Faldon
OverviewFaldon (sometimes referred to as Faldon Village), an ancient settlement in the middle of the Faldon Desert, is perhaps one of the oldest human settlements on SW Island, dating back to at least 560 AD, in the middle of the Tribal Era. It is the birthplace of the Scarab Tribe, and it is inhabited and maintained to this day by that tribe's descendants. |
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Geography and Architecture
Faldon is located in the only extant desert on SW Island, however records suggest that much of the central-south portion of the island, including much of Palm Grove and Orton Strip Mall, was just as arid up until the 1100's - it is still unknown why this is, and puzzling as to why Faldon remains a desert. However, the local population has adapted, building their homes out of sandstone and importing harder stone and wood for furnishings and floors.
Nougat infestation is a constant problem, due to that race's famous love of sand, and often the octopus-like Scraylixia or 'nougeaters' are bred as pets to keep them at bay.
The settlement can be broken into two rough sections: the residential district, containing the houses that the people of Faldon live in, and the pond, from which Faldon's water supply comes; and the market district, which houses a tavern, a smithy, several small shops, Faldon Town Hall, and an altar to Tri. Faldon also boasts both a monorail stop and a subway station, which means it is easily accessible to the rest of SW City.
History and Culture
In 560 AD, still in the Tribal Era, one tribe became sick of the constant wandering and fighting, and settled around one of the largest watering holes in the desert. This tribe was Scarab, and it was here that the great philosopher Comitarchus was born and raised. Comitarchus, a great leader as well as an orator, began talking to the nearby tribes about the Heretika, a society to the east which had enslaved much of the tribal population in the area. Together, they formed the Scarabia alliance, and over the course of three years, the malevolent Heretika were wiped out.
Because Faldon was now not large enough to support the newly formed alliance, a mass exodus occurred, the majority of Scarabia conquering and settling the lands to the north. Most of the original Scarab tribe remained, however, and the line of Comitarchus continued, supplying every Scarab Chief until the formation of the Kingdom of Scarabia in 981, when Garald Comitus was declared king. Faldon was declared a protected territory of Scarabia, and was virtually untouched; however, Hyokians laid claim to the southern Faldon Desert in 1615 with the establishment of Fort Masen, and this went uncontested. In 1640, King Alexander Comitus made a famous speech in Faldon to his Scarab ancestors, and began his conquest of the neighbouring countries, first decimating Clannar, then Hyokians, Barsyn, and Jamesar. Eventually, the Scarabian Empire was formed, and Faldon again became a protectorate.
Over the years, Faldon has grown in size and popularity; after their slavery was abolished, many Nimbusian settlers came to the village and started businesses in the Civil Era, and the monorail and subway stations were added later by the Corporate Era Scarabian Republic.
A lot of Faldon cultural traditions have entered the mainstream, the most prolific of which is the ancient Scarab clothing regalia known as the hotep. Most famously, Central District governor and Scarab descendant Samuel W. Comit, Jr wears a heavily modernized version of this garb.
Faldon is now administrated by a number of locals in the Town Hall, and they manage housing permits, water rights and nougat infestation control.
Gaming 
As a pass-time, residents of the village like to setup and play various parlor games with each other as well as visitors. One of the more well-known games, Scaraby, has gained massive popularity over the last few years. Original Scaraby cards have been known to fetch more than 10 scarabeads on SWebay, where a couple of years ago they would have fetched only a couple flint. Games such as number guessing and memory are also very popular in this area.
| Scaraby | Scaraby is a simple card game that originated in the Faldon Desert. A deck of Scaraby cards has a value between one and five -- the goal is to draw cards without going over the sum goal of 10. The player that does not go over 10 wins. The maximum bet at the Faldon Scaraby Hustler is 20 scarabeads. |
| Memory | Memory is a card game where the player must match a set number of cards in a set time limit. There are three difficulty modes based on the wager:
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| Drunken Submins | Barman Ced hosts the Faldon flavor of Drunken Submins -- come in and test your tolerance for 5 scarabeads! The player is given four drinks with a random potency, and the goal is to not cross it. Players can deny a drink twice if they sniff it and find it suspicious. |
| Number Brothers | The Number Brothers of Faldon Village host a cryptic guessing game -- you must guess the number one of the brothers pick before the other does, and if you don't guess it correctly, they win by default! |
People of Interest
| Sil Verlynin | Sil is a Faldon resident who is having terrible trouble with nougats, a local pest. He lives in the residential district, near the monorail station. |
| Theodore | Theodore is an old Nimbusian looking for some help with his errands. He pays out a small amount of scarabeads for assistance. |
| Dahshie the Shopkeeper | This shopkeeper is a rarity these days -- he only accepts scarabead currency! Despite this, his wares are likely worth the price to SWiki Card collectors. |
| Myrla | Little is known about Myrla, beyond that she resides somewhere in the Faldon region. She is claimed to be a mystic. |