the water washes away all of my thoughts…

the five bridges rise into the sky.

  • the knight’s bridge is the oldest, with imposing stone piers and a dazzling array of cables. it’s often crowded. it’s the only of the bridges that has the path above all the other structure in the middle part, so that when you walk there you feel on top of the world. historically, knights have been inspired by this sight to swear fealty to the city of lindor.
  • the engineer’s bridge is the loudest, rumbling like a huge animal. it looks a little steampunk, with wires dangling hundreds of feet from the beige criss crossing beams. it ends in two large archways, one of which shelters a concrete park, and the other one a market hall that sometimes changes into other things. sometimes, groups of old chinese people do taichi under here. i wonder if some day i’ll be there with them?
  • the artist’s bridge is painted red in parts, and is covered in small notes and drawings inscribed along its span. the path of the bridge is enclosed in a grate-like structure which manages to still let a lot of light in.
  • the clouds bridge has the biggest structure of the five bridges, with gridded metal beams rising up throughout the bridge, not just at the towers, like a jungle gym. there are many nooks in its structure to hide in. it’s the first one i climbed.
  • the priest’s bridge runs over an island in the lindje. it has a very light looking structure, being the newest of the bridges.

there is a long park that runs along the lindor side. the southern park opened very recently after a lot of construction work was done on it. the rolling fields and clean lines kind of remind me of la noscea. they also remind me of another park with windswept willows farther north, along the perendim river. there’s a segment of this park that’s dark at night. it’s only in that sort of darkness that i feel most comfortable. (when i’m at home, i’m too aware of myself to be comfortable, and when i’m outside during the day, i’m too aware of others.)

the northern park is closed for construction. but it was also very nice. one day there was fog covering the whole river, and standing at the edge of the water i could only see about 10 meters away. on another nice day, i was with gingko for the first time. it was gently drizzling. she had an umbrella but the rain felt nice. we looked at the moss underneath us. people often gathered in this park and play music. there were also some people playing quidditch in a soccer field. one time i was looking for rocks in this park to put in my aquarium and plants, but i found no rocks.

settlements: