Setting Profile #1: Ribinskiff

Meet my river town!

Hello, friends, and welcome to my first Setting Profile, a monthly feature in which you get to learn more about one of my settings.

Each setting profile will consist of three parts:

• the mood board — where you get a peek into the setting as photos!

• the history book-esque description of the setting — where you get to learn more about the setting through an entertaining textbook!

• the writing snippet featuring that setting— where you get to see how I incorporate the setting (and some characters from Project Royalty) into a short scene!

#1: The Mood Board

#2: The Description

Ribinskiff, or Ribskilft, as it was known in the period of Dark Ages from 200-224 SCE under the rule of King Ebner, is a fishing town off the coast of the Black River. Its current main export is obviously fish and many fine arts, as in weaving, painting, and speciality pastries. Ribinskiff’s main square is known for its wagon rides, festive holiday traditions, and delicious food vendors that range from fried and battered fish stalls to sandwich shops.

Ribinskiff’s population currently stands at 12,000 people and is slowly declining. In the time period from 350-390, the population was at 21,000 and growing. However, due to the Shadow Beast attacks that flooded over half of the city, much of the land that used to be Ribinskiff is now underwater.

Ribinskiff is located on a flat stretch of densely-packed soil with medium to little vegetation. The outskirts of town have a variety of plant life, including a large forest. As for animals, most are domesticated — with the exception of squirrels, wild birds, deer, and the like.

Popular places include the City Square (which, is in fact, a circle, to many visitors’ delight), the previously mentioned market stalls boasting hot food, and the far side of the wharfs.

#3: The Snippet

“Where are we going, Daddy?”

Leah* Kingridge, only six years old, stared out at the distant skyline, her brown hands hanging over the riverboat’s white rail. On her right was her father Darian, and on the left, her cousin Caiden. Leah noticed that Caiden was fiddling with his jacket. He had the familiar cross-eyed look he always got when he was bored.

“I’ve already told you, Leah,” her father said, laughing. “We’re going to Ribinskiff on a day trip. Caiden, stand still.”

Caiden, who had been bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet, stopped with a sullen expression. “But Uncle Darian, there’s nothing to do!”

“I thought of that.” Leah’s father reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, rubber ball with beads in it. He tossed it to Caiden, who squeezed it hard with his right hand. The ball made a suction noise and squished in Caiden’s pale palm.

“Look, Daddy, there’s our castle!” Leah leaned over the edge of the railing at the back of the boat, her pudgy fingers pointing to a glimmering outline in the distance. Caiden leaned over too, trying not to drop the rubber ball, but Darian gently pulled them back.

“Careful now,” he said to Caiden. “Your father couldn’t make it today, so it’s going to be a little hard to keep track of the two of you.”

“Okay!” both of them said in unison, and Darian knew they hadn’t heard a word he said.

“Ribinskiff, next stop,” called the loudspeaker overhead. “All heading to Ribinskiff, please make your way to the lowest level. I repeat—”

“That’s where we’re going, Uncle Darian!” Caiden squeaked, jumping up and down and almost dropping the rubber ball.

“Yes, Caiden,” Darian said patiently, gripping both their hands and steering them towards the lowest level. They navigated through huge, fancy dining rooms and hurried down cramped flights of stairs. By the time they made it to the bottom level, the riverboat was cruising across the river toward the docks, where deckhands waited to set the plank down so the passengers could disembark.

There were only twenty or so passengers going to Ribinskiff today. The boat violently lurched to a stop. The ball rolled out of Caiden’s hands. Darian scooped it up quickly.

“Thank you,” Caiden said loudly, and a few people jumped.

The gate in the back of the boat opened, the plank was placed, and the passengers began to make an orderly line as they filed off the boat. Somehow Caiden got swept into the melee between a nice lady and a gruff old man.

The lady noticed Caiden was next to her halfway down the ramp. “Goodness gracious, who do you belong to?”

Caiden felt his feet touch solid ground as he turned and searched for his uncle. Caiden looked around and noticed his uncle and cousin standing close by. He pointed to them. “Him!”

The woman caught sight of Darian’s umber skin and looked back at Caiden’s sandy complexion. “Are you sure?”

“There you are!” Darian and Leah caught up, and Darian gripped Caiden’s hand hard. “Don’t go running off, Caiden!”

“I believe he’s yours, then?” the nice lady said, smiling at Caiden.

“Thank you,” Darian said with a sigh of relief. “For some reason, he keeps getting away from me.”

The woman laughed. “Young ones are like that sometimes. Have a good rest of your day.” She left Caiden next to Darian and walked away from the crowd, turning right into a small neighborhood. The three of them watched her disappear before turning to stare at the large town in front of them.

“Whoa,” Leah breathed.

Ribinskiff had looked unimposing from far away, but up close it was huge, especially compared to Hodridge, the small village next to their castle. At the edge of the town, a few paces from them, the docks teemed with activity. Deckhands hurried back and forth, unloading passengers. Farther down, they could see fishermen struggling to pull in the latest catch, the nets wriggling with the weight of all the frantic fish. It smelled like fish, too — mixed with wet dog, spices, and the lingering scent of mold.

The town, at least the outskirts, loomed story after story of brick and stone buildings. Laundry hung from one balcony to the other. Carts and wagons rattled past them. People shouted hello from five stories in the air. Vendors lined the sides of the street. To the left, Darian saw an apartment building that had once been a factory. The half-peeled letters still clung stubbornly to the sign.

Once they made it halfway through town, the landscape changed dramatically. Nicer, one-story houses with brown and black roofs and balconies stretched as far as they could see.

Caiden and Leah had been viewing all this with expressions of awe. Caiden stopped when he saw a boozlebun cart.

“Uncle Darian!” he cried, accidentally startling the vendor managing the stand. “Can I get one? Please?”

“Hmm…” Darian said, pretending thinking about it. “I don’t know…”

“PLEASEEEEE?” Caiden and Leah chimed simultaneously.

“Alright,” Darian laughed, breaking into a smile. Caiden and Leah hurried over to the vendor, and he followed. “Three raspberry boozlebuns, please.”

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