History
Time's hyperbolic relationship to the spatial dimensions (manifest particularly at relativitstic boundaries) led to certain asymtotic distortions in time in Jerrimoo Space close to the Event of 2509. Therefore, the years 2509 to 4700 in Jerrimoo Space occur before 2800 AD in Guild Space.
Introduction
There are many historians that argue from the denizens of Guild Space that Eporrhynchus was the first and latest civilisation to arise from Jerrimoo’s World. This statement, while a widely held belief is completely false. Eporrhynchus owes its very identity to the formation of the Sect of the Lycanthrope circa 2675 within the Geopooreenus compact, and the Peak Sect of the Near Tribes of the Republic in 2824. While it can be successfully argued that the Republic was the latter day Rebellion on Earth, Geopooreenus developed from early Xanja Panjan migrations (particularly amongst its dhani people) to the western Dragonbloom Mountains as early as 2557. Geopooreenus shunned Guild Earth and were determined, especially through the monarch Goona I to make the World of Jer their home.
It is true to say, though, that compared to Eporrhynchus, most other civilising efforts on Jer would seem meek. It would indeed be difficult to see the other efforts beyond the blinding light that is Eporrhynchus.
The Jerrimoo Dark Age (2913 – 3836)
Between the fall of the Republic in 2913 and the first Kloomisoodine expedition of 3836 is recorded as a period of decline. What was once a region-wide civilisation, based on a single language, was sundered with its many peoples now isolated from all others. The aircraft that once scraped the sky, fell into disrepair and rotted away, the concerted terraforming effort was abandoned, and much of the memory of the World of Gul was lost in legend along with the humans that remembered it.
The nanobots that drove the terraforming effort continued to do as programmed for many centuries after the fall of the Republic and brought Jerrimoo’s World into a stable state, probably by 3400. This would always leave Jer desolate, but permanently capable of supporting life. Over this time, Scrap Fallow Green came to be as it is known today: a grassy waterlogged land, ringed by forests. The ruins of the Republic, and of many civilisations before it, dotted the landscape. The Sect of the Lycanthrope lost most of its former glory, but remained the largest of the practicing monastries of zhoti witches. They were often sought out by the elders of dhani and xan tribes that ranged the slowly populating lands of the Northern and Southern Klondykes. Other zhoti witches were acting as tribal elders, or merely travellers. The Demons of Segliot split into several tribal complexes moved west over the lands around Jerrimoo, and became ruled by dynasties of fell zhoti witches. Jerrimoo became the hub of this set of tribes, owing mainly to its water supply. It became a market town, and the scene for many battles. The Demons of Krowkanyon populated the lands south of Scrap Fallow Green and into the ruined city of Krowkanyon. Toward the end of the Jerrimoo Dark Age, these too, became ruled by zhoti witches, and it was from these that the half beasts emerged.
The Peak Sect contracted to tribal groups about the City of Eporrhynchus. They maintained an oral history during this time, and retained the Geopooreenian structure that was called the Tribes of Eporrhynchus. Several tribal groups attended the councils there, and events in the area were discussed. The Cyborgs of Krea contracted to around the CCB deep under Quatzeletamaine. They would, on occasion, venture out to surprising distances, usually to search out dimensional rifts and catalogue them. There is some evidence of contact between the Cyborgs of Krea and the Sect of the Lycanthrope.
One of the last human tribes to remain was a group in the northern Dividing Range. Here forests were thick and tribes many. Tussles over land led to many inter-tribal battles. It is likely that amongst these tribes was the last human left alive. Eventually all humans were either killed or bred out. Xanja Panjan tribes generally moved into their place along with a vast number of racial variants throughout the mountains.
Quat trees had developed many forest-wide defence mechanisms, through spontaneously developing fauna such as the Haaglee, and the Yoosimaasse. These creatures attack trespassers to the sacred areas of growth, and would-be slayers of trees. By around 3100 many of the prophet circles formed, the Xoennerites, the Monastries of Jerrimoo, and the Monks of Aclostus were amongst these. Soon after, possibly in 3150, appeared the Sloosween and the Tatween monks. With this last pair we see the last of the Xanja Panjan peoples. By 3200, the Gheeti-So moved into the area, and settled into small mountain kingdoms, such as Journow, Tourmaline, Tournabel, Werbel, Rookroost, Balthazar, Abacarite, Lulkatar, and Rhalshah. Of the sudden appearance of these squat people, little was understood at the time, they simply contended that they moved from other mountainous regions to these mountainous regions, escaping the demon hordes.
During these early times, there is also much account of the so-called Lost Tribe of Geopooreenus. It was said that a great Zhoti witch had lead his people into the mountains and that they disappeared from all record and trace. There were many legends and stories told of these people and the deeds that they were performing. It was said that a great day would come when the Lost Tribe would return and reform the sundered people.
