I N the late 26th century, millennia before the events of Bokanthjia, relations between Setsdzia and Bel-Camdissi were poor; a trend that was to continue for centuries to come.
Slavery in much of the Colossos had been abolished by the mid 1500s. In the Agonoss however, the trading of humans was ever lucrative and demand for exotic Colossians was high. Following the abolition of a radical Camdissian monarchy after civil uprising, instead of liberation, the Camdissians found themselves impoverished and without leadership. During this period, the people of Bel-Camdissi made bedfellows with the narcotic sellers and flesh traders of the Agonoss.
Bel-Camdissi found itself under the control of underground slavers and drug traders. Debters, prostitutes, the homeless and vulnerable were seized from the streets by such organised criminals and sold into slavery to Agonossian traders, and also to the Kilgarrens of the Shattered Isles. As the trade became more lucrative, the trend spilled over into neighbouring Setsdzia (known at the time as Kal Navetsdzeia); Camdissians would abduct the long-living and well-bred Dassi to be sold as rare curiosities to the Kilgarrens and Agonossians.
During this period, the Dassi in Setsdzia lived in fear and reviled their neighbours. Policing increased and curfews were even implemented, but it was not until the daughter of entrepreneur and architectural craftsman Vareijdien Okanthjia had been found sold into slavery in the Shattered Isles that real action was taken.
Okanthjia turned his hand from organising the majestic architectural wonders of Setsdzia to create something more sinister, backed by powerful friends in parliament and at court. He devised a gated wall so great it would span the Kassock Mountains and Hebbrack Moors which served as the border between Setsdzia and Bel-Camdissi. He proposed the two nations part ways and their borders be kept closed, cutting off all trade ties in the process.
Over a fourteen year period, with two thousand worker deaths, the Kassock Gate was completed. The Camdissians, without access to Setsdzia's booming pharmaceutical businesses and agricultural resources, fell to disease, starvation and poverty. This state of affairs continued until the early 18th century.
T H E B O U N D
Setsdzia & Bokanthjia
T H E P R I N C E , T H E G A T E K E E P E R , T H E W O R L D ' S E N D
T H E R E remains content mentioned in passing (or stored for later) throughout the course of Bokanthjia in terms of how things run and how they used to, as well as superstitions and folklore. It's probably the case that this sort of thing will get covered in more depth in future instalments, but for now I'll use this section to provide some more detail and context for things mentioned briefly by characters.
This section is due to be updated with additional artwork and content in large amounts as such things are completed, and as the series progresses.
Setsdzia & Bokanthja
W O R L D ' S E N D
T H E P R I N C E
B O R N in 1711 to affluent parents heavily involved with policing and militia, Naraij Karthena grew a reputation amongst peers and adorers as Setsdzia's darling. Of verythjien breeding, born into wealth, fiercely intelligent and passionate yet with an unrivalled gentleness and kindness of spirit. A familiar face in royal and elite social circles yet equally as known for his altruism and empathy with the common man in the gutter, he bore a legion of fanatics who dubbed him Prince.
During the birth of what was to become the Red Karthinjian Army, the Prince grew ever concerned with the state of affairs in Bel-Camdissi. Stories from those patrolling the Kassock Gate told of mothers and fathers bringing their sickly children to its doors in desperation. Plague had killed thousands over the previous nine months, and a harsh winter seemed to be facing them.
The Prince became vocal about the needs of their neighbours, and reasoned that with leadership and given time to recover, Bel-Camdissi could prove a strong ally to the Setsdzians. The nation had potential to function well in the industrial culture of mass manufacturing that the Setsdzians had mastered over the years. The Prince's reasoning fell on deaf ears, and, abandoning his vaijsidre and those who adored him, he cast potential repercussions aside and broke Setsdzia's quarantine, leaving the country through the gate and crossing the Hebbrack Moors to Setsdzia.
The Prince sought an audience with what little government remained in Bel-Camdissi; little more than diplomats and ex-socialites who sought to try and organise policing and care to the masses. With little law and order however, the visit proved to be his undoing. He had crossed the border in the hopes of gleaning insight into any good that remained in the land, wishing to preach the few virtues which remained in the country to those at home. His elite audience had little interest in the visitor, understandably bitter and wishing no help from their enemies even if the impoverished commoners may have pleaded otherwise.
Cast out by his hosts, the Prince made his way back to Hebbrack with Setsdzia in sight to face his failure and the consequences of the break in quarantine. He was set upon by the remnants of his embittered hosts, who had followed him upon his dejected departure. Filled with hate for the abandonment they had experienced at the hands of the Prince's people, they severed his nose, took an eye, gouged his flesh and made attempts to emasculate him. He was dragged, still living, to the Kassock Gate.
There is no remaining record of the Prince's life after he was reportedly admitted into an emergency medical facility outside the city of Kaijda. There is no record of any death at this time or within the following century or more (well surpassing any expected life for Dassi at this time). Many presume the Prince dead following his attack, others speculate he died by his own means, while some believe he lived on with his scars.
