[b]The Mesathalassa summary[/b] These posts are set in two major regions, Mesathalassa and the Dusklands. Mesathalassa is a continent that can be divided in three major regions. North Mesathalassa, a region of jagged mountains, thick jungles and endless rain and West Mesathalassa, of lush subtropical forests, swamps and fertile valleys, is inhabited mostly by humans. East Mesathallassa of sweeping plains and gentle shores* is mostly inhabited by Hain. (*The east coast is as old as Galbar, while the west coast is very young, made when Toun flooded the world, making it so only the east has proper shorelines) The Dusklands was a region of swamps modified by the influence of the god of darkness Julkofyr, when he created The Darkened Spires (the mountains east of the Dusklands) he, by side-effect, covered the region in dark clouds. Nevermind this, a human population still flourished on it. Though now that Ilunabar overtook The Darkened Spires, her influence is slowly casting away the darkness and replacing it with something much weirder and unwelcoming to humans. Mesathalassa is a very isolated region, having stayed untouched by foreign powers like Alefpria or Xerxes, or even the intrigues of gods. The region as a whole places a certain value on freedom, free guilds and elected chieftains are common in the wilds, while even the larger states feel the need to justify their rule and be fair to their people. Of course it's no wonderland of freedom, though at the very least one won’t find themselves enslaved while visiting most of their city states. [b]Maps[/b] [hider=My Hider] Harbor Kingdoms in 0 PR [img]https://i.imgur.com/jUzAtXb.png[/img] North Mesathalassa 60 PR [img]https://i.imgur.com/Kh3wGYl.png[/img] Political Map of West Mesathalassa 70 PR [img]https://i.imgur.com/EiCcIxZ.png[/img] [/hider] [b]History[/b] [hider=History of the region (Focus on West/North and Dusklands] ♦ Early Mesathalassa was first inhabited by the hain, who found themselves at home in the east coast, though many braved the harsher environments of the north or crossing the Halagan Mountains into the west, which at the time didn’t end in a sea, but in a dry wasteland. Epochs later, humans arrived on Galbar, soon two groups reached Mesathalassa from their western homeland, those who braved the Dusklands and those who crossed the badlands. In such times there was no peace between Hain and Man, the hain being able to fight off the Duskmen, but losing all of the west and much of the north to the other group, later called Dawnmen. The White Ocean’s creation dislodged humans from the region they had inhabited since their arrival on Galbar, two human ethnicities would arrive in Mesathalassa in great numbers, the Imga (translates to Sunmen) who came from a great tribal federation and the tribes of the Evemen, who had no option but to cross the flooding deserts. Isolated from the rest of the world until then, the Dawnmen were quickly subjugated by the greater numbers, knowledge and resources of the migrants, and the Hain as well, were pushed back fully from the west and north. (Sunmen, Dawnmen, Evemen and Duskmen is an Imga invention that became the regional standard. Dusklander and Duskmen have the same meaning, but Sunlander means any human who was born outside of the dusklands.) ♦ Rise of Civilization The first centers of advanced culture in the region were the Hain of the the east coast, shielded from the chaos in the west by the Halagan Mountains. Fibeslay was, and still is, one of its most influential villages. Next came the Duskland’s Tsefo Valley civilization, a melting pot culture that started the unification of Dusklander culture. The west’s rise of complex settlements was late in comparison to the rest of Mesathalassa, with Mesathalassa already being late in comparison to other continents. First appearing in the Hain and Dawnmen fortresses the Evemen tribes took over, to this day there is a concept of ‘old realms’ that separates kingdoms like Tabatha, Kris Forio and Grehvew from the newer ones. Soon, however, new tribes started to settle in more bountiful grounds, the ocean, in particular, allied to the great woodworking skills of this people, led to a quick rise in population on the coast, resulting in the first Harbor Kingdoms, such as Krastas and Kodekzia. Soon the Sunmen regions south followed. Igar-Kuri (also called Tri-Harbor) being the most notable example in the south and the largest Harbor Kingdom of the era. It was formed by the union of three smaller villages, conquered by a chieftain claiming to be the heir of the old kings of Imga, the memory of such times almost completely lost to the tribes until that point. ♦ Post-Realta Golden Age of the Harbor Kingdoms (0 to 25 PR) The human populated west coast of Mesathalassa was mostly spared from the attack of the Realta, being an isolated human populated region, this helped the region to catch up with the rest of the world. Farming was starting to be developed in the region, with carrot and cassava farms. At 0 PR, the most prominent Kingdoms were: Igar-Kuri, now a republic after banishing the kings of