Merahin, Alaska
Location: Northwest edge of the Seward Peninsula, between Nome and Kotzebu
Population: 1,200 (79% Human, 21% Meta)
Geography and Climate: Mostly hills and mountainous forests, the town itself lies in a valley that opens into the sea
Average Yearly Temperature: 8°F
A coastal town on the edge of Alaska, Merehin is a place where the land is always in the hearts of the people who live there. Whether they fish out in the open Arctic Ocean, or living off the mountainous land they collectively refer to as the hills, Merehin's population is more than capable of taking care of itself. This is an area full of large mountains, cold valleys, and clear rivers, known well by many of its citizens. The town itself is situated on the very edge of Alaska, where the land meets the sea. Fishermen of various levels and forms come and go every day to provide for their families and the town, while some of the people who live further away from the center of the town take to living of the land in older, more hardened ways. Merehin's residential map shows a cluster near the water, stretching for a mile into the land, where downtown is. Here you would find things like a grocery store, a diner, a hospital, and many other things, but the further out you go, the less you see. Several more miles of winding, dividing roads that lead into the lower parts of the hills, where smaller clumps of people live and neighbor each other. As you pass these homes, you run into more and more hunters, and a particularly well-populated area called Ridge Point.
Ridge Point Outpost
One of the most striking differences between Merehin and Tenebrae is the general outlook on meta individuals, in Tenebrae, they face constant scrutiny and threat of violence. In Merehin, however, metas are treated with dignity and respect, children are raised to not look at each other any different when one of them can breathe fire. A major factor in this is likely due to the presence of the Snow Rangers. They are a collection of volunteer metas forming an unofficial system to patrol and conserve the wildlife of Merehin's backyard, the place where people go to hunt and live off the land. They have established themselves in the last 30 years by showing dedication to helping and maintaining the safety of Merehin's people. Ridge Point is their base of operations, overlooking the Fernburg Pass, the main road into the hills. Here, they can communicate with Rangers out in the hills for anything from weather reports to rescues and medical assistance. Merehin's weather is often drastic, with large snowstorms able to creep up out of nowhere. These Rangers train themselves and each other to prepare for these incidents, as well as severe-weather navigation, medical aid out in the hills, meta power affinity, and wildlife preservation.
There have been times in the past where a hunter or two got themselves lost, with no way of communicating with anyone. Thankfully, their absences were noted, and the Rangers coordinated with the police to form search parties. The police were capable of very little, compared to the extensive experience of the volunteering Rangers, and their grasp of their own powers. Because of things like this, the Snow Rangers have always held a highly respectable reputation among Merehin's people. Their news station makes a habit of getting their input about the weather, in case it is too bad for hunting, and they're always around for a good drink at the local diner, May's Roof. Most of the Snow Rangers do not make profits off of the work they do, and are therefore only part time, coming in after working at the docks or after hours at their jobs. A few older, retired individuals dedicate themselves to the life however, and often carry a lot of respect with them after doing the job so long. while not every Snow Ranger has meta powers, most do, as it gives them a way to get in touch with who they really are, and the way they train and respect their powers shows the kind of life people could live if Tenebrae's metas weren't persecuted. Lives have been saved from the ability to levitate above the clouds of a snowstorm, and natural disasters have been averted thanks to the ability to block off rivers pushing boulders with superhuman strength. In Merehin, no one has any bad blood against metas, because a great many of its hunters and hikers owe at least one meta their life.
"Yep, those rangers- they're good people. They know how to stay frosty- and toasty- when things get bad. I got a lotta respect for places where people like me ain't got much to worry about. There's not a soul here who gives a damn that I can make it rain with a snap. Used to think I'd retire here, maybe I will, y'never know. The cold don't bug me much, the seas're always chilly. Real peaceful..." "Gettin' soft on us, are you?" "Sure am, icy. Sure am."
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