Llyff-on-the-99

Llyff-on-the-99

Llyff-on-the-99 is a small town in the lower part of the Northwest Heaths. Situated along W-99,  the strange and fast-running river that flows down from the glacial jungles in the far north and sometimes runs gas-slick black with ice and unknown magic. The town is situated in a small valley on a bend in the river, not far south of where the 99 intersects with W-82. You might miss it if you weren’t looking, and all around it for miles  is nothing but tall purple grass and Anuran shrubs, twisty plants with dark bark and deep red-purple foliage that bare sweet black fruits that can be baked, boiled into a tea or eaten raw. The population of the town is small, less than 200 people, and ever in-flux as young Anuran’s grow old enough to set out down the river for a period of nomadic self-discovery. Nestled at the heart of town is a small harbor, with many small long boats anchored to floating docks that rock with the river’s current. Some Llyffers live on their boats, while others keep floating shops decorated with colorful signage and festive bunting. In town the homes are quite large, to accommodate Anuran families whose kinship structures are expansive, but they are built into the earth and grass or gardens grow along the sloped roofs. The homes are made of scrap materials and packed mud, and are quite organic in shape, curving to match the landscape. Many of the homes have long windows along the sunniest side, and mosaics of beach glass, bottles, or broken tile forming intricate patterns set into the mudded walls. It rains for most of the year in Llyff-on-the-99 and, as the river water is not always safe to drink, the Llyfers have devised elaborate systems of rain water collection that irrigate their small gardens and filter into the large communal bath at the center of any Anuran home.