Imga who were on the brink of causing a civil war over succession. Kodekzia, the ancient harbor kingdom and center of the written language in the region. And Kivico, a young but prosperous harbor kingdom, built near a ruby gemstone mine. Kodekzia was a natural rival to Kivico, and soon created a pact with Igar-Kuri to isolate their rival. It didn’t work, it just created a new will on the Kivico royalty to flexibilize their realm. New realms and cities were being created all through the coast and inner lands. At the same time, the rise of farming was causing some trouble to these Harbor Kingdoms, before their society was simple, a chieftain owned the harbor and the citizens owned the ships, now with farms societal order was not so simple, and the struggles were starting to dim the freedom of the common person of the realms. The Theocracy of Mirny, in particular, became a sore reminder of this reality, as the workforce it used to claim the riches of the mines in its land was actually analogue to slavery, a concept that was abominable to the locals. Yet, as the source of bronze to the local realms, no realm dared to object the actions of the mad priestess who led Mirny. ♦ The Court of Chickens (26 PR to 40 PR) After their expulsion from Igar-Kuri, the two successors to the king of Imga attempt to build successor states, nicknamed Imganae (Older Imga) and Imganana (Younger Imga), a joke on the two feuding brothers, Thanfong and Rok. While irrelevant in comparison to other Sunmen realms, such as Igar-Kuri and Mirny, their descendants would be the cause of the first large conflict in Mesathalassa. It started as a dispute between two neutral villages, in such times tamed animals were still rare, so when a chicken of one farmer was killed while eating the crops of another farmer, a discussion started. These villages had been in the sight of the ambitions successor realms, so they were quick to try to aid to peacefully solve the situation, only to cause it to spiral out of control, soon, the two would finally start their inevitable war. Imganae was cut off from the sea, so it sent a caravan northward to gather weapons from Mirny. This was trouble to Krastas and Jan, two harbor kingdoms whose wealth was exporting the landlocked Mirny’s goods through the sea, yet both were also rivals, so they could not act together to reach their common goal, suspicious grew and resulted in a war between both as Krastas moved to besiege Mirny just to be sneak attacked by Jan. Further north, the small village of Puperute suffered a revolution, when local Kodekzia backed lords tried to remove a garden dedicated to Elysium to plant crops the local faithful rose trying to mimic the theocracy of Mirny. Kodekzia aimed at an unification of the northwest and to them this was a slap on the face, their armies marched forward and burned the village to the ground. This was seen as an act of tyranny, though it kept the ‘allied’ realms of Grehvew and Tabatha in line. The council was paranoid over Kivico south, and, thinking their armies would be located far from their northern borders due to the wars, they marched towards the city with the casus belli of having found proof Kivico was the one behind the Puperute rebellion. As the largest realm of its time, it seemed to Kodekzia that such an act would be a quick ordeal. But Kivico was not only led by a noble and wise king, but his three daughters were equally genial, one in the field of diplomacy, one in the field of science and the last one, Sheru, or “The Ogre of Kivico” in the military field. The larger armies of Kodekzia broke like waves against a rock, and soon, it was Kodekzia, not Kivico, who was besieged. With its great wealth, Kodekzia entered in a panic mode, much like many other realms down south, and as such, decided to hire mercenaries from the wildlands and the Dusklands. Of such, the Dzamo Pura, led by Tihtzin, was the most famous and successful. He evened the field between Kivico and Kodekzia, avoiding total collapse, and being a key part in breaking the siege of Kodekzia. Upon entering the large Harbor Kingdom, famous for its libraries, he found some works by other Dusklanders who had gone south. These texts, allied to the differences he saw between his culture and the local “Sunlander” cultures, helped him to rethink how he saw his own homeland. By 40 PR the war started to cool off, not by decisive victory, but by fatigue. Kodekzia had regained territories and avoided total collapse, but it had spent its wealth on mercenaries, when payment failed they attempt to betray them, only for the Dzamo Pura to take over Tabatha (Declaring an independent realm that lasted five years). This led to most of the other realms leaving their sphere and for a coup to happen, ousting the council and declaring a full monarchy. Mirny, despite starting the war besieged, grew in influence overtaking many territories of both enemy and allied nation. The two realms of Imga were unified under the Rok family. Kivico itself became a much more prominent nation, asserting themselves over Jan and Krastas and having weakened their