|
Post by fluttersky on Jul 30, 2017 10:27:32 GMT
Due to *ahem* recent drama on that site, some of us have decided to continue a map game that was started over there on this site.Link to old threads: Old game thread and Old turn thread
Note: In this thread, the maps are hotlinks to AH.com attachments. I've also saved those maps, in case the hotlinks break. This thread contains all turns. Summary of the first several turns is in the following spoiler. Prehistory - 8000 BCE8000 - 7200 BCE7200 - 6400 BCE6400 - 5600 BCE5600 - 4800 BCE4800 - 4000 BCE4000 – 3200 BCE
|
|
|
Post by fluttersky on Jul 30, 2017 10:37:29 GMT
Turn 0 / Prehistory - 8000 BCE / Prehistory - 5670 K.D.
by Penelope [*]In the Great Basin of Tortolia a distinct, somewhat homogeneous group of related nomadic tribes, herding groups, and settlers come to be known as the Lahontanic peoples or the Lahontan culture group. Some of these people come to live around various lakes and rivers in the heart of the Great Basin, and begin to develop primitive forms of agriculture. Several semi-distinct branches of the Lahontanic peoples appear in the northwest, the east, and coastal areas surrounding the Basin. [*]The Lenaic peoples emerge out of the hunter-gatherer tribes in the Lena River basin, practicing a form of early spirituality. The Lenaic proto-religion is mostly centered around a mythic figure known as Hapekore, a immortal deity said to be cursed to be endlessly reincarnated in the body of a human woman. [*]A few minor isolate cultures develop in California, Alaska, and on the shores of Lake Baikal. [*]Around the rest of the world, much of the human population remains a part of hunter-gatherer tribes or wandering families. A trend begins to emerge in many regions, however, towards social development. [*]A volcanic eruption in Europe causes a global drop in temperatures over the course of a century, causing much famine, disease, and conflict among the early societies of Jaredia.
|
|
|
Post by fluttersky on Jul 30, 2017 10:38:22 GMT
Turn 1 / 8000 - 7200 BCE / 5670 - 4870 K.D.by fluttersky The Caspic peoples originate on the southern shores of the Caspian Sea, where wheat has been domesticated in the fertile river valleys. Some tribes start finding their way to islands just offshore in Indonesia, in rudimentary boats. A few more minor culture groups develop. Notable is the Burmic peoples, who have started to settle down to farm breadfruit. Lahontanic people do not expand, because all of the neighboring lands have quite a different climate.
|
|
|
Post by fluttersky on Jul 30, 2017 10:39:20 GMT
Turn 2 / 7200 - 6400 BC / 4870 - 4070 K.D.
by OrsinoThe Caspic peoples live increasingly settled lives and in the first part of this millennium they begin to build large settlements. As these settlements of tightly clustered dry stone homes grow larger and develop into proto-cities, rule by tribal chieftains no longer suffices for the increasingly complex urban society of the Caspics. Chieftains come together, forming first alliances and then governing councils. Recreation of Du-Mar, the largest Caspic City.By 6400 BC a dozen distinct Caspic city-states have emerged on the shores of the Caspic Sea, most of which follow the model of rule by council, although in a few of the Caspic city-states strongmen have seized control and rule as Kings. As a result of this trend towards urbanisation the Caspic writing system first develops to facilitate the recording of trade deals. The Burmic people continue to spread throughout Asia and it is during this period that the “Sea Hero” tradition of oral folklore begins. These prehistoric stories centre around a mysterious culture hero who travels the region, walking out of the sea to slay monsters and save villages. The development of the Sea Hero mythology during this period may be linked to innovations in canoe-building amongst the Burmics, which allow them to increasingly travel further over water. During this period the Burmics also begin to cultivate rice. A series of droughts and natural disasters drive the Lenaic cultures north and east along the coast. Whilst the Lenaics remain a largely divided and nomadic people worship of Hapekore has led to the founding of a single, sacred city. The sacred city of Katricho grew out of the Lenaic belief that Hapekore incarnates as a mortal woman in every generation. The need to house a living goddess led to the construction of first a palace, then a palace-complex, then a palace-city. Now the Lenaic’s single holy city provides a place for nomads to come and worship, mix, arrange marriages, trade and settle disputes peacefully. Ruins of Katricho, the Sacred Palace-City that was home to successive mortal incarnations of the Lenaic Goddess Hapekore.The isolate culture in Alaska develops into the Shakkadians, a militaristic maritime culture that spans the straits. The Shakkadians have a complex and extensive pantheon of Gods and Goddesses who are engaged in constant warfare with each other and the Shakkadians mimic this in their own society. Constant warfare leads to innovations amongst the Shakkadians, such as obsidian bladed weaponry, and in around 6600 BC the chief of the Karnes tribes gains the upper hand, beginning to unite the warring tribes under his bloody rule. The Karnesians become the first people to bury their dead in the foetal position. Example of Shakkadian obsidian weaponry, circa 6600 BCThe Eastern Lahontanics diverge significantly from the greater Lahontanic Culture. The Eastern Lahontanics worship a primeval fertility-mother-goddess known as Wehoma and organise their society along matrilineal and matriarchal lines. Amongst the Eastern Lahontanics women who are barren or miscarry are believed to have been selected to be spiritual mothers to their people and form a priestly ruling caste. The Eastern Lahontanics are perhaps the first people in the world to work precious metals, their priestesses wearing sacred gold and silver bracelets. Clay figure believed to be a representation of the Eastern Lahontanic deity known as Wehoma.The mainstream Lahontanic Culture meanwhile shifts westwards before beginning to become increasingly sedentary. Several Lahontanic Kingdoms emerge on the southern coast and a sedentary lifestyle brings about a number of innovations. The Lahontanic dog, domesticated from the American wolf, begins to feature prominently in Lahontanic mythology and the first ziggurats, characteristic of the Lahontanic Culture, are built to honour departed kings. The Great Ziggurat, built in the Lahontanic Kingdom of Ghera around 6700 BC.During this period the Lahontanics and Eastern Lahontanics largely lose contact with each other, and the matriarchal Eastern Lahontanics are misremembered by the Lanontanics as a brutal race of child-murdering warrior women. The central American isolate culture has developed into the Tizaoko culture, notable for their decorative pottery, pastoral lifestyle, worship of animals and honour-based code of morality. Ancient Tizaoko water vessel.In Greenland the Alfar culture emerges, a peaceful fishing and goat-herding people notable for their lack of religiosity, believing in neither gods per se nor an afterlife, although they credit various animals and people with supernatural abilities, as reflected in their cave paintings. During this time the Alfar taboo concerning eating meat begins to develop, particularly in relation to hooved animals. Alfar cave-painting dating to 6900 BCIn OTL Canada the Gormen culture emerges. The Gormen are notable for their monotheistic belief in a huge dragon-like God that encircles the land. The Gormen become a settled culture during this period and begin building large settlements and temple complexes. Earliest known depiction of Taalon, the God-Dragon believed to encircle the world in the Gormen religion.In OTL Britain the semi-mythical King Fenric unites disparate “Scottish” Nomads to form the Fenric Kingdom. The Fenrics are an increasingly sedentary people and skilled animal herders. They have a large and colourful pantheon of Gods (which humans can join through exceptional achievements) and a unique system of writing known as Fenric Runes. The Fenrics are talented sea-farers and establish colonies in OTL Ireland and Scandinavia. By 6400 BC the first Fenric cities have been founded. Example of early Fenric runes.Isolate cultures emerge in OTL South America and Australasia.
|
|
|
Post by fluttersky on Jul 30, 2017 10:43:25 GMT
Turn 3 / 6400 - 5600 BCE / 4070 - 3270 K.D.by PenelopeAs a result of severe droughts and famines in the Caspian region, the Caspic peoples go through a series of conflicts that leads to many cities falling into disrepair or being outright abandoned. The famous city of Du-Mar is destroyed during this time period. The society that emerges from the conflict is identified by scholars as the Kathic peoples due to the assimilation of many isolate and tribal groups into the Caspian region's population. Kathic society is comprised mainly of semi-nomadic herders and pastoral tribes and villages. The ancient city-states have, by 5600 BCE, been rebuilt as primitive centers of trade and commerce after centuries of strife. The Kathic city-states are the centers of not only trade, but of power as well. From Ku-Tu-Mar, the most populous and famous of the Kathic city-states of this era, the Rama (n., proto-Kathic, "ruler") of the city councils dictates the laws of trade. The remains of the ancient city of Ku-Tu-Mar, founded on the shores of the OTL Caspian Sea. Pictured is the remnants of a Masa-Ka, literally "open hall", where the Rama would make proclamations to the villagers. In OTL Europe, the memory of the legendary King Fenric has faded into myth and legend. However, his influence remains. The Pinnachun (literally, "of Fenric") have settled across much of the OTL North Sea. Their society is disparate, mostly ruled by petty tribal chieftains and warrior-kings who have conquered minor plots of territory across the land. They follow a rudimentary form of ancestor worship, venerating Fenric and those who conquer new areas. None of Fenric's descendents have reached his level of influence, but the legendary warrior-queen Pethra was responsible for much of the Pinnachun's immigration into Ireland. Carvings depicting a woman believed to be Pethra, in battle with an opponent. The Burmic culture in OTL Southeast Asia develops into the Hijjanianic culture after a massive volcanic eruption in the Java sea causes climate disruptions in the region. The Hijjanianic peoples move northward, settling in areas across OTL South Asia. A nation known as Tosjatat forms along the Ganges river delta, named for its mythical (and supposedly five-headed, and divine) founder Tasjata. It is populated mostly by fishermen and pastoral villagers, who worship divine beings known as Tasjo, who live beneath the sea in hibernation. The belief descends from the "Sea Hero" tradition of the Burmic peoples. In OTL Siberia, while its eastern branch becomes indistinguishable from an isolate culture, the Lenaic culture becomes more centralized through its worship of Hapekore. The deity becomes fully venerated as a "Queen Over All Earth" during this time period, and is said to rule from the city of Katricho. The priesthood in Katricho is also said to have introduced the Hapekorean Calendar during this time period by marking the temple of Katricho with glyphs denoting the passage of lunar cycles curing the incarnations of Hapekore. However, scholars dispute this claim and suggest the calendar was note codified until centuries or even millennia later. The Orfa culture splits off from the ancient Alfar culture, who begin to fade: the Orfa quickly become their rivals, and take much of their land. Even more surprising to scholars is the rate at which the Orfa appear to have spread across OTL Greenland, having taken only a few centuries. The Orfa appear to have been a culture of farmers, spreading quickly across the river valleys in order to maintain their population in the face of drought and disease. Cave paintings left by the Orta. In Orta culture leaving handprints appears to have been part of a rite of initiation. The handprints represent witnesses to an initiate's success or failure. The Gormen culture spreads across much of OTL Canada, leaving a trail of mounds, primitive forts, temples, and makeshift villages along the way. The Karnesian "Empire" collapses quickly, and is replaced by many successive states. By 5600 BCE, the Tarnasa Cho is the successor state, meaning "land of Tarna's sons." Tarna was a chieftain who conquered much of the tribes across Beringia, and left the land to his sons. Shakkadian culture, as a whole, has remained largely unaffected by these wars and developments. However, they have spread further into OTL Siberia and Alaska. When the Lahontanic and Eastern Lahontanic cultures rediscover one another, a brutal conflict breaks out. The warriors and tribal chieftains of the mainstream Lahontanic group use it as an excuse to grab more power, leading tribes to war against the Eastern Lahontanics over a series of several centuries. By 5600 BCE, the Eastern Lahontanic culture has been eradicated. In OTL Central America, they have become assimilated into the Tizaoko culture, whose pastoral lifestyle has become modified as a result. The Tizaoko society as a whole has become matriarchal: the men stick to farming and protecting the farms, while the women rule the land. The Wemathic culture emerges when the remnants of the Eastern Lahontanic culture and an isolate culture in North America merge together. They are quite similar to the old Eastern Lahontanic culture, with an all-female priesthood, matriarchal society, and venerating fertility goddesses. In OTL Western North America, the Lahontanic culture has become much more centralized as a result of its centuries-long conflict with its now-defunct eastern rival. The petty kings now rule over plots of land across the Great Basin, begun building proto-cities, and have begun working with precious metals. Humala, an ancient temple constructed by a Lahontan King to venerate a victory in battle in the nearby desert. Several isolate cultures develop in various places across Jaredia.
|
|
|
Post by fluttersky on Jul 30, 2017 10:44:37 GMT
Turn 4 / 5600 - 4800 BC / 3270 - 2470 K.D.
by Aqua817Not much truly happens during these years, except for the occasional rising and falling of city states, expansion of a few cultures, and the rise and fall of some slightly more powerful. Except for the Borna People Evolving from a small language isolate on the shores of *Lake Baikal, the Borna were originally just heretics that were not terrible at trade. However, as they were about to be reassimilated, the great Borna king An!ai (with the ! representing a voiceless alveolo-palatal sibilant) rebelled. He died in battle, but is still remembered as a sort of God in Borna culture. Borna then spread by means of trade routes in between itself and the Lenaic culture. AN EXAMPLE OF BORNA WRITING [1] The Borna writing system is unlike anything else currently on the planet. It is based on sequences of circles and semicircles connected by lines from the part of the semicircle to where the writer has stopped drawing to where the beginning of the next semicircle is directly connected to the next circle. The circles and semicircles all represent different sounds, like in an alphabet, but then add up to only mean a word in a relatively compact space, like a pictogram. The text is read from the top down, and from left to right. Meanwhile, the state of Ljn! is (barely) run by a member of An!ai's family, or so he claims. Legitamate or not, it is an isle of stability in a territory without any true equivalents for thousands of miles. [1] Credit to SCP 1050's page for the text, i've been facinated by it and wanted to actually use it in a post for a while now.
|
|
|
Post by fluttersky on Jul 30, 2017 10:44:58 GMT
Turn 5 / 4800-4000 BCE / 2470 - 1670 K.D.
by flutterskyTwo sailing peoples arise independently: the Austronesians (off the coast of *Australia) and the Indonesians (off the coast of *India). Both of them follow a model of island-hopping, taking a crop package with them. [if you don't like these names/ think they're too uncreative, feel free to change them] The first sizeable state ever forms, on the large island at the center of the Caspian Sea. Known as the Nykanti Empire after its first Emperor, it formed from an offshoot of the Kathic peoples, and united rather easily due to being on an island. Culture groups across the world generally expand and spread their influence.
|
|
|
Post by fluttersky on Jul 30, 2017 10:46:37 GMT
Turn 6 / 4000 – 3200 BCE / 1670 – 870 K.D.by OrsinoIn the Kathic city states the practice of a city council of influential men electing a Rama (literally “ruler”) as leader has become ubiquitous. The Kathic city states flourish during this period as the mercantile oligarchies that run them steer the cities away from internal conflict and towards trade. During this time the Kathics began to use wheels for the first time, both for carts and pottery.The Caspic writing system is revived and has become advanced and more widespread during this time. Writing is used not only to record trade deals but to record the Kathic religious rites. Kathic religion is dualistic and associates the material, corrupt and fleeting physical world of life with the dark god Nam and the pure, eternal, spiritual world of death with the light god Jad. Kathic religion is highly concerned with the concept of cleanliness and Kathics engage in elaborate ablutions to wash the corruption of the material world from them when entering homes or sacred spaces. The Kathic preoccupation with cleanliness leads to the development of a number of taboos which help to promote good hygiene within crowded city-settlements. The Kathic-related Nykanti Empire, whilst sharing a religion with the Kathics, differs from its neighbours in being largely pastoral rather than urban and ruled by an absolute emperor rather than the Kathic system of oligarchical proto-democracy. When the Nykanti experience hard times their warriors sail out to the Kathic city-states raiding for food and goods, and by 3200 BCE the Nykanti have extorted vows of allegiance from several city-states, with the others coming together to form the defensive Kathic League. Both the Nykanti and the Kathics valued ritualised washing highly and their settlements featured prominent water fonts.The war-like Pinnachun people have spread throughout much of *Europe, founding several kingdoms and spreading the Fenric Rune system of writing and their pantheon of Gods. Chief amongst the Pinnachun gods is Fenric, who is no longer remembered as having once been a real man but is instead thought of as an all-powerful creator. During this time the Pinnachun's began making flutes out of bone.As the Pinnachun have spread across Europe several new cultures have split off from them, most notably the Pethrans of Ireland who share the Pinnachun rune system and pantheon but are matriarchial and elevate the goddess Pethra above Fenric, and the Sonxians, who have adopted a number of Lenaic customs, including the Lenaic calendar, veneration of the living goddess Hapekore and the wearing of the veil. During the 4th millenium the Pinnachuns became the first people to domesticate horses and this was reflected in their art.The Lenaic culture has spread along the coast, and the worship of Hapekore has been the driving force behind its spread. The city of Katricho has grown into a thriving metropolis as once in every three years Lenaic nomads travel hundreds of miles to make the pilgrimage to the holy city to see the living goddess Hapekore. The meeting of tribes from hundreds of miles around and the taboo against acts of violence within the city makes Katricho an ideal centre for trade and negotiations between warring tribes. The ancient sacred city of Katricho would become the destination of pilgrimage once every three years.Most Lenaics remain nomadic but in the 4th millennium a number of settlements spring up around Katricho. Whilst these city-states are technically considered vassals of Katricho and the living goddess in fact Katricho has no real military power of its own, instead relying on the protection and deference granted to it by the faithful. Sculpture of the living Goddess Hapekore, whenever the current Hapekore dies her priests will go out amongst the tribes to identify her next reincarnation.It is also during this time that the custom of pious Lenaic women wearing face-veils begins. As the goddess Hapekore is believed to incarnate as a mortal woman in every generation this makes a woman’s face in a sense the face of divinity and therefore it is considered improper for a woman’s face to be gazed upon by every commoner. Recreation of an ancient Lenaic Veil, such veils became increasingly common amongst wealthy pious women in the 4th millennium.The Borna culture and language, and it’s religion of worshiping the legendary King An!lai, spreads and intermingles with the Lenaic culture at the boundaries between the two. The 4th millennium also sees the origin of the Bornan system of magic, known as Gin-Ja (literally “black debt”). Gin-Ja is a system of superstitions and rituals through which practitioners believe they invoke the spirits of the dead to grant favours. Gin-Ja is regarded with suspicion by mainstream An!lai worshipers and is mainly practiced in the south by isolated tribes. Over time the pastoral magic-practicing Southern Borna diverge from their more urban and increasingly monotheistic northern neighbours. Modern recreation of a practioner of Gin-Ja.The Hranish (Austronesians) and Ayriens (Indonesians) continue to spread their crop package to surrounding islands. It is during this time that the Ayriens begin the practice of telling long sagas during voyages. During this time the intricate mythology of the Ayrien people first develops, with its stories of half-man/half-bird creatures and giant worms that live within the earth. The Orfa spread and split into a northern and southern culture. The northern Orfa continue the old Alfar taboo against eating meat and begin to develop the concepts of asceticism and monasticism, forming small villages each with a temple at its centre where animals, earth, nature and peace are worshiped. The southern Orfa increasingly become eat meaters and return to a hunter-gatherer existence. The Gormen culture spreads throughout the region we’d call Canada and the Gormens found their first ancient city states. The Gormen’s continue to worship the giant god-dragon Taalon, building huge megalithic temples and monuments to Taalon. A Gormenic Dragon-Altar, these megalithic structures were built to offer sacrifices to the great dragon-god Taalon.The Tarnasa Cho state expands, western Shakkadian culture braches off from the wider Shakkadian culture. The West Shakkadians live in commune with nature, burying their dead in mounds and holding annual tribal councils. The Umarian Empire has begun to develop from the largest of the Lahontanic settlements. The Lahontanics have made advances in metallurgy, becoming the first culture to enter the bronze age, and the Umarians begin to build an increasingly large and organised state and society, including the beginings of the Lahontanic caste system which divides people based upon their family trade. Umarian bronze goods, in the 4th millenium the Lahontanics had the most advanced metallurgy in the world.The matriarchial Wemathics mix with the Lahontanics in the east leading to the emergence of several hybrid cultures. The Hijjanianic culture and worship of all-powerful sea-dwelling Tasjo spreads. Hijjanianic sculpture of a Tasjo.A related culture known as the Shiu emerges in OTL India. The Shiu also worship the Tasjo but speak their own language and organise themselves into rigid clans.
|
|
|
Post by fluttersky on Jul 30, 2017 10:46:54 GMT
Turn 7 / 3200 BCE - 3000 BCE / 870 - 670 K.D.by PenelopeThe beginning of the Bronze Age; metallurgy becomes widespread across much of the world, most notably arising in Asia, North America, and Europe during this time period. A modern recreation of a Pinnachun village. These small outposts would be guarded by members of a would-be king or queen's army in exchange for pledges of fealty and free exchange of resources. After the domestication of the horse, the spread of metallurgy would quickly take off among the Pinnachun and Pethran peoples. Travel by horse allowed the Pinnachun peoples to spread quickly throughout Europe, and the emergence of higher quality weaponry would ignite a period of conquest. The "Hatanoria" - literally, "time of proving" - would see cultural changes as well as conquest. Trade with the Pethran peoples around this time would cause the Pinnachun to become more open to equality between the sexes. By the end of the Hatanoria, Pinnachun culture would become extremely concerned with merit in combat and ruling. Though most Pinnachun rulers would remain male, many "warrior queens" would also join the Hatanoria by setting off to prove themselves by conquering plots of land for their clans. The Hatanoria would ultimately be a time of significant bloodshed and war; scores died in the senseless combat and many local peoples were outright subjugated. By 3000 BCE, the Pinnachun have spread further into Europe, and many new kingdoms (or queendoms) have been founded. A later interpretation of Shyanasa, the warrior queen and founder of Gōshria. She was later proclaimed as Hapekore returned to realms of man. Contact between the Borna people and the Lenaic peoples would ultimately lead to a massive war between the two peoples. The Lenaic people, who had been on the decline for several centuries, would ultimately lose the conflict very quickly when their priesthood's political scheming would get in the way of finding the next incarnation of their goddess. According to legend, Borna warlords ruled over the people of the Lena River with an iron fist, and the priesthood was executed, leaving no method for the goddess to be revealed. Until Shyanasa emerged. Shyanasa was woman of mixed-blood, coming from a line of intermingled families of Lenaic and Borna ancestry. Trained in the arts of combat and spirituality, she emerged as a monk-like warrior priest who supposedly traveled the land ridding the land of Borna warlords and uniting the tribes once again. Through a combination of charisma and prophecy, she emerged as a challenger to Borna rule, retook the city of Katricho, and was proclaimed "Hapekore returned" by the faithful. Much of the story of Shyanasa is shrouded in legend, and many scholars suspect that it may be an invention of myth entirely. However, archaeological evidence from this time confirms a history of warfare between the Borna and Lenaics - a conflicted that the Lenaics eventually won. Shortly after this, the nation of Gōshria was founded, using a complex system of delegation of power to the priests, warriors, and local leaders to govern its people. Scholars regard this time as the beginning of the "Gatorna" culture, the successor to the Lenaics. Despite being mostly Lenaic in nature, Gatorna culture adopted many of the cultural motifs of the Borna culture, such as a modified version of the Borna writing system. The Borna people were mostly broken apart after this conflict, separated into various warring cultures. However, the Southern Borna people became nomadic, and began marching towards the south, into China. The remnants of a Lahontanic fortress. In North America, the Umarian Empire would be succeeded by the Antoran Empire. After its founder, Luantar, conquered the last holdouts of the Umarians, the Antoran Empire would become the main center of Lahontan culture. The Wemathic culture would begin to develop a system of symbols during this time, most likely in order to help communication between tribes. The matriarchal priesthood of the Wemathics would begin to gain more power amongst the nomadic tribes. By 3000 BCE, several tribes are led entirely by their priests. The Shakkadian state of Tarnasa Cho dissolves into various smaller states, which come to be known as the Tana Cha. Their western neighbor, the Western Shakkadian culture, begins to develop independently, becoming lead mostly by sailors, who explore further into the Asian coastline. They settle portions of Japan, and the Woma villages emerge as trading posts for the sailors. The Orfa and Southern Orfa begin to experience conflicts; a notable tale from Orfa oral tradition recounts the battle between two brothers, representative of the petty conflicts between the two related Orfa cultures. Ancient inscription depicting the Tasjo-Mori-Tokaeis, or "the time of rejoice and return" - the Hijjanianic religion's end times myth. After a series of droughts, floods, and various natural disasters, the Hijjanianic culture's worship of sea lords known as "Tasjo" develops into a religion. Most notable about this religion is its insistence on sacrificing wrong-doers and criminals to the sea in a complex sacrificial ceremony. The worshipers of the Tasjo believe that one day the Tasjo will return and destroy all the world, and lead the righteous in founding a new world. Hijjanianic culture becomes obsessed with proving one's righteousness by destroying evil wherever it is found. Mokamr, a warlord from the Ayrien culture, leaves his home with a band of soldiers and sailors, and captures several islands off the coast of India. In time, his descendants rule over the islands as an independent nation. The Mosila culture emerges in OTL China, practicing terrace farming and a rudimentary spirituality which venerates the Earth as a "sleeping god". The Kathic city states continued to sign pledges of fealty to the Nykanti Empire. However, the more astute Ramas use their economic power to gain political capital in the Nykanti Empire. By 3000 BCE, the Ramas of the vassalized city states have nearly as much power as the Emperor.