The Kloomisoodine Expeditions (3836–4071)
The Eporrhynchine civilisation did not have a clear beginning, rather it coalesced from a number of seemingly disparate peoples and events. Nonetheless, most historians take the start of the first Kloomisoodine expedition as the touchstone or trigger for Eporrhynchus’ formation into the political unit we know today. We can, from this point on, count on a rigorous written history, owing largely to the efforts of Kloomisoodine and his contemporaries.
Kloomisoodine was a monk of the Jerrimoo mission, despite certain leanings in this faith, he was an impartial and impassioned writer. In all, Kloomisoodine wrote 36 volumes with many of the latter, critical assessments of Republican history. Of particular interest to Kloomisoodine was the history of the fall of the Republic and the interval between it and the rise of Eporrhynchine culture as he forsaw it.
Kloomisoodine was unique in several respects. Firstly, he bore no particular allegances in his subject, as these were quite separate from his contemporary cultural background. Secondly, he was a journeyman, in that he travelled and interviewed people and uncovered materials in an archaeological fashion. Thirdly, he was iconoclastic in the respect that he, alone was interested in the more recent histories, as opposed to the so-called sacred histories, which did little to understand the workings of the Replublic, how it fell and what circumstances gave rise to Eporrhynchine culture. Finally, he aroused interest in the written record of events, and boosted literacy amongst the monks.
Of particular fame were the Kloomisoodine expeditions. These were possibly one of the earliest detailed accounts in Eporrhynchine history. The First Expedition left Scrap Fallow Green in 3836 and returned in 3841, and consisted of Kloomisoodine, a detachment of warriors from the Monastries of Jerrimoo, and a number of herbalists and other historians. In total, the expedition covered 1200 kilometres of very difficult terrain, and many rather chancy battles were fought. The first expedition is made famous for its role in the re-establishment of contact with the Tribes of Eporrhynchus, the discovery of the cities of Eporrhynchus and Quatzeletamaine, and the first contact with the Cyborgs of Krea. The discoveries made in this expedition, lead to the mounting of the Second Expedition.
Kloomisoodine’s Second Expedition is accounted as being the more difficult, and that which lead him to the rediscovery of Jerrimoo and Geopooreenus. He set out in 3255 with a detachment of monks and soldiers, and when he finally did return in 3271, he was alone. His companions were either slain or turned aside, with some only returning several years later. The sacrifices made by Kloomisoodine, in his often difficult life, were well rewarded with knowledge, and his writings remain astonishingly accurate even to this day. The following are some of writings of Kloomisoodine and his contemporaries.
The First Expedition
Kloomisoodine remained in Eporrhynchus for seven months, and came to know the local tribes, and was even able to persuade some of the local Roggers to consent to their presence. Here he found evidence of what became of the Tribes of Eporrhynchus. They had many stories that were clearly very old, many referring to Quatzeletamaine, and Kloomisoodine was keen to learn. Over the seven months, he began to come to grips with the xan culture and could see that it shared many things in common to his own.
Kloomisoodine had gathered enough clues to strike east toward the position of Quatzeletamaine. Despite the words of many travellers, he was still unsure of what to expect. The ramblimgs of travellers and ancient stories through did tell him that he’d probably know it when he saw it. After travelling two days, Kloomisoodine said the following:
Before the Republic
We find, in our day, scant evidence of a civillisation before the Republic. It is essentially factual to say that a portion of Jer was scraped clean and the Republic was deposited on it. From the work of Kloomisoodine and others, it is now understood that the Republic began in the location we know today as Quatzeletamaine. While we find no evidence of the pre-existing culture to the Republic in Archaeology, we do find one in record. This curious logical schizm is only resolved if we assume that the Republic was an interloper and not indigenous to Jer. This is a common structure of migratory civillisations as has been accounted (Kloomisoodine 35:102, Kloomisoodine & Forumy 35:134). As it is said: "and Xanja Panjan rode the dragon, through the mists and seeded a green on the Fallow to the west of the Scarp. Great formative forces were unleashed so that Jerrimoo could be born again."
Nonetheless, we give credence to the presumption that the Republic was of human composition, and it was as humans that people recolonised Jerrimoo's world after the desolation. Jer must have seen little of the punishment delivered to Earth, and it is written that these were smote and erased. Tales abound about humans, who are usually referred to as marked ones. Throughout our misty pasts humans are reported to have entered this land from the nether worlds, and are thus said to be undead.
An originally small fraction of the Republic were precursors of the writer's own race, which were on the way to forming the religion and tribal structures that we know today. While this was not the cause of division between humans and xan, we know that it must have exacerbated the pre-eminant divide. Attempts were made to close these divisions, first by the Democratium 600 years before my birth, which developed the Feudal structure seen around Quatzeletamaine, then by Emilia Eporrhynchus two hundred years later, which felled the Republican structure, and gave rise to the Tribes of Eporrhynchus. We can conclude, from all this evidence that we, like the marked ones, are undead. We entered this world from the nether world known as Earth, after it was destroyed by the Dragon. The conditions of being undead has lead to the replacement of humans by the supernatural races of the Xanja Panjan, Dhani Jerome, Zhoti Kazu, and the Marroghdessa, among others. With regard to the original, natural inhabitants of Jer, we find an extraordinarily copious archaeological record, which Republican record attests to having ended some 850 to 900 years before my birth. This comes considerably before the Dragon, and so we concur that the Dragon came to not punish these already hapless people, but to punish the pre-eminant Ancients to the Republic, of whom there is relatively little archaeological evidence (such evidence being entirely restricted to Quatzeletamaine). As there was a cultural hiatus between the Ancients of Jer and the Republic, we must rely on Republican archaeology to tell us the story of this civilisation, apart from the story of Jerrimoo. From both these sources, we can guess that the pre-eminant civillisation, which seeded the Republic, and the Ancients of Jer were similar in most respects. This is a point often made in Republican writings by all "authorative" sources. The prime difference between these two ancient civilisations, these sources say, is that the Ancients of Jer were far more destructive to Jer than was the Republic's pre-eminant civillisation toward its own world, Earth (or Gul in some texts). This is to suppose that the Ancients of Jer killed themselves rather than face the coming dragon. Theologians consider this to have been the “necessary step to render Jerrimoo's World pure and rich with a spirit that would readily infect the people delivered by the dragon” (Choturatay 3144:303). It is orthodox belief that it was this spirit that converted humans to Xanja Panjan. The scale of the Jer destruction was, according to all sources, massive. We are told that beyond the Scarp, was a vast body of water that covered fully two thirds of the surface of the world. We are told that the majority of the planet was one forest, and desert was relatively rare. We are told that prior to the coming of the dragon, there were no Slough or Antarctic mountains. The present landscape was so different as to make it unrecogniseable. It was written: "Gaia was defenceless against the virus, and for that she paid with her life". Geography in the Time of Kloomisoodine
Cityscapes
A city is a vast collection of stone, and modified stone, which has been used in the construction of houses and services to houses. The defining aspect to this is that the construction makes a continuous, artificial landscape fashioned for the wants of people. The Ancients of Jer and the pre-eminant ancients of the Republic clearly had designs to entrely refashion their respective worlds to their own wants. The cities that we see are the relics of this desire. By far the largest city is Quatzeletamaine. From its centre to any edge is some three-days travel. The very highest structures are higher, in elevation, than nearly all mountains. It is understood that at its height, the city held more than 100 million people. The deepest caverns of this city are as yet unexplored, but it is said that a dragon sleeps at a depth nearly that of the salt pans beyond the Great Scarp.
Krowkanyon is probably the second largest city and the largest surviving record of the Ancients of Jer. Hot dusts converge on the city from the Scarp to the South and the Malee Desert to the west. The persistant sandstorms have etched away most of the buildings that show above the dunes, and negotiating the heat and grime is difficult. The most rewarding expeditions have been carried out by entering underground through the Dandenoon Mountains. Vast rail constructions and underground settlement characterised the latter Ancients of Jer. Using their structures we can enter to great depth into Krowkanyon. Limits to our expeditions are placed on the life of our combined torches and a lack of breathable air. Evidence attests to a rapidly declining social order from an affluent free state to a anarchic shanty. This transformed the city facade late in its life.
Breen is a city not unlike Krowkanyon, though its construction differs and access is easier at the surface. It appears, though that much of Breesi construction perished in the coming of the dragon. Great quakes shuddered and felled vast areas, and created the broken lanscape we see today.
Geopooreenus and Eporrhynchus are most similar to Quatzeletamaine, but differ from it in not having anything of the scale of the latter. Secondly, all similarities are those added by Republic builders. Essentially, both cities are crafted from rough hewn rock. In the case of Eporrhynchus, the rock is sandstone, whilst Geopooreenus is built of Granite. Both cities were planned from the start and most of the construction took place contemporaneously. The timing between the construction of Eporrhynchus before the fall of the republic, and Geopooreenus, somewhat after, is interesting and supports the theory of a diachronous collapse of the Republic.
Peoples
There are three major racial complexes inhabiting the lands around Scrap Fallow Green: the Xanja Panjan, the Gheeti-So and the Roggers. Within each of these are regional and societal variants, that have become separated by culture and political alignment.