rival Kodekzia to an absurd extent. ♦ Southern Invasion (44PR to 49PR) During the Court of Chickens, Imganana contracted Deer Rider mercenaries from the south, seeing what happened with Kodekzia, they overpaid to be safe. This had the opposite effect, as the mercenaries’ tales of the wealth of Mesathalassa were spread far among the Deer Rider tribes, and four years later, a small band arrived. Defenses were still set from the times of the war, so, the horde simply ravaged the countryside of the south. The one realm to fall was Mirny, the mad priestess Dahleria had built her realm on intrigue, it was not only lacking in defense, but she tried to play the horde leaders like local lords, which failed terribly, ending in the destruction of her realm. In the south, King Xabud of the Rok Family, leader of Imga, made a valiant effort to keep his land safe, and, unlike many other kings, he succeeded. The people saw him as a protector, not a coward. With this popularity, he pushed forward important reforms that would have set Imga for the future. Would have, because the loot of Mirny only further fueled the ambition of the southern tribes, a larger, monumental host, that moved all the way from the tribes that had been displaced by dwarves, struck, killing Xabud and the entire Rok clan, overtaking the south and quickly moving north. It was by Sheru and the other princess of Kivico (Though now her sister was queen) effort that the conquest stopped at the walls of Igar-Kuri. Though the raiders remained in the conquered Imga territories. ♦ The Reign of Runza Thanfong (50PR to 61PR) When Xabud re-unified the two successor states of Imga, he made sure to destroy the family rival to Rok, the Thanfongs. All but one, Runza, who had been kidnapped and sold into slavery when she was a child had been killed. She had since escaped captivity and returned to Imga just at the hordes had lost. The chieftain of the horde, thinking Imganana’s fortress would be dangerous, moved to the ruined state of Imganae, Runza’s homeland, making it easier for her to set-up a ruthless trap that killed him and his whole family. While taking the role of a liberator to get the people on her side, Runza was also willing to accomodate with some of the raiders, after all, she needed all the resources she could in the upcoming war which was not only to push out the other armies of the horde, not only to unify all of Imga as it was, but to expand it further, creating a kingdom in the image of what it was meant to be, she was not queen of a land, she was queen of a people. She kept true to her words, and for the next decade, would make Imga into the largest realm of Mesathalassa and one of the largest ones mankind has seen, she re-absorbed lost lands, she conquered rogue states related to her ancestors, she took the role of a conqueror when the unifier excuse didn’t work for some of the most prosperous lands like Mirny. The crown jewel of her conquests would be Igar-Kuri, only then would the kingdom be complete, all of the north and her many dissidents, led by Sheru of Kivico, who was old at this point but still sharp, made a stand against her in the city, and Runza brought them down. However, in the siege she became ill, initially it was what looked like a simple cold, but it got worse and worse, and after an agonizing week, she was gone, and so was the dream of an unified Imga as generals picked what was left. [/hider] [b]West Mesathalassa in 70 PR[/b] [hider=My Hider] What started as a gold age ended in a dark one, the age of rising harbor kingdoms and promises of greatness is long past. Kivico stands alone as the sole winner of the three great wars that ravaged the region, yet, fearing a collapse similar to its neighbours, they now focus inward and towards isolation. Imga is now a region of feuding warlords, the peace Runza conquered twisted, the roads built for trade now used only by marching soldiers. Kodekzia struggles to regain their pre-coup standing, for almost thirty years they have done so, but where once stood helpless villages, now stand new rising rivals. The initial bounty agriculture brought was lot to rising populations, now many have barely enough to survive, the flow of technology grinded to a halt thanks to the war exhaustion but the flow of ideas did not, radical religious thought and ideas about government are whispered in the great harbors. [/hider] [b]The Dusklands in 70 PR[/b] [hider=My Hider] The approaching ‘oddlands’ forced most dusklander populations to their borders, but thanks to great acts in the last decades, they didn’t devolve into desperate clashing tribes, but instead a great confederation emerged to keep the peace. In such an environment, new though flourished. The priest Mavadzugji, first to transfer the dusklander language into the written form, started a group called Tsefo, which at first focused only on bringing foreign knowledge into the lands under the dusk and writing down its people’s history, but later evolved into a center of political and religious thought. A new sense of unity, inspired by Runza’s rule in the south, now unites