Sage

CLAN LORE

----HISTORY----

It was such a beautiful lake, once. A large, sprawling oasis, located in the middle of the charged barrens. Various plants grew along the shores, and in the center was an island filled with lush greenery - a rarity in the Shifting Expanse. The Stormcatcher had created it long ago, so that desperate travelers would have a source of water (after all, dead workers are far less productive). He had actually made several across his territory, but this one was by far the largest. It wasn't just any oasis, it was THE Oasis, and it never needed any other name.

Over the years, The Oasis became a tourist attraction. Dragons from the Tempest Spire and the Turrets of Goldensparc would visit it during their limited vacation days to relax, take in the natural beauty, and bathe in the supposedly healing waters. Unfortunately, the influx of tourists slowly led to the destruction of the very thing they came to see. The lake gradually became muddy and polluted, and the plants began to die. Eventually, dragons stopped visiting it entirely. Seeing as The Oasis could no longer serve it's purpose, the Stormcatcher ordered it to be drained, and the water was taken off to the Tempest Spire for use in some project only he knew of. All that was left was a gaping hole in the ground with a shallow, muddy puddle at the bottom. And soon enough, that too dried up.

For decades the remains of The Oasis sat empty. Occasionally nostalgic dragons would fly by to reminisce, but most preferred to avoid it. Those who were old enough to remember it had seen it as a symbol of hope, and were disheartened by the loss. Younger dragons simply saw it as an eyesore. Some had suggested filling it in, but Lightning dragons are utilitarian by nature, and most agreed that it wouldn't be worth the time.

Then came the trains.

The large, roaring machinery could transport cargo much quicker than a dragon could carry it, and as soon as the Stormcatcher learned of their existence he immediately ordered that a large network of railroads be built across the Shifting Expanse. The tracks were always built along the most efficient path, regardless of whatever happened to be in the way at the time. Ravines were bridged and hills were carved into, and within a little over six months the railway was completed.

Some dragons believe that The Oasis had a soul, an inherent desire to be a source of life, and that the barren lake had willed what happened next into existence. Most dragons believe that it was pure coincidence, and that any other explanation was utter nonsense. But for whatever reason, at the very center of The Oasis's island, which was now a plateau, two rail routes intersected.

At first this wasn't notable at all. There were plenty of other places where the tracks converged, and this one was no different. All that was there was the empty lake, the railroad switch, a refueling station and the elderly spiral who ran it. The area was simply marked as "Springwell Junction" on the conductors' maps, an utterly unremarkable blip on the radar.

After a while, though, the trains began to carry passengers as well as cargo. Hopeful exaltees, diplomats from clans in other flights, and excited travelers all rode the railways, and Springwell Junction was one of many stops along the way. One day a particularly entrepreneurial dragon realized it would be the perfect place to sell food and other supplies to weary travelers, and set up a shop next to the refueling station. Soon afterwards a second dragon saw the historic significance of The Oasis, and built a small museum. Then another building popped up, then another, and another, and before too long a town was formed. The town outgrew the plateau at the center and spilled outwards, with houses and shops being built into the sides and bottoms of the drained lake. The original railroad switch was taken out and replaced with a beautiful, shining station, and Springwell Junction became one of the largest towns in the Shifting Expanse.

----THE TOWN ITSELF----

Due to the territory they live in, most Lightning clans are nomadic, and there are very few actual towns. Most of the ones that do exist are built around a specific structure or natural resource, and are meticulously planned out. Oasis Junction is a rare exception to this. It grew organically, with no planning. It only exists because a bunch of very different individuals all independently decided "Yup, this is where I live now", and the town itself is a reflection of this. Buildings in all sorts of styles are placed haphazardly along the streets, which often swerve sharply or narrow down into sudden bottlenecks in order to avoid structures that were already there long before they began paving. It can be incredibly easy to get lost, but luckily there are plenty of street vendors eager to sell maps of dubious quality to any overwhelmed visitors.

The highest point of Springwell Junction is the plateau, which holds the train station, the museum, the historic general store and the housing for the station workers and rail guards. Most of the town is located below it, with the train tracks held up by support beams overhead. Lifts and staircases snake down the sides of the plateau, squeezing in between the buildings constructed into the edges of the cliff, and then spilling out into proper roads at the bottom of the empty lake.

As a hub of travel, Springwell Junction sees dragons from all over. Most don't stay for very long but the ones who do move in are as varied as the places they come from. Sometimes they come because they hoped to be exalted, but realized they weren't cut out for the rigorous workload demanded by the Stormcatcher. Sometimes they come to search for a specific dragon, desperately hoping that, since most trains passed through this station, they might get lucky enough to find who they're looking for. And sometimes they come because they don't really care where they end up, as long as it isn't where they've already been.

Because of the town's disorganized nature, it has an unusually high crime rate. The town's citizens are typically peaceful, (mostly) law-abiding folk, but the train station makes it very easy for criminals to come and go as they please. A conman could swindle someone out of their entire life's savings, then hop on a train and be long gone within the hour. And the few criminals that do live within Oasis Junction can find plenty of hiding places among the chaotic streets and alleyways. This is especially troublesome since the town still has no real law enforcement system to speak of (except for the one judge, but we don't talk about him). As a result, certain citizens have taken it upon themselves to serve out vigilante justice.

----THE HIDDEN OASIS----

"But Yam," you exclaim, "you said earlier The Oasis was drained!" And yes, it was. Just... not completely. Deep in a tunnel at the very bottom of town lies the original spring that brought forth the oasis to begin with. It is, after all, a holy spring, created by the Stormcatcher himself. You can't just get rid of it by normal means. As a result, the Oasis does technically still exist within that cavern, albeit at a much smaller scale. There are a handful of caretakers who are allowed to dwell within the cavern at the water's edge, and they have sworn to protect and preserve what remains of it. They refuse to let it fall into disrepair again. Because of this, the Hidden Oasis is a heavily kept secret, and most locals don't even know it's down there. Occasionally, however, extremely sick or wounded dragons are allowed down to bathe in the healing waters, which have become far more potent as The Oasis shrank.

----THE SACRED GARDENS----

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----THE SAND-SCOURED OUTSKIRTS----

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