The Gates of Rye-Am

The city of Rye-Am is an ancient stronghold. It is built on a set of four hills overlooking the largest bend in the Eljur River. The great walls and stronghold attached to the city were founded by the patriarchs of the city in the days before anyone could even remember. These walls stood in what seemed like the personification of pride. Surely their maker was a man of genius rarely paralleled in his time or any time since. The walls of Rye-Am were supported by four gates, one facing each direction, and these gates symbolized the four pillars of life in the great fortress city.

The Amhurst gate faced to the east, named after the Amhurst family, one of the oldest and most noble families. They became wealthy through inventive farming techniques. Next was the southern gate called the Knights' Gate. This gate symbolized Rye-Am's reliance on the strength of it's own people to defend itself in war. This grew into a tradition of military service that was promoted throughout the ages of the city's existence. Third came the northern gate called the Temple Gate which opened up into the courtyard of the Great Temple. Religion became its own form of bedrock in Rye-Am and its devotees were like the sands of a sea shore. Then finally we come the western gate called The Gate of the Law. This gate is a symbol of Rye-Am's great emphasis on learning. Schools have always played an important role in the city, as has the equally important endeavor of trade because the Rye-Amians believe that commerce and good relations with other people groups bring about the opportunity to learn, both for themselves and those other groups. These four pillars, which the people of Rye-Am call The Four Gates are bred into the thinking of the people in the city. The have the visual reminders of the actual gates themselves, but they also have it taught in the elements of their schools and religious teachings.

The name of the city comes from the Amhurst family itself. Since time immemorial they were farmers and their specialty was rye. Therefore they named the city “Rye” after the grain and “Am” after the first two letters of their last name. The dash in the name came about because of the original Patriarch's son Avin, who really liked dashes. He at one point even suggested his father name the city Rye Dash Am, but his father said that was stupid and no more was spoken of it.

 This is a representation of what the Gate of the Law probably looked like. This gate was purposefully smaller than the other gates. The purpose was to symbolize that knowledge and learning were not flashy like the other pillars, but of equal importance. The two figures above the gate represent two Sphinxes, also called 'The Princes of Light and Goodness'.

picture source