The Test of Time (IC)

[Alleniana]

Beragalag Bungood

The old man pointed at the chief.

"Him!"

He spoke in a strange, accented dialect of Kaenodesk, but the point got across. He began to converse, to the mixed amazement, bemusement, amusement and puzzlement of those present.

"I will translate for you, so we can... er, talk."

His skills in speaking the language were rusty, but already they came quick and fast.

Suddenly, though, he realised the implication of the language they spoke. It was effectively... a dialect of the language of the Bugugazh Beragalag Athag! They were the barbarians feared! But, hang on... no they weren't. The language was different from any he'd heard, and they were stronger, somewhat differently built... and, he noticed, richer in many ways, from what they carried.

Somewhat fearful that violence would break out if he realised what language they were speaking, he simply told the chief that he had learned this language in his childhood, which was nominally true, and that he could translate for them. The chief himself considered it, as well as their somewhat differed looks and possession of more advanced implements and goods than the natives, and accepted it.

Thus, he, in turn, turned and announced this to the crowd, who still seemed curious, but began to disperse. As they were led through its ever lessening ranks, the people got the look they wanted, relieved themselves of their anxiety, and went to work, knowing that it was not what it had first seemed, apparently.

The party, though large, was led without incident to a longhouse, the biggest in the village, within which they were sat down, and their leader brought to a table with several mats around it to speak. A sort of rich, warm beer was brought in by the chief's wife, following protocol with guests, and they got down to business. And, indeed, it went remarkably well, the matters of trade going well when their possession of amber was revealed as well as their high regard for metal, and even the explanation of their language's intelligibility with the "barbarian" tongue was explained without incident.

It seemed, now, that the first contact between the Kaenod and the Galid had been made. They drank to it, not knowing where their peoples' futures would blow together.

[The Jonathanian States]

Orion
"Hail, chief", came the shout of the warriors assembled on the central space of the village, as their leader stepped out of his house. To his side stepped his two brothers and three of his cousins, all chiefs in their own right, how minor their power may be, controlling part of the area. Under the leadership of Jamus chief of Orion they had agreed to form a pact from their ties. An Albian clan, first amongst the Albians to be an actual alliance. Jamus would be overlord of all lands under control of the clan for his life, with the chiefs or their sons electing a new overlord from amongst them after him. It had been merely a moon ago, in Orion, that they had finalized their pact through a ritual exchange of blood, their common blood mixing and being given to the priest of Da for omen. The priest had read the mix of their blood, shared and yet different, and had returned with an answer. The clan shall succeed. Word having come, the warriors were assembled at Orion.

Now, finally, the Oriolls were to experience their rise. Spears tipped with metal glistened in the light of the rising sun, and so did the few axes amongst the nobles. Commands were shouted, and slowly the group started moving.
To the west lay lands untouched by Albian settlers, their populations not expected to have had developed metal weaponry. They would be targeted first.

Naalbidor
"Naalbidorians", spoke Herman, chief of Naalbidor, to his people, "Men of our Norolbian allies have returned. With them they carried words from Ofuralb and the lands of Orion.". The attending warriors, both male and female, listened closely. It was no news that the greatest city of the west, and the capital of the south, were both considered the most significant rivals Naalbidor and its allies up and downriver. In fact, some clashes already had occurred upstream in the areas under Norolbian control. They had merely been small clashes, even lacking any intervention by the greater towns, but once blood had been spelt all knew that sooner or later something would happen.
"Our friends upriver report that the metalworkers of Ofuralb work tirelessly on forging weapons and that the men and women of Orion have brought it upon themselves to unite and strike the heathens of sunset.", the chief let the words and their meaning sink in. Then he continued, "You all know what this means. It means that we must act now. Not in a sun or two, but now. The chief of Norolbis has agreed moving here with a force of his with further planning and so do I intend to ask the people of Nedipunk. We are neither Orionese nor Ofuralbs, criminals and blood-heathens to our own people. We are Naalbidor, root of the Albi, homeland second to none but Albis the great. We are Naalbidor, and if it is a warpath our neighbours march on then we shall walk by them and outpace them in their own game." As the calmness of Herman started descending into fervor so did the mood of the fighters rise, starting with chanting and slowly evolving into spears being hammered on the group and banged against shields.
"But we are no traitors to our people. We shall not be those to bring the peace of Rollo to its end. No, we shall expand into strength and be prepared to strike after their first attack. No, they shall expect to attack a small Naalbidor. A weak and old Naalbidor. But we shall expand our strength in such measure they shall not believe. It may not happen in my days, it may not happen in any of yours, but Orion and Ofuralb are steering for war, so we shall expect them there!"

[Normandy and Picardy]

Mynosis, Crektoyus 2801 BC

Veahena ega lux realemto cai eineara kalsodart. (I have seen the light of the universe and it is good)

The astronomer Guloies looked at his improved chart of the sky, better than the previous ones. On them, he noted the positions of the stars and that of the lamp of Sulendil(the moon) and of the three known Platloe (planets), Vestux (Venus), Gastux (Earth) and Aerux (Mars). He also had a map which used longitude from Mynosis. He had discovered that the Earth is round and had created maps of the Greek coast as described by travellers. He was the head of the Aklia and learned in geometry and history. He was a remarkable man. He was even offered to be the Lord Elect, although he refused to take the role. But then he did what only a madman would do; he denounced the gods. He was tried in the courthouse and sentenced to death, and was forced to jump off a cliff. Most of his maps were destroyed, though his book about the Earth and the constellations, the Vivla Mas Realemto, survived and was preserved in the Aklia.

[Reatra]

Soft pink in north: Cheq
Olive Green in north: Kaun
Bright pink in west: Tekal
Orange in east: Rainaut
Blue in south: Aedna
Light green in south: Healia

The Rainaut Warring States Period (or, alternatively, the Five Princes and an Ainpi Era), which lasted from roughly 2800 BCE to about 1900 BCE, are known today for their incredible advancements in the fields of agriculture and military science. It is during the end of this era that RyRy the Nickol devised several battle tactics that even today, while adapted to modern technologies, are used to great effect in the many skirmishes Rylonia has with it's rebels and neighbors. But more on that at a later time.

The era began with a series of wars between the Five Princes, including the many skirmishes between the northern princes of Cheq and Kaun, and the all out war between Aedna and Tekal in the hills of the south-west. It was a rather chaotic time for all, and in Rainaut, the original capital of the now fractured nation, villagers and Ainpis alike looked to reunify the nation. Unfortunately, no princes would align themselves with the Ainpi, as they each saw themselves as the legitimate Ainpi of all of Rainaut. For nearly a millennia the cycle would stay roughly the same, although the princes, during the rare times of relative peace, would expand their holdings into the somewhat unsettled lands surrounding them.

Warring States in roughly 2300 BCE

Sorry for small post, the warring states are very tedious and my newfound being-in-school means that I'll try and summarize the era over the weekend.

[Reatra]

*prequel to previous post*

Only two hundred years after the Ainpi became absolute ruler of Rainaut, the first instance of purposeful bronze working was recorded in the Auktiu Delta. It is not completely known how the discovery of the alloy was made, but the melt widely accepted theory is that a copper smelter in Rainaut used ores that held tin impurities, and after the metal cooled it would have been obvious that this was a very different type of metal. The extreme fertility of the Auktiu Delta and Valley meant that very few farmers were needed to feed Rainaut, and that meant that once bronze began to become commonplace there was a large amount of smiths creating bronze tools and weaponry. The new efficiency of farms meant that the population of the Auktiu Valley boomed, and in about 2950 there were up to a million people lived in the Valley. Since Rainaut owned much of the fertile land along the river, their armies began to be much larger, and this, along with the fact that many surrounding cultures had yet to discover bronze working, gave Ainpi Erao the opportunity to, for the first time in a millennium, dramatically expand Rainaut's borders. He first started with the coastal settlements of the Tenaud peoples to the north. As a fishing society, they naturally were not very adept at warfare, and easily were crushed. Their annexation into the administrative system, which was still primitive, was rather easy due to their small population and unwarlike nature. The next conquest was of the Taekti, an inland tribe to the north whose flat and fertile plains would allow for even more food to be produced (as you may be able to tell, fields were the driving force for conquest in the Ancient Era) and allow for more security from starvation for Rainaut. One battle mostly ended their resistance and they too were integrated as much as was possible in a few years. This cycle went on for a few decades, and by 2900 the Rainaut had considerably expanded its borders and was somewhat stable. A wiser Ainpi would have stopped conquering there, but Erao was intent on being greater than Ren, and continued his conquests. For nearly a century the continued conquests destabilized the Ainpiship, and the decision of Ainpi Kak to stop the conquests to centralize the nation is said today to have ensured the existence of Rylonia nearly four millennia later.

The fracture of Rainaut began in about 2400, with the death of Ainpi Tori. By then the conquered peoples were culturally Rainaut with a few differences according to their location. Ainpi Tori died without an heir, and his advisers decided to form a council to rule the nation until his closest living relative, the four year old Kauli, reached age fourteen. For a few months the state remained mostly the same, but after a year the fractitious nature of the nation proved to be its downfall. With chiefs a thing of the past, instead generals native to a certain region took power, and made their own armies. They harvested their own fields and mined their own ore. Due to the old tradition of the Ainpi building roads and canals and general infrastructure in every corner of Rainaut, each state had the infrastructure necessary to survive on their own. For a decade each state simply centralized power and helped their economies grow. Along with the new states, Rainaut remained its own independent state led by the adviser's council until Kauli finally succeeded as Ainpi. Now, the Warring States Era had begun.

[Paketo]

-reserved-

[Alleniana]

-reservadhallo?-

[The Jonathanian States]

It had been the domains of chief Agir the Orollian who had acted first. And under his name was bloodshed brought to the Albian people. Upon this bloodshed of peoples born Bligros son of Mures of Nalbidor. The Reign of Mures saw Nalbidor resist to the Orollians and the Sons of Ofural. Sometimes with greater and sometimes with lesser success as truces for the holy days or for recovery of both sides were made and broken were made everywhere. But Bligros developed a sense of strategy and trained in warfare on horse making those of his follow him. In due time Bligros troops would prove themselves as having been stronger and faster. And in time came the conquest of chief Bligros of Nalbidor and first allied lands were reclaimed and Orion was to fall. And in six suns Orion bowed to Bligros and for two suns he rested in Orion. The third sun saw him march to victory in the fields of Noralbis and before Ofuralb. Ofuralb bent to its new master, Bligros the Albian, Bligros the uniter.
But the Gods limited the time of all men, even the devout and strong, the brave and the converting.
After his death came the reign of brothers, of Rollo son of Meer and Rogi son of Arnhild.

[Alleniana]

-reserved for timeskipstuff in case we continue-