most of the dusklander under the name of Dzanya, but as the time to leave behind the vanishing dusklands and walk where the sun shine comes, many do not know what to do. Mavadzugji has radical ideas about a new centralized society, many oppose him and instead want to keep the ancestral clan society that has, so far, always worked, others want to emulate the kingdoms of the south, there are those who simply reject any sense of unity whatsoever and see people like Mavadzugji as tools of tyranny. Most of the population has been moving to north mesathalassa, as it had enough free space for colonies to be made, however, with so many people, an eventual migration into the crowded west mesathalassa is inevitable, sunlanders and dusklanders alike fear such event, sunlanders and dusklanders alike see the opportunity in this delicate moment. [/hider] [b]Glossary / Characters / Locations[/b] [b]- Dusklands / Dzanya[/b] [hider=My Hider] Dzanya: A word with two meanings. One is a delicate flower native to the dusklands, the other is a generic demonym for everything dusklander related. The later user was popularized recently. Dzanyavehar: A neologism with fuses the worh veh and har, people and land, leading to a meaning close to People’s Land, or nation. First user unknown, but the word was found in a clay tablet by the mercenary Tihtzin. Dusklands: Lands north of Mesathalassa, under the darkness created by Julkofyr Oddlands: Once Julkofyr’s influence was overtaken by Ilunabar, this started to replace the dusklands. Tsefo: A type of seed that used to be the staple food the dusklander population. Also the name of a region where the dusklander culture first started and the name of a group of priests led by Mavadzugji. Mavadzugji: Alive. Secret son of the mercenary general Tihtzin and the sunlander princess Sheru of Kivico. Radical priest who was obsessed with writing down the history of the dusklands and bringing it up to date with the rest of the world. Creator of the first written language, leader of the Tsefo. Tihtzin: Dead. Mercenary general who fought in the Court of Chikens and gained great fame in both the sunlands and the dusklands. Batsami: Alive. A bright young woman whose mother housed Mavadzugji. Not a priestess, but she took the role of Manyadjir of the Tsefo. Manyadjir: Dusklander families are very specialized, so it was common for them to adopt teen and young adults of other families for access to their skills. In recent times it gained a new meaning, closer to a ‘manager’ of a group, a neutral person who overlooks its needs. Topami Clan: A falling house who once held great power from north and south. Notable members are Kadja Topami, who is irrelevant to this story in particular and Tura Topami, priestess and loyal member of the Tsefo, inventor of the first codex-style books. Dyetzu Clan: A powerful military clan who was one of the central pieces keeping Mutaraka’s confederation of tribes united. A rising family from when the Tsefo valley was consumed by the oddlands, their notable members are Llapur Dyetzu, famous general who has been fighting the firstlander tribes in the sunlands and his younger brother Tsilluhan Dyetzu. Tsir Clan: A clan from the Papuratsura, the shore of the dusklands which are cut off from the rest by mountains. The only clan that is truly friendly towards the confederation, which is too cut off to try to integrate the Papuratsura tribes. Rofotzan Tsir is a follower of Mavadzugji. Huro Clan: An important Tsefo Valley era clan who has lost most of their importance. To be led by the young Funmih Huro. Ruhtseke Clan: A minor clan that gained most of their prestige by being loyal to the Dyetzu clan. Tavitse, good friend of Llapur Dyetzu, is its current head. Tavitse has a young half-sunlander bastard daughter called Fernya. Tzemeh Clan: A clan from the rich obsidian mines near the mountains of the duskland. Mostly composed of rich merchants, but has been investing in the military side. Tzeba and Pihati: Both Alive. Two brothers who became prestigious during the wars to establish Mutaraka’s confederation of tribes, the older one, Tzeba is the most likely successor to Mutaraka. Mutaraka: Alive. Chieftain who united most tribes still in the dusklands in a great confederation to avoid having the dusklanders fight amongst themselves as they fled the oddlands. Firstlander: Dusklands tribes who left as soon as the oddlands started to spread, in 1 PR. Many are against the confederation and the Tsefo, others are more open towards it. Regjurnyarha Clan: A firstlander clan which housed Mavadzugji in his stay in the south. Kadja Regjurnyarha married a sunlander hunter who had ties into the ancient order of the shamans. [/hider] [b]- West/North Mesathalassa[/b] [hider=My Hider] Susah: Largest settlement in the North, a large village and home to the Hunter Guild. Hunters: The only truly large scale organized group in the north, a splinter group of the southern shamans with less magical assets but better organization. They have lodges in most human villages in the north, where they share information and train new members. Shamans: A group of mystics from the Halagan mountains, used to hold great power, but have been extinct in a great disaster, the few survivors escaping north, to the hunters and the abbey. Halagan Mountains: A mountain range that divides west, north and east Mesathalassa. The Abbey: A personal project of a trader foreign to Mesathalassa, a temple to a goddess called Yekoloria and house to countless written texts and maps from all over the fractal ocean. Grehvew: A village which became rich thanks to Dusklander trade, localized right on the border, its an exampe of an Eveman old home. Eveman, Dawnmen, Sunmen, Duskmen: Imga’s classification of the human ethnicities of Mesathalassa. Dawnmen were the first humans in the region, mostly extinct and absorbed; Duskmen are the dusklanders; Eveman are the population of North and Northwest Mesathalassa and Imga are the populations of Southwest Mesathalassa. Old Home: Villages built over Hain and Dawnmen ruins, most notoriously, Grehvew and Tabata. Exist in contrast to the newer Harbor Towns and Harbor Kingdoms. Tabata: A fortress in the middle of drylands, strategic point of the passage between West and North Mesathalassa. Was home to Tihtzin’s revolt for half a decade, before he was forced back into the dusklands. Harbor Kingdom: A form of government where a family holds the harbor but others own the boats. A very informal form of government where the king provides infrastructure. Has struggled to adapt to farming, leading the way to more common, more authoritarian, kingdoms. Vascogne: A mystical trader family, the head of the family holds in them a spirit called The Griffin, which holds all the information collected by the family and is able to compute great amounts of data. Kodekzia: Important northern Harbor Kingdom, and one of the oldest. Home to the largest library in Mesathalassa, in clear decadence for the last 30 years, but once held plans to unifty the northwest. Kivico: The gemstone of Mesathalassa, the Ruby, the most stable and currently the largest Harbor Kingdom, though even it has lost some land in the last few years. It is a noble republic, where the better off families elect new rulers every decade. Sheru “the ogre” of Kivico: Dead. One of the three princess who held Kivico for decades, leading it to a golden age, was the shield and sword of the land. Mother of Mavadzugji, born from a secret meeting with Tihtzin, who led opposing forces during the Court of Chickens. Mirny: A rich mining region for copper, tin and silver, once home to a theocracy led by an Elysian priestess, the closest Mesathalassa has ever been to slavery. The radicals were exiled over many wars, but it remains the target of economical, cultural and religious ambition. Elysianism: The exaltation of the goddess Elysium over all others, a fringe but vocal religion in human Mesathalassa and the Dusklands. Igar-Kuri: The largest city, once the home of the Imga kingdom, it was quick to expel its nobles and become a full republic. Imga: An ancient tribal kingdom which is said to have been home to all sunmen before the flooding that created the White Ocean, was resurrected in Igar-Kuri by a chieftain but his two sons were expelled when they threatened civil war, they founded two rivaling kingdoms, which were unified in the Court of Chikens, destroyed in the Raindeer Invasion, reformed under Runza Thanfong, where it become, for a short time, one of the largest and most prosperous lands. The Flooding: When Toun created the White Ocean, he carelessly targed the landing spot where humans had first arrived from Arcon. Court of Chikens: The great war which involved most Harbor Kingdoms, all starting in a dispute over a killed animal in disputed territory between the two successor states of Imga. Raindeer Invasion: Raindeer Riders from the cold south, used as mercenaries in the Court of Chikens, returned, sacked and occupied most of the southwest a decade later. Runza Thanfong: Dead. Genial ruler who liberated Imga from the Raindeer Riders, reformed the kingdom, united most of the Sunmen / Imga realms with the exception of the wildlands near the Halagan Mountains. Queen to one of the largest realms known to man, died tragically as her project neared its end, not in battle, but from sickness. Her philosophical and cultural impact resonated all the way north, into the Dusklands. Wildlands: Tribal lands too far from the civilization of the Harbor Kingdoms, home of the shamans, the innkeeps, and of countless wandering tribes. Once a land of lush jungles, it has started to dry up thanks to the changes brought by the war of the elementals. Innkeeps: Related to the shamans, these were fortified locations in the wildlands where tribes would settle around when they were not wandering. The locations looked quite simple, but impressively, they all shared information with each other on a continental level. [/hider] Further Information in the Wiki: [url=https://divinus-ii.fandom.com/wiki/Dusklands]Dusklands[/url] and [url=https://divinus-ii.fandom.com/wiki/Mesathalassa]Mesathalassa[/url] Open to answering questions in the OOC or PMs.