B O K A N T H J I A
Naraij Karthena was the first person in Lynean history to be assigned an Alekxantrjia Institute bred vaijsidre. Just eight servicemen graduated from the institute in its first year of production in 1730, as opposed to an average of 250 graduates per year in recent times. The institute was devised around 1640. Its creator was brother to Velken Karthena, father of Naraij. Naraij received his vaijsidre as a birthday gift from his uncle. Velken's brother Alekxantre Karthena passed on running of the institute to the monarchy following his retirement in around 1750.
T H E K A S S O C K G A T E
T H E Setsdzian end of year celebration, World's End, is observed four days before the end of a Lynean calendar year. It recognises several events and is dedicated to no one person or thing.
World's End is generally a strictly night-time celebration, observed religiously in Setsdzia and Bokanthjia, and recognised in Bel-Camdissi if not strictly revelled in. World's End marks, amongst other things, the date upon which the Kassock Gate's southern entrance was opened to the Camdissian public (the first time since its construction some centuries before). Sentries were posted in the gargantuan gate house who placed Camdissians wishing to immigrate into quarantine to be cleared or treated by Setsdzian authorities. At this time, Setsdzians also began to emigrate into Bel-Camdissi in order to purchase land, at first largely Hebbrack farmland, in order to begin a gradual industrialisation of the country.
For many, World's End is a celebration of afterlife. While not a strictly spiritual or religious people, the Setsdzians observe some idea of life after death. Kal Navetsdzeia, or the old kingdom of Setsdzia, is regarded as a nirvana. Many Setdzians believe that after death a person will find themselves outside the southern Kassock Gate. Upon arrival they will be greeted by a gatekeeper, who will grant or deny them entry into the Old Kingdom to live on with their ancestors. Many place the identity of The Gatekeeper as the vaijsidre of the Prince, who is believed to rule over the Old Kingdom beyond.
Celebrations are typically Setsdzian, with all hedonistic vices embraced on this night. Dring daylight hours however, traders close their doors and are forbidden by law to sell a variety of non-essentials from alcohol, garments, narcotics, tobacco, livestock and other luxuries. Many begin trading at midnight however, offering discounted and free wares throughout the night to intoxicated street revellers. Effigies of cloaked humanoid figures bearing the skull of an animal (generally a bison, goat or dog) are burnt on bonfires or encouraged to be desecrated; these strange figures are a representation of the spirit of plague which befell their Camdissian neighbours centuries before.
World's End is so called as something of a mockery to those who opposed alliance between Setsdzia and Bel-Camdissi, with members of both parties claiming it would be the end of lives if the Kassock Gate opened. Many embrace it as a display of resilience, using it to demonstrate the effects the strong alliance had on both countries, and the affluence and solidarity afforded. Others treat it as an anti-Camerian gesture, or even as protest; Setsdzian-Camdissian violence is quick to escalate during this night. Karthinjian presence often increases threefold.
Naraij Karthena's parents worked heavily in the field of policing and bore strong military connections. Upon the disappearance of their son and the eventual opening of the Kassock Gate, husband and wife formed the Red Karthinjian Army (later to become modern Karthinjians). Initially, these pseudo-soldiers were dispatched to control protesters in Bel-Camdissi who may have objected to the new Setsdzian-Camdissian alliance.
H I S T O R Y , M Y T H A N D L O R E
T H E Witch Hunter is a prominent figure within the Stormkade, the ruling body comprised of warriors and councillors lead by a king within the Shattered Isles of the Colossos.
The Witch Hunter was traditionally the firstborn daughter of the King of the Stormkade. Superstition and legend points to alleged entire communities across the Shattered Isles practicing magic; these people were persecuted by the larger population, and communities looked to the King’s Witch Hunter to rid them of such supposed occult fanatics.
The tradition of the Witch Hunter is still almost universally observed across the Shattered Isles. Although there is no perceived occult threat across most modern settlements, Hunter’s Night is observed in the spring months across the Isles, where all firstborn daughters are celebrated. The Stormkade holds a celebration where its Witch Hunter is dressed in a garb interpreted by legend and passed down through the Royal Family, the hunter displayed to guests as a symbol of protection.
T H E Dassi currently categorise themselves based on physical characteristics which impact heavily on social standing: verythjien and tirithjien. With simplicity, the former refers to those bearing the desirable bordjian (steel to white) hair and green eyes, with the latter referring to any other combination of hair and eye colour. Verythjien characteristics although revered by modern Dassi are however descended from physical traits extinct on Lynea since the late 25th century. Those who at one time possessed such traits were classified as kalithjien.
Kalithjien traits proved difficult to breed, and populations had receded drastically by the 18th century. The last functionally extinct kalithjien Dassi lived in the far north of Setsdzia until the late 25th century. Despite natural lives spanning up to two and a half centuries, the kalithjiens like many Dassi succumbed to The Black Choke; a plague with Agonossian origins which had seen sixty-five percent of Setsdzia’s population wiped out over an eighteen month period.
The last living Kalithjiens were arrested by Setsdzian authorities in 2483. Male and female of an undetermined age, the pair were found living in isolation south of Setsdzia’s wastes. They were each found guilty of incest following evidence of multiple miscarriages, and after psychological evaluations, they were each institutionalised later that year. The pair were unnamed, and records from this time were largely lost with only one reference remaining: “99882: Kalithjien, bound. Insane” “99883: Kalithjien, bound. Insane”. The fate of the pair is unknown.
WITCH HUNTER
The Shattered Isles