|
|
|
Post by fluttersky on Jul 30, 2017 10:47:26 GMT
Turn 8 / 3000 BCE - 2800 BCE / 670 - 470 K.D.by LowtuffAs the bronze age continues and the use of metallurgy continues to spread, trade begins to pick up. The discovery of large deposits of tin in the peninsula of Yukai (notably in the northeast) gives rise to increasingly sophisticated trade networks, greatly aided by the maritime skills of the Pinnachun. Deepwater voyages largely proved fruitless, with fierce arctic winds from the northeast sending many to their deaths. Despite this, recent archaeological evidence indicates that some visitations as far abroad as the east of the bay of Biscay and (controversially) some interpretations of oral traditions even suggest visits to the rocky coves of northern Iceland. Nevertheless, the tin trade prompted effects far beyond the wooded shores of Yukai, with significant although sporadic visitations between the Old Lenaics and the Pinnachun allowing for an limited exchange of knowledge and goods. Amber jewlery carved with fenric runes from the period has been found even as far south as burial grounds near Katricho. A Pinnachun amber rams head dated to 2850 BCE Conflict with a group of forest people known as the 'Vaul' or Outsiders in Pinnachun began around this time, as they began to move south into Pinnachun lands. Calling themselves the Narans, people of Nara - the forest people upset the balance between the local kingdoms. Skirmishes between the two settled down into an uneasy balance, the Pinnachun had more capable weapons, but the Narans were much more adept at fighting in the woodlands. Eventually a truce of sorts prevailed, which in turn lead to a great amount of cultural mixing between the two groups. Naran methods of hunting and of surviving the cold snaps further north proved invaluable to Pinnachun people heading out into the forests, while knowledge of bronze working and and much of the sedentary lifestyle revolutionised the forest peoples. Fenric runes and many other Pinnachun traditions became widely adopted by Narans, which aided greatly in the cooling of tensions between the two groups, as is evidenced by the Pinnachun warriors who settled amongst the Narans and vice versa. Mixed Pinnachun-Naran families later spearheaded the expansion of the Narans and Pinnuchun alike into the forests. A well preserved 2800 BCE tablet buried near the Skagerrak river records that many community elders lamented the increasing adoption of foreign hunting techniques by the youth. Arctic mammal hunters and tundra hunter gatherers forayed further into the harsh polar environments during this time, with nomadic groups colonizing the coastal fjords of the Arabian peninsula and even venturing to the western shore of the Gulf of Aden. Groups that expanded along the chilly shores of the Mediterranean sea ended up meeting northbound migrant groups of taiga nomads related to the Narans. The tales of their shock at the bright, almost white blond hair present among many of these seal hunting people would filter south, inspiring Pinnachun stories of men made of ice and hair made of snow. A modern archaeological dig taking place in Calabria around 3000 BCE Gōshria entered what would later be called the 'Middle Period', increased trade with nearby people greatly aided an increase in literacy that would greatly increase the influence Katricho wielded over neighbouring tribes, many of which would start paying tribute to Gōshria. Further inland river based exchange of goods increasingly drew the attention of Katricho, with many lands downriver still underpopulated. Farmland was not yet rare in the more urbanised areas of the nation, but (occasionally violent) squabbling between local nobles and priesthoods was squandering its potential. This increased inland focus alienated many of the local coastal lords, who were kept on side largely by the non-interference of the capital in the trading and fishing ventures that formed an increasingly large portion of the coastal economy. While the powers downriver chafed at the loss of so much gold, the byzantine nature of local politics made forming a united front against the coastal nobles and priests almost impossible. The remains of a trading settlement made downriver in the Middle Period The Orfa people on the northern shore of Greenland had long struggled compared to their cousins in the central valley further south, with their crops less proficient in the very different climate past the mountains and difficult terrain complicating attempts at trade with the riverbound Orfa. Combined with a recent uncharacteristic slew of cold weather coming from further north and a series of large volcanic eruptions in Iceland triggered widespread famine in the area. The area was largely depopulated in the coming years, with the coastal populations migrating to more livable coasts or across the mountain ranges to the inland veld. Further south, cultural mixing between the Gormen and the Southern Orfa lead to groups on the southern coast merging with the Gormen, whose homelands fractured geographic nature was increasingly encouraging cultural divergence between different Gormenic groups. The most notable split was with the Marelli further inland - where a mazelike enviroment made of marshland, rugged jungle and lakes spurred a offshoot of the main Gormenic culture more attuned to living in the inaccessible yet livable niches deeper inland. Increasingly sophisticated maritime technology aided greatly in the expansion of the maritime Gormen, with great benefit to trade between the Orfa and Gormen. This also lead to increasingly farflung settlements of Gormen along the coasts of the Atlantic and the Central Oceans. The people of the central rainforests left large parts of the cooler coast alone, their tech package not suited to the environment. Gormen adventurers along the coast found large swathes of land with little human presence. Much migration took place in the central West American jungles at this time, with the Marelli in particular displacing many groups in their periphery. This had a particular averse affect on the Tizaoko, who found themselves facing the brunt of an invasion by a group of sea borne invaders, themselves displaced by groups further inland. This culture, now known mostly from the records of those they attacked, proves mysterious to this day. The following depopulation of Tizaoko lands lead to the culture being cut effectively in two. These devastating raids feature prominently in the cave mosaics of the period, with the invaders often represented as having voyaged across the seas on the backs of serpents. Part of a well preserved cave painting on the pacific coast. Cultural influence from the Lahontanic people increases on the cultures surrounding them. This is most striking in the valleys of Serra, where city states based on the Lahontanic model begin to florish, becoming local hubs of literacy and political development, with huge variation across each city state. Trade networks around the Bering Isthmus began to further develop in size and specification around the era, with the ends of an 'equatorial road' stretching at its extremities from the Woma Villages to the Rocky Mountains, although individual traders rarely went anywhere near that far. This lead to increasing prosperity for the people of Tana Cha, which began to create increasingly complex systems of exchange in their markets, commonly misinterpreted as the worlds first currency. The Southern Borna continued migrating south during this time, usurping the Bo Hai gulf culture and increasing its population substantially. Clans of the Southern Borna fan out far into the plains and rainforests of southern asia. Power struggles heat up in the Nykanti empire, with the Ramas of the mainland usurping the roles of traditional Nykanti leadership - the Emperor losing much sway during the time. The increasingly urbanised south of the island of Ustyurta found itself at odds with the more traditional Nykanti to the north, who were appalled not just at how foreigners were 'stealing their country from underneath their feet' but also at how the pastoral lifestyle was increasingly being overtaken by the movement of people into dense settlements, with farming taking over much of the land. Just as many Nykanti had moved into the seashore city states with the raiding expeditions and stayed when the city was vassalised, the merchentmen and priests of the Kathic cities now moved north and took their ways of life with them. The increasingly fragile balance of power collapsed when the king-emperor Ghent II fell ill under mysterious circumstances and died shortly afterwards - the noblemen of the north declared that his eldest living son (also named Ghent, though they soon took the royal name of Byek) was the rightful heir to the throne. This was determined by the council of lord-elders, as was dictated by traditional law. However, the new sea-helmsmen - a man who was empowered to lead the sea-army and thus dictate the flow of sea trade between Ustyurt and its vassals - soon declared that Byek was an illegitimate king (having apparently been born to a hunter's daughter) and that the true heir was Atfa, the old kings daughter and an ally of the Ramas. The bloodshed that followed lead to many Nykanti fleeing south and the installation of Atfa as the new King-Empress (the literal translation of the term). The North of Ustyurt, was left to its own devices, with local clansmen largely resuming their old powers. The Nykanti empire, now with a more mixed Nykanti-Kathic elite known as the Pact of the Sea running the cities, with a council of Ramas (with a few observing priests and Nykanti tribal leaders) assuming the role of 'royal electorate'. The running of the empire differed greatly across cities, with associations of villages and tribal associations wielding large unofficial influence. A surviving piece of writing from the period details the frustration of a city councillor with the increasingly byzantine workings of the empire. A record of a trade agreement made shortly after the civil war.
|
|
|
Post by fluttersky on Jul 30, 2017 10:49:25 GMT
Turn 9 / 2800 BCE – 2600 BCE / 470 – 270 K.D.by IsfendilThe years between 2800 – 2600 BCE would see several dramatic developments in the OTL Indian Subcontinent, especially along the Indus valley river where a large, previously nomadic culture begins to settle down, and a series of conflicts breaking out in between the Shiu and Mokamr, one of the first instances of large-scale (albeit disorganized) conflict in the Bronze Age. Several other major developments would occur in other parts of Asia, as well as Tortolia- however, in other places, the way of development simply proceeds as it was before, with no major developments being initiated in this 200 year period. Western Subcontinent First and foremost is the Zhimidic expansion. Little is known of the Zhimidics before this period as they were a group of nomadic peoples, possibly originating from the OTL Tibetan highlands or, as some believe, the OTL Xinjiang desert. There was little evidence as to their existence before this time or any permanent leavings, save for a few camps and mostly incomplete proto-Ruulic letters found on ancient fragments of camel hide. The first confirmed instances of them are from Hijjanianic and Ayrien records, dated to around 2900-2800 BCE, which are found in letters of “complaint” by local traders about “ yelling, four legged demons” conducting raids in which food and cattle were stolen, but also young men and women were abducted. The peculiarity is that no records this early are found of them taking bronze or its constituents, gold, or jewelry (however raids for clothing have occasionally turned up), but the chief peculiarity was the abduction of people, people of both sexes that were often described as healthy and beautiful.
Request for aid from Hijjani cattle merchant Satsr-Jo to a warlord in Tosjatat, complaining of raids on his cattle by “demons”. Record is in early Hijjanianic logograms written on clay, and incomplete. This is a practice uniquely associated with the strain of Zhimidic peoples who, later in this period, began to settle in and around the Indus river valley- the Dhašq [IPA: ðaʃq]. The established theory is that the Dhašq were the westernmost strain of Zhimidic peoples who had split off from a much larger “horde” of Zhimidic speaking cultures, most of which are now lost (although some would surface in other places). In this occurrence, the merchants are describing their encouraged practice of kidnapping potential spouses from other tribes or peoples. The Dhašq were characterized as having been assumed to be speaking one language, Ancient Dhašqi, most likely with different dialects, as well as being masters of camelry. Indeed, one of the most striking tools that the Dhašq possessed were mastery of these beasts, which they had brought with them to the Indus Valley. Before this time, the horse had already been domesticated by the native Hijjanianic and Shiu peoples, due to the (mostly) independent discovery of metallurgy in the region, but no evidence of them using advanced cavalry was found, save for the occasional war-cart- the Dhašq, however, relied on camels for nearly everything, including combat, and venerated them as the closest companion to humans. More archaeological evidence from later in the time periods reveals that the Dhašq in this time already bred two distinct species of camel, the Hijjani desert camel (OTL Dromedary) and the Mountain Camel (OTL Bactrian).
Modern Hijjani desert camel
Modern Mountain camel
Artist's rendition of a Dhašqi rider.
Late Period Dhašqi "restored" composite bow The most startling innovation of one Dhašqi clan had nothing to due with cavalry raids or mounted animal husbandry, although it has aided archaeologists a great deal with piecing together more accurate records of the subcontinent during this time period. One small, but apparently important Dhašqi clan had a cadre of priests who wrote records in a unique, entirely phonetic script, primarily reserved for religious purposes, called Ruulic by modern archaeologists after one of the Dhašqi gods. It is thanks to these records that, soon after the Dhašq make contact with the Hijjanianic and Shiu peoples, the history of the subcontinent slowly becomes less hazy. It is for this reason that archaeologists can recount, with some degree of certainty, the approximate time that the Dhašq began to settle, as the priests of the aforementioned minor clan, known as the Qarya (Ancient Dhašqi in IPA: qɑbɛl Qɑrjɑ), had multiple copies of records of a major event.
“Duzjadhad (Tosjatat) men, who came armed and armored, and called for us to cease our raids. We, the clan Qarya and the clans Miryaz, and Ebdilim of the Dhašq, ceased, and they offered us goods that only they could procure, such as shining metals and other strange trappings, in exchange for what only we could procure, such as the meat of the Baza (River Buffalo). We, the clan Qarya and the clans, Miryaz, and Ebdilim of the Dhašq, clap hands (agree) to this.”
Surely enough, archaeologists find that, around and after the date range of the document, there is a serious increase in the recorded quantities of Buffalo meat in Hijjani store charters, and of the sales of tin and copper. At the end of this period, around 2600 BCE, the first permanent Dhašqi settlements appear, serving as trading garrisons and seats of power for the Dhašqi's most prominent clans. These cities are modeled slightly after the Hijjanianic settlements and Tosjatat, but still retain heavy elements of the Dhašqi's nomadic lifestyle. Ruins of basic agriculture appear at the same time, using Hijjanianic and Shiu methods, but with entirely different crops that most likely the Dhašq collected from the nearby lands. One of these was a hardy, slightly savory distant cousin of rice that originally grew in the sporadic marshes where the easternmost Indus river meets the northern Himalayas. At the end of the period, two cover crops, chickpeas and lentils, also appeared.
Sedentary city homelands anchored the ancient Dhašq to the general vicinity of the Indus valley. The written records of the Qarya priests could all be found in the ruins of what would become the clan's home city of Qaryaar- in fact, most of the major Dhašq settlements later became (or perhaps were always intended to be) home bases out of which clans can operate. Qarya priests in this time were excellent record keepers, as it was supposedly their sworn religious duty to read and write- the activity and practice was discouraged amongst all other Dhašq, save for “holy men” (shamanistic monks and nuns) who were not exclusive to one clan. While at this time, most historical records are incomplete and only serve as meager supplements to other fragments from the nearby cultures and civilizations, copies of the Dhašqi religious epics are common, and offer insight into the early history of the Dhašq religion.
Above is a well-preserved excerpt from the opening verse of the Dhašq creation epic, essentially a reminder that the Dhašq were the children of the Qaširai, or Five Great Gods, and that the Dhašq must venerate and not worship the “lesser spirits”, as they were not gods. The symbols have very vague similarities with some western strains of Fenric runes, fueling fairly popular hypotheses of cultural exchange, but so far no archaeological evidence of Zhimidic peoples so far east at that time or in previous centuries has turned up. Accurate theologies and the full epics, however, as well as prolific records of Dhašq society and politics, would not be found, and in the latter case, written, until much later.
Eastern Subcontinent (OTL India)
At and around 2800 BCE, the now established Mokamrata (Mokamr's “brood/children”) mount some of the first sea-born invasions of the mainland, capturing coastal southern Shiu cities and enslaving many of the people. Conducive to this invasion were Mokamr galleys, who's invention culminated in this period- the primitive watercraft of the southern Shiu proved no match for the ramming power of these ships- however, the land combat potential of the Shiu would prove very different.
Isolation from the main coast and the northern Shiu, as well as more exposure to Mokamr Ayrien language would combine with the aftermath of the conflict between the southern Shiu and the Mokamr invaders to foment a cultural divergence. These southern Shiu stubbornly held out in the central areas of OTL Sri Lanka and managed to hold on to the coastal shores of the southern tip of the subcontinent. The Mokamr invaders had did not end up mounting any more attempts to seize these southern holdouts, and trade resumed. The cultural mixing between the southern Shiu and the Mokamr would continue, more or less unabated, for the rest of the time period. Exacts and specifics of this entire exchange, however, are sparse, supported only by the archaeological evidence and the writings of foreign observers, namely Hijjanianics and northern Shiu (in logograms), and later on, Qarya priests in Dhašq trading bands.
Southwest Asia (OTL Indochina)
Settlements in areas of the Ayrien culture continue to grow in size, and preserved tin, copper, and primitive forges have been discovered in many settlements, denoting the increasing popularity of bronze. Very little conflict(that we know of) occurred between the Ayrien people of this period, however some possible evidence of conflict with the edges of Hijjanianic peoples has turned up around 2700 BCE, and several sporadic shipwrecks along the coasts of OTL Arakan have also been found, namely of Mokamr galleys.
Well preserved ruins of a Mokamr galley. Preserved feathers of sea birds were found around this time period, belying possible attempts at domestication- however, they are oftentimes found in the largest houses, which has led to the hypothesis that these were possibly pets of the upper classes. They are only found in sporadic Ayrien settlements and thus do not provide conclusive evidence for domestication in this time period.
South Asia (OTL East Asia)
Very little change is observed in the Borna settlements, and the southern Borna and Gatorna settlements continue to intermingle. Gin-Ja artifacts in Gatornan style turn up in this period, as well as Bornan inscriptions glorifying Hapekore, the living goddess (almost definitely as a result of Gatorna influence). This was apparently a relatively peaceful and uneventful time for those peoples. It was, however, rather exciting for the Mosila.
The Mosila peoples of the early decades of this time period had started to form ever larger and ever expanding cities to sustain a growing population- at around 2750 BCE, however, there is evidence of a minor earthquake or other seismic disturbance in the region. Not catastrophic, even by Bronze Age standards, but all of a sudden, settlements are found far outside the original Mosila cultural borders- furthermore, houses in the largest of the original Mosila settlements appear abandoned.
Ruins of one of the large heartland Mosila towns. While there is no physical evidence as early as this time period, the leading hypothesis is that the Mosila believed their Sleeping Earth God had sent them some sort of message through the seismic activity, prompting the redistribution and expansion of the Mosila people. While rapid cultural expansions have occurred before in the earth's history, this is the second of two very large expansions in this specific and short time period (the other being the sudden appearance of the Dhašq), yet they are (as far as the evidence goes) completely unrelated to each other.
Papuan Islands (OTL Papua New Guinea)
1200 years of development* for the Hranish culminates very quickly between 2800-2700. Large coastal cities, usually ruled by despots or oligarchic families descended from shamanistic elders, had been developing all throughout the Papuan Islands where the Hranish originally settled. Notable as well is that metallurgy occurred independently here, where smiths experimented with arsenical bronze. Another independent development was galleys, which, while not as advanced as Mokamrata galleys, still proved very effective in travel, trade, and combat. In this period, the Empire of 'Ran Haroke [IPA: ɹ̩ɑːŋ hʌˈɾok], formed by the Hranish sea-lord Lahisla, is founded in the Papuan islands. It is made up of several very large cities founded on the southeast coast of the Greater Papuan island, notably the fishing ports of Tolol, the industrial center of Meissar, and the largest city, made the capital, the eponymous Haroke. The empire's rulership and legitimacy were theocratic in nature, and much of what is known about its founding is from the pseudo-pictorial written inscriptions on large steles left by the warlord Lahisla around the main cities.
Lahisla stele, detailing the founding of 'Ran Haroke and the life of the sea-lord Lahisla Lahisla, the ancient inscriptions tell, was a sort of pirate-priest who sailed far South and returned, the sole survivor of a ruined ship, claiming to have been blessed by the Lords of the Sea Above, who dived down to speak to him. The inherent bias of the inscriptions is clear hear, as it states that all the people of Tolol immediately groveled before him and joined his army. Archaeological evidence, however, shows that there was conflict and that the city was sacked, partially from within. The assumption here is that Lahisla won over many followers and used them to launch a coup against the city's rulers. What followed, as detailed in similar inscriptions, were more instances of Lahisla “convincing the peoples of his divinity,” to similar result. The theocratic nature of the empire stems from Lahisla's supposedly being blessed- as such, he was declared a “saint” or “messiah” of sorts, something that would be inherent with the occupant of the office provided they were one of his descendants. An organized religion started to form, with the emperor as the central figure, although it's fully realized state would come later.
Southern Tortolia (OTL American South)
Sweeping changes and developments in this period are sparse, although interesting religious developments occur between the Wemathic priestesses and the Yefett city states. The Wemathics had been steadily improving their infrastructure and populating their lands, and had established trade with Yefett city states, having gained metallurgy from them around four hundred years prior. Their seems to be, in this period, a blending of the Lahontanic and Wemathic religious practices, especially so in the hybrid lands at the cultural borders. The caste system instituted by the Lahontanics of Yefett are similarly applied by the religious matriarchs of the Wemathics to their own people, but with Wemathic influences (creating a caste specifically for women priestess rulers known as Moth [IPA: mɒθ] ). This same caste, with a Lahontanic adaption of the same name (IPA: mɑɒoθʌ) are integrated into the Yefett caste systems as respected religious scribes, rather than rulers. This series of developments would increase the amount of written religious literature that the Yefett would produce in later years, some of which would be in the Wemathic or hybrid languages. In this period, however, its short-term effect is that of promoting very good relations between the Wemathic villages (nearly cities at this point), and the Yefett league.-------- *Which apparently went unnoticed Please tell me if the Seabirds thing is a little unbelievable. I did leave it very open to failure and miscategorization, so it can be ignored easily or turned into a useful cultural development. Also, What font is used for the names on the map? I had to use ebrima as it was the closest one I could find. Added Note: There is something that I would like to add though, and I don't know if it's okay, but I would really prefer it if people consulted me when writing about the society and religion of the Dhašq, as I've already written out most of it. I think that we all should extend this courtesy to each other if we have great plans for our peoples from now on, if it's alright. The above however does not apply to the other Zhimidic peoples! Only the West ones (Dhašq)! So you can use the rest of the Zhimidics however you want! Basics are they're camel "steppe hordes" who do not have s, t, or v in their languages, and the common word for tongue is Zhimid (IPA: ʒɪmid), hence why they are called Zhimidic speaking peoples. Actually if you want them to have other mounts I suppose that is subject to change, they could be other animals too.
|
|
|
Post by fluttersky on Jul 30, 2017 10:50:20 GMT
Turn 10 / 2600 - 2400 BC / 270 - 70 K.D.
by Aqua817This two hundred years are actually relatively quiet. The Southern Borna culture has assimilated the *Han and due to the introduction of Rice and Duck into their food suply, their population explodes. With this explosion, young Cheftains wanting to make a name for themselves go out and settle other lands, and so forth, allowing the SB to colonize Manchuria, Korea, and even Souhern Japan. The most interesting development by this time is he genesis of the Empire of Tejju'daere . Lead by Mulakatin I, it spreads the Southern Borna culture by the use of Juumas, huge ships for that time and especially to a culture that had no seafaring tradition, that could transport almost a hundred people into colonies. The Marelli culture stuggles to keep up but is able to eventually have a sort of truce with the SB peoples. Meanwhile, in Australia, the ancient Tuuleare culture finally allows itself to expand along the sunny Mediterranean coast of Australia.
|
|
|
Post by fluttersky on Jul 30, 2017 10:50:45 GMT
Turn 11 / 2400-2200 BCE / 70 K.D. - 130 E.D.
by IsfendilThe Great Convulsion And the Birth of the LuteAfter relative silence or projected development, the entire world becomes abuzz with activity, and the end of this period sees several fundamental changes. This culmination is titled by modern historians as The Great Convulsion of the Bronze Age, an event that refers to a period of 400 years beginning in 2400 BCE, and is so named due to the dynamic way that many cultures- old and new- mutate, expand, and interact with each other in a sort of civilizational punctuated equilibrium. South Asia (OTL East Asia) Borna written evidence corroborate with local mythologies and the archaeological record to illustrate a major event in the history of what would come to be known, in this period, as the Kingdom of Acoum (OTL mainland Japan). The first instances of written evidence stem from the proclamations of Mulakatin III of Teujja'daere, who, soon after taking the throne, commissions a vast Juuma fleet and embarks on what can only be described as a conscription program. Strong individuals, mostly male, from many households in his empire are taken and forcibly trained, either to work on military farming institutions or directly placed into the military. Contemporary written records of what follow are scarce, but the evidence points to a large-scale invasion of all the autonomous or semi-autonomous communities surrounding the empire, ending in bloody exterminations or pillaging of villages, and even the founding of new, relatively small garrison towns. The Empire, however, runs into serious complications farther north, due to the population boom having seriously bolstered the Borna village-cities. These small cities, after surviving the initial wave, initiate serious correspondance and unite to repel the Imperial forces, driving them into their boats (according to the records) and sending them south, down the river, back to their conquered lands. Mulakatin III would, while devoting enormous amounts of manpower to try and bring this alliance of northern Borna cities to heel, send a small invasion force to the eastern tip of a large Island, called Acoum [IPA: ɑˈcoum/ɑˈk'ɔum, depending on dialectic difference] by the Borna-Shakkadian mixed culture of the Woma townships, capturing a few on the western edges of the Island, then stopping. This would prove to be an enormous blunder in two acts. The first act, the large devotion of forces sent to the north, would not manage to mount a successful invasion, for not only did the Borna villages learn and prepare diligently based on their brief previous encounter with the invading force, but they had established a communal military force and used a rudimentary scorched-earth policy to slow down the invading force, who needed to take extra time waiting for harvests or resowing emptied fields. The massive armies (by dint of the large population) took the additional months to train and equip themselves, then fell upon the invasion force, killing thousands and driving them back to Teujja'daere. At this point, the written records say that Mulakatin, enraged, sacrificed himself in a “Black Magic ritual”, a Gin-Ja rite of Cursing against the northern cities. After a brief question of succession, Mulakatin III's younger brother, T!adr Kay (styled as T!adr Kay I) takes the throne, and, following a brief public works project in which cities throughout the new holdings were walled and stocked, decided to regroup the forces. Rather than turn them north, against a newly formed nation, a confederacy of the N!kai daere (Ancient S. Borna: Free of Daere, or free of “overlord”), T!adr Kay I would later direct them south. This would fall consequence to the second act of Mulakatin III's blunder. An artist's depiction of a “Wrathful Sacrifice”. The clothing is slightly erroneous, as the Teujja'daere had not yet adopted the practice of decorating garments with duck feathers. In the dozen or so years between the first minor invasion force of the Teujja'daere and the second one, a great change had enveloped the Woma. Before the first invasion, the Woma, who were ethnically believed to be mixed Borna-West Shakkadian, judging from language records, had not known violence. Even when the Southern Borna had original begun to settle Acoum, the Shakkadians had welcomed and assimilated them- no signs of conflict are found in the archaeological record. As such, this was the change brought about by such a small, but significant force- The Woma villages redoubled their mining efforts, and made various weapons. They cut timber from the thickly forested territory for palisade walls and ships, all the while doing their best to hide their efforts from the Teujja'daere. In one village, Acoumese legend tells of a man, who was neither strong, nor courageous, but clever. That he actually existed and the significant role he played is confirmed by the archaeological record, but the details are shaky as they were preserved in oral histories of the Woma that were not written down until much later. His name was Toba, and he would come to be known as the Fish King. According to the legends, Toba was from the village of Chasa, in the northwest of Acoum, and was a simple, happy fisherman who lived alone, traveling along the western coasts. As the record says, “One night, far from home, when he was fishing, he witnessed a “Great Devastation” ravage the nearby villages- he saw great boats make way on the shore, and many soldiers poured out of them- “the folk of the north, who bore “bark” (skin) darker than his own, darker than even the bark of trees”- and they set fire to houses and took the fish, the smith's fodder (tin and copper) and the millet. He was so scared that he hid in his cabin for a year, praying that they would do no further pillaging. When he came out, and traveled west, he saw strange buildings, and witnessed the Woma villagers to be slaves, and the darker-skinned people to be dragging them around on long leashes. He ventured into the village, but hid from the people, and there he witnessed an unspeakable sight, some dark and foul god who he could not properly describe. He fled to the dock, all the while hiding, and there, he swore never to let these people come and take his village, or any other. He saw the great boats at the docks, and hid himself within, and watched for hours and hours. He slept, and when he woke, the boat was moving, so he fled the boat and swam to his village. There, he warned the Chasa of what was coming, and told them to warn others, and so they did- and they came together, and decided to prepare. Toba drew, on an animal skin, everything he could remember about the boats, and the walls, and what the soldiers were wearing, and so the people tried their best to recreate these things as he dictated them. They felled so many trees for walls and ships, they scuttled their fishing boats, and they made weapons. For many seasons they waited, and they saved their harvest, and they built walls, ships, and arms...After this point, the details of the story vary widely from village to village, but from what is understood, the Woma people, under the guidance of Toba, managed to counterfeit Juumas but adapated them entirely for defensive use and swarming, as well as increased the production and complexity of Bronze weapons. The northern and central townships were invaded by the Teujja'daere, but in addition to losing much of their invasion force to the defensive Tarao Nacha (lit. Crab Shells) naval force, they were unable to make much progress. Failed attempts at establishing garrison towns and farms abound, with remnants of burned farms and half-built buildings, as well as an abundance of weapon shards, denoting that these attempts were thwarted by hostile Woma forces. Attempts to “siege” towns also failed, and casualties rose as the forces where chased away from the coasts, farms, and towns, and into the deep forests. Thousands of ancient bodies, equipped in Teujja'daere arms, where found in these forests. These, cross-referenced with the oral accounts, reveal that the invasion was a failure, and according the oral accounts, Toba was elected by all the Woma as their leader, and was thus called the Fish King, after his profession and his love of the water. Records of the “da-Topa-ere” of Akom in the Borna writings and of a kingdom forming in Acoum in east Shakkadian accounts increase after this period. The Teujja'daere account of the invasion was short, spiteful, and surprising given the circumstances. It states, mainly, that the Emperor T!adr Kay sent an armed delegation, warning them of the “impending storm” and that, should they yield peacefully and offer tribute, they shall be treated well as 'Servants of the Great Daere'. The delegation returned, and, in addition to relating a refusal of the terms, told of how the villages were no longer the small fishing townships of the past, but fortified garrisons, with palisade walls and large, albeit empty, docks. T!adr Kay suspected that the once peaceful islanders had decided to keep their land, and refused a sane peace like “indignant children”. In an questionable move, the emperor mustered up all of the remaining forces necessary that could mount invasion without leaving the empire undefended, and launched a large-scale attack from the west. The following is an excerpt from the Teujja'daere account. “Our glorious army fought valiantly, but demons had seized the land of Akom (“Acoum”) and possessed the folk. They hid in their cities, and produced Juumas of strange make to match our own, and they starved our glorious army until they died in those terrible woods, far from their boats. Wise da-T!adr Kay-ere, first to bear his appelation, chose to abandon Akom, and build a mighty wall to keep the demons in, and leave the seas around the isle empty, for fear of dooming the sailors to demons of the sea.- A civilization rises in the heart of the Mosila culture, centered around the city of Khaengun [IPA: Xaŋˈguʌn]. The formation of this new polity is also the first of a few major religious/religio-political developments of this two hundred year period. This civilization is a centralized theocracy that arose, more or less without violence, following what archaeologists believe were two large earthquakes and the introduction of a phonetic writing system from Ayrien travelers (which is an echo of another staggering development starting in lands far to the north). This writing system is employed in the very first Mosila religious texts, which serve to explain a great deal about the development of the kingdom. Essentially, the texts describe a great sorrow that possessed the chief of Khaengun following the earthquakes, and that, upon inquiry, the chieftain, who is referred to as Mirigun [IPA: Miriˈguŋ], revealed that she had lost all of her children and her mates. The myth then describes an apocalyptic message, that the sleeping god within the earth had cursed the very being of the chief to bear the full weight of its sleeping spirit. Forever would the chief be “privy to the thoughts of the Slumbering One” and in exchange, her soul would not join it beneath the earth, but be consumed to preserve its slumber upon her death- and the same duty would befall upon all her children who would become chief. She would never know the peace of the afterlife, nor be reunited with those she loved. She, and all who come after her, would simply cease to be. The texts describe how the news spread throughout the surrounding towns, and how the people lamented her plight and their own. She received many proposals of marriage from fine men of the surrounding tribes, and, to ensure the continued existence of the world, accepted all of them, and a great palace was made to be her capital. Mirigun would thus be proclaimed the first of the Begu-angjoa-gepaeya or “Lords of the Damned Throne”. A fragment of one of the early Mosilia religious texts From this text and the archaeological record, a conclusion is drawn: due to the relative lack of violence between the pre-Khaengun period and the beginning of centralization, these texts denote a very real religious development that, on its own merits, caused a theocratic confederacy to form around it. The Khaengun realm would go through a peaceful period of consolidation and centralization based around the administrative and theological products of the Ayrieno-Mosila script. Far South Asia After a century of relative stability and over two centuries of infighting, the empire of 'Ran Haroke disintegrates, with each city state gaining autonomy and carving up a slice of the empire's territory. Haroke would remain in the hands of the Lahislan dynasty, but it would also remain the spiritual seat of the former empire's new religion, centered around the Living Saint of Haroke, who communes with the Gods. The succession of kings would also change, with every other generation ascending the throne (past from grandfather to grand-child), to ensure that the communion begin as early as possible. Haroke, while no longer the greatest of the Hranish cities, would remain both the largest and the richest, as people of the former empire would make pilgrimage to Haroke to witness religious festivals and hear the Saint give the auspices for the coming year. The leaders of the surrounding city-states would spend large amounts of money on lavish pilgrimages to Haroke during the auspice festivals, filling its coffers, and the strange status that the Lahislan kings attained made them almost untouchable- so long as they played the role of wise man and not emperor. The other kingdoms were always ready to fall upon Haroke should the kings regain their imperial ambitions, but the kings learned to play the cities off each other, and made their kingdom rich with the influx of money. Each Living Saint embarked on generous and lavish public works projects which greatly increased the quality of life in the kingdom and ensured that it could not be invaded easily. Amazing and unprecedented forms of architecture begin to appear in the kingdom, large steles in towns and in districts of the city, inscribed with stories written by people from all walks of life- denoting that literacy rates in the kingdom were rising sharply due to the peace, stability, and wealth. At the end of this period, papyrus would be invented in response to the growing culture of writing. This period is characterized by a fortunate irony for the city-state of Haroke: by losing the empire, and refusing to use their wealth and status to try and regain it, the rulers had Haroke put on the path to becoming the most prosperous, well educated and wealthy state in the region, and one of the first great hubs of literary arts in the world, for years to come. One of the communal story stelae- these were how the most valued and cherished stories of any of the Haroke Hranish were immortalized and given recognition. On Australia, yet another incredible development occurs. The Tuuleare culture, following the domestication of the Giant Moa[1] as a draw and food animal, engage in both rapid population growth and expansion across the open, temperate regions surrounding the great Australian lakes. Large townships begin to form akin to the former townships in Wemath in Acoum, engaging in lake-based agriculture and Moa herding/ranching. Starches, nuts, and various shrub fruits are spread as part of the agricultural package of these people, and several more crops, such as spices, peppers, and yet more starches would be added to the package before the time is done. Sporadic instances of contact are noted between the Tuuleare and the Hranish, but they do not extend beyond basic contact in this period. The giant Moa – a species domesticate instrumental in the spread of the Tuuleare. The Moa are the first instance of yet another trend seen in this Great Convulsion- that of animal domesticates prompting rapid, dynamic cultural/civilization developments in regions that were almost independent of each other. In this case, giant moas were kept for their meat, feathers, eggs and bones. They were also used to draw carts and plows, then later crude chariots, and eventually would serve as mounts, after being bread for ever stronger backs. The importance of the Moa to the lives of the Tuuleare people is heavily reinforced in their statuary; a large increase in clay and stone moa figurines is recorded soon after the expansion occurs. A large stone statue was also found that dates from this period- it is in the image of a sitting moa. Beringia (OTL Bering strait) Turmoil brews in the Tana Cha, beginning with the enterprises of a warlord from a very significant city. The city, known in this period as Luuxon, is significant in that it is situated in the exact center of terrestrial Beringia. It began as a small trading way-station, possibly dating back to the Karnesian empire which later flourished into a great city from all of the wealth garnered after the establishment of the Bering trade network. At some point, after the dissolution of Tarnasa Cho, a merchant warlord established a dynasty in the city and profited greatly off of the trade and of training mercenaries to be hired out to other cities in the Tana Cha for occasional use in conflicts. However, at the beginning of this period, Tarash-Jin, the current Luuxoni Karantcha (“Trader-Despot”) diverted enormous amounts of resources into expanding and equipping an elite military force out of the Luuxon mercenary core, and soon afterwards, sacks several surrounding cities in order to gain a larger hold on central Beringia and thus the trade bottleneck. Instrumental in this warlord's enterprises was the invention of a new chariot type, one far more mobile than Shakkadian standard fare, which were more akin to war carts. Luuxon war chariot, small, mobile, with two wheels. Figures illustrated without armor. Tarash-Jin would later retire in favor of his much younger daughter, Rashuboshi, who would use the riches of Luuxon and her devastating new army to sack almost all of the major cities in the Tana Cha. Exacts of how she did this are unknown, but a proposed strategy is that she laid a mobile siege to several cities at a time, isolating them from their food sources and the trade network, thus directing the revenue to Luuxon and its holdings and starving each city out. The only evidence of her conquest are, of course, the signs of large-scale conflict, and the large bronze stelae proclaiming her as ruler found in each city of the former Tana Cha. Rashuboshi would end up establishing an empire even larger than that of Tarnasa Cho on the wheels of the Luuxon chariot, the first of which to totally monopolize a massive trade network that did not exist the last time around. East Asia (OTL North Asia) The Gatorna lands and the Kingdom of Gōshria would bear witness to the third of the aforementioned religious upheavals (caused, in turn, by the adventures of yet another warlord), specifically to do with the full integration of the northern Borna into the Gatorna culture. Borna worship of An!ai/An!lai the king flourishes rather than being subsumed by the worship of Hapekore. Here, one of the first instances of religious toleration, rather than assimilation or extermination, occurs, in which the Hapekoreans do not, in any way, persecute the “Burani” (The Gatornan Borna had come to call themselves after speaking a creole for so long) for their worship of An!ai, although they do prevent worshipers from marrying government or religious officials of the Hapokorean affiliation. This toleration would combine with another event to produce a development that would result in the most important event in Bronze Age East Asia- The story begins with yet another famous, pseudo-mythological figure, the Burani pirate known as Cha Lamurusa, or Cha of the Copper. Cha, who was named “of the Copper” for his unusual head of red hair, was a mercenary of sorts, a sort of ideal warrior who collected fame and riches in the name of An!ai by hiring himself and his followers out then later becoming a marauding warlord. Cha was also born at a time when the inland cities of Gōshria, those loyal to Katricho, were being harassed economically and militarily by the coastal states. According to records and myths, over the years, Cha established himself as the head of a band of mercenary privateers, glorified pirates, in essence, and as his riches and his company grew, so too did his ambitions. The records corroborate that he went on a series of devastating maritime and land campaigns- devastating, that is, for the outer Lenaic cities. Whether or not he never went inland because of strategic reasons, by accident, or truly because he had a premeditated goal of earning the favor of the current descendant of Hapekore Shyanasa, Maleynasa. She herself had embarked on major restoration projects while the other cities were preoccupied, no longer able to harass Katricho's holdings. She personally invited Cha to Katricho, and planned to commemorate the event with a great deal of ceremony and celebration. Lamu-Hapekore Maleynasa venturing out to meet the Great Cha of the Copper during the first Festival of Thanks However, she was not prepared for what would happen next. Throughout his conquests, not only had Cha gained a great deal of notoreity and respect, but there are many recorded instances of him aiding his people, the Burani Gatorna, as he went along. He had gained an extreme amount of notoriety, and many Burani priests came to call him An!ai reincarnated, or the last of An!ai's noble line. It was during the festival, when, according to the legends, Maleynasa stepped onto the ground and embraced Cha, that the priests shouted collectively “An!ai reborn has made Hapekore's dominion mighty! Bless An!ai, oh Hapekore! Together you are the mightiest! You are gods on earth!” Whether or not this actually happened is suspect, but the event that followed it in the legend did: Maleynasa married Cha, and in that act proclaimed that great An!ai was now one with Hapekore, their line would rule Gōshria. Soon after that, Cha, now with a large army at his back, went out and properly conquered the eastern cities, to legitimize this new dynasty in the eyes of all the Gatorna. His tale, and the events, would become mythologized and recorded as an epic ballad, which would refer to him as the Hero Cha, and his band of mercenaries as the “Red Company”, who traveled around, outwitting gods, conquering lands, and slaying monsters in order to win the heart of Hapekore and prove himself as the last living descendant and reincarnation of the great An!ai. This intermarriage marks the end of the Gōshria middle period, and the beginning of the First Dynasty period, which would rule over the empire and expand it for several centuries. The religious traditions of An!ai and Hapekore would fuse into one organized religion as a result of this event, centered around the the Empress or Emperor in Katricho, in which the greatest rulers renamed as “An!ai or Hapekore returned”, and cementing the dynastic history of Gōshria as a permanent institution. The West Asian Subcontinent (OTL Greater India) In this period, it would seem that the politics of the three subcontinent civilizations are becoming increasingly intertwined. The key event at the beginning of this period is an extended drought in Hijjaniani lands that would last for the better part of thirty years and cause severe trade disruptions with the Ayriens and even subtly affecting such far flung places as the Kathic cities. This drought served to seriously weaken the Hijjaniani and the Realm of Tosjatat that, close to the end of the thirty year period, the Mokamrata began launching a series of land raids in hopes of opportunistic gain. Resistance is not very strong on the Hijjaniani front- many border villages would be pillaged and plundered by the Mokamrata in this bid. However, the Hijjaniani would be saved twice over by something awfully unusual: Dhašq religious values. This is not so much a religious development like the trend above- this is more of an action promoted by preexisting religious tradition- specifically the Dhašqi Qāšīræi Kādūbim, or the Annals of the Five Gods. Before the event promoted by the Kādūbim can be explained, something about Dhašq literature in this period must be understood. Ever since the Dhašq settled, the priests of the fifth God Ruul had been producing many copies of the Dhašq holy texts, which, before this time, only they were allowed to make, as only they could be allowed to write. They would, in the nomadic times, read from the scripts to laypeople and make copies to be given to the monks of the other Gods, who were still allowed, and thus knew how, to read. As aforementioned, after the settling of the Dhašq around the *Indus river, and the construction of permanent holy residences (monasteries for monks and temples for the Ruul priests), the amount of copies of the religious texts in circulation greatly increased. Knowledge of the scriptures was far more common and became a much more important part of Dhašqi life, as now the monks were far more immersed. This liturgical advent would *prompt several other developments having to do with writing, but the one relevant to Hijjanian is the familiarity and growing importance of the scriptures on culture. Where before, the scriptures merely influenced Dhašq traditions, now they had become Dhašq tradition, which gave incredible importance to the monks and priests, almost over the Šaiqas, or tribal chieftains. The following are excerpts from the Kādūbim that archaeologists believe influenced the actions of the Dhašq in this time period: Full verse translated, the text in the image is bolded: Ebadon, mother of Ylimaš, commands it: “Nurture your neighbours, and you may feed off of them when they are strong, and they will remember your kindness when you are weak. The sickened Camel’s meat and milk disgusts and leaves one unsatisfied; make fat, healthy, happy, the camels around you and they will not want nor will they be able to run from you.”Full verse translated, the text in the image is bolded: Ahulahan, son of Ylimaš, commands it: “The only enemy worth conquering or destroying is one that can put up a fight! Why pillage one who posesses nothing? The noblest of deeds is to pillage, with great gusto and impunity, the wealthy and the abusive, and share it with those who have/come from nothing.”It is these verses in particular that are believed to have incensed a full, armed retaliation of no less than seven Dhašq clans against the Mokamrata, and the unusual generosity in trade and conduct shown to the Hijjaniani, as recorded by the Ruulic priests, then later, the first Dhašqi chroniclers. For this period, the Mokamrata are rebuffed, totally and completely, by a confederation of altruistic camel archers, and the Hijjaniani civilization does not collapse due to the (occasionally forced) introduction of the Dhašq cover crops- lentils, chickpeas, and the like- and the donation of camels to the poorest villages who had lost their aurochs. As aforementioned, the advent of Dhašq liturgy promoted many developments, not just the counter pillage and altruism that saved the Hijjaniani civilization. Dhašq have a very strong oral tradition- they did not reserve storytelling for religious purposes, and they were great admirers of poetry. As writing gained ever more influence in the Dhašqi society, the Ruulic priests decided to write many of these poems and stories down, solely for the purpose of record keeping. During the 26th century BCE and onwards, foreign traders would come to the cities to hear these orations. It was during one of these events that a Ruulic priest would be allowed to take copies of several religious and poetic texts and travel with a cadre of Hijjaniani merchants, specifically with the task of delivering the “beauty of Dhašqi voices” to other peoples. This Ruulic priest, named Midhrom, would, in a series of misguided attempts to teach the poems to people he met, spread variants and rudiments of both the Dhašqi script itself and the idea of phonetic writing in the Dhašqi tradition, to the Hijjaniani, the Ayriens, and indirectly, the Mosila (that is a consequence I've already covered). At some point afterwards, the Priests of Ruul would renege their claim to being the sole individuals allowed to write in the script, and approve it for administrative use (to this point, the Dhašq had been using Hijjaniani logograms for their administration). However, oral tradition and memory would remain the superior medium for artistic expression for quite some time, regardless of the availability of the script. On an unrelated but equally important (subjective) note, the Dhašq would also spread the invention of the lute along the trade networks, spreading it throughout most of the western world. The first lutes were found in Dhašq settlements around 2500 BCE, during the advent of their semi-sedentary trading business, which suggests that they may have been refined versions of another foreign invention, although the origins of those proto-lutes are lost, and the evidence sporadic. The Dhašq would refine and create their own form of lute, which would, as the Title of this Period belies, spread and mutate throughout the entirety of the western world. Variants and instruments would be found as far south as Haroke in the Chahirlu, and a Kathic version of the lute would be an instant sensation, judging from the records- large amounts of Kathic Dashakar (lutes were named for wear they came from, apparently) and literature glorifying music would arise in this period, even attempts at notation, although these are incomplete and nearly indecipherable. It is for this reason that the period is also subtitled as The Birth of the Lute. A pre-Dhašq lute found in Dhašqar and Hijjanian. A new replica of a late period refined Dhašq/Kathic lute. North Central Eurasia (OTL Northwest Central Asia and Iran) This place would actually be one of the relatively quiet regions during this time period, but it would not be unchanged. There are no political or religious developments in the Kathic Cities or the Sea-Pact, nor great wars fought for all manner of dizzying regions, but there will be writing, and there will be the lute. Indeed, this is one of only two events in the Great Bronze Age Convulsion that is limited exclusively to cultural development(it would actually cause the occurrence of the other development). From both the west and east, traders are bearing goods to the Kathic people. A trade network, very similar to that of the Bering trade network and certainly interconnected at its easternmost extremity, became fully formed at the start of this period, thanks in no small part to mounted camel and horse riding Zhimidic nomads, and later delegations of traders and bards from northeast Asia . These served to make the Kathic polities rich with goods from all around the world, with rare instances of bronze tools and jewelry from as far away as Antor appearing in the palaces of wealthy Ramas. A development that was already hinted at earlier was the introduction and incorporation of the Dhašqi lute, the Kathic word for which, Dashakar, clearly echoing its origins. The Kathic people would go positively mad with the lute, creating all sorts of new variants of it, each with their own special names, purposes, and supposed spiritual powers. Enormous amounts of respect would be associated with the traveling lute masters, who were viewed in a light akin to holy beings. They carried multiple types of lutes with them, and were versed both in the practice of playing music and of making it- literally and physically. Indeed, in Kathic culture, there is very little conceptual distinction between writing a new song and physically crafting an instrument, something that originated in this time period. This would be especially true in the southern Kathic cultures, who were, at this time, becoming a distinct subculture of their own, observing traditions differently, and even adopting slightly different modes of clothing, better suited for travel in the deep desert. This change was cemented by their eschewing of horses for Zhimidic camels, which