The Geography Map
The Political Map
Literature
Here are excerpts from some of the most famous (and infamous) books that can be read in region #5.
The Holy Book of Niea
The Holy Book of Niea is a translation from the Udalm'tera, the sacred book of the faith of Niea. It was written seventy cycles ago by a huz made elan, Adur.
Excerpt:
The faithful is the one who worships Niea. Is the one who worships the only true god. Is the one who keeps the unfaithful away from the sacred land. Is the one who brings justice to the land. Is the one who keeps his possessions to himself, and the possessions of the others to themselves. Is the one who dedicates a part of his life to Niea. Is the one who dedicates a part of his life to the protection of the land.
(...)
He who is faithful will be saved from the Hand. He who is not faithful will be taken by the Hand and suffer eternal torture.
The Faith of Aruna
The Faith of Aruna is a book documenting the main faith of the people of Aruna.
Excerpt:
In the beginning there was nothing but Order. The world was the same thing all over. But then, Chaos surged. And the world was changed. It stopped being made of the same thing. I was made of many things. It was made of water, earth, and air. And among that maelstrom of water, earth, and air, there was life. There was a living entity, Order. But Chaos surged through Order as well, and the result was many new lives. There were all sorts of living entities. But these were not like Order, or Chaos. These had a physical presence in the world. They were made of the same things the world was: water, earth, and air. But they were also made of life. These lives were spread across the world, and they are known as animals and plants. But there were other lives among these. There were some lives more lively than the animals and plants. There were lives with sentience. There were huzet, there were lutit. There were many more kinds of these. But these lives were infused with Chaos, and they were fragile. They were not eternal, they were not all-knowing, they were not all-powerful. And some of these lives ceased to exist. Their bodies of water, earth, and air continued to exist, merging with the world, but the life in them was gone. But, as Order and Chaos battled, new lives came to be. And these lives were not like the first. These lives could create more lives. These were women.
Eventually as Order and Chaos continued to battle, other lives came to be. Some of these new lives were not as orderly as the other. Some of these new lives were wretched and wicked.
And, as the battle went on, new and different lives came to be. Until it finally came to an end. And it was not only the end of the battle, but the end of both Order and Chaos. As they battled and created life, they wore each other out, until nothing was left of both.
The History of the Great Race
The History of the Great Race is a collection of short writings from various elan writers. Collectively these writings tell the history of the elans since the arrival of the Great Father Karhiz, to this day. This book has been continuously added chapters, and some old copies miss the last chapters. Anyways, all the editions have at least the first 10 chapters.
Chapter 1: The Birth of the Great Race (by Supreme Culler Illyss)
Everything the little boy sought was enlightment and knowledge, of his world and of those beyond it. Seeing his lifespan and his ever lurking death as an obstacle to his enlightment, the boy left his parents' house and set off in search of knowledge. He wandered for revolutions and revolutions and revolutions. And he learned things. Small, insignificant things. He wanted more.
One day, the boy found a monastery. He had heard that people went there to seek enlightment and perfection. And so he entered the monastery and learned how to tame his young mind. And he learned quickly.
The little boy spent many years learning. And he matured. And he became the most gifted student in the monastery and was no longer a student nor a little boy. The little boy was now a man. And the student was now a master. There was nothing left to learn at the monastery. But the boy made man, the student made master, could see his life sliding down the lane, heading towards its inevitable end, in death. And his thirst for knowledge was not yet satisfied. So he decided to teach his own self, to learn from nothing, to research. And he researched, and learned, and mastered new things, things no one else had learned before.
The little boy who became a man was now more than a boy, more than a man, more than everything. He called himself an elan which means immortal in his language. And he lived on.
A cycle passed. And the elan lived. And the elan studied. And the elan learned.
Ten cycles passed. And the elan lived. And the elan studied. And the elan learned.
A hundred cycles passed. And the elan lived. And the elan studied. And the elan learned.
A thousand cycles passed. And the elan lived. And the elan studied. And the elan learned.
By then the elan felt himself fainting, as if death came back to finally claim him. But he was prepared to fight death. Again and again. The elan built a library and stored his knowledge in books there. Then the boy made man made elan was made elan again. And he learned everything again. And he lived on.
