Beach

View of the beach from the shore, the whale can be seen lain out in the sand.

Baleful howls are heard over the seaside wind. In their discord you sense, despair... hatred... and... longing? Theres a hamlet built on the rocks above you and after your long voyage your bones ache for rest; who knows what awaits you within the village's dour alleys, bridges and moats.

Description

The beach is small at high tide and flanked by rocky outcroppings on each side, smothered by them, the mountains and the hamlet built on its shores. On the northern flank there is a bit of rock where some statues can be found; built into the sand and outwards. On the beach, if you look down into the water, you can see white waves beneath the surface.

There is a whale carcass in the shadows at the end of the sand, cut open and wasting away. It has been almost completely harvested, so that now all that remains of its body is the limp flesh that once clutched strong bones. It will blubber and murmer at you, but nothing that can be heard over the strong gale. It eventually slips afloat into the water.

Smelling Statues

The figures can be found bent doubled in prayer, with nothing but their noses and outstretched arms shown through their clothing. Their palms touch the floor and their noses, comically large, face upwards towards the sky, as though smelling something from up above.

Stylite variations

There is a variation of these statues which can be found hunched over the top of tall pillars, built past the shore and into the sea. This motif could be for a few reasons, perhaps it is this way so as to get closer to the unnamed olfactory object, however it is worth noting the similarities with the Christian tradition of the stylite, a form of ascetic which chooses to live on top of a pillar. These ascetics chose to live this way to ensure the salvation of their souls.

Connections

Beach > Lower Hamlet

Recording