture and tongue with which he had been acquainted, as well as plenty that he had never heard before. Despite this, the city was not without its flaws. He saw that, once one went out less than a mile from the canal, the people were crowded into tiny shacks, and sometimes even tents. There was no doubt poverty in Socoisuka, yet he had never seen such a sprawling slum as this before. It was clear that the city’s growth easily outpaced its ability to expand. Slaves assigned with cleaning the streets of the canal zone and the old cities of West and East Ok’owa to the south of the canal maintained the illusion of a utopia of trade and wealth. It was clear to Tonsen that, despite the legendary wealth of this city, the locals did not benefit.
Crossing the isthmus and traveling north, Tonsen would eventually find himself visiting the city of Kuzamil, an old city with an already ancient seafaring tradition. He saw the statue of Pa’nibal by the dock and the statue of Xuluwem in the city square, and even visited the great Temple of Ish Chel. He saw a local democratic tradition not entirely foreign to the him and his fellow Tamyens. However, it was also clear that this city, once center of a seafaring empire, was now past its prime. Traveling through the Kikwinaq, he would visit Shawasha, another city on the decline, and Chimasha, another up-and-coming city that was facing some of the same problems as Ok’owa.
Journeying north now along the eastern Opaneyunk coast of the continent brought him to where he was now. He had heard of a great city to the north built around a harbor that ruled the long coast. It was a city that, despite being a ways away from the riches of the tropics, was rich all in its own way.
As he passed between the two great islands that guarded the harbor, he saw that his ship was one of many. There were many vessels going to and fro. While some seemed to be venturing out to the sea, many of them were traveling island to island and pier to pier, carrying passengers. Looking ahead, he saw a great rusty green colossus, holding a shield on his left arm and a dagger in his right hand, who overlooked the harbor, watching over the city like a patron god. Another island in the middle of the harbor seemed to be the site of a grand structure of some significance to the locals, although the exact appearance of such a structure was difficult to make out because of its distance. As he got closer, he saw a large, marble castle-like building painted in gold and surrounded by a stone wall. Every shoreline that surrounded the harbor appeared to be covered in dense settlement, but none quite as dense as the great island that lay just to the north of the temple island, the legendary island of Manhattan on which he was to land.
Exiting the ship and stepping out onto the busy dock on the southwestern shores of the island(D), he found busy streets and an assortment of people of various cultures. Perhaps this was not to the same extent as in Ok’owa, but all the more impressive when he considered that this harbor was much further from the center of world trade. This could be seen clearly at the sprawling market along the shores as well as the alleyways draped in colorful fabric and lined with vendors. At the corner of the well-organized streets, a long colorfully-painted blue and gold carriage drawn by two white horses pulled up, demanding copper coins for passage. Paying in silver, he and ten of his crew that came with him hopped into the carriage, which pulled them across the city. They rode past a variety of multi-level flats made of brick and concrete with tiled roofs. He saw how various flats would be built around smaller alleyways and courtyards that could only be ventured by foot. One building which towered above the rest in Lower Manhattan, however, was the imperial palace(E). As he approached the corner near the palace, he ordered his men to exit the carriage. A large verdant park bustling with people and vendors selling goods as well as food such as street oysters(1) and flavored jerky surrounded the great walls, held up by massive columns and arches. The central keep was massive, larger than any other structure he had seen, with a great white facade of marble columns that was rounded by the entry way giving way to an expansive structure, with a massive dome on top in the middle and several golden conical towers that reached towards the heavens.
As they entered another carriage painted red and gold that made its way north, they further saw as the city changed. Moving north, they passed through a massive forum lined with shops and nearby theatres(F) and a massive green park(G) surrounded by a low stone wall that kept it separated from yet simultaneously immersed in the surrounding metropolis. The greatest site in the north, however, was when he came across an grand archway between two great brick and concrete buildings. Passing between them, he saw what was like another world entirely concealed from the city. Great stone buildings held up by massive columns surrounded a grassy campus(H), and at one end of it was the one building in the city he had seen that could hold a finger to either the palace or the temple– the great Library of Manhattan. This library, located on what he had learned was the campus of the Grand Academy of Manhattan, supposedly held an untold amount of books that could not be counted from all over the world. Much like the dock, this campus was incredibly diverse, with scholars running too and fro with more books than he had ever seen. Of course, he had heard of the academy, and hoped that he would find another source their to compare his own maps that he had drawn on the voyage thus far, but this was like nothing he had ever seen. This place surrounded by its brick buildings and with its massive library was like a whole other world from the city. It was another dimension where the urban chaos did not reach.
The legends that he had heard in Ok’owa were true. Salt came from the land of the Chavin. Dye came from the land of Aqala. Gold and silver came from the kingdoms to the north. But true elevation of the human spirit could only be found in Manhattan.
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(1) Street oysters were a popular form of street food still eaten to this day. It often involves oysters that are farmed in the harbor, cook in their shells, and then have the shells filled with corn, rice, or mashed potato. They are often also flavored with seaweed, a variety of fruits, cheese, or even other forms of seafood or meat. Shells would often be recycled for their minerals, often used in jewelry or for fertilizer.
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(A) The Gulf Stream
(B) San Francisco, CA
(C) Guayaquil, Ecuador
(D) Roughly around the World Trade Center
(E) Greenwich Village in the area around Washington Square Park
(F) Located around the Theatre District in Manhattan
(G) Location corresponds roughly with Central Park.
(H) Located in Morningside Heights, Manhattan