Of the Xanja Panjan, there are the xan, dhani and zhoti people. The xan are the most numerous and typically inhabit the lands of the Scarp to the east of the Divide. The southernmost are the Xoenner Tribes, whom are fierce and warlike, and form few confederations. They have no belief in the existence of the ancients, and see Jerrimoo as an anthropomorph of the Xoul, a spirit form that tells mythical tales. To their north and into the mountains, are the Canyon Trolls of Heibaar, a smaller stock of xan, whom are adept at cliff-living – a necessity in the Rogger-controlled surrounds. Occupying a vast area surrounding Quatzeletamaine and Eporrhynchus, are the Tribes of the Peak Sect. This land, almost entirely filled with Republic ruins, stretches right over the divide. The people within its borders are connected through a council, which harks back to Republican days. Despite the regular communication through the council many areas of this land remain dangerous and there are depths to these ruins that remain unexplored. To the north again and toward the Scarps are the Kloonis first and after them, the Shoshkei. The only inland realms of the xan, are the Monks of the Sloosween and the Monks of the Tatween. These differ markedly from their scarp brethren in their much more dhani culture. The dhani number less than half the xan, but occupy roughly the same area of land, mostly within the boundaries of the Klondykes. The southern dhani are known simply as the Tribes of the Southern Klondyke; a loose confederation of nomads. To the north are the Monastries of Jerrimoo, whom are largely the scattered remains of the Geopooreens. The Monastries are a group of tribes held together by zhoti witches, that form an elder council. This is a similar arrangement to that of the Monks of Aclostus, whom live in mountains.
Most zhoti’s live amongst dhani people as a special class, generally serving as elders or witches. It is amongst dhanis that they feel most comfortable. There are some zhotis that form the leadership hierarchy amongst the Roggers. These witch lords have often raised large armies that have been hungry for territory.
The roggers occupy the periphery of the Green and in the most desolate ranges within. They remain close because of their need for water, but sufficiently far from the quat tree such that its vapours cannot be felt by them. On the western periphery are the Demons of Segliot, whom are most numerous in the Dragonedge Mountains and around the Geopooreenus city of Jerrimoo. These are nearly entirely ruled by zhoti witches, whom are like gods to them. There are certain witch kings whom remain friendly to the monastries, and it is from them that much of our information stems. To the extreme south are the Demons of Krowkanyon, and their lesser race the Half Beasts. These are similarly ruled by zhoti witches, but under far crueller terms. The Half beasts themselves are generally a slave underclass, whom owe their survival entirely to their resistance to the poison of the quat tree. Many half beasts escape their bonds and some are seen as far north as Quatzeletamaine.
Finally, we come to the mountain dwellers, or Gheeti-So. These are a squat people of no more than 120 cm by Republican measure. Their earliest recorded influence in the area is just prior or 3000AD. Of themselves, they account that they travelled from mountainous realms escaping the Demon Hordes. This can certainly be accounted true and it explains their tendency to hide amongst quat trees or tunnel into mountains, and make great fortresses. A group of fortresses generally makes a kingdom and there are many including Journow, Tourmaline, Tournabel, Werbel, Rookroost, Balthazar, Abacarite, Lulkatar, and Rhalshah. They reamin friendly to xan, but are generally distrustful of dhani, and are afraid of zhoti.
The Legacy of Kloomisoodine
Kloomisoodine was able to return to the Monastries of Jerrimoo with an astonishingly complete encyclopaedia of what is now known as early Eporrhynchus. Many monks followed him into studies of other cultures, and an academic pact spread between the Monastries of Jerrimoo, the Monks of Aclostus and those of Tatween and Sloosween from 3265 onward. The academic tradition survived long after Kloomisoodine’s death in 3328 and went on the affect greatly the actions of the tribal elders in both Jerrimoo and Acclostus. Most significantly, there were dhani witches that came to be advisors to the monarchical governments of the Tatween and Sloosween, setting an historical precedent, and an example to dhani witches all over.
The Tribes of Eporrhynchus (3871-)
The academic circle that followed Kloomisoodine became known as the Academy of Toorquestaan after the temple of columns in the province of Toorquestaan between the lands of Acclostus and those of the Monastries of Jerrimoo. The involvement in this academy grew widespread, particularly from those whom were able to speak with Kloomisoodine himself during his expeditions. There were many that journeyed up from the Peak Sect in search of relics and information about relics. But it was amongst the witches of the elder classes that many of the civilizing actions were begun. Dhani witches spread through the lands becoming trusted advisers and bringers of valuable counsel. A strong witch could drive roggers away or combat a wayward witch, and they were soon seen as valuable tokens of civilisation. This new appreciation of zhoti capabilities was not lost of the Sect of the Lycanthrope, whom were consulted by many zhoti witches including some of those that ruled the roggers.