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From Fritane To Titripec


Etcetere

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Come, hearken to the first of many tales about the, people, places, and hapoccurs within the Realm of Ip. I myself am the archivist of all Ippish history in the fair town of Stesh, and have been given leave to recount the happenings and infoings of two famed cities in our fair land - the cities of Fritane (Fri-tan-ee) and Titripec (Ti-tree-peck).

Most consider them one city, and misinformed as they are, that is a very credible observation. For throughout the streets of the two towns, amongst all the azure and orange buildings, one can hardly discerne which and whether town they're in. Just why this?

Deep in the south of Ip, at the tip of the Easchnlor peninsula (a great battle was fought on the plains there, but thi's another story) there were a rather large settlation of colonists coming from the great Kaah Treaui Kaah ruins to the westnorthwest, seeking a new place to govern and call their own. At the tip, at a small but worthy bay, they decided on the location for their new village.

But there was a disagreement - one prominent leader of the group had decided the name would be Titripec, a name he came up with and thought clever and fitting. But one woman (of Gereant race) in the crowd thought it a ridiculous name, and voiced the name Fritane, after the 500-andon year old tortoise they clanspeople had raised through the generations, who was, sadly, deceased.

(I should take a moment to explain - in Ip, it is an esteemed practice to raise family tortoises. They never die of old age, and continue growing larger and larger. Families or clans or town councils would raise these reptiles and protect them from all disease or predators, so that generation after generation of devoted spoiled care these turtles would be so old and so huge, well... they would be very old and very huge. Why did people practice this practice? For the very famous heck of it.)

The leader refused - he would not rid the name Titripec. To enqouth him, "I'm making a town named Titripec, and I'm making a town of the name of Titripec!" His stubborness caused unrest in the settlers, who after many debates and arguments came to a compromise. No, not that the name would be Fritripec or Titrane, how stupid would that be? They decided to break off into two groups and each found their own towns. So, at a small distance of 25 Efferlengths (about the distance of 150 or 160 meters on Earth) began constucting their villages. Everyone was at peace with these decisions, and the two towns were very much in harmony with eachother.

But years passed, generations came and gone, and all cities expand with time. And expand Fritane and Titripec did. They grew and grew. The trouble was, as more time passed, there was no longer room for expansion outward. On one side was the sea and on the other three were the steep climbing edges of the basin they lived in. Expansion continued until they were just about meeting, only a road's width between them.

A brave entrepreneur and a wary architect began construction on a tavern in the direct 'tween of the two towns, a tavern by the name of The 30 Bucklers (for thirty bucklers were to adorn the walls inside). Following their lead, constuction continued in that tiny width of land until there simply wasn't enough room. Well, there was, but it was already occupied by the other town. Yet, thanks to inspecific boundary regulations, nobody viewd that as a problem. A Titripecan bank was built right in the middle of a Fritane street, and several Fritanish vendors placed their stands between various buildings in Titripec. And more time passed, and more expansion occured. Though it wasn't expansion so much as squeezing - more and more buildings of one town were built within or next to the streets and buildings of the others. Eventually, Fritane and Titripec practically entirely occupied the exact same space, and just what was Fritane and what was Titripec was interspersed within what was not.

Finally, both town councils realized this was a problem. How many times had it occured in the recent years that they would be walking down a Fritanish street, lean to the right and suddenly they would be on Titripecan property? Or a Titripecan walking into a market that was right beside his house and surrounded by lots of other Titrepecan houses, only to find it full of Fritanes? One particular citizen had it rough - He himself was declared Titripecan, but every house surrounding him contained Fritanish citizens, leaving him to ponder just to which he belonged. Postage was an absolute nightmare. Some spots were on Fritane property, some spots were Titripec, some were both. And both councils met, and both councils developed a simple smashing idea.

With surpluses of blue (they all preferred to refer to it as "azure", because it was a shade darker than normal blue) and orange paint from some previous undefined celebration of sorts, the towns agreed that all Titripecan structures would be painted one color, and the Fritanish bildings the other. And the painting begun - everyone in both towns were quite pleased with this arrangement. But yet another problem arose, starting with a situations that probably went summat like this:

Titripecan: Hey, you're painting that house orange!
Fritanish: Yes, isn't this whole idea great?
Titripecan: Oh, absolutely. But that house is Fritanish, not Titripecan.
Fritanish: Exactly, which is why I'm painting it orange.
Titripecan: But orange is the color of Titripec!
Fritanish: Absolutely not! Orange is the color of Fritane!
Titripecan: All Titripecan buildings are orange! Look at those over there!
Fritanish: Those? Those aren't Titripecan at all. Those belong to Fritane.
Titripecan: Orange is Titripec!
Fritanish: Orange is Fritane!

And when this argument was brought before both councils, it was realized both towns assumed orange as their color. Only a small portion of the cities had been painted, but they had all been painted orange. And the councils ARGUED. Both gave lengthy, filibustrous debates on why orange was the color for them. Really, the true reasons were no more than both liked orange and despised azure. Nobody could reach an agreement, especially because of the fact that whoever got orange, would get all the already orange painted buildigns as well, despite whether those buildings originally belonged to Fritane or Titripec. While the councils argued, months passed, and the citizens decided they might as well get the job done. They, randomly but fairly, painted the houses either orange or azure. With all the various orange and azure buildings, things were altogether even more confusing, but they faithfully awaited the decision the councils would make.

That decision, which was vary fair, was this: each town would get half the orange buildings, and half the azure buildings.

And the situation was never brought up again. Despite the fact that the decision made no less confusion and scattering, as well as (especiall as) the fact that neither side specified which buildings were the half they possessed. The reason it was never brought up again was the fact that so many arguments and useless decisions have already happened over the matter, that everyone was fairly sick of it to bother with it anymore.

So now, if you were to venture to Fritane or Titripec, don't expect to EVER be aware of which town you're just exactly in, because just when you're in one you're in the other. Go ahead and gaze at the remarkable orange and azure buildings, whose color is now meaningless and no more than a decoration. Though do regard this helpful bit of advice - Do visit The 30 Bucklers, which is the only place that belongs to neither town.


~()~

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