they domesticated in turn, although they did not embrace the fully nomadic Zhimidic lifestyle. The camel did aid their expansion into the desert, however, and it soon became the mainstay to travel between each of the Kathic settlements, trading goods. It also opened up yet more avenues of trade with the east, where the Desert Kathics established direct, live contact with Gōshria, the Pinnachun and Pethran realms, and the Sonxians, the last of which would also take to the lute with zeal. Painting of a southern Kathic Lute master's apprentice. The Kathic people as a whole would also benefit greatly from the incorporation of phonetic writing. This was mainly due to the establishment of the east-west trade network bringing two distinct writing systems from either end to Kathic lands- namely Dhašqi phonetic script and pseudo-phonetic Fenric runes. These would combine to make a series of systematic written languages employing both logographic, phonetic, and syllabic use[4], in all branches of Kathic life- cultural, religious, and administrative- and would become widespread at the end of the time period. Northeast Eurasia (OTL Northern Europe) This is the sight of the second and final exclusively cultural “Convulsion”, although the political geography of the region is not as quiet as in Kathic lands. Following the establishment by the Kathic people of the East-West trading network, and the reestablishment of the Bering trade route after the rise of Luuxon Karnesa, the Pinnachun and Pethran despotships (in what also seems to be a subtrend of the great convulsion!) become absolutely rich, due to being at a border point between the two trade networks. However, rather than embarking on large public works projects or other similar such solutions employed by other civilizations, the Kingdoms begin preparing for a serious bout of expansion and warfare. Very little conflict actually precipitates in this time period, but war is brewing, and the inscriptions of the time speak no different. An excerpt from one of the Pethran Ballads hearkens back to this time, in which production for conflict was on the rise: ”The forges are alight, and the veins of the earth are being bled dry to feed them. The hairs of the earth are cut, and ripped out, to fuel them. Earth-blood is made into gold to draw the blood of the children, earth skin is rendered to halt the tide- but it will not stop. The King roars, as his children fight, reckless and vainglorious, and spill each others blood while they drown in rivers of their own.”The obvious conclusions one can draw from that are corroborated completely in the archaeological: forestry, mining, and smithing were the main diversions for trade revenue. It would only be a matter of time before the bloodiest war of the region's Bronze age would begin. Convulsion era weapons from Nara cultural region. The Sonxians, during this time, were at peace, beneficiaries of the road. They would soon receive the Lute, and as aforementioned, would treat it with a similar reverence as the Kathic peoples, although it would not attain the same religious significance. It would, however, become very popular among traveling merchants, who became a common sight along the East-West trade route. Sonxians would slowly transition into becoming a trade culture during this period, and much of their later civilizational influence will have its roots in this time. Southern Tortolia (OTL Western North America[2]) The fourth and final religious upheaval would have profound effects on the interplay between Wemath, Yefette, and the Lahontan kingdoms. It would start in Wemath, and has its background in another development- namely the shaking up of the Bering trade network by the Luuxon unification. In this case, the only rational hypothesis that can explain just what happened in Wemath is that, supposedly, during the wars, a band of Gatorna traders were trapped on the wrong side of the dissolving Tana Cha, and ended up traveling (or were enslaved and brought) westwards. This as aforementioned, is the only rational explanation for the religious idea of Hapekore to somehow make its way so far east, and somehow find the ears of a Wemathi Atunmoth (Abbess-Queen), known as Lhawtsath. Lhawtsath, who was queen of several small Wemathi townships, is a very mysterious figure- not much is known about her life, or her image, and many quotes attributed to her are often erroneous or incomplete. Her existence and the significance of her authority, however, is undeniable. Lhawtsath Atunmoth is responsible for creating a pseudo-militaristic Wemathi theology, the only complete record that survives that can be attributed to her, using her people's cultural mythology but centered around a prophecy she makes surrounding the advent of the great Goddess on Earth, Hejinyarace [IPA: Hɛˌdʒɪnjːˈrʌcɛe], ancient Wemathi for “Holy Daughter”, who shall be constantly reincarnated as a pious woman of Wemath, and lead the Wemathi to new heights. It is in this proclamation that Lhawtsath's importance is revealed, as this theology spreads very far, all around the townships, and into the league of Yefette. It would be rejected in the Lahontan Kingdoms, who by this time all followed their own local religions far diverged from the other Lahontanics, and this would facilitate conflict in the near future. The full effect of Lhawtsath's theology would not be seen until decades after her death, when the cultural and religious differences between the League of Yefette and the Lahontan kingdoms would precipitate into full blown conflict, one that would have far reaching consequences in Wemath that would ripple back into it. The conflict, which quickly escalated into a constant state of war, seriously disrupted trade and prosperity in the region, and impoverished the Wemathi townships. Then, far reaching war-bands of Lahontan warriors would launch raids on them. It was after one of these raids that another Lhawtsathian Atunmoth, known as Hlilmoth [IPA: ɮɪilmɒθ], sent out a call to the other villages to band together against the retaliation, and messages to the Yefette, asking for arms and metal. Arms in new and mixed styles abound in this period in the region, denoting a successful militarization program- one that would have been unlikely to occur so quickly without the religious impetus. Further incursions made by Lahontan war-bands would fail, and the Yefette would ally themselves with the new Wemathi soldiers- who were mostly priestesses and certain males- and embark on rapid, violent conquest of all the surrounding Lahontan kingdoms, deposing their despots and bringing them into the league by force. Yefette, after this time, would embark on the world's first instituted cultural purge- local dialects in the conquered cities would be forcibly subsumed in favour of preexisting ones in Yefette, and the religious traditions would be outlawed. All those who did not comply were expelled, or burned in mass pyres. Amazonia (OTL South America[2]) That this last event coincide with the rest of the world's Great Convulsion is, to many, mere coincidence. To some, however, it is proof that humanity is far more interconnected than any of us realize- at any rate, Amazonia is the sight of three major developments, the last two of which are unprecedented. First and arguably least exciting of these developments is the surprising “reunification” of the Tizaoko culture after inward resettlement. Trade contacts and linguistic evidence, however, would confirm that they will continue to diverge, albeit along different lines than they would have had they decided to settle outwards and not reestablish contact. The cocoa bean would be domesticated collectively by these people in this period. On the continent of Amazonia proper, two independent cultures would rapidly reap the benefits of over 9,000 or so years of development. For one, in the north, the Lilim culture would make a rapid appearance, subsuming all other hunter gatherer peoples in the area into its fold and spreading agriculture and boat fishing along the tip of OTL Brazil. There are two, ever important reasons for this rapid expansion- the first is the invention of fishing nets and the employ of fishing boats; the second is something that would occur twice independently in Amazonia in this period- namely, the domestication of Toxodon[6]. The Lilim would domesticate these Notoungulates for use as draw and feed animals while farther south. After herding the beasts ever northward, they settled in the Mediterranean- which turned out to suit the toxodon nicely- and developed agriculture. It was after the invention of their boats that they would expand, and subsume the hunter-gatherers around them. In this period, the Lilim make several rapid advances- in addition to inventing wheels and thus, wheeled carts, they would also employ atlatls, an invention that their people did not possess before. Their lack of atlatls before civilization is a point of contention among scholars, as the other culture that domesticated the Toxodon did not possess them either- some scholars thus suggest that the lack of atlatls forced these south American cultures to work with the animals rather than hunt them, although there is no actual evidence, the theory is based on the coincidence. After the atlatl is introduced to the Lilim, their population density shows increases, although the reasons for this are also unclear. The South American Toxodon, a domesticate of the Lilim culture. The Rasuga [IPA: ɾɑsuˈɣɑ] culture establishes the first civilization in Southern Amazonia, based around lake agriculture and game hunting, and the Rasuga quickly subsume many of the other peoples in the Nazcaic superculture before rapidly expanding throughout the forested and mountainous regions. This development is also the result of thousands of years of domestication coming to a head- however, it would be of the nomadic kind, and the long term domesticate of the Rasuga would not be herbivorous notoungulates. Instead, tribal hunter-gatherers thousands of years ago would end up establishing bonds with a very different sort of animal- namely, Phorusrhacos, a genus of Terror Bird[7]. A species of Phorusrhacos was originally indigenous to South America- they were one of many terror bird species that flourished for many millions of years. However, after the rising of Beringia, these terror bird species were displaced by migrating mega-fauna. Many were driven to extinction, others migrated and became extinct elsewhere. The human migrations would see the demise of the mammalian mega-fauna, and around 18000 or so years ago, Phorusrhacos resurged in the forests, beginning in *Tierra del Fuego, then spreading along the Amazonian forests in an invasive species pattern. Whether or not these were simply a final hold out of South American birds or a rafting from the nearby continent of Tropica, where the creatures are plentiful, is not clear, although support tends to lean towards the latter theory. In any case, the relationship between terror birds and the proto-Rasuga began around 12000 years before the present day, and in many ways shows similarities with the domestication of dogs in other regions. The prevailing theory is that the terror birds originally competed with humans for survival. Then, less aggressive individuals would trail human camps as followers, and feed off of scraps, similar to wolves. At some point, the birds became close to humans, being used -again, similar to wolves- as hunting partners and guardians. The focal point of Phorusrhacos domestication would occur in camps of what would become the Rasuga culture and culminate directly before their massive expansion- they would become riding animals. The early Rasuga had most likely been breeding the birds for riding for centuries before finally inventing a proper saddle for the animals. The Saddle distributed the wait in a much more favorable manner for the two legged birds, and allowed more mobility for their powerful legs. It was on the backs of these saddled Phorusrhacos that the Rasuga would spread throughout the forested regions around their home, which may actually have been on the northern side of the Nazcaic mountains. Their spread across these mountains on both sides, confirmed in the archaeological record, can only be attributed to their new-found mobility. Phorusrhacos, the Rasuga domesticated terror bird. The “civilization” that developed around the lakes in this period is only one in the barest sense- the Rasuga simply began establishing sedentary, agricultural villages around the lakes that they discovered during their migrations. As far as civilizations go, the Rasuga did not have many of the trappings- they had not developed writing as of yet, nor had they started to form cities. They had not even adopted square houses. The only reasons why this is considered to be the beginnings of civilization is because much of the Rasuga oral histories date specifically to this period and mention explicitly the concept of “villages”. The histories, of course, are strange and, at this point, mutually irreconcilable save for the obvious and extreme reverence that the Rasuga have for their Birds, very similar to how the Tuuleare came to venerate the Moa, although their would be nothing as advanced as clay Phorusrhacos figures found in this period, only sporadic crude pottery in the villages. The . . . unusual closeness that the Rasuga have with the birds, however, is a confirmed cultural product of this specific period- a closeness that goes very far in its breadth. In this period, the Rasuga begin going so far as to eschew the eating of most meat in favour of giving it to their mounts, getting most of their protein from unhatched eggs or from the birds that have died. Furthermore, in a possibly more disturbing turn of events, some Rasuga maintain a physical closeness with their domesticates bordering on perversion that is vividly illustrated in the Rasuga's early oral histories, and most certainly not echoed in the Tuuleare experience of this time[8]. Painting of a city emptied after capture by the League of Yefette. The Wemath, by the end of this period, would be transformed. After this ordeal, the religious theology of Lhawtsath would be adopted by a new legitimate ruling caste of holy warriors, many of which were former Moth, who would meet regularly in Hlilmoth's home town. This town would soon become a city, and after her death, would bear Hlilmoth's name. Many years later, these holy warriors (known as Guurmɒθ[3]) would, during their convening, name Hlilmoth as the first coming of Hejinyarace, and her city would serve as the throne for the next Hejinyarace who would lead the Wemath to glory once more. The Wemathi townships, much like the Woma townships in the west, ceased to be a dis-unified polity, but rather than being united under a single ruler, they follower a similar mode of organization as the League- a confederacy of cities, each ruled by an Atunmoth or Guuratuɒθ (Holy Warlord). All of these would have both institutions present, regardless of which ruled the city, and the Holy Warlord would be in charge of defending it with an army of Gurmoth, who's membership was restricted to pious women and, unusually, male homosexuals, although how this became part of the institution is a mystery. Unlike the Moths, the Gurmoths would not become a part of Yefette society, but it would become an independent lexeme in the Yefette languages, roughly translating to “Witch” or “Terror Priest”, a signification of the ferocity and skill with which these individuals fought. Image of the ancient city of Hlilmoth, capital of the Holy League of Wemath. All was not doom and gloom in the Lahontan Kingdoms, however, as the expelled population would end up taking refuge in the outer realms. The swell in population caused a few initial conflicts and problems, such as a lack of space, but each of the kingdoms would end up integrating these individuals and expanding their directly administered territories as a result. Prosperity for these outer Kingdoms was on the rise, and the closest kingdom, known as Haghir, would embark on a series of monumental building projects that would take nearly a century to complete. It would not see any further incursions by the Yefette, nor endure the wrath (or even become aware) of the Gurmoth, most likely due to its relative distance and its non-participation in the war with the League. Northern Tortolia (OTL Eastern North America[2]) Evidence and direct records of this period are scarce, but from what is present, it can be concluded that Northern Tortolia was a very polarized region. In the far north, the Orfa culture, after the population of isolated groups had recovered and expanded, established a seafaring civilization on the coasts- ships and trade goods from all around the Americas and even Sonxian lands are found in Orfa cities. The Orfa make enormous profits selling their local crops, namely potatoes, avocados, and squash, which were so relied upon after the first collapse that they had been refined into productive form over the years, but the real cash crop would not make it into the trade network until much after this period, when the Orfa complete the domestication of cinnamon. As far as is understood, the Orfa continue to value their ascetic tradition, and many monasteries are built in the trade regions to accommodate the spiritual needs of the traders and travelers.- however, the sudden profit gain from agriculture changes Orfa religious worship away from Animism and more towards direct Earth Worship. This is not a clean nor total transition, merely an observable cultural development. A natural disaster strikes the Gormenic cities and ravages the Southern Orfa culture. From what is understood, it is some form of hurricane that traveled inland through the center of the civilization and dissipated in north-central Tortolia. The Gormenic cities would take a full century to recover, but upon recovery, would reestablish contact with the new Northern Orfa trade cities, thus making entries into the Bering trade network. This would revitalize the Gormen, and spread their people rather far, as alters to Taalon would begin to appear along the Western Tortolian coast, although no signs of settling are found. From what little can be gleaned of the Southern Orfa, the only possible development is that they may have, as early as 2300 BCE, domesticated a type of Tortolian forest perissodactylate[5], although the evidence from the time is inconclusive due to the disaster. Amazonia (OTL South America[2]) That this last event coincide with the rest of the world's Great Convulsion is, to many, mere coincidence. To some, however, it is proof that humanity is far more interconnected than any of us realize- at any rate, Amazonia is the sight of three major developments, the last two of which are unprecedented. First and arguably least exciting of these developments is the surprising “reunification” of the Tizaoko culture after inward resettlement. Trade contacts and linguistic evidence, however, would confirm that they will continue to diverge, albeit along different lines than they would have had they decided to settle outwards and not reestablish contact. The cocoa bean would be domesticated collectively by these people in this period. On the continent of Amazonia proper, two independent cultures would rapidly reap the benefits of over 9,000 or so years of development. For one, in the north, the Lilim culture would make a rapid appearance, subsuming all other hunter gatherer peoples in the area into its fold and spreading agriculture and boat fishing along the tip of OTL Brazil. There are two, ever important reasons for this rapid expansion- the first is the invention of fishing nets and the employ of fishing boats; the second is something that would occur twice independently in Amazonia in this period- namely, the domestication of Toxodon[6]. The Lilim would domesticate these Notoungulates for use as draw and feed animals while farther south. After herding the beasts ever northward, they settled in the Mediterranean- which turned out to suit the toxodon nicely- and developed agriculture. It was after the invention of their boats that they would expand, and subsume the hunter-gatherers around them. In this period, the Lilim make several rapid advances- in addition to inventing wheels and thus, wheeled carts, they would also employ atlatls, an invention that their people did not possess before. Their lack of atlatls before civilization is a point of contention among scholars, as the other culture that domesticated the Toxodon did not possess them either- some scholars thus suggest that the lack of atlatls forced these south American cultures to work with the animals rather than hunt them, although there is no actual evidence, the theory is based on the coincidence. After the atlatl is introduced to the Lilim, their population density shows increases, although the reasons for this are also unclear. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Some notes and justifications [1] For Moas, the only justification I feel I need to give for their survival is that Dinornis went extinct in 1500 C.E. There was no civilization in Australia or New Zealand in OTL, and there's a Jaredian one ITTL thousands of years early (although still a bit later than everyone else- the Tuuleare are our most recent addition, after all). The Moas are herbivores, they're huge, and they run. They fill three niches perfectly and are an obvious choice- they're analogous in many ways to Camels, and we all know how that went. [2] It's not North or South anymore, nor is it named after Amerigo, so I think we should call them by the Jaredian names. [3] For which I think that the closest English translation would be Paladin [4] Sort of like OTL Japanese writing? [5] This is a set up for later, if anyone wants to do it. [6] Notoungulates went extinct a grand total of 11,000 thousand years ago- however- From what I understand, the extinction of the Megafauna was brought about by humanity in OTL, and the Bering strait also closed in OTL- not to mention that, according to Chris Wayan, the most likely place for Humans to have survived and expanded from is Greenland. The Lilim, while joining the agricultural scene very late, were not as emphasized on the hunt as they were on the gather- hence the lack of atlatls. Provided the Notoungulates survive (which is very likely in Jaredia), they would offer the Lilim several very important things when domesticated- meat and pelts, although without violent exchange, and milk, which cannot be acquired regularly in other ways. As such, it only seems logical that they would do it. [7]Antarctica is filled with forests, plains, Savannah, and steppe, in spades. All of these environments are conducive to terror birds, especially the forests. Couple that with the fact that Antarctica did not become frozen under several kilometers of ice ( also due to the tilt), you have the confirmed last stronghold of terror birds in Tropica. It's a stronghold because there are much fewer species of Mega-fauna on the continent in the first place and they can now be out-competed due to how the tilt changed the environment. Considering that there is more land due to more ice being trapped on Africa, the rafting after a storm (also very likely due to the confluence of hot and cold air that happens to be right at the “far western” tip of Tropica) to Tierra del Fuego is very much plausible, and the forests (now bereft of many mega-fauna) offer the perfect habitat for certain species of Terror Birds. The more docile, hardy birds would doubtless be the ones to fully domesticate- they would also probably be on the smaller side (for terror birds), possibly filling the niche of dogs due to their nature as carnivores. On Tropica . . . when those colonists get there . . . well, the diversity of terror bird promoting environments may make the equally abundant local diversity very hard on the settlers. [8] This is my attempt at culture shock a la Green Antarctica , if you were wondering- although I do not intend for the . . . strangeness of the Rasuga to extend beyond perverted devotion to their birds. This is utterly and objectively benign compared to that, but I felt that another bizarre culture was needed- I did not, unfortunately, go the human sacrifice route as that offends my sensibilities far more, although I'm surprised that no one else has mentioned it yet. Unless someone has, in which case please point me to it. Also rereading it now apparently it was unfinished, I was sleepy and I apologize. I have added the rest of the details. I hope I don't sound too stand offish- I assure you, these choices were heavily researched labors of love that I realized had to somehow be possible once I fully evaluated this world's unique evolutionary circumstances- it is a constant goal of mine to manage to find the highest amounts of plausibility for unprecedented developments within the limits of the natural world- in other words I will only use the Rule of Cool when it coincides completely with plausibility, which I believe it has done here. I hope that the products are to your liking and make this exercise even more amazing than it already is. Of course, I assure you that no extremely unprecedented civilizational developments like this will occur again unless we all see them coming. Mostly because it was exhausting to research them here, but also because I think the time for it is running out.
|
|
|
Post by fluttersky on Jul 30, 2017 10:53:08 GMT
Turn 12 / 2200 - 2000 BCE / 130 - 330 E.D.
by flutterskyCompared to the previous 200 years, relatively little happens during this period. This is a period of the new empires from the cultural convulsion solidifying and expanding their control. AfricaThe northernmost branch of the Ayriens, located on Madagascar, slowly diverges from the rest of the culture; these people are known as the Prique. The Prique develop on average somewhat lighter skin and lighter and redder hair, though it is not yet noticeable at this point in time. In addition, they have begun to adopt native crops, for their founding crop package doesn't work very well in the cooler climate of Madagascar. The Prique continue to spread across the island. EuropeThe various Pinnachun kings continue to profit from the new trade routes. It is inevitable that various wars occur, as the small kingdoms vie to conquer both each other, and the tribal lands not yet under the rule of kings. One thing is certain: the various kingdoms are steadily getting both richer, and larger. During one of these wars, a Pinnachun accidentally discovers iron while experimenting with weapon-making. AustraliaThe Tuuleare culture continues to breed stronger and more docile moas; this technological advantage allows them to steadily expand. They have their first major contact with the Hranish, and a trade route begins to form between the Tuuleare lakes and Hrani Chahirlu. Hrani start to use moas. The island Hrani people continue to spread to nearby islands. By now the northern and southern island Hrani have adopted quite different crop packages, due to the huge variation in latitude. South AsiaThe Kingdom of Acoum remains rather stable. Teujja'daar has not made the mistake of invading again; Acoum is relatively well-defended, though, just in case. Teujja'daar decides to take over some of the mainland to the east, as the people there aren't very dangerous, and it would be useful to be able to travel between the two parts of Teujja'daar by land. This works; it somewhat compensates for the failure to conquer Acoum. BeringiaLuuxon's chariot is superior to that of most nations, in that it has spoked wheels rather than solid ones. This enables Luuxon to solidify its dominant position on the trade networks. Northern AsiaThere's a short kerfuffle when two Sea-Pact nobles each insist that they are the rightful emperor. When this dispute ends, the loser, named Kova, is exiled; he and his loyal followers trek to the northeast, and found a state in the *Crimea, which would be known as the Kova'i Empire. In *Arabia, the Éluis culture emerges among the hunter-gatherers there. It is typified by a worship of mammoths, with the belief that mammoths are gods who have descended down to the Earth. Exactly how this religion came to be is uncertain, but its practitioners notably do not hunt mammoths, instead building up a sort of companionship with the animals. (Mammoth meat was a very small part of the diet, so this is not a major disadvantage) Eastern AsiaThe empire of Goshria continues to expand. Around this time, a solar calendar system is adopted by Goshria, starting off from the traditional unification point of An!ai and Hapekore into one being (2330 BCE). This is known as the E.D. calendar (Ek!ai Dekore; literally "After Unity"), and enables correct dating of written records for trade purposes. Western AsiaIt's rather quiet here. No major political upheavals. TortoliaBy now it is clear that the Southern Orfa's domestication of the perissodactylate must have been a success, as the animals start appearing in the Orfa central valley. But a more major shift is coming to the central valley: Goshrian boats crossing the sea to the Orfa valley for trade purposes appear, but this apparently also has the effect of converting some Orfa to the worship of An!ai-Hapekore. It seems that a culture clash between Orfan animism and Goshrian monotheism is brewing. AmazoniaThe Rasuga continue to become more like a proper civilization; square housing is adopted, and towns are becoming more like permanent mini-cities. The culture is of interest to historians, for the Rasuga are the only confirmed practitioners of bestiality at this point in history. The Phorusrhacos were already intelligent when discovered (apparently as intelligent as orcas); they appear to have been bred for intelligence, and are clearly a very useful companion for the Rasuga. [OOC: Chris Wayan would be proud of what we've done here. He's a furry, and has a fascination with intelligent winged creatures. ] A trade route is starting to appear from Lahonta to Tizaoko to Rasuga.
|
|
|
Post by fluttersky on Jul 30, 2017 10:53:38 GMT
Turn 13 / 2000 - 1800 BC / 330 - 530 E.D.
by Aqua817 THE WORLD Another bout of quietness overall, but there is on majorly important innovation that has begun to arise. People worldwide are beginning to see the wealth of the nations around them, and have begun to contrast that with the relative poverty of nomadicism and sustenance farming. In many places, where there were once just undefrentiated nomads, there are nowmildly organized societies. While there is no massive change in this two hundred years the seeds have been planted for an absolute revolution. ASIA The Tejju'daar have begun experimenting with a new type of Juuma. This new model has places to grow food on it, better stablility, and increased size at less cost. With the conquest of the rest of what the natives called Joseon, and furthering of control of the Far Isles and expulsion of the last "Nipponics," the T'D have no where else to expand but south. The first missions were conservative and small, but then came Kaatka the Great. He was a noble of a small village, but due to what many scholars today believe to be a form of ADHD, he could not stand to stay there. He ended up pulling together a crew and purhacing an new Juuma with all of his salary and all of his crew's, and set out. The resulting voyage was by far the longest voyage ever taken by one craft up to that time. While there are confirmed cites in *Indonesia, there is nonzero evidence that the ship landed far more south, with some conspiracy theorists saying that it could have arrived even as far away as Tropica or *North America. However, one of the most intriguing claims is that they discovered a race of "pale men" in one of those areas. All of this is unconformed, but it makes for good novels. The Gorsha are introduced to Rice this year, and while it is not in wide planting yet, it has the capability to massively feed the empire. Not much elsewhere besides insignificant border changes.
|
|
|
Post by fluttersky on Jul 30, 2017 10:54:21 GMT
Turn 14 / Dawn of Iron Age / 1800 BCE - 1600 BCE / 530 - 730 ED
by LowtuffThe Přique continue to colonise Madagascar, adapting to the cooler inland territories and becoming a more sophisticated culture, diverging from the Ayriens further south. A trade route begins to flourish between the two cultures as the unique produce of the north is traded to those southern islands with no access to them, and vice versa, with wares from the Ayriens (themselves trading mainlander goods sea-wards and fish from as far as the Mascarenes towards India). With increasing connections to the Indian trade-web, the island hoppers and coastal cultures of the western cape of India adopt many of the foreign practices that come their way. This is reflected most prominently in the curious blooming of a philosophy-music-politics hybrid practice with many names across the region, but means roughly translated into english, 'soulwork'. Believed to be inspired by travelling flute players from the north coast and Tosjatat poetry imported from the south, this cultural fusion was the drive of much cultural transmission between the city states that now bloomed amongst the olive groves and hills of the coast. Palace of a Cape Awaji city states, circa 1650 BCE Meanwhile to the south, Tosjatat experienced upheaval as instability triggered by several incursions on its land from raiding groups, famines and the ensuing peasant revolts finally came home to roost. While the area was still far and away the hub of the region, many competing states arose around it that were vassals in name only to the capital. The sorrows triggered by the instability in turn triggered something else - as on the banks of the Kansabati river a local prince, shaken by the death of so many of his subjects and ruination of the lands in the past years, looked to the sky in despair as if to demand answers from god as to why such things were to happen to virtuous and kind people such as the farmers and traders of the now half-empty towns around him. As he stared into the sun, he saw a great flash, and then heard a voice answer back. The cult of the sun was not the first faith to arise in Tosjatat, and it would not be the last. A modern recreation of a presumably sun-cult inspired bronze and copper mask from around 1610 BCE
|
|
|
Post by fluttersky on Jul 30, 2017 10:55:10 GMT
Turn 15 / 1600 BCE – 1400 BCE / 730 – 930 EDby IsfendilThe Global Archaic PeriodAnd the Rise of Iron EmpiresThe discovery of Iron did not initially spread very far beyond its locus in the northern half of Asia, namely due to the fact that it was untreated iron and thus scarcely any better or worse than bronze. This would change, however, when the techniques reached Khaengun. The South East has an enormous abundance of the substance, far more in comparison to bronze, and thus Iron smithing was quickly co-opted, first by the Mosilese and then by the Teujja'daere. The failure of the N!ikai confederacy to co-opt iron would actually be a contributing factor to their downfall, however that is at the end of this period. The cultural divisions that were beginning to appear between the Desert and Sea Kathic come to a serious head, as the discovery of a new alloy and subsequent religious upheaval ensure that Kathic civilization is well and truly split in two. Three completely new civilizations arise in this period, and both bronze and iron working are spread to Mesoamerica and Northern Amazonia, as the Lahontanic polities integrate their eastern Tizaoko neighbours into the loose Great Beringian trade network. Greater Australia (OTL Australia and Guinea) The Western Tuuleare develop a very mobile, moa-drawn drawn cart, similar to the war-carts once used by the Shakkadians before, although these are designed specifically for transportation, and are obviously suited for three meter tall bipedal birds rather than horses. Firm trading links are thus established both within the Tuuleare culture and between the quickly growing cities that have sprung up as a result of the trade network, which the Hranish are in the full business of using thoroughly. Barges, similar to Hranish galleys, begin appearing on the various lakes of Australia, usually ferrying people and goods, as well as connecting the villages on either side of the lakes. A Tuuleare lakebarge, specifically from the Aritgari Kapiwalu (Tuuleare: “Extremely Inconvenient Fish-Country”), the largest of Australia's lakes A stranger and more groundbreaking development, however, is taking place in the great Australian plains. A distinct culture merged with an offshoot of Central Tuuleare migrants. These Southern Tuuleare formed, but were not consistent as they occupied no niche. Around 900 ED, they found a niche, on ground that had, since that point, been so sparsely populated by humans that it was thought to have been empty and they did so by developing specialized saddles for moas. Scholars posit that they adapted Zhimidic camel saddles that found their way down the various networks of trade- this is corroborated by the appearance of a single archaeological specimen, a partially complete Zhimidic saddle, and the appearance of other Zhimidic goods coinciding with this time. It is, however, still contested, as for one, there are no camel remains nor even mentions of camels by the Tuuleare's chief trading partners, the Hrani Chahirlu, who had by this time developed a phonetic component to their pictosyllabic writing and tended to record a great many things. The Australian steppe after this period would be abuzz with the leavings of nomadic moa riders, and at the end of this period, slight differences between the bone structures of the sedentary moas versus the nomadic moas would become far more prominent as distinct intentions for selective breeding did their work. Riding moas would eventually be co-opted by the northern Tuuleare peoples, but to nowhere near the same prominence, frequency, or efficacy as the Southern Tuuleare. In later times, this discrepancy would bode very well for the southerners, and understandably not so well for their unfortunate neighbours- however, this would take many centuries, as even now archaeological evidence very clearly highlights that the riding moa still had a ways to go in their differentiation before they could be used to full efficacy. As aforementioned, the Hrani Chahirlu had added a phonetic component to their writing, which made the process of writing much simpler. While the heavily learned would attempt to combine the phonetic additions to the syllabic pictographs as a decorative art, the phonetic script would be used for most everything that was not religious or frivolous in nature- administrative texts, letters, business, and several new written disciplines that would see their dawn in two separate regions: Philosophy, scientific inquiry, and explicit law. In fact, the Hrani Chahirlu would be one of the two civilizations that are credited with creating the first truly explicit code of laws, the other being a new Kathic polity that arises right at the beginning of this period. Ironically this would also be the same polity that would co-found the disciplines of philosophy, and one of three polities that would begin a scientific tradition in this period. There is not much evidence, but the placement of the three polities and their participation in the same extended trade network are in clear support that this was, for lack of a better term, a “team-effort”. It is so referred because that lack of evidence refers to the lack of signs of adoption- there are very few academic parallels found in the literature at the beginning or in the middle of this period, and by the end of the Archaic, these three polities established lasting contact with each other on these very academic grounds- at which point discerning the origins of any information becomes difficult and more or less unnecessary. There is something, however, that remains unique to the Hrani Chahirlu- literacy rates. While the Hranish were still a sailing culture colonizing Subcontinental Australia (OTL New Guinea), they had a strong oral tradition primarily used to tell stories, mostly religious stories that had to do with the order and purposes of spirits and reaffirm the powers of primitive shamans. This storytelling tradition evolved with writing into the competitive story making institution that appeared during the Great Bronze Age Convulsion, where the first signs of prolific literacy began to appear. After a thousand years of constant employment and encouragement, this completely entwined both writing and narratives into Hranish culture in a way that had never before been seen, even among other prolific writers such as the Kathic (who scholars posit were two politically chaotic) and the Dhašq (a culture that tended to restrict writing to liturgical classes, even after it was no longer considered a commoner's taboo to learn the script). The Hranish would make writing a part of their daily lives, inscribing all manner of things on house walls and boards, inventing and employing a multitude of paper and papyrus types (and creating an entire class of workmen dedicated to both their production and their study), and creating various liquids, chalks, dyes, and paints to use as mediums. Some theories suggest that they even looked into using graphite, although the evidence these assertions are based on are shaky at best and apocryphal at worst. Significance of different writing materials in culture would become it's own significant cultural institution, but the key here is that, as far as archaeologists and historians can tell, the literacy rates among the Hranish soared to heights that would not even begin to be closed on by other people for at the least, a millennium- not because the other people were behind the times, but because in this specific discipline, the Hranish were seriously ahead, all due to the series of cultural quirks that came together and made a perfect storm. The absolute lowest estimates made by archaeologists, made at a rate of one to three individuals per household, are put at 15-25% of the rural population, and 60% of the urban population. The standard estimate that most academics come to agree upon is around 90% for the urban population, coming to about 35-40% of the rural population. The cultural significance of writing mediums is something that would characterize the ancient Hranish and set tones for the future of the region's people. As would tend to happen in all premodern societies, both spiritual and social significance would be put on the various types of ochres, dyes, and other mediums for writing. Charcoal and chalk, for instance, would be considered the standard, and be associated with stability and familiarity. Rendered feces (animal or human) would be considered a sign of poverty, foolishness, or desperation, although never any combination of the three. Coloured dyes and ochres made from mixes of plant material or animal fat would be a luxury, and depending on the colours, would be associated with one of the “six compositions”, the set of six elements that the Hranish believe were what all substances sprang from. It would eventually become a fixture in the writing of stories and religious texts to use the appropriate elemental colours that the author thinks would convey certain meanings- this would not be the case with scientific, everyday, or philosophic texts, though. The Hranish rationale for the latter was that philosophy was believed strictly to be the dominion of scientific inquiry, and hence must be bereft of frivolous secret, because it is an objective, uninfluenced study from an outside perspective. Most interesting of the Hranish ink traditions is the significance of moa blood. Moas, while common among the Tuuleare, were prized goods among the Hranish who traded indirectly with them- and hence they were highly expensive. The Hranish admired the moa as some kind of alien being, as it was a three meter tall flightless bird, some kind of gentle giant that was unlike anything they had in their homeland. It is as such that writing in a Moa's blood became one of the most exalted and sacred practices in the Chahirlu, even after they became commonplace in the region. Indeed, only religious texts or poetry and stories that had become sacred due to their fame would warrant a copy written in the blood of a moa- the sacrifice of which would contain much pomp and ceremony. Priests would chant sacred ordinances and even last rites, although modified for animals, while someone in a position of authority (such as the Priest King or the ruler of the city) and their attendants would lead several (usually three) animals to the altar, comforting the beasts and singing to them, before taking several meticulously polished hatchets and quickly decapitating the animals. The moas would then be drained of their blood, while all the other components would be put to alternate use. The meat would be prepared and offered to the poor of the city by charitable acolytes, while the feathers would decorate the clothes of the upper classes, and the bones would be burned or turned to meal, then given to farmers. The ritual would actually be viewed with serious abhorrence by the Eastern Tuuleare, who actually employed the practice of relying on Moa eggs for their diet, and had a taboo against slaughtering young or healthy animals (they did not, however, have a taboo against eating moa meat as a whole). The Western Subcontinent (OTL India) The subcontinent has devolved into religious turmoil. Many years prior, the Tosjatat Prince, dubbed as the Herald Mimr (Ancient Hijjani: Sun-Kissed), had begun spreading the nascent form of the High Sun Faith, or as it is more commonly known, Mimijrant [IPA: mimiˌʒˈɾɑnʔt̩], to amazing affect. According to historical evidence and corroboration in scriptural accounts, Mimr became known for using his family's wealth to aid those in need, who then converted to the religion. The early community of cultists thus survived the famines and droughts that were currently afflicting Tosjatat by pooling their resources and finding suitable land in the eastern part of the subcontinent. The droughts ended soon after this period began, but the faith continued to be spread by Mimr's followers to Tosjatat, which had now become politically fractured into several factions or guilds of warlords, rather than one united forum. The religion saw some modest success in Tosjatat and among the Pakasé, or “Northern Hijjaniani”, and among the Ayrieno-Hijjaniani of the south, and the followers (or Mimrata, as adherents are known) were generally viewed as kind, albeit wayward people by non-converts. The faith, however, would most certainly not spread west, or north, thanks in part to the Dhašq. This is where the religious turmoil comes in. The Dhašq already had a fully organized religious tradition, with complete cosmology, teleology, and theology, and had been in the business of writing it down for thousands of years. Their religion was exclusive, in that it usually deliberately downplayed the gods of other cultures as lesser “divinities” or even lowly spirits, and believed that worship was the sole right of the Five Greater Gods. It was not, however, proselytic- before this time there was an implicit tradition that the Dhašq were simply the chosen of the Five Greater Gods, and so long as they worshiped them, the Gods would remain more or less passive, and leave humanity to its ways. The Mimijrant would end up changing that. As they began actively converting all of those around them, the Dhašq were beginning to become confused- they had never seen such active proselytism before- although they were by no means wary. It was the act of a single inflammatory debate between a Mimrata missionary and a Dhašqen monk that would cause the Dhašq religious authorities to change their policies. The argument in question has no accurate accounts left, but from what can be pieced together- the Missionary tried to peacefully open the eyes of a monk named Qiradhu to Mimijrant, to which the monk respectfully declined, claiming that his Gods and people would be angry with him if he turned his back on them. Then the missionary told the Dhašqen that perhaps the Sun could save the Dhašq from the tyranny of his Gods, at which point the monk became incredibly incensed. This is mainly for two reasons: First, the Dhašq saw their relationship with the Gods as a small, and happily paid debt owed to their creators, not enslavement; Second was that claiming the Five Greater Gods, who in Dhašq cosmology were the five faces of creation and thus immutable as they were, could be overturned by such a silent, strictly obedient follower as the reliable Sun was absolute blasphemy (The worship of the Sun was actually the reason why the Dhašq originally took a liking to the Mimrata: The Gods warned them against worshiping lesser divinities because they were chaotic and capricious- the Sun was one of the exceptions, so the Dhašq thought that this was, if a little misguided, far more pragmatic than the other animistic religions surrounding them). Funnily enough, the two met later on, and the Missionary apologized and thanked the monk for enduring her, and also lauded the Dhašq religion for favoring her God, even though it was considered to be a lesser spirit. Unfortunately, this would not be found out until long after the wildfire that was sparked by the argument rampaged beyond control. Dhašq monks everywhere saw this as an insult, a religious slight- something that apparently the Dhašq people had never encountered before. They did not react kindly to it, and saw it as a threat- a possible design of some malevolent divinity trying to destroy the world by slowly eliminating the Dhašqen worship. Because Dhašq had been recording their history every since they settled, the Monks looked to it for answers, and found it- in much the same way that the Dhašq had spread the sacred letters to the world, so too would they stop sequestering their faith among their own people. The Dhašq had a tradition dating back to pre-agricultural times and is common among many Zhimidic peoples- namely that of kidnapping individuals from other tribes in times where incest was a risk, although not for slavery but for marriage. The kidnapped individuals would be assimilated into Dhašq culture and eventually become the spouse of whoever it was that kidnapped them. Proselytism among the Dhašq more or less followed this model- in this time where their religious traditions were at risk, they collected together and rode out to the various kingdoms, spreading the faith of the five gods and kidnapping all those who did not comply. They did not head south as they knew of competition there- rather, they headed west to spread the faith among the Ayriens and the Awaji Shiu. The following development was rather baffling for anthropologists studying the subject at first- the amount of success they had, mainly, until it was later discovered just how perfect a storm was created by the different methods the Dhašq employed. Some clans would eschew peaceful proselytisation and simply abduct or kill whole villages, indoctrinating the rest using various forms of psychological warfare- combinations of mental and physical torture and pleasure, constant repeating of the doctrine, and so on, in a fascinating but also horrifying instance of the first forms of brainwashing. Other clans had done the opposite, eschewing forceful methods and focusing on proselytism, but came up with the bright idea of playing on their misfortunes and blaming them on the Mimrata, or simply Tosjatat as a whole. This is where what cultural disunity the Dhašq actually did have worked in their favor- the clans had always looked, dressed, and acted differently from each other, their only commonalities being language, the basic culture, and of course religion. The proselytizers looked different from the kidnappers, and may not have even been aware of them- as such, the misfortune that the Dhašq created were redirected by the Dhašq against their enemies. The effects would be devastating for the Mimrata living in Tosjatat, as Dhašq (both born and brainwashed) would conduct pillage and plunder in Tosjatat, sapping its strength- it would not, however, mean the end for the religion. Quite the opposite, in fact. A Dhašq slave camp, artists representation. South Asia (OTL East Asia) The Mosilese dominion of Khaengun has changed much in the past thousand years, turning from a confederation of villages centered around a single, forlorn prophetess to a powerful land. Since the time of Mirigun, the Theology surrounding the Lord on the Damned Throne had flourished greatly, springing up because of the unique, negative perception of the supreme deity that the Mosilese had: The Slumbering One condemned a noble, upright woman to having her soul eaten after she died, so that she would be denied the afterlife and cease to exist, only so it could sate its hunger and not wake up, destroying the world in the process. The shamans of that time originally tried to find ways of breaking this cycle, sating the gods in other ways, but Mirigun, and later Lords, would refuse vehemently, saying that these were foolish wastes of time and insults to the memory of the ones who had made the sacrifice already. As such, the Shamans, who after several generations had sort of morphed into an organized priesthood, decided that, to spite the tyrant Slumberer, they would meticulously record the lives and deeds of the Lords of the Damned Throne, and go on further to make the life of the Lord a truly momentous one. Funnily enough, this did not devolve into the Lords demanding gross excesses of luxury from their people, but rather the opposite- they tried to improve the lives of those around them as much as possible. The Mosilese have a unique conception of happiness- simple pleasure, derived from doing enjoyable things, is actually viewed to be empty and unfulfilled unless those around you are not suffering, and is more fulfilling if you can share the happiness with others (A practice that most likely arose in hunter-gatherer days, possibly revolving around the sharing of food or the communal raising of children). The Lords' desires to improve the lives of those around them in order to feel less guilty about the luxury they lived in is what influenced the Mosilese theology to promote ingenuity in the betterment of society- statements that occur over and over again always fall along the same vein of “Your happiness is the Lord's happiness” ( Angjo-gunpoa-mirin, Popue-gunpoa-mir) or “Know the Lord's plight, combat it, combat the Slumbering One” ( Angjoa begu shangdi, khaum-lao, Bangun-khauma). The latter statements mutated over the centuries into the concept of physical enlightenment, or using the acquisition of knowledge and ingenuity to devise ever greater ways of ensuring the happiness of the people, thus insulting the Slumbering God, who made no further demands and thus could do nothing but accept its generational meal and endure the taunting of the people. In the Archaic Period, this enlightenment philosophy had culminated into a full blown scientific tradition. One became a priest in this era not merely by studying theology but by being an inventor, a chemist, or engineer, by working on building projects, healing the sick with medicine, and, soon after the period began, discovering new ways to defend itself from enemies. The Teujja'daere had, after its brief turmoil in the last two centuries, resumed efforts of conquest with a re-emphasis on the north and the west, as their Shakkadian enemies in the south (Acoum and now the Checho sub-dynasty) have effectively barred all attempts at conquest with the Tzoama (A West Shakkadian corruption of Juuma), new and frightening galleys with two decks of oars capable of amazing speed and maneuverability. Acoumese Tzoama (bireme), sketch. Mosilese would, thus, be the first to make effective use of iron, by mixing it with carbon. The original intention, of course, was to make a forge that immerse the metal in the smoldering heart of the charcoals, so that it would melt faster- it was quickly discovered that charcoals mixing with the iron made it much harder too, to the point where it could cut through bronze. It was also a great boon that the South Asia region also happens to have an enormous abundance of iron- iron mining techniques were also perfected, although unlike steel, these would spread beyond the now sequestered wrought iron forges to other nations. The Teujja'daere would co-opt iron but would not actually catch on to the crude carbon formula until the end of this period- arguably by that time it would be too late for them to manage an offensive against Khaengun, although one noble house of Teujja'daar would have the luck of using it on the other polity of the region: the N!kai confederacy. Teujja'daere, as aforementioned, had seen upstart noble houses rising along its borders, carving up sections of the empire for themselves under the pretense of “provincial governorship”. The ruler of one such house was the brother of Jinjinkanti II, the current emperor. Known now as Yomalak, he is another individual who's birth name is lost to history, and it would also be for religious reasons. This is, of course, where the similarities to Mimr stop. Yomalak had a mind bent on conquest, and was described as both ingenious and ruthless in his quest. Born some time around the year 1099 ED, Yomalak spent his earliest years indoctrinated into a cold conflict with the N!kai confederacy. After a near miss with an arrow took his right eye, thirteen year old Yomalak was sent away from Teujja'daar for five years to live with tutors and guards in Khaengun, where he was put up by the Lord as a gesture of peace. He took a great interest in Khaengun alchemy and smithing techniques, and studied medicine with Khaengun scholar-priests. He also, apparently, witnessed a Khaengun smith immerse iron in coal. Unfortunately, there was far more refinement to this technique, but by the time Yomalak was eighteen, he left before he could figure it out (the Khaengun may have killed him had he discovered the secret anyway). Fortunately for him, the rote techniques he learned were enough. Some of the earliest surviving proto-steel weapons of the Khaengun The N!kai had not co-opted iron, believing it to be useless compared to bronze due to its relative lack of advantages yet being far more prone to rust. This, and their lack of communication with the Khaengun, would prove to be their undoing. Yomalak, seeking revenge for his eye and drawing inspiration from a very old prophecy about an emperor's vengeful curse, armed his house with new weapons, and mined the mostly untapped reserves of iron in his dominion. The N!kai caught wind of this army and, as they had done countless times, massed their incredibly large armies- the largest that the world had yet seen, as a matter of fact. The casualties would be in the high tens of thousands. Remains included a large amount of ancient corpses, clad in bronze armor that had been cut clean through. There is a buried mausoleum in the region containing what can only be the corpses of the M!i, the Chief Generals of the confederacy, decked out in ornate, beautifully carved bronze, that has been utterly torn to ribbons and stained with ancient blood. All over the walls are Gin-Ja exultations, cursing the souls of these men to be devoured by the Beast of the Earth (Most probably a reference to the Khaengun God), and stating that the ancient curse had been fulfilled. Yomalak erased his original birth name from the records, and forbid all those who knew it from speaking it. After consolidating his gains, he moved his house, and his people to N!kai, establishing a second empire independent of Teujja'daar, which would come to be known as Yomalak'Daere, the Sovereignty of Mulakatin's Scourge. Yomalak was the throne name he adopted, meaning the Scourge of Mulakatin, reference to Mulakatin III who, at the inception of the N!kai confederacy, cursed it in Gin-Ja ritual by tearing his own heart out. Kath (OTL Central Asia) The Western Subcontinent is not as faraway a place as it was a thousand years ago. Zhimidic nomads, chains of caravans, mountain dwellers, and even small kingdoms or cities have begun to form along a once empty series of mountains and forests. It is therefore scholarly consensus that despite the many conflicting pieces of evidence, some sort of migration of Mimrata could have occurred. What scholars do disagree on, however, is the religious accounts. The book of Usrurta, one of the first sacred Mimrata texts, was composed in this period, and details a great many things to say about it. The parts of it relevant to the Archaic period are some of its first entries- they detail, in short, a mass expulsion of the Mimrata from their homeland, and a long, arduous journey made by these expelled Mimrata to the east, namely Kath. Furthermore, it goes on to describe how “evil men”, most likely the Dhašq, chased and persecuted the Mimrata, and how the Sun used its considerable power to smite the pursuers. What follows next is the scholarly controversy. The texts detail a prophecy about a great and powerful King who would receive gifts from God and give the Mimrata a mighty empire in the east- but it is unknown whether this part was written before the arrival of the Mimrata in Kath or afterwards. Some argue that this was created to fortify legitimacy of the subject and thus was commissioned after the arrival, while others say that it has to be true because there are errors in the Prophecy that could only come about with ignorance- they cite the King being referred to as a male chiefly in this regard- and that they were merely played upon by the subject to fortify her legitimacy. The subject in question, in this case, is Umima Midan Selyaqqu, first Kamiram (Sun-Blessed Ruler) of the Brass Empire of Kath. The only logical explanation for the events that began the long chain of circumstance leading to the widow of a South Kathic Rama becoming one of the most famous Mimrata converts in history can only be explained by such a thing as a mass expulsion of Mimrata followers from Hijjanian, some time around 821 ED. This is mainly for three reasons-First, beforehand, Hijjanian was the only region in which Mimrata could be found; Second, there is no other explanation for the speed at which conversion took place in southern Kath; and third, there is also no other explanation for how quickly Midan was able to gain so many followers or do what she did. Before the ascension of Umima Midan to power, the only accounts of her early life can be found in the Usrurta. They are detailed, but are of course religious texts and so must be relied on with caution, considering there are very few reliable accounts of her life beyond it. The Usrurta states that, when the Mimrata finally set foot in Kath, they were turned away from most of the cities they came across. Those cities, as it is related, feared that Zhimidic raiders would set upon them should they offer shelter to the wandering Mimrata and turned away, so they had to keep wandering until they reached a city called Talramashtat (Hijjanianic corruption, there is no “sh” sound in Kathic, but the pre-Brass name of the city in Kathic is lost). It was there that a kind Ramon, Midan, put them up in her city, for according to the texts she “Feared no Tezimedi barbarians(Possibly Kathic word for Zhimidi, Zhimidic peoples), for they were far away and her husband could ride a camel to war better than any of them.” The husband in question was actually out on campaign, rooting out a large collection of bandits that had established encampments along a popular trade route. The Scriptures go on to describe her life as a child, how she met and married her husband, the Rama of Talramashtat, and how she treated the new Mimrata with kindness and open arms. The first two accounts are possibly apocryphal, although the last can be shakily verified. The point of interest is when her husband returned from campaign. The husband had apparently contracted a wasting sickness, and soon after he returned was confined to his chambers. The accounts mentioned that some of his soldiers suspected he contracted the sickness from a bandit woman (Whom he'd captured as a bed slave for his wife), while other soldiers said that the leader of the bandits had poisoned his weapon and sickened his wound. Midan believed the latter story but the Kathic priests treating her husband believed the former, and tried to treat the sickness by burning one of the fingers from the bandit woman and making the Rama inhale the smoke. The Rama died soon afterwards, and in a rage, Midan confined the priests to their temples for three weeks, inadvertently (or perhaps deliberately) preventing them from calling an election for a new Rama. The story, at this point, must definitely be taken with a grain of salt, for it states, in essence, that in her grief, the Sun came to her, and, by way of a blinding flash of light, allowed her to speak to her husband. The Sun then told her that It had saved her husband and brought him to paradise, despite him not being Mimrata, and that in exchange, she would give the Mimrata a homeland, where they could be free to build great wonders for It, to serve and praise the Sun. The scriptures say that Sun gave her several gifts- knowledge of the acolytes, a Mighty Voice, and a secret wonder that would give her people strength. At this point, there are now more historical accounts of what happened next- namely because what happened next was an extraordinary series of events that changed the very face of Kath. Accounts from neighboring cities describe that a Ramon, mad with grief at her widowed husband, had converted to the Worship of the Sun, and imprisoned Kathic Priests in their temples. Soon after, new accounts came of her terrible powers, how she had bewitched her subjects and her husband's soldiers into worshiping both the Sun and her, and that even the Kathic priests had become Mimrata acolytes- Later still come accounts of her having wrested some new, divine substance from the Sun itself, which she believed proved her as the Sun's chosen instrument. These days, modern scholars can only assume that the discovery of Brass in Talramashtat was an experiment made by an iron smith that an opportunistic Midan had simply seized upon, although no matter how religious one is, no scholar can deny that how she used the brass was extraordinary- a shining, burnished metal that glittered in the sun even more than gold had suddenly been created in a city with a despotic Mimrata convert and an enormous Mimrata minority. Compounded with the so-called prophecy, it is no small wonder that such an enormous religious upheaval managed to shake Southern Kath, and allow this woman to do what she did. The Brass Empire of Kath is an anomaly in history. As far as is understood, it was established in stages, starting with the conversion of cities, than large-scale rebellions, than sackings and coups, and finally hegemony established over the surrounding rural regions. Once her own city had been converted, Midan began this process by sending acolytes, covered in brass jewelry and imagery of the sun, guarded by soldiers who's bronze and iron armor had been inlaid with the metal, and spreading the story of Midan in addition to the gospel of Mimijrant. Kathic Ramas' attempts to stamp out converts simply emboldened them, and eventually, the armies of Talramashtat would lay siege to the city while an uprising or coup was causing chaos inside it. This strategy worked so well in some cities that sackings did not even need to occur, where the new Mimrata leadership would simply hand over control to Midan's generals. With the fall of each city, more legitimacy was accrued for Midan and Mimijrant, to the point where the final cities in Southern Kath had their leadership convert our of sheer terror. The next phase involved spreading the faith to rural domains, and both temples and monasteries were built by the zealous armies of Talramashtat. The stage following that was the declaration of empire made by Midan. This is when she used her legitimacy to consolidate her power, and thus named herself Kamiram, and her new domain as the Ramasahti Lirukam, Empire of Brass (Lit. Grand-Rulership of Sun-Blood). She designated her heir as her firstborn, her only child by the Rama of Talramashtat. Furthermore, she renamed the city to Du-Lirukaman, the First City of Brass. Her son, Kamiram Talmos Usitar Selyaqqu (Who's birth name, Talmos, ironically means 'moon's lover'), would add on to her mother's conquests by assembling a large army and conquering several Kathic cities in the north, extending the empire to the coasts of the Nykanturt Sea (as it had come to be known), founding both Mimijrant philosophy and patronizing schools of learning in the empire, as well as funding the institutions of religious art that would come to permeate the Brass Empire's culture. He was also an artist himself, and is credited by creating the world's first flag, a battle standard made of cloth bearing the Mimrata emblem in the colours of the Brass Empire. Flag of the Brass Empire A look at the rest of Kath offers much more sense as to why this new polity was able to conquer so many interconnected Kathic cities- namely because those connections were beginning to fall apart. The Sea-Pact was an entirely nominal title for the last three hundred years, as Ramas began forming subversive personal alliances withe ac other against other alliances of Ramas. Barely three years before Kamiram Usitar brought the borders of the brass empire to the edges of the Nykant, the Emperor was murdered, and these new Kathic Naval alliances engaged in bloody war. Weakened as they were, they could not resist the sudden onslaught of such a large, unified army. Indeed they would even make a point of doing their best to preserve a truce with the Brass Empire, who quickly coopted the Northern Kathic naval resources on a scale that almost echoed that of the Nykanti pirate armadas. East Asia (OTL North Eurasia) A thousand years ago, the Pinnachun and Pethran despotships entered into a long, sustained conflict with each other that ended up producing the Iron Age. After 600 years of fighting, the kingdoms had become weak, and the conflicts simmered down into rivalry and petty raids. There are, however, three distinct cultures of the Fenric group, and in the Archaic period, the last remaining culture would finally get its time in the spotlight. The Sonxians, who had, a thousand years before, made their way into the civilized world by producing a unique culture (though not civilization) would finally be pushed into their first move onto the pages of history. The Sonxians were, for the most part, content to practice minor agriculture and establish a few religious sights that were sedentary, but still tended to move around. During this time they made a great many cultural advances, such as flute shaping techniques, jewelry, and pottery- they were so effective at these things, in fact, that their goods were often viewed with a special reverence by the foreign peoples who would buy them, such as the Kathic and the Fenric despotships. They also had a far more efficient, purely phonetic version of the Fenric runes, from which archaeologists were able to discern that many among them spoke multiple languages. This is proven by the addition of extra runes having sound values that did not exist in ancient Sonxian, but did exist in Kathic, and Ringvard (a new language that arose last period from a sprachbund of old Pethran and Pinnachun dialects). This also tends to explain the fame of the ancient Sonxian bards, who had, since their appearance a millennium ago, become quite famous in Northern Eurasia, and even in such far away places as Luuxon (not Kath, however, as they had their own bards). At the beginning of the archaic period, the Sonxians would unfortunately receive a rude awakening from this relatively peaceful existence. Sonxians had been farming a specific kind of wheat, but in the 700s ED had started to also plant apple orchards. Eventually, a disease that afflicted the apple trees jumped to the wheat with devastating effect. Driven by hunger and desperation, the Sonxians, after much deliberation with the spirits as was according to their beliefs, mounted an enormous, unified assault of the weakened Pinnachun kingdoms to the North. The Kingdoms, weakened by a centuries of war and centuries more of frustrating antagonism, were not able to resist this sudden barbarian invasion. The Sonxians, however, did not simply pillage the Pinnachun kingdoms, but set up shop in them after seeing all of the wealth and food they could produce. They moved their orchards north as well, spreading the agricultural package, although this spread the disease again and much of the wheat variants grown by the kingdoms went extinct or became feral. The Sonxians relied on the crops that remained, and began domesticating yet more variants of fruit that could be found around the region. The Sonxians did not simply displace the Pinnachun ruling class, however, as is usually the case- the unusually low population of the kingdoms and the amount of destruction that the invaders inflicted ensured that the old cultures in those regions would die out, replaced by that of the Sonxians. Pinnachun civilization as a whole would survive, of course, only the southernmost regions were conquered, but many of the unique variations of the south would cease to exist. The south would from then on be defined by the Aslaz Hirsonxir, the Realms of Sonxians. Gōshria, on the other hand, is actually rather uneventful. The only major changes are the continued subjugation of rebellious peoples and cultural assimilation of all surrounding tribes and cultures into the ever-expanding Gōshria empire. Although, it would also be in this time period that the remnants of both old Gatorna and old northern Borna have finally fully become two slightly different expressions of a unique culture, now known as Gosharik. Iron would not be adopted by the Gōshria in this period, nor by surrounding polities- however the spoke-wheel chariot makes its way from Luuxon to be adopted and even improved upon by the Gōshria, who were beginning to become exceedingly adept at bronze work. Beringia (OTL . . . Beringia.) The Luuxon Karnesa, since its inception, had a very violent and chaotic history, more so than many other places save perhaps in the lands around the Lahontan. The first dynasty, established by Tarash-jin and Rashuboshi, was the longest, at a grand total of four rulers. Rashuboshi's grandson, Jin-Moshimadou, would die soon after his father in a “chariot accident”, and a warleader of the empire named Katamoji would take the throne. Before the events of this period are described, a list of sorts has been constructed below of the Luuxon dynasties to illustrate just how cyclical and redundant the empire ended up being. Tarashite Dynasty ( 1 KD (K!mai Dekore) – 130 ED) Tarash-jin: Established a large kingdom from tiny city state in central Beringia. Rashuboshi: Expanded kingdom into empire. Moshima: Consolidated gains of mother. Jin-Moshimadou: Usurped by general. Katamojid Dynasty (131 ED to 200 ED) Kaltamoji: Usurps previous emperor, re-consolidates empire with suppression and conquest. Kamaboshi: Spend her life in debauchery and using trade riches for whores/paying mercenaries to maintain order. Risbalmon: Usurped by mercenaries. Mercenary Period (three dynasties) (201 ED to 363 ED) Bizai: Mercenary leader who usurped and killed Risbalmon. Near end of life is usurped by commander. Toki-jin: Usurped Bizai, continues bloody conquests, creates vassals from commanders to prevent sedition. Tardo: Son of Toki-jin, is usurped after twenty years of rule by son of nearest vassal. Jromon: Usurped Toki-jin, violently holds empire together, abolishes vassals. Farosh: Son of Jromon, whores and drinks himself to death. Interregnum, vassals spend generations fighting for empire. (364 ED to 462 ED) Single Rulers Period (463 ED to 987 ED) There are over sixty-six rulers in this period non of which had their dynasty last beyond their death. Almost each and every one spent their early days bloodily subduing the empire, then spending the remainder of their lives in luxury, had their heirs overthrown by peasants (if they even decided to grace the empire with something so tedious as designated heirs!) and/or other vassals and/or mercenaries (the rotation changes every three rulers and there is some overlap) To this day it baffles historians, military experts and anthropologists alike as to why the Shakkadians were so obsessed with continuing this one single empire centered out of Luuxon for so long, to the point where the city more or less remained intact (or was constantly being rebuilt) throughout the entire 990 years of its existence. Apparently a mystique slowly grew around the city of Luuxon, in that in order for one to be able to rule the Karnesa they had to seize it in the name of the original conquerors and continue under the original banners. It is posited that the more or less cultural homogeneity of the Eastern Shakkadian people contributed to this- many of the local dialects and traditions were merely variations on the same theme and because Luuxon was at the center, all of these variations did not seem out of place when eventually they produced a warlord who would assume the position of gelding the undead horsethat was Luuxon Karnesa. In 989 ED the empire collapsed at last when invasions by the joint kingdoms of Checho and Acoum pillaged its wealth and, in concert with a sudden incursion of Uilden steppe confederations, completely disrupted the trans Beringian trade network. What began afterwards was a time that would come to be known as the Yitai Luuxon Bajirai, or the Era of Luuxon's Violent Quarrels. In other words, a warring states period. It appears that unlike the Fenric despotships, the Shakkadians would never tire of war, and preparation for constant war would become so ingrained in their culture during this period that their population would continue to steadily increase, in spite of (or rather, because of) the persistent spectre of violent death. Northern Tortolia (OTL Northeast North America) The main event in this region is the rise of the Uildeni [IPA: Uil'dɛni], out of the former Southern Orfa culture. In the Great Convulsion, there was a brief period where the Southern Orfa readopted agriculture and domesticated a perissodactylate of some sort- at which point the archaeological record becomes uncharacteristically sparse in that region. Most likely there were floods or aquifers were created and ruined the data. In the Archaic period, however, the Southern Orfa would reemerge with a new face- a now widespread and warlike culture of hybrid steppe nomad-seafarers known as the Uildeni. Having differentiated from the sedentary Orfa of the North, the Uildeni adopted both seacraft from the Gormenic trade cities and eventually adapted their domesticated animals to become excellent riding stock. They quickly populated the steppes, savanna, and lightly forested regions around their homeland, and move around on ships a great deal as well, thanks to the unusual tolerance that their animals had for water- far moreso than horses. These animals resemble horses, but have several key differences- they have less body hair, are physically stronger, but slightly smaller, and possessing solid tails[1]. The Uildeni call them Namuildeni (children of the Uildeni) as a reflection of the close bond and heavy reliance these people had on the animals. They are more like the Rasuga in this regard, in that they are a culture which does engage in bestial relations with the animals, but also similar to the Tuuleare or Zhimidic peoples in that they believe the animals to be sacred guardians of their kind rather than exalted Gods. Like the Zhimidics and Rasuga as well, they are also extremely belligerent, but whereas the Rasuga are semi-sedentary and terrestrial, they are fully nomadic and seafaring. Their religious traditions are still more or less the same, as is the same as the original Orfa animism- they have not adopted the worship of the Holy Union (References to the traditions brought about by the union of An!ai and Hapekore in Gōshria), and they oppose it vehemently. Speaking of which, the worship of the Holy Union has been a great boon to some of the Orfa city-states. Increased diplomatic ties with the wealthy, ever-growing empire across the sea has made them rich and powerful, so as the years go by they expand and subsume all of the minor cities and villages surrounding them. Some states, however, are beginning to object to the worship of some faraway emperor across the sea, and grow ever more wary (and violent) towards their converted counterparts. It does not help that belligerent incursions by the Uildeni are disrupting the amphibious trade routes between the Orfa and Gormen states. The Gormen, on the other hand, have embraced religious syncretism, believing that these two God-lings must obviously be the illegitimate children of the Almighty Taalon, the Dragon of Creation- they kept coming back to life (reincarnation) they gravitated towards each other, and their dynasty rules what the Gormen believe to be “The Greatest Empire in the World”. This belief is looked on fondly by most, including several elements in Gōshria itself. Southern Tortolia (OTL Western North America) Southern Tortolia is polar in this period. On one hand, a nation experiences a revival (of sorts), and a civilization is thrust into turmoil; On another hand, two civilizations reach relative prosperity and order. Wemath and Serran seem to have stabilized- in the Wemathi's case, there is only occasional infighting in the city states, and disputes are generally settled by affairs of gladiatorial combat between the Ghirmoth of two cities. This has had the effect of keeping the military capabilities sharp despite the lack of conflict for the past thousand years, and has caused the Wemathi to slowly become more of a warrior race, very far from the peaceful agriculturalists at the dawn of the bronze age. The Ghirmoth have also had an unusual effect on the physiology of the Wemathi people- there is a marked 5% decrease of sexual dimorphism, for example, as the prestigious institution selects for large, strong females. Archaeologists originally thought that the Wemathi were also producing an above-average amount of homosexuals, as the number of recorded male Ghirmoth was also going up- this was, however, revealed to be a simple error or poor analysis of data, as it was simply because the overall population of Wemathi was rising. The Wemathi people's warrior-priests had turned out to be a great asset, preserving the internal stability of the cities by allowing them to fight in wars, and when outside threats emerged, the Ghirmoth needed only to form temporary coalitions of defense- outside accounts report that these were, even more than at their inception during the Yefette-Lahontan wars, frightfully brutal warriors. When they fought outside foes, they did their best to be incredibly organized, communicating with each other via stealthy couriers and coordinated orders that were coded in riddles, songs, and archaic or secret dialects of Wemathi. Neither when fighting outside or with each other, they had no conception of mutual honor, self-preservation, or fairness: They believed themselves blessed and permitted by the Gods to preserve the Wemathi people and their traditions, no matter the cost and regardless of whoever else got hurt (In Gladiatorial combat, a Ghirmoth could forfeit to prevent injury or death only by trying to escape the battle, just as they would escape a real confrontation). The association of the word Ghirmoth with the idea of some kind of “Terror Priest” would no longer remain an exclusively Yefetti assumption. As for Serran, they have occupied themselves with becoming the world's most far reached sea traders, in an attempt to get around the sudden temporary loss of trade from Beringia that was created by the collapse of the Karnesian empire. They would either co-opt or independently invent the Bireme (scholars are in disagreeance on this one, there is little evidence for either claim and both are far-fetched), then adapt it for speed purposes. They would also receive a fairly corrupted version of the Dhašqen script which would also greatly bolster their administrative abilities. This whole period for them is merely a slow climb to the 1100s ED at which point they would become so effective at their newly adopted trades that they would establish a commercial network over the water as good as the Beringian land network was. The two would work in concert from then on. Furthermore, there is also a fair bit of evidence pointing to the fact that Serran traders may have discovered Chahirlu in the west, and even sailed as far as Tizaokal in the east[2]. The central Lahontanic civilizations have been plunged into turmoil. The Lahontan Kingdoms, having grown great and powerful over the centuries have collectively renamed themselves to the Kettaalon [IPA: Ket'a:lɒn], or 'Mighty', Kingdoms, forging a temporary alliance at the beginning of the period to make war on both Yefette and Serran. Their divisive efforts are what ensured the survival of the Yefette, as they more or less wasted a great deal of manpower on Serran, who, thanks to their new gains in trade and their naval power, were able to repel the Kettaalon with some difficulty. Yefette, however, would still incur a horrible cost. The weakening of the cities following the attacks of the Kettaalon caused the league's cities to begin praying upon each other. The strong cities bullied the weak, who would then form subversive unions to fight them off. Some even made alliances with Kettaalon kings, exchanging suzerainty for protection. One large city depopulated, half of its population simply hemorrhaging out into other cities or even traveling to the outskirts of Wemath and settling there, submitting themselves and their productions to the Moths and Ghirmoth. By the end of this period, the Yefette city-states would become so unrecognizable that, had the record not shown it, there would be little trace that a unified league existed at all. Tizaokal and Amazonia (OTL Mesoamerica and South America) Two of the three new civilizations that would arise in this period can be found in Amazonia/Tizaokal. One can argue that the upheaval in the Rasuga civilization should be categorized as a new civilization appearing, however it is not counted because technically the Rasuga already had many of the trappings of civilization, something that the Tizaokal had little of and the Lilim did not have at all before this period. Just as well, the preexisting civilization in that part of the world, the farming villages established by the Rasuga, would also be getting a new, but rather similar face to another civilization. Tizaoko culture culminates in civilization when to important advantages make their way to the region. The pre-iron bronze forges greatly increased the ease of making bronze, which the people primarily used for decorative purposes. They did not tend to fight with each other often- their way of life was very similar to that of the Woma and Wemathi villages of the early bronze age, although it was not so much a collection of small growing villages as it was one long, continuous, spaced out super-settlement. What caused civilization to arise in the region was actually the introduction of the horse, which allowed for this large, spread out settled conglomerate to finally communicate. On the backs of the horse rode the vehicle of early civilization: religion. The custom was that only shamans and magic men were allowed to keep animal “familiars” and raise livestock, as they had the closest connection to the gods. As such, they also became the traders and travelers- the horse fell under their careful jurisdiction. When the Tizaoko began communicating with each other, or rather, when the shamans discovered each other for the first time and found such similar beliefs, they started to come to a consensus that they were all divinely inspired- chosen by their local gods to represent them. Around 760 ED, frequent convocations would be conducted, where Shaman from all over Tizaokal would convene in a single place and discuss the nature of the gods. What resulted was unusual, to say the least. Rather than create an organized, formal religion based on syncretism, the Tizaokal definitively rejected the idea that the gods were supreme beings with multiple regional expressions. Instead, they formalized and unified the religion based on this pantheistic animism- a natural conclusion to draw according to them[3]. It was also then that they created their cosmology by finding the commonalities between their individual experiences and using those to form the basis of how the “spirit world” was supposed to operate. The cardinal rule was that gods were everywhere, but shamans exclusively could perceive them- the laity only perceived their actions. This was because their world was layered on top of our own, beyond the range of what normal humans could perceive. If a human was repeatedly affirmed to have the gift of perception or foresight, they had been chosen by the local gods to be a shaman, or they were the children of gods themselves (This latter one has an unusual turn to it: It was believed that stillbirths were the result of demigod children taking too much after their sires, and thus their souls were too free to be held by a human body). Thus was born the Shamanistic, semi-communal Theocracy of Tizaokal, which in the Archaic Period would form the foundations of what characterized it in later times: Small, Elaborate shrines found in seemingly remote places, the construction of Pagodas, and the growing sense of community that all of the Tizaoko had, through their shaman leaders. Furthermore, this civilization would be unique in that it placed absolutely no worth on hereditary leadership- the gods were the wisest, not human beings, and familial power was a human judgement (thus flawed). A Tizaokal shrine The third and final civilization arising in this era, namely in Lilim territory, would be more late (around 900s ED), but also more organized. It formed as a direct result of a new polity in the southwest (Tizaokal) becoming organized enough (in and around the 790s) to extend their trade network all the way north- a connection, albeit weak and confused, to the advanced civilizations of the Lahontan. The advanced bronze forge would be what created the impetus for civilization to form- in this case, using war as the vehicle, and religion as the legitimization. Coming from mysterious origins was a wandering army of mixed stone and bronze armed Toxodon cavalry, around the 900s ED. Cavalry is not the best word for it, as the Toxodon were used more like war-beasts than vehicles, but it was the first time that megafauna would end up being used offensively (albeit relatively small megafauna that had already been domesticated for millennia). Make no mistake, these were not a nomadic confederation like the Zhimidic and Uildeni peoples- these were something independent, a new political institution that actually first occurred twice in this period at the exact same time on the same continent: Sedentary Warbeast soldier-culture[4]. In this case, militaristic offshoots of the Lilim would become kingdom carving warlords who crafted sedentary civilizations on the backs of their beasts, rather than become tribute seeking nomads- after all, there were no wealthy polities to seek tribute from. Two kingdoms in Northern Amazonia would rise out of this, centered around two main cities are, as is supposedly detailed in a Lilim Epic Song, the kingdoms of Bylario and Eregalla, established by the legendary Rin (Lilimite for King/Kings) Açhereb and Nargilla. It is assumed that these people called themselves something similar, although very little is known about ancient Lilimite as it wasn't written down phonetically or in any syllabic fashion (the language at this time was primitive, independent logography), so there is unfortunately no way to be sure. As aforementioned, Amazonia would play host to the rise of two Warbeast cultures. The Rasuga situation, from a purely featured view, was actually very similar to that of the Lilim: agrarians who had been relying on one specific animal domesticate for thousands of years. Of course, the arguable difference between the situation of the Rasuga as opposed to the Lilim was that the Rasuga adopting warbeast culture is viewed as inevitable: Not only were there domesticates megafauna, but they were also originally carnivorous predators, with a great many adaptations designed for hunting (and thus combat). That this development was inevitable is also proved by the very real probability of its independent origins: This era proved that the Rasuga still had very little knowledge and almost no interaction with any of the civilizations surrounding them, namely because they developed an independent method of bronze working (which was not nearly as efficient and used a previously unknown forge shape), a logographic/syllabic script that resembles no other script in the region or the world (and was also not as efficient as any of the other systems in the world at the time, although it was more than enough to allow reconstruction of ancient Timrasu, the Rasuga language), and they had completely different methods of agriculture- these though, were very efficient given the unique geography in southern Amazonia. Organized Rasuga conflict- and later, organized civilization- began as a series of separate factors, old and new, coming together to make a perfect storm. The new factors were of course the new weapon capabilities that the Rasuga had- they could now hammer and even mold bronze, which allowed them to make the first shields and armor. They also used bronze tools to improve their wood and stonework, which further increased their original capabilities. The old factors were the ever increasing populations, which were starting to put strain on the people to come up with new ways to organize, and, at last, the Terror Birds. Religion, unlike the Lilim case, was intertwined with this situation, and the Rasuga could not have picked a better subject. Riders and handlers of Terror Birds were the equivalent of holy men in other cultures, and they interpreted the behaviours of the terror bird to guide society- the Terror Birds were tantamount to gods on earth, pieces of one mighty bird-deity who tripped, fell, and shattered into eggs that seeded the world with its progeny. Even after domestication, terror birds still fought with each other constantly (although their unusual intelligence ensured less permanent injury) over kills, mating rights, to show dominance, and, of course, just to amuse themselves- much to the terror or entertainment of the humans watching. Eventually, a few villages from different parts of the region came to the same conclusion, and decided that, as the gods fought each other, so too would they fight each other in order to survive, to assert their power over others, or even just for personal enjoyment and gain. Thus, armed, mounted, and validated, did a few dozen or so village clans come to be by fighting and subduing those around them until they met their matches, and just warred with each other for monetary gain and entertainment. That the Rasuga then produced writing simply as a way of both immortalizing their jovial 'petty war games' and to aid in the trading and tallying of pillaged goods is a source of hilarity among the scholarly community. This period of Rasuga history would come to be known as the Manasakayvi [IPA: mɑnəsəˈkajwi], or the Bloody Time of Clan Games- it is also used to refer to the new flavour of Rasuga civilization that occupied the period, and the collection of myths that arose as well. The Terror Bird riders of Southern Amazonia had proven to be a bizarre, and odd, but admirable culture, and would simply become more culturally strange and anthropologically impressive in the time to come. ------------------------------------------------- Some notes and justifications [1] They're like different coloured domesticated water Zebras OTL. Zebras and their like are almost analogous to wild horses, they are easily domesticated. They're being domesticated right now, as a matter of fact. [2] We now have three Phoenician analogues! This world supports them so much, what with the currents and the new intercontinental, it's almost as if it's trying to make things even more interconnected than they already are. [3] Shinto is a formal animist religion, in which gods are everywhere, but this is more like a cross between Shinto and the Hittite religion, where syncretism was also rejected in favour of pantheistic animism. [4] I cite India, Southeast Asia, and Carthage as the main examples of this. It's a little early but unlike elephants, these animals are actually fully domesticated, but still dangerous.
|
|
|
Post by fluttersky on Jul 30, 2017 10:57:07 GMT
Turn 16 / 1400 - 1340 BCE / 930 - 990 ED
by kinjy
The Northwest (otl Madagascar, Arabia, and Pakistan) The first prique civilization appears in the form of the city state of Bueri. Bueri acts as a trade hub connecting the villages and tries of Madagascar with the Ayriens, and through them the major civilizations of the south. Indeed, Prique walrus ivory carvings have been found as far away as Tuejja’Daar. The Eluis also expand during this period, fighting with other tribes which hunt the mammoths and further developing their belief system. The gods, they believe, are powerful yet vulnerable and must there for be protected from those who would do them harm. AustraliaA wave of Tuejja’Daariean settler arrives in the Indonesian islands as a result of the diaspora. Theas people place a good deal of importance of the construction and maintenance of ships and in the furthest reaches they form a new culture known as the Juumadaar (empire/kingdom of great ships). The Juumadaar are a kind of sea nomad, living aboard their ships for many months at a time and only making landfall for necessary repairs and resupplying. South AsiaTuejja’Daar’s continuing decline is helped along by an outbreak of disease with many of the overseas territories becoming independent. Yomalak'Daere also gobbles up a number of border regions. Because the disease is mosquito born people aboard ships were spared unless they were already infected, allowing ships full of refugees to flee to the outskirts of the Tuejja’Daar sphere of influence without bringing the disease with them. The largest of the Tuejja’Daar collonies to break away dubs itself Hennyur'Daar. The Khaengun invent the number zero in this period which will have far reaching effects in times to come. It quickly spreads through the southern ocean trade network to such far away places as Hrani Chahirlu and Serran. Interestingly the symbol they use to represent it is an old Hranish pictogram meaning “empty”. Central AsiaThe Empire of Brass sees an explosion in glass making and working techniques. Although glass had already been known for hundreds of years in the form of simple beads this period sees the first appearance of large cut and polished glass items designed to catch and reflect the rays of the sun. Parabolic mirrors start showing up at the end of this period as well, inlaid in increasingly sophisticated brass sculptures placed in sun temples and arranged so that they would always catch at least some sun light at all times during the day. EuropeA minor Prethranic noble woman named Doura proposes a shortcut to the distant Cities of the Orfa, goods from which had long been filtering along the long trade rout around the rim of the *Arctic sea. By her reckoning, based on semi accurate charts and reports, she could reach Orfa by sailing directly south. Sinking nearly all of her wealth into the project she set sail with a fleet of ships. When they arrive on the northern coast of Vulcansland (OTL iceland) they find a land empty of humans, and indeed any mammals, Doura seized the opportunity to go from second daughter of a minor house to queen and founded the queendom of Vulcansland. BeringiaThe Luuxon waring states period continues. This results in a number of military advances in both tactics and weapons. Although none of the states achieve much success individually the Luuxon states as a whole expand thanks to their military advances. Southern TortoliaA period or relative calm grips the region. The States of the Ghirmoth Wemath continue to grow in both size and number but the infighting amongst the Yefette city states has died down a bit and the Serran remain predominantly concerned with trade. Northern TortoliaIn the central lakes region a previously unremarkable hunter gatherer culture develops into the Aeotan [A-E-O-tan] culture. The Aeotan are unusual in that, while their villages resemble those of other early farmers they do not yet have any edible crops, not any domestic vertebrates (except dogs) what they do have is ants. Specifically, the Aeotan make large clay pots in which they keep colonies of leaf cutter ants. The Aeotan harvest these colonies for the fungus that the ants grow, using the ants as a kind of processing for the leaves they can’t eat themselves. This is also reflected in their religion. They believe that just as they tend the ants in order to get the fungus for themselves so to do the gods tend them. Thus they must make frequent sacrifices of crafted goods to prove they are still a productive colony. This view also holds that while the gods care about the Aeotan as a whole and even on a village level they do not care about individuals any more than the Aeotan themselves care about individual ants as long as the colony survives and continues to produce. CaribbeanThe north Tizaoko culture forms along the west coast of Amazonia as a result of local cultures along the Tizaoko-Lilim trade rout adopting the Tizaoko agricultural package and script. Each village or group of villages retains their own gods and customs however as well as their own spoken language. Southern AmazoniaA major volcanic eruption in the southern amazonian mountains leads to famine and the collapse of many Manasakayvi clans, especially in the east. As formerly settled groups turn to banditry and raiding one particularly powerful bandit leader rises to power. This man, known as the Bird King sweeps westward into a region of weakened but still intact cities conquering as he goes. Contemporary sources claim the Bird King is half man and half terror bird, equal parts man and god. After his death the Bird King is deified, with the terror birds themselves becoming lesser divinities within the Realm of the Bird King. The increased size and complexity of this new empire also necessitates advances in the Rasuga script. In the savanna north of the mountains a branch of the Rasuga merge with the local hunter gathers to form the Grazuin culture. Prior to the introduction of the terror birds the proto-Grazuin were unable to hunt the glyptodons who they called “the unbreakable ones”. Terror birds however came with both the speed and built in weaponry to hunt the armored behemoths. In another world this would have led to the glyptodon's extinction. This is not that story however. In this story The Grazuin begin herding the glyptodons, using the terror birds they way cowboys used horses to drive herds of the enormous armadillos across the grassy hills. The Grazuin believe that each species has a god, for example there is a god of human and a god glyptodons. The god of terror birds however is believed to have shattered, his fragments each investing in one of his subjects. Grazuin warriors and priests (often the same thing) wear armor made from glyptodon shells which they engrave with stories of their exploits. This is also the period were the coastal rainforest dwelling Rasuga are recognized as a separate culture. This is not so much because of any major development in either culture but rather the end result of a long, slow drift apart. These coastal people, known as the Rasgayt, are the first to make contact with Serran explorers sailing east from Tizaoko. The Rasgayt quickly adopt the larger and safer ships of the Serran, though sailor is still seen as a somewhat dishonorable profession as terror birds refuse to board ships. Northern AmazoniaIn Northern Amazonia the Lilim kingdoms continue to grow and prosper. A king known as Dulmaljil the great unites both kingdoms but his son proves to be an ineffectual ruler and a secession crisis among his grandsons again splits the kingdoms, this time in three. The east lilim develop in the hilly grasslands to the east of the lilim. They are semi nomadic and live in sod houses, the Tepui of the region are given special significance in this culture and act as both land marks and pilgrimage sites. The Iosnx culture is first attested from this period. Although the humid savanna of this region has long been home to scattered farming villages the Iosnx see an explosion in size and complexity that is attributed to two factors. The first is a lucky polyploidy mutation in their primary crop, a kind of bean, which allows far more food to be harvested from the same area. The second is that like many Amazonia cultures they tamed one of the megafauna, In their case the giant ground sloths. This is not believed to have been a totally independent development, tales of the lilim would almost certainly have reached them and they may even have heard of the Rasuga. Unlike the others however this was not true domestication but rather the tendency to tame individuals, not unlike our OTL relationship with elephants. Also like elephants the ground sloth are used primarily for hauling sledges and, to a degree for heavy lifting. Iosnx artwork is characterized by numerous and often explicit depictions of sexual activity suggesting a very open view of sexuality as well as statues of a three eyed and heavily pregnant hermaphroditic figure believed to be there chief deity.
|
|
|
Post by fluttersky on Jul 30, 2017 10:58:43 GMT
Turn 17 / 990 - 1050 ED (1340 - 1280 BCE)
by CannedTechEast Asia (OTL Europe/N. Eurasia):-The period of time between 1325 to 1290 marks a time of extreme upheaval in the realms known to the Fenric complex peoples. Despite the importance of the Convulsion in terms of trade and contact for the Pinnachun and Pethran peoples, this period marks a turning point for the organizational status of these peoples. While much of the story is shrouded in myth, speculation, and propaganda, a major part of the story starts with Doura, or more precisely, one of her descendants: Tochdaud, meaning literally “defiant daughter”. Tochdaud, the direct granddaughter of Doura was, according to legend, true to her name, often displaying a great ambition and a desire to set out on her own and change the destiny of her people. Again, while her childhood is shrouded in a thick layer of speculation and story, one common theme emerges often: her knowledge of her grandmother’s original homeland and her desire to unite the lands of the Pethrans. It is believed that sometime during her teenage years, and after her ascension to the throne of Vulcansland, she undertook a voyage to the Pethran homelands, often known as the Isle of Pethra [1], suffering a violent stroke along the way. While the cause of this incident remains unknown, though some evidence via stories would point to a history of schizophrenic episodes, this incident would change Tochdaud’s life forever. From stories recorded and kept in many Pethran libraries, it can be inferred that Tochdaud continued displaying a lust for power and the freedom to write the future of her people, but upon arriving to the Isle of Pethra, she also brought a message of divinity from Pethra herself; she had been chosen by the goddess herself to unite the lands deserved of her people, as she outlined in some of her various speeches: Of course, she faced considerable resistance from the queens and nobility on both the Isle of Pethra, and the Peninsula of Fenris [2], but she also had allies. Some of the queens of the Isle had long been dissatisfied with the decentralized and oft war-preoccupied state of affairs, and the young upstart’s dialogue was seen as a breath of fresh air, especially to the queen of Moharran [3], Danaan, who took an immediate interest in the young queen’s activities, as well as the young queen personally. What would result would be an odd, but politically significant event: the direct union of Moharran and Vulcansland via the marriage of Danaan and Tochdaud, who began to rule the queendom as joint queens. This was rather unprecedented considering the typical decentralization and disunity that was present among the Pethran and Pinnuchan king and queendoms, but the message of Pethran unity began to gain ground as Tochdaud began extending her reach farther beyond Moharran and Vulcansland. Seemingly blessed with a truly staggering amount of charisma, Tochdaud united the three queendoms surrounding Moharran into the first official sort of defensive pact ever seen in the Fenric complex lands. Within ten years, using the pact queendoms, she was able to bring the entire Isle of Pethra into her sphere, through direct rule or through vassalization. While some urged her to stop here, most accounts tell of her refusing to rest on her laurels, often making grand speeches to the queens and nobles of the island to conquer the great peninsula to the west. This would of course be a challenge: not only were the Pethrans of the peninsula increasingly hostile to the centralized state emerging on the Isle, but the Pinnachun kings and queens to the south wanted nothing to do with a nation that would subjugate them entirely. To add to this, the Peninsula Sonxians had, through continuous trade with the Pethrans and Pinnachuns, organized themselves into a complex agrarian confederation, which, despite being a shaky entity in the best of times, was openly hostile to the emerging unitary Pethran queendom. Tochdaud remained undaunted by the opposition, pulling together the forces of the Isle, and preparing to utilize the fullest of her prowess as a stateswoman and a tactician. The first step of the assault would be to use the small, but relatively advanced, combined navy of the Isle to stage somewhat simultaneous landings in the south and north of the peninsula. In the south, the main opposition came from the two lowland kingdoms of Ochana and Kell, who were united in a very loose pact against the invaders. Tochdaud managed to play the disunity to her advantage, staging false-flag attacks against both kingdoms using soldiers disguised as the soldiers of both kingdoms. After the two kingdoms began to attack eachother, Tochdaud’s armies swept the land, sacking settlements and cities alike, and then incorporating them directly into the Dual Queendom of Moharran-Vulcansland. Fearing for their safety, the queendoms of the south began to capitulate, and were rewarded with varying degrees of autonomy for their submission. The midland Pethrans quickly followed suit, being rather impressed by the combat prowess of the army (and not knowing the “dirty” tactics used by Tochdaud, a testament to her ability at planning), but the northern Pethrans, Pinnachuns, and Sonxians remained undaunted. Tochdaud would remedy this, first by incensing male and female nobles of the Soncians to both join her and fight against other tribal leaders, and second by launching an all-out land and sea invasion from two fronts: from the south via the new midland vassals, and from the sea in the east. Between 1310 and 1300 BC, the armies of the Isle and south would overrun the whole peninsula, using the disunity of the Sonxians as a soft underbelly through which the armies surged north into the Pinnachun kingdoms. Surprisingly however, Tochdaud treated these kingdoms in the north with more mercy than those in the southern lowlands, and this is attributed to her desire to continue somewhat the Fenric tradition of decentralization even in a more centralized state, though her actions in the south are generally attributed to her desire to make an example out of those who would rise against her. Empress Pethraud I addresses Sonxian mercenaries shortly before the assaults on the northern Pinnachun kingdoms of the Peninsula of Fenris.By 1299 BC, the whole of the Isle and Peninsula were united, and Tochdaud proclaimed the formation of the Empire of Great Pethra, crowning herself Empress Toch Pethraud I. Her empire was concentrated mainly in the kingdoms of Vulcansland, Moharran, and the member kingdoms of the original military pact, plus some of the directly subjugated lands of the southern Fenric Lowlands. The rest of the empire was slightly less cohesive, being a network of vassal queen and kingdoms of varying independence. While known as an expert stateswoman and strategist, Tochdaud was less known for her ability to run aspects of the empire such as bureaucracy and infrastructure, which generally fell to a cobbled together class of officials, and her significant other, Danaan, who established the first repositories for the many stores of clay tablets recording the history of the Pethrans and Tochdaud’s exploits. By the time Tochdaud died in 1287 BC, she left behind a unified Pethran realm, as well as an heir (Toch Pethraud II), and many bastard children, as while she was fiercely loyal to Danaan, she did have well recorded relationships with many male and female rulers and nobles throughout the land [4]. Toch also left behind an increasingly confused and scared Pinnachun realm, as the various kings and queens already had to contend with the changing cultural landscape along with the fearsome Pethran Empire now. During the period directly preceding the rise of the Pethran Empire, the Pinnachun peoples closest to the Narans had been engaging in increasing cultural cross-pollination, with the Narans increasingly using Pinnachun record keeping techniques and weapons, and with the Pinnachun king/queendoms increasingly adopting Naran hunting tactics, religious figures (alongside Fenric of course), and city-building techniques, preferring to situate large communities around grassy hilltops in order to avoid disturbing forests and hunting grounds, leading to “vertically” oriented communities centered on hills. Because of this “special relationship” with the Narans, the Naran-Pinnachuns grew increasingly aloof from the other king/queendoms, preferring to trade amongst the Naran tribesfolk, who, with the influx of equipment from their bases in Pinnachun cities, were able to begin expanding their hunting grounds west. While the Pinnachun peoples began to drift apart, some along the coast began rudimentary attempts to unite the Pinnachuns against the Pethran Empire, as it should be noted that the Pinnachuns held an equal amount of respect and fear for the military might of the Pethrans. The result of this was the Alliance of the Storm Coast, led by the queen of Dogharland and consisting mainly of sea-oriented fishing kingdoms and cities. The ancient hilltop city of Pararan, a typical Naran-influenced Pinnachun city.The other successful centralizers of the age are the Aslaz Hirsonxir, whose loose but united confederation has been slowly growing outward and subsuming tribal groups and mixed Sonxian-Pinnachun city-states and king/queendoms alike. The Aslaz have also continued to grow rich off of trade, refining their pottery and tool making skills to new heights, as well as exporting their runic script further to the north, where it would be adopted by the Pinnachun Storm Coast kingdoms and spread from there. As well, the advanced agricultural knowledge of the Aslaz continued to benefit them in terms of trade, but also birthed a new manifestation: medicine. The Aslaz proved to be incredibly talented medicine makers, experimenting with all sorts of herbs and plants and creating the world’s first basic contraceptive mixtures and primitive quinine from tree bark. The contraceptives, due to the generally higher status of women in Aslaz itself and the surrounding societies, became quickly widespread, despite attempts of some in Aslaz to maintain a monopoly on all of their medicinal techniques. Goshira has continued to benefit from their circumstances, with the popularity of Hapekore and An!ai worship continuing steadily and ensuring a constant amount of popularity for the royalty and the central government, with the only discontent coming from outlier cultural groups recently assimilated into the central nation. The kingdom has become a massive hub of culture, technology, and materials, where agricultural products, medicine, and tools of war from the north met technologies, script techniques, and iron (after the period of time where it was not adopted) from the south, creating a new period of technological prowess for the Goshirans, which they would use to improve infrastructure within their cities, and expand into the surrounding grasslands to the east and south. Some interesting developments of the era include a sort of "armored" chariot cart, which is effectively a bunker made of animal hides placed on top of a chariot cart, which greatly aids the Goshiran armies in their subjugation of the surrounding tribal groups and city states. A particularly interesting development in the region is a sort of theater tradition, in which the grand dramas of Cha and Maleynesa, as well as other religious related stories, are related to the people in large amphitheaters. These storytelling techniques slowly begin to spread out from the Goshira, and certain Goshirans themselves begin writing their own stories, often relating them to stories of the ancient Leniac and Borna, or including moral allegories. A modern day approximation of an ancient Goshiran amphitheater. The largest theaters tended to be in the central Goshiran city complexes and on the coast. Because of the loss of much contextual evidence, many modern replications lack the elaborate primarily blue paintings, as well as the intricate gardens.The Old Leniac continue to have a rather placid existence, being a much more agriculturally oriented people than the Leniac of the past, but trade routes running through their lands enable them to refine their techniques, and spread west under the shadows of the Giant's Toes [5]. While the Leniac still hunt, their primary mode of existence is now primarily agrarian, and the tribal situation now consists of many small circular towns ringed by fields of wheat, barley, fruit trees, etc., with small networks of roads passing around the countryside, where merchants from Goshira and the Sonxian lands pass through and exchange their wares. The towns develop fast through the periods leading up to and following 1300 BC, and the stage is set for a large population increase and the formation of cities. A typical Old Leniac complex, now without the vibrant rings of fruit trees and wheat.The pseudo-Bornan/Leniac mixed peoples around Lake Baikal* have began to form their own unique culture, becoming an increasingly large player of the trade networks in the region. The city states have taken to calling themselves the N!Jan, uniting around a council of merchant kings and priests. The priests, according to records kept in the Bornan script on tablets, were influenced in their religious decisions by a "power unfamiliar to us, who dug themselves [lived] in the south, and put their ears to the ground, listening for a down-set [sleeping] god". Because of this, it can be inferred that the N!Jan picked up certain traits from the Khaengun, whose concepts of communal aid and happiness and the existence of a malevolent god indirectly influenced the course of N!Jan culture. The Slumbering One would be replaced in local belief by the Drowned King of the Sky, a celestial god of creation who cast the Bornan people across the Eurasian plains and was subsequently imprisoned in Lake Baikal* for his crimes, or so the legend goes. The N!Jan had once sacrificed food to the lake to appease the god of creation, but fueled by scraps of Khaengun myth, the N!Jan began following a new belief: that they must feed themselves and starve the Drowned King. Increased fishing for the dual purpose of food and "robbing the Drowned King of his life" was also recorded during this period, showing the new zealousness that the N!Jan applied to their faith. It is generally thought that part of this faith's adoption had to do with reverence for the Khaengun and their introduction of new technology to the N!Jan, but another aspect of the faith is thought to have been residual anger stemming from the historic and legendary misfortunes of the old Borna peoples of the region, with the N!Jan redirecting their anger towards the mythical figure of the Drowned King. Modern approximations of the Drowned King, the demonically octopoid features are believed to have stemmed from Goshiran and Khaengun stories of aggressive squids and octopuses, creatures associated with malevolence by many seafaring cultures.Kath (OTL Central Asia): The Nykanti continue to experience extreme paranoia and fear related to the menace of the Brass Empire to the south, ensconcing themselves increasingly in their metropole, adopting a sort of "Fortress Nykanti" mindset, often at the expense of fellow Kathic city states. It increasingly seemed that the Kathic thessalocratic order would collapse at any year or any time, with the Brass Empire to the south and the increasingly isolationist Nykanti to the north, and the bickering city states in the middle. Despite the dire political times, trade continues somewhat, but even the trade is beginning to trickle, with the Dhasqar encouraging the local peoples not to trade to the east, and the overland trade networks running through N!Jan lands becoming more and more popular. The only truly major success of the era trade-wise is the increased contact with the Kova'i, which allows them to subsume the unorganized tribes surrounding the central empire. Some other developments include the development of an interesting new idea spreading out from the eastern Kathic city of Khosani, an idea formulated by a famed trader lord turned aesetic thinker named Jairan-Dram: a government for the people, by the people, no Ramas included. The system is implemented in Khosani after an inter-city battle and a revolt in 1298 BC, to mixed/positive results, and the ideals begin to slowly gain traction amongst the Kathic peoples, who have started to tire of the bickering Ramas, as well as the sluggish and uncaring Nykanti. The Brass Empire, on the other hand has continued to bask both in the rays of the sun, and in the rays of success. The empire has expanded quite a bit in the north, especially to the east and west, absorbing Desert Kathic and lake Kathic tribal regions, sending a bunch of Desert Kath out to the west. Despite the lack of overland trade from the west, trade from the south has continued, and trade with Empire-aligned Kathic cities has continued. The Empire has gone as far as to directly vassalize more Ramas, encroaching more and more on the Kathic hinterlands. The worship of the Sun has taken root quite well, and the new philosophy system, combined with the Empire's support of artistic and literary endeavors, has created an explosion of art and literary works like nothing ever seen in the region before. Architecture has become a specialty of the Empire, with precise work being put into grand temples, massive walls cluttered with brass reliefs, and great mirrors affixed on buildings all over Imperial settlements. Of course, sundials, or a reasonable facsimile, have also seen increased use, to better track the course of the sun and its glory. The ruler by 1300 BC, the daughter of Talmos, Empress Semyan Lirukel Usitar Selyaqqu (Lirukel meaning Sun-kissed approximately) is a known patron of literature, collecting written records and works from as far away as Goshira and Khaengun. The Gateway of the Sun, only a small part of the grand temple complexes of Du-Lirukaman, but a part that exemplifies the precision that Imperial architects implimented.Western Subcontinent (OTL India) The Tibetan Plateau, called the Gamba-Hana or Tongue of the World by locals (who, on a related note, referred to the Himalayas as the Teeth of the World, or Gamba-Khaza), experiences an odd sort of cultural formation, centered around small bands of highland livestock herders banding together into cohesive tribal groups and religious lines. The Highlanders, called wholly the Ganjat, developed a belief system that looked strange to the surrounding nations, believing the "higher world" (the plateau) to be the inside of the mouth of Gamba-Ja, the yak-like goddess of creation, whose sacrifice defeated the evil forces of the Cosmos, and whose stretched open jaws cradle the Ganjat safely. The Ganjat worship Gamba-Ja, along with a multitude of lesser gods and spirits, in mountainside monasteries and shrines, burying precious artifacts and food in the Earth to feed Gamba-Ja and keep her strong to protect the Ganjat. Ganjati society is quite cohesive, owing to the belief that, were the Ganjati to fall from the three paths of wisdom, humility, and charity as set out by Gamba-Ja, Gamba-Ja would awake not in defensive worry, but in anger, and would swallow all living on Gamba-Hana and Gamba-Khaza whole. The peoples are semi-nomadic pastorals, building dwellings directly in the cliffs, and herding yaks primarily, owing to the yak personification of Gamba-Ja. In tandem to the respect, love, and fear of Gamba-Ja, women play a much larger role in society, and many tribal leaders are women. This is believed to have been imported into local customs before the formation of organized Gamba-Ja worship. Because of their reverence for the color black, as related to the worship of the earthly Gamba-Ja, crows are highly regarded as "birds of the land" by the Ganjat, and due to the intelligence of crows, they have become bred for companionship with humans, and are treated as the Egyptians of our timeline would treat cats, except the crow was praised more for its skill and intelligence rather than their grace. Due to their ability to recognize specific humans, the Ganjati crows quickly bond with humans, and quickly spread beyond the Gamba-Hana as companion pets and curiosities. An artists impression of a small lowland Ganjat temple complex.Often reviled by various cultures, the Ganjati crow domestication began a turning of tides, and many became enamored with the enigmatic and intelligent birds.During the turn of years before and after 1300 BC, tensions between the Dhašq, Shiu, and Hijjanianic peoples would reach an all-time high following the great religious and social upheaval brought upon by the expulsion of the followers of Mimijrant. While warfare would be limited to low-level skirmishes and raids, the main feature of this era in the region would be the vicious and fiery rhetoric thrown from region to region and city state to city state. The Tosjatati factions united in unilateral scathing criticism of the actions of the Dhasq, branding them hypocrites and low-lives. While this would result in retaliatory actions, the Dhasqen priests and monks often engaged in counter-argument, criticizing the Tosjatati kings and warlords for their past actions and fostering of a religion that ran counter to Dasqen beliefs. Still, internal debates began to rage in Dhasq lands alongside the external quarrels, with the issue of the harsh treatment of the Mimijrant followers coming directly into the spotlight, brought forward by a group of people known as the Sadu Qiradhu, or Friends of Qiradhu, or simply, the Qiradhuites. The Qiradhuites believed in a liberal interpretation of the Qāšīræi Kādūbim, believing that the Mimijrants were less malevolent zealots striving to aid their god in killing the Dhasqen gods, but that they were merely misguided souls deceived by false gods and deserving the same type of compassion bestowed on the Hijjanianic peoples. Of course, the decentralized Dhasqen situation did not help the spread of this sentiment, and the Qiradhuites ended up in an entrenched battle against their brethren, constantly fearing raids, persecution, harassment, and what-have-you from the other tribes and city states. The Pakase would remain on the metaphorical fence through the brewing conflict, with many feeling uneasy about the zealous proselytism of the Dhasq and their treatment of the Mimijranti, but also feeling somewhat indebted to the Dhasq for saving them during times of need. The third parties to the conflict would be the Shiu, the southern Hijjiani, and the peoples of Cape Awaji, whose worship of Tsojat was slowly being encroached upon by Dhasqen raids and zealotry. One response to this was the formation of the Awajic Kingdom, which formed out of various cape tribes and city states, and another response was the Pact of Boganda, a loose naval defensive pact of city-states along the coasts of the Cape, whose combined economic clout enabled them to basically control any trade being funneled through the Cape, bringing them in conflict with the Tsojatat. Another sore spot to zealous converters from Dhasq lands is that the "soulwork" movement holds strong in the Pact, making the cities circle the wagons at any time the Dhasqen peoples make any moves around the region. This complicated political situation merely simmered around 1300 BC, but it would be likened in the future as a powderkeg, and many knew that it would only take a single invasion to bring the whole region down into chaos. An apartment complex outside of the city of Boganda itself. Cities in the Shiu-Awajic region tend to cluster around these sorts of complexes surrounded by open space, leading to difficulty telling where the city would end and the suburbs would begin.In the frozen northern climes of Arabia, nothing too much has been going on, other than the migration of Eluis peoples around the easternmost body of water that would make up the Persian Gulf. The Eluis tradition of Mammoth worship and reverence is first observed in 1281 by the outside world when Dhasqen and Tsojatati traders venture north, finding the locals to be amiable to trade, excluding any mammoth related products. Attempts to convert the Eluis fail, but without any particular hostilities, as the Eluis don't particularly care about gods outside of their spiritual forces and the mammoths. One small twist to the local faith is the prophesied return of the Elders-Who-Walk-the-Ice, or the ancient mastadons, which the faith interpreted as being the progenitors of mammoths who were defeated by their children for transgressions against creation, who would cause the end of the world should they ever return. From sometime in the final decade of the 1310s forward, a large ceremony occurs in many Eluis camps every year, during which a large mastadon skull would be doused with sap and other binding substances, and subsequently carried to a mammoth herd, which would usually circle around or roll the skull. Local beliefs held that this would keep the Elders bound to the Earth, and the mammoths would cast wards to keep them there. The Prique would continue reaping the benefits of trade with the wider world, and while their power and technological advancement would be extremely handicapped by their isolation and environment, certain regions on the southern coasts of their island around Bueri would organize into their own city-states, with the city states of Cuali, Holerin, and Bueri-Kraan being founded. The Prique would become known to the peoples of the Western Subcontinent as a very colorful people, worshiping a multitude of spirits, and often festooning their wooden settlements with all sorts of carvings, paintings, shrines, etc., as well as having some of the most famously elaborate saddles for their animals, as opposed to the more restrained designs of the Eluis. Despite the somewhat fanciful elements (including a depiction of Hasolan, the goddess of navigation, sailing, and guidance, seen in the center of the image), this piece accurately depicts the often meticulously decorated settlements of the Prique.South Asia:The years of 1310-1295 would be rather tumultuous years for the peoples of South Asia, especially for the Borna and Teujja, who would be the direct recipients of the fallout from the long coming collapse of Teujja'daar. The decay of the Teujja'daere as a major power had long been in the works, and had only been prolonged due to the large pool of military power and mysticism that they could draw on, as well as the sheer tenacity exhibited by the military leadership and the military itself. In the empire's waning years, the officer ranks were often filled with bloodthirsty fanatics, indoctrinating their troops through torture, starvation, mystic rites (Gin-Ja of course, often involving the bloody sacrifice of one or two soldiers of a larger group to send a message), and nigh relentless propaganda. It was in 1305 that an infamous Teujja'daere general published a pamphlet on indoctrination called " Their Hearts are Yours" roughly, which was widely reviled outside of the Teujja'daar lands as one of the most evil documents to be read anywhere in the continent, recommending all sorts of grotesque physical and psychological tortures to ensure 100% troop loyalty. Khaengun priestly records from this time indicate the general mood from the surrounding nations: " I [Sopavya, head priest of the southern city of Topaja] received this document willingly from the kind Teujja'daere ship captain in the morn, and while I found his apprehensiveness strange, I now understand why he did not want me to see the document. That it is grotesque is evident, this document is alien to everything we hold dear in our land, and if it were not my duty to do so, I would burn this text and strike its existence from our records... My hope for the future is that this text does not make the world look badly on the Teujja'daere themselves, as they are like you or me. Their leaders are men with hearts of marble , but their people suffer under the same hand. They do not deserve this hardship." Unfortunately, unlike Sopavya hoped, the nations surrounding the Teujja had grown to unilaterally revile the nation, even the breakaway colonies that were filled with Teujja'daere settlers. The proverbial straw that broke the camels back came when the ailing king Daan!jan II attacked the Teujjaborna tribes to the east in 1302, throwing the whole of his increasingly tired and indoctrinated military into expanding the empire to compensate for the past losses and humiliation from nations around them. What the Teujja'daar weren't expecting was a liberal application of Murphy's Law to come into play.
The first signs that things were going wrong for the Teujja'daar came when a surprise series of Summer monsoons interrupted important Gin-ja rites preceding the surprise assault on the Teujjaborna. This would be paltry compared to the events within the lands of the Teujjaborna to the east. While the Teujjaborna to the north fumed against Yomalak for the destruction of the N!kai, the Teujjaborna to the east had also been increasingly put upon by the Teujja'daar, with the kings after Jinjinkanti II demanding massive tributes to hold off their programmes of expansion and re-expansion. With this chafing under the threat of an aggressive and (on the surface) well prepared neighbor, certain elements within the Teujjaborna lands began preparing. Much like the storied tale of the Acoum fending off the invasions of their lands, the formerly non-aggressive Teujjaborna began to unite around a charismatic fighter named O!ka, who, according to Teujjaborna records, traveled to various lands such as Goshira and the Khaengun lands, witnessing all sorts of techniques from weaponmaking to writing and recordkeeping and bringing these things home. As well, he had supposedly been a confidant of several Aucomian generals, who imparted knowledge of their struggle and techniques onto O!ka, who passed said knowledge to the tribes of the Teujjaborna. Within five years, the tribes to the east united around O!ka and a cadre of warlords, building a mobile guerrilla fighting force using horse warfare to provide superior mobility. When the armies of the Teujja'daar spilled over the border, several major battles were initially won by the invading armies, and the Teujja'daar generals believed that the war would be an easy victory. They were violently disabused of this notion early in the year of 1300 when the seemingly disorganized and retreating Teujjaborna, who had been slowly eating away at the bulk of the Teujja'daere army with small raids, doubled back on the Teujja'daere forces, forcing them to dig in deep within Teujjaborna lands and try to survive a siege. Despite attempts to appeal to An!ai for victory and curses upon the Teujjaborna, the Gin-ja priests were interrupted by one of the longest monsoon storm events in recorded history in 1299 BC, causing not only ritual disruptions, but also a decimation of the Teujja'daar armies by flooding and infections. Not wanting to be bested by barbarians, Daan'jan II ordered every last reserve troop, aside from skeleton garrisons at barracks across the nation, to spill into Teujjaborna lands. This offensive, often called the "Mad King's Folly", was uncoordinated at best and more destructive to the Teujja'daar themselves at worst, with some instances of Teujja'daere armies attacking their own cities or fellow units in confusion. With the bulk of the Teujja'daere army trapped in the flooded Teujjaborna jungles and the rest turning the region into a cauldron of chaos, the Teujjaborna took action and flooded the Teujja'daar lands. Using their jungle guerrilla tactics and horseback maneuverability, the Teujjaborna left the Teujja'daar army in the jungle to die (which they did, 75% of them at least according to Teujjaborna records), laying waste to the Teujja'daar heartland. By 1295, Teujjaborna warbands had decimated every single one of the armies and skeleton garrisons, and were soon followed by settler bands who were relocated by O!ka to live in the Teujja'daar lands. The final end came in 1296 when King Daan'jan II was executed, along with the nobility, generals, and priestly class. This last one posed a bit of a challenge to the Teujjaborna, who, despite having won over the Teujja'daar, still feared their Gin-ja and their ability for posthumous vengeance. Acting on this, a section of land to the south was set aside for the Teujja'daar to administrate, under Teujjaborna supervision of course, and Gin-ja was banned throughout the new kingdom. Said new kingdom in the former Teujja'daar homeland was called Kaaga-Borna (Great Borna), and was firmly established with the Teujjaborna warrior castes and settlers on top, and the new class of Teujja'daar peasants on the bottom, unless they lived in the Teujja'daar lands, which would remain plagued by resistance from fanatical military units for years.
A stylized depiction of some of the more fearsome non-cavalry guerrilla units of the Teujjaborna, the Gazal!doue'da (lit. Jaguar dirt soldiers) were known for their brutal attacks and their ability to slip back into the dense jungle after hit-and-run attacks.
While the Teujja'daar were torn asunder by their mistakes and encroachment from the Teujjaborna, the rest of South Asia was otherwise relatively quiet, with everyone breathing a sigh of relief now that the Teujja'daar would no longer menace the region. Of course, the Yomalak'daar have been increasingly paranoid: they were originally grateful to O!ka for eliminating the Teujja'daar and allowing them to take on more dependencies, but rumors circulated well into the first decade of the 1200s that the Teujjaborna were conspiring to invade the Yomalak'daar from all sides to avenge the N!Kai. These rumors do actually have a grain of truth to them, as O!ka is indeed sending feelers to the northern tribes to start an anti-daar coalition, but by 1290, it was merely a strictly "on paper" organization.
To the east, the Khaengun continued to live somewhat isolated from the other civilizations of South Asia, acting as chroniclers of history around them, and continuing their tradition of priestly science. Contrary to the Teujja'daar, and despite their secrecy surrounding their science and technology, the Khaengun were often seen in a particularly positive light by their neighbors, especially the Yomalak, the Teujjaborna, and most of all, the Mosilee, who had established a "special relationship" with the Khaengun and their network of vassals and city states. Many Mosilee had become followers of the faith of the Cursed Throne, and subsequently fell into the largess net of the Khaengun. This allowed technology and resources to slowly come to the Mosilee tribes, leading to Mosilee city states to sprout up around the Khaengun. While they would not be directly beholden to the Khaengun, they would consider themselves closely tied to the nation via religious and altruistic lines.
While the current state of this stele would not entirely bely it, Khaengun urban planners were renowned as some of the best in the world, competing with the likes of those from the Indian Subcontinent and the Empire of Brass. Seen here is an ancient 3-D street plan of the city of Aereng, carved into a stele by the city's architects.
Tensions between the Acoum and Checho kingdoms notably increase during this time period, with the Checho expanding to absorb the disorganized West Shakkadian tribes on their home island (the cultural impact of the West Shakkadians on Checho traditions is seen with the beginning of a prominent burial mound tradition for Chechan kings and queens, as well as the nobility, not to mention a more prominent role of natural communing, albeit with a heavy emphasis on sea life, also subsequently leading to a reduced role of seafood (ironically enough) in the diet of the Chechans), and the Acoum bringing several of the Teujja'daere warlords to the south of the new Bornan kingdom into their sphere of influence. Small naval skirmishes would occur between the two nations, but for the 90's and 80's, full scale war remained shelved due to the priority of the two nations in securing trade routes and economic dominance of the sea in the region.
Beringia:
While the Violent Quarrels of the Shakkadians and the claimants to Luxxon's empire would continue through to the 1200s, a slight paradigm shift occurred in the Luxxon states region, that being the rise of a fanatically anti-combat movement. The Mojeelhen Mogen, or the People of Peace, was characterized by a belief in various Shakkadian spiritual elements, but also in the ideas of one Risalkam, a trader from Luxxon itself, who is said to have been visited by a malevolent entity who laughed at him and taunted him about the state of his people, saying that he fed on their war and conflicts. This revelation about the entity (which Risalkam called "Tosei, the lord of strife") led Risalkam to proscletyze throughout the countrysides of Beringia, leading further to many conversions in the Upper Nombo districts in the west of the warring states, leading ultimately to several warlord kingdoms to be overthrown by adherents of the Mojeelhen Mogen. While the movement seemed somewhat hypocritical in its use of violence to defend its adherents from warbands and chariot attacks, it was justified as acts of self defense, and indeed they had to make use of self defense often, but their stakes were planted, and from Upper Nombo the adherents began their many attempts to unite the Luxxon states and end war in the region.
Ancient depiction of Tosei on a community record parchment in Dozi, Upper Nombo.
Northern Tortollia:
The polities and tribal entities of Northern Tortollia would undergo a time of continued overall little change to the general status quo, with the Uildeni continuing their cycle of raids and nomadic incursions into Beringia and the Gormen expanding their network of city states and increasingly intricate dragon-related monuments. The Marelli would also continue to pioneer stilt building techniques to offset their situation in the swamps of their homeland, allowing them to avoid direct contact with mosqitoes, though many were slowly developing immunities to the myriad diseases of the swamps. The only really major change of the time period would be the exodus of Orfa animists from the port cities, and the establishment of a belligerent series of cities on the plains of Central Greenland. Said city states formed themselves into the Okal Pact (named for the largest of the city states), and pledged to wage a protracted war against the Holy Union worshipers on the coasts.
The Aeotan culture continues its slow expansion around the Great Lakes, coming into contact with Wemath and Lahontan traders, who, while finding the collectivistic "colony" mindset of the Aeotans strange, also admire their strict adherence to productivity and community, even though they find the relative disregard for individuality somewhat troubling. The Aeotan also come into direct contact with two distinct hill cultures on the *Appalachian Mountains who have a similarly animist religion, even if they tend to worship the trees of their forests and live in the canopy of the dense jungle. The southern of the two mountain cultures has a tendency towards worshiping fertility above all else, and while there are no written records of their culture, carvings and pottery suggest that there was a significant amount of equal standing for men and women, as well as a fairly lax attitude towards sexuality, with the former likely being influenced by the Wemath to the south.
Aeotan rock carvings depicting their myriad ant-like deities.
Southern Tortolla:
Records from Wemathi cities dating close to the year 1300 BC indicate a significant amount of settlement and migration away from the central Wemathi heartland, not because of warfare, famine, or strife, but to take advantage of new trade opportunities opened up by contact with the Aeotan, the hill peoples, and the Tizokal. Prompted by this, various Wemath traders gather around the river deltas to their north, convincing the various small Wemathic tribes around the delta region to cooperate them in return for a cut of the prosperity. Records indicate that the initial decades of settlement were tough, what with the presence of disease and storms coming off of the gulf, but with the aid of Wemathic farmer tribes, the cities were able to grow and maintain a moderate prosperity. While these cities would be far away from the central nexus of Wemathic civilization, they would maintain close ties with their motherland, and several large road networks were constructed in the 1290s, allowing easy chariot or horseback travel between the cities. One aberration between these new cities and the central Wemathic region was the adoption of the fertility worship seen in the Hill Cultures to the north of the cities.
One of the larger and more opulent temples in the delta Wemathic cities circa 1285 BC.
The Serran would remain somewhat static in terms of culture for the time being (aside from trends being slowly imported from other lands, such as Shakkadian storytelling or Tzlokal shrine-building), but the Serranian mastery of the waves in Southern Tortollia would continue to be solidified. The central project of many of the large trading groups and families would be the founding of a series of small trading ports from the Shakkadian lands all the way to the lands of the Rosgayt, resulting in further cultural transmission and wealth. While their situation would remain stable through the passing of the year 1300, the stage would be set for a cultural bloom as various civilizations cultures would collide in the ports of the Serrans.
The Lahontian sphere would undergo a quiet era in terms of any attempts at loosely united outward expansion, but the period would also be punctuated with near constant wars and squabbles between the various kingly states within the region. Two major events during this time would be the introduction of more modern iron weapon technology via the Serrans, and the collapse of the Yeffete League. The League, long shaky, collapsed somewhere within the 1290-1280 period, leaving behind a series of squabbling city-states who were forced to either enter unbalanced alliances with the kingly states or be swallowed up by said states. Nonetheless, the city-states remained centers of commerce and culture for the region, though their good times had turned to not so good times.
Despite constant wear and tear from internecine warfare and warfare with the Lahontian kingdoms, the cities of the Yeffete were built to last, and many urban complexes withstood the rise and fall of civilizations within the region.
Amazonia:
Contact with the Serran traders would prove to be a great boon to the Tizaokal Theocracy. Despite the decentralized nature of the Theocracy and its network of shamans, the shamans proved to be quite skilled communicators and traders when it came to making deals with the Serran. Thus, the same iron technology that made its way to the Yeffet City-States found its way to the Tizaokal. The Tizaokal, not being a particularly violent grouping even during their tribal stage of civilization, primarily put this technology to use in agriculture and transportation, creating sturdy spokes for carts, new and more efficient tools, and metal components for stirrups. The shamans system of contact and distribution allowed this knowledge to spread quickly among the Tizaokal, and within a generation, the Theocracy had embraced iron on a mass level.
The Lilim Kingdoms are again united by a charismatic great grandson of Dulmaljil named Doumakan, who makes wide use of Toxodon mountie units and wheeled chariot riders with bows and long spears. Another type of weapon is pioneered in this time by Doumakan: the javelin, with its use spreading wide into the Eastern Lilim and the north and south. Following Doumakan's victory over the other two claimants to Dulmalji's empire, Doumakan managed to expand outward for a small time, creating a series of military marches surrounding his kingdom. This would put him at odds with the other Lilim tribes, however his construction of a more efficient military machine would allow his generals to hold the marches.
Trade between the Lilim and the Iosnx initiates during this time period, and can be seen in the large amount of Lilim and Iosnx artifacts found in eachothers sites. Despite cultural differences, both cultures found common ground in trade, as well as in veneration for the various domesticate animals, and both cultures would forge a fairly close friendship on the back of a sort of sacred animal exchange, in which the Iosnx would care for Lilim sacred Toxodons and the Lilim (mainly Doumakan's empire) would care for the sacred sloths of the Iosnx. Other effects of these two cultures contact can be seen in the increased sexual liberalism of the Lilim, the adoption of the wheel by the Iosnx, and the formation of small cultural groups all along the northern Amazonian coast, which would absorb traits and techniques of both cultures. The worship of the Iosnx's three eyed fertility goddess would spread up the coast, even becoming prominent in the Eastern Lilim tribes.
The various cultures in the south of Amazonia would continue to clash with eachother in this time period, with the particularly prominent force in the region being the Realm of the Bird King. The sacred status of the birds, the propaganda declaring the divine bird-human lineage of the Bird King's family, the deification of petty combat, war, competition and subsequently semi-meritocratic systems, and the loyalty of the polity's military to the Bird King would all combine into making the Realm one of the most powerful states the region had seen. The willingness of the Realm to innovate in combat would prove to be one of their greatest assets, leading to their invasion of the southern Rasgayt tribes in order to secure a piece of coastline to make contact with the Serran traders. The Serrans, despite being more than slightly afraid of the Realm's envoys, still proceeded to trade with the Realm, mainly because the profits in weapon, schematic, and iron sales was truly massive indeed. The Realm would proceed to overrun many of the various mountain city-states and towns, prompting a massive movement of Manasavakyi refugees into the mountains and plateaus to the west. The desperate refugees, fearing the increasingly brutal and zealous armies of the Realm, would forcibly displace Rasgayt, Rasuga, and Grazuin tribesfolk from their lands and found new cities in sheltered valleys and cliffs. Subsequently, refugee tribals would further move west, fleeing the refugees. It can be inferred from archaeological evidence that nonviolent attitudes amongst the fleeing tribesfolk became significantly more prominent following the ethnic cleansing that occurred at the hands of the Manasavakyi refugees, with various village shamans preaching an end to the ritualized tribal conflict central to the cultures of the region. The Realm, meanwhile, would prosper at the expense of becoming the most hated and infamous state of the region. The constant fetishization of conflict would eventually evolve beyond simple ritualized battles and internecine warfare, becoming an unforgiving meritocracy of sorts with a primitive caste system in which the Bird King and his family would sit on top and rule over the various bickering societal levels below them.
A scene from a historical documentary titled Man In Flight: Chronicles of the Bird King depicting an ancient Terror Warrior of the realm.
Greater Australia:
(I'm sorry if this section is sparse )The Tuulere would continue their contact with the outside world, receiving tools and technology as far as the Teujjadaar states and the Khaengun, and would also continue their close relations with the Hrani, widely applying Hrani writing techniques in order to facilitate storytelling, religious documentation, resource documentation, etc. Facilitating this would be an extended series of trading cities along the Australian lake system. The one aberration during the time period from 1310-1290 would be a significant war waged by the southern Tuulere against the northern states, in which they would utilize the Moa riders to their fullest extent, routing the tribal armies of three cultural groups and securing their own trade city to contact the outside world. Other than events on the continent, the Hrani's technological base would be expanded by extended Khaengun contact, and Hrani sailors would continue to venture farther south and west along chains of increasingly cold islands.
|
|
|
Post by fluttersky on Jul 30, 2017 10:59:12 GMT
Turn 18: 1050 - 1110 ED (1280 - 1220 BC)
by XyWolf-The Petheran Empire Expandes more under the Queens daughter, It is Able to capture more cities and have a sphere of influence on the mainland in Ankguland (OTL FRANCE). -The Naro-Pinnachunians expand as well, pushing out the pure Narou tribes to the west. -Aslaz also swallows up Pinachunnian Kingdoms, while more join the Storm Coast. Only a few kingdoms in the west are now unaligned. -Goshira continues to be a massive hub of trade from all around the world, but is content where it is for now, with no desire to expand. -The N'Jan also massively benefit by being a region where trade passes through, and expand to encompass the whole lake. -The Kathic Thasselocracies collapse and are mostly swallowed whole by the Brass Empire, who are a major power. -The remainder of the Sea-Pact, on the Isle of Kath, embrace the new form of Proto-democracy, throwing out most of their current leaders. -More Prique settlements occur on their home island, nd while they are isolated, they prosper in their frozen environment -The tense three-way conflict in the subcontinent continues, with the major states annexing many of their neighbors in an intense rivalry, the peaceful states in between the major ones are starting to get nervous. -Ganjati city-states start to pop up, as well as crow domestication expanding outward -Tuulear city-states start to crop up in between the great lakes region, as well as Hrani settlements becoming more permanent -Peacful times in South Asia happen, with new settlements by the Major kingdoms occurring, as well as increased trade. -The Luxxon sates that promote peace continue to expand, controlling almost all of the west -Tortalian states expand outward, mostly at the expense of Lahothian. -The Bird Empire swallows its smaller neighbor.
|
|