A cycle passed. And the elan lived. And the elan studied. And the elan learned.
Ten cycles passed. And the elan lived. And the elan studied. And the elan learned.
A hundred cycles passed. And the elan lived. And the elan studied. And the elan learned.
A thousand cycles passed. And the elan lived. And the elan studied. And the elan learned.
Death came to claim his life once more. And he begun everything all over again.
All this time, he learned things of his world. And he learned many things. Among those, he learned that there are many worlds, and he learned how to cross the boundaries between those worlds. So he left. He departed his world. And he arrived at ours.
A cycle passed. And the elan lived. And the elan studied. And the elan learned.
Ten cycles passed. And the elan lived. And the elan studied. And the elan learned.
A hundred cycles passed. And the elan lived. And the elan studied. And the elan learned.
A thousand cycles passed. And the elan lived. And the elan studied. And the elan learned.
During all his lifetimes, the boy never cared for anyone. His only concern was with his enlightment. But this world was not like his. His world was not a beautiful world. But this one was filled with beautiful things. Here, the boy found the beautiful Illyss. And for a while, the boy forgot about his quest for enlightment. He had all the time in all the worlds to achieve it.
A cycle passed. And the boy lived. And the boy thought about Illyss.
Ten cycles passed. And the boy lived. And the boy thought about Illyss.
And the boy named himself Karhiz, which means Enlightened One in his language, and introduced himself to Illyss. And they were happy.
A cycle passed. And Karhiz lived. And Illyss lived. And their happiness lived.
Ten cycles passed. And Karhiz lived. And Illyss lived. And their happiness lived.
But Illyss was not immortal. Illyss was not an elan. So Karhiz took her from her deathbed and made her one.
A cycle passed. And Karhiz lived. And Illyss lived. And their happiness lived.
Ten cycles passed. And Karhiz lived. And Illyss lived. And their happiness lived.
A hundred cycles passed. And Karhiz lived. And Illyss lived. And their happiness lived.
But the thirst for knowledge overwhelmed Karhiz. And one day, he left this world. And behind he left Illyss, with the knowledge to become an elan again and reform herself, until the day he returns.
A cycle passed. And Illyss lived. And Karhiz did not return. And Illyss suffered.
Ten cycles passed. And Illyss lived. And Karhiz did not return. And Illyss suffered.
A hundred cycles passed. And Illyss lived. And Karhiz did not return. And Illyss suffered.
Illyss begun to seek the knowledge required to follow Karhiz, her beloved. To help her she created other elans. And she kept the secret of immortality to herself.
A cycle passed. And Illyss researched. And Karhiz did not return. And their immortal sons lived.
Ten cycles passed. And Illyss researched. And Karhiz did not return. And their immortal sons lived.
A hundred cycles passed. And Illyss researched. And Karhiz did not return. And their immortal sons lived.
A thousand cycles passed. And Illyss researched. And Karhiz did not return. And their immortal sons lived.
And their immortal sons still live, waiting for the Great Father's return.
Chapter 2: The Friends from the Ocean (by Miri Kwal)
The year was the 724th after the departure of the Great Father. The Great Race had already established itself on the island the Great Mother named Izxhe.
We were ready to explore the world around us. The Great Mother Illyss brought all of us into this island after the Father left, in an amazing feat of her own mental prowess.
And seven hundred years later, we began building some small ships. And we would set out to know the world. To unlock its secrets, to follow Karhiz.
By the time, we were still taking the first steps in the art of seamanship. And I was one of those taking the first steps. I was one of the first to learn how a storm at the open sea can be dangerous. I was the first to ever shipwreck in the open sea.
But I did not drown. I was rescued by the aventi. The aventi are another race of the human family (together with the huz, the luti, and what we call true humans) that lives underwater, around our dear island. They look a lot like humans but they have some small differences.
