Arcél 2550

From Almeopedia

Arcél 2370

Arcél 2700

1 Monarchs of the Gleŋ
2 Also in the south
3 The Belesao Empire
4 Characteristic figure

[edit]

Monarchs of the Gleŋ

Nomads are by no means immune to the appeal of civilization; they are often patrons of the arts, able diplomats, and interested in the religions of settled peoples (much more so than the latter are interested in those of the nomads). They quickly learn to avoid faux pas; in town, they wear civilized clothes and know all the rules of dining. But when they go back to the steppes they need to change back into hide outfits and look like they know how to use a bow.

The Nyuam who ruled Uytai managed this balance for two centuries, but the Gleŋ were not impressed. They had pressed increasingly into Nyuam territory, finally (in the late 2400s) occupying the entire highlands, which were increasingly full of farmers growing cotton, meigrass, and of course phret for tea.

Finally it was time to move into the heart of Uytai. The Nyuam resisted fiercely, but the Gleŋ were relentless. By 2522 they had conquered the delta, and the chief of the Gleŋ, Krišip, named himself pauram. (It took ten years, however, to mop up pockets of Nyuam.) They were aided by widespread revolts of the Uytainese— everything from peasant rebellions to bandit uprisings to calculated alliances with the Gleŋ. Uytainese histories describe this as a revolution against the Nyuam which was betrayed by the Gleŋ, but it’s more accurate to see the uprisings as opportunistic inflammations of the dying Nyuam empire, beset by Gleŋ raids, weak emperors, and economic decline.

Most of the fighting was nomad-style— battles of archers in the open; thus the cities escaped long sieges and destruction. Nonetheless the Gleŋ were harsh overlords. They deposed the larger Uytainese landlords and made the peasants their serfs; they looted the merchants and then taxed them in ways that amounted to permanent looting; they destroyed a few temples they accused of fomenting rebellion. It was extremely dangerous to show any kind of wealth, which produced a particular architecture that persists to this day: Uytainese houses are plain, often dilapidated on the outside, with progressive splendors revealed only as one goes further inside. Similarly, on the street one wears drab, coarse cloaks of huar; inside these are removed to show beautiful cotton or silk robes.

The Gleŋ disdained the apparatus of the Uytainese state, though Krišip’s successors made some attempt to recreate it. The emperors lived in Srethun only during the winter, spending the rest of the year in the highlands.

The destruction of the Uytainese empire led to the abandomnent of its program of magic exploitation— though for a time magicians wandered the continent in search of opportunities, causing a good deal of trouble. In the 2500s wizards ended up on a few thrones in southern nations.

[edit]

Also in the south

In 2425 Čwam had made its own play for the delta. With the aid of a flotilla of ships it took Swiʔkyau by storm. The Nyuam simply counter-invaded, driving a huge mixed force (Uytainese infantry and Nyuam bowmen) into Čwam. Money, it seemed, wasn’t everything, and Čwam had much less of that when they sued for peace, handing over Pheʔ and a huge indemnity.

The loss encouraged Nyandai to rebel; this threatened Čwamese profits and thus led to a much longer war (2432-37). But Nyandai prevailed, and to add insult to injury picked up Tsemeʔ in the 2450s.

Around this time the Nyanese developed distillation. The strong liquors thus produced make an excellent trade good, as they’re more compact than singly fermented beverages. They were popular in the north and even more so among the Nyuam and then the Gleŋ, who turned out to be spectacular drunks; the Uytainese liked to say that liquor was their secret weapon against the barbarians.

Ťrim had better luck in exploiting the disarray in the south, conquering the southern half of Siad βo.

The smallest of the western states, the Dnetic kingdom of Žonyān, conquered the lower Itseʔ in the 2510s. The Uytainese of Khartsaʔ have been ousted by the native dynasty of Nšiwejig.

[edit]

The Belesao Empire

The Lé, drawing on their ready access to charcoal, have learned how to make steel. This dovetailed nicely with a perennial preoccupation, the idea that all the Bé should be unified. They conquered Mɔłɔsɔu in 2542-48, vindicating queen Nàlâe, who had named herself jintràŋ ‘empress’ some years before.

Bé ships are now capable of extended ocean journeys. The prevailing winds off the west coast were northwesterly, and captains sailed west to see if they could avoid this. A particularly wayward ship discovered Ereláe. The coast of Qaraumia wasn’t very exciting, but a few subsequent expeditions found Feináe, then ruled by the Anajati Tej. This was interesting but it certainly saved no time on the trip to Nyandai; but once their interest in the exotic had been gratified the Bé didn’t see much reason to return. The Anajati, however, remembered the encounter.

In the far east, note the organization of Anthlai on Ȟaibalai. This was the sort of state that was beginning to appear in Kereminth, proto-states typically organized by an ambitious warlord, dependent on keeping the local chiefs happy, and rarely surviving his death.

[edit]