city stuff

[marycatelli]

So what's the city built of?

Stone?  Brick?  Wood?  What sort of stone?  And what color, so I can tell whether the stonework is black, or gray, or pink, or gold?

A question implicating all sorts of things.  Where are the woodlands?  Are there clay pits near by?  How about quarries?  How far can you transport materials, and would you bother?

Implicates history, too, since the building material can easily change over the years as woodlands are depleted, and quarries exhausted.

And all I want to do is describe what the city looks like to someone who's a bit attentative to visual detail but not strong on either architecture or its history. . . .

Comments

[whitefangedwolf.livejournal.com]

Good point on the wood supports. Either I forgot they were needed or I was subconsciously using metal support beams which would imply more advanced technology.

The information you shared about the shattering of brick and stone by dragon-fire is interesting. I wonder whether it would be more hazardous to be surrounded by stone structures or wooden structures during a dragon attack. I guess it partially depends on whether dragon-fire is a burning liquid or a burning gas.

[marycatelli]

I think for this story I will motivate the heroine to avert the attack.

[whitefangedwolf.livejournal.com]

That's reasonable. Dragons are often the sort of being you don't want dropping into town, angry or otherwise.

[marycatelli]

Everyone thinks it a Good Thing that the king persuaded them not to except for the wizards who get stuck with the job of keeping them happy.