When I woke up, I was in a small room, floating. Underwater. And I was breathing. Magic was at work for sure. I knew I was dealing with some evolved culture. By my side, I saw an aventi for the first time. She was there, looking over me and saying something that sounded like 'you're finally awake', but I couldn't be sure through all the distortion of the water. It took me some time to elaborate a reply, but I finally did and I quickly understood what was going on. I slipped into unconsciousness shortly after the boat was smashed to pieces in a reef or something. And the nearby aventi took me and cast upon me a spell that allowed me to breathe water as I can breathe air. My leg was broken and I had several other injuries. They cared for me and healed me. And there I was now, awake, and completely healed. But I decided to stay for a while and learn about these neighbors of ours. I so I spent a whole year on that small aventi settlement that goes by the name of Whitepearl. I told them about the surface and they told me about below the surface. They told me that aeons ago they were a great people of humans that lived on what we now know as Izxhe. They worshiped the god of the seas, Aventernus, and they were prosperous. But one day, a terrible cataclism fell upon them. They were not able to elaborate on this and I believe they do not know, since they don't keep recorded history as we do. But Aventernus gave them his blessing and they have been living on the seas around their island ever since. They never returned, because according to them, the island had disappeared in the cataclism and reappeared some time later, and a prophecy states that when one of them steps on the island again, sometime terrible is bound to happen.
When I came back home, I was granted an audience with the Supreme Culler, to tell her about my discoveries. She found these much interesting and decided to establish friendly diplomatic relationships with these new neighbors. As recognition for my work, I became a Culler.
Chapter 19: The First War (by Uliz Matal, late Culler)
And by the four-thousandth cycle after the Great Father's arrival, Adur, a huz running from the persecuting forces of the Udalm'krafh, was culled. And he became a great scholar of his people's history. Among his works one can find The Holy Book of Niea, a translation of the Udalm'tera, which means, in the Jar language, Sacred Writings. The Holy Book of Niea became famous because it was the source of much despair and much suffering. Once it became public, the book became a source of disagreement. The Udalm'krafh, a very strict religious nation, saw the book as insulting to their religious beliefs. According to the Udalm'tera, the name of tah, which, in the Jar language, means god, is not to be written. That name is Niea. And Adur used "Niea" over and over across his translation, instead of using the more polite "god".
The Udalm'krafh demanded the burning of all copies of The Holy Book of Niea, as well as Adur himself, to be punished by them. Their punishment for Adur's supposed crime would be his own death in a public square. Since it is against our beliefs to leave a son or daughter of Karhiz to such a fate, the Immortal Lady promptly refused such demands.
The Udalm'krafh responded by resorting to military force. They sent their armies in ships, across the Ural'Ima and attacked by surprise. So, by the four-thousand-eleventh cycle after the Great Father's arrival, war was waged upon by the Great Race for the first time.
The Udalm'krafh began their attack on our coastal cities of Liareh, Pawiz, and Jowa. Of the three, none was able to withstand such a cowardly act.
The Council of Cullers was immediately called upon to plan a counter-offensive and drive away the Udalm'krafh troops. The Great Race, although peaceful, had already much research on war tactics and technologies. And that research proved quite effective against the enemy.
The first offensive action of the Great Race was the search and destruction of the Udalm'krafh ships. Thanks to the benevolent creatures from the ocean surrounding our land, known as the aventi, their ships were tracked down and brought to the oceanic bottom.
But, contrary to expected, this was not enough to get the Udalm'krafh troops to surrender. Their faith in the god Niea is amazing. The troops kept razing our cities and killing our brothers and sisters, even when stripped from their only way to return to their homeland. It became clear that their ultimate goal was to completely eradicate the Great Race.
The Council of Cullers took action and gathered and organized the Army of the Great Race within three days, in an amazing feat of logistics. Our army was vastly superior in power and strategy, and victories were counted one after another.
And so, one month after the igniting strike by the Udalm'krafh, the Great Race expelled the last of the invaders from Izxhe. The prisoners were given an Izxhan ship so they could sail back to their homeland.
Later, the proud Udalm'krafh claimed that their troops managed to obtain our surrender, and, since the Hand will eventually claim the lifes of all of the Great Race they let us live. They also claimed our Undying Queen was killed in the war and that we managed to maintain this farse so far after her death.
It is not in our ideals to initiate belic confrontations, so we made no approach to have the insidious Udalm'krafh rethink their claims.
And this is the tale of the First War.
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