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.
The Early Migration (2548-2610)
While the Geopooreens were always at pains to emphasise that they were a distinct group from the Republic, they were very much dependent on their resources and owe to them much of their initial development. In republic annals from 2550, the Geopooreens were referred to as the “Far Tribes”, being the most intrepid of explorers. Guided mainly by their own lore, they resolved to reach the Dragonbloom Mountains, which they called the Mountains of Jerrimoo, by crossing the Deserts of what was to become Scrap Fallow Green.
This was an extremely dangerous road for beyond the Canyons of Quat, Roggers were plentiful, and these early journeymen would have had to have fought their way through. The accounts of this period (probably between 2549 and 2554) are very few, although it is generally agreed that less than half of the original travellers would have made it through. What probably saved these people was the existence of narrow canyons on the other side of the divide, that the roggers had not yet found. It is considered likely that there would have been running water down some of these, and Quats would have been planted. Burial remains show that largely Far Tribe or Geopooreen people lived here between 2553 and 2564, before the population was largely replaced by Xanja Panjan free-traders.
Migrations across the deserts would have occurred from about 2557, as the oldest Quat plantations on the eastern slopes of the Segliot Mountains (in what are now Claawdaa and Saskaa) date from this time. This journey would also have been perilous, as it is guessed that it would have been a 12-day walk across desert that baked in 54-degree heat. It is considered likely that the to and fros across the desert would have been largely achieved in airlifted buggys. Initially travellers would not have tarried in the Segliot Mountains because of the lack of food, but rather remained only long enough to plant Quat trees and grasses about the meltwater streams. The first permanent dwellings appear to have been established in 2562 and were quickly added to over the following two years. Around this time, genetically engineered game were introduced, as were many varieties of vegetable crops.
The Jerrimoo Expeditions (2605-2610)
The Geopooreens made a major contribution to Republic culture as well as their own when they eventually guided the Jerrimoo Expeditions to what were initially known as the Brick Pits, and what became, after an age, the City of Jerrimoo. Amongst all the Xanja Panjan was a certain knowledge that about the whole region in which they lived was an ancient memory. For reasons that were not clear to any, the Xanja Panjan were sensitive to this memory or ghost, as some named it, where other humans were not. This was the cause of their rapid development into deep tribal lore, and it was also the reason for their need to journey. The completion of this task was a strong will amongst many to cross the Dragonedge Mountains and find what they knew would be something of great significance.
Many expeditions started out and many failed from blurred vision, but by 2605 Dhani Jerome people had visited the Brick Pits and found the relics that they sought in their dreams. Principle among these relics were the Three Stones of Jerrimoo, these at first were simply beguiling, but as people slept near them, dreams came to them, and later, waking visions. To the lips of some came the name Jerome, to others it was Jerrimoo. The name, at first a whisper, travelled down the trade routes from the Dhani Jerome of Geopooreenus to the Xanja Panjan of the Republic, and pilgrims from all over began to lie near the stones. As is well accounted, much lore came from them.
Fearing that some pilgrims may be tempted to remove the stones, a permanent guard was set at the Brick Pits, which were soon named the Walls of Jerrimoo.
There were other, stranger finds, like the hundreds of relatively recent diggