Re: Roads of Sartar, a question

From: Roderick and Ellen Robertson <rjremr_at_...>
Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2002 10:15:22 -0800

> We know that the roads are magical. But what are they like? Are they
> like the roads of Old Pavis? Paved in stone?
>
> Sartar gets pretty fierce winters, and in Finland we have had to learn a
> lot about building roads that will survive it.
>
> Water seeps in, freezes and moves the stones/breaks the road.
>
> But I suppose that's a part of the magic.

Well, with the amount of Earth magic that the Heortlings can muster (About half the population!), I figure you probably have enough to make sure the roads stay relatively dry yet still not harm horses hooves. What they look like? Hmm,
The dwarf-built ones I think of as ribbons of concrete (witout lane dividers or bott's dots (those little dots in the road that tell you you're crossing lanes - driving by braille I call it...)). The later roads are probably magically compressed earth/rubble. The roads are probably a little more than two carts wide, and crowned a bit in the center so the water drains off. Ditches by the side of the road take off the water, and are kept clear where/when people care about the road, or are weed and cattail choked gutters where they don't.

As an aside, that may be another reason the roads are falling apart in Sartar under the Lunars: They are forcing *men* to work on them instead of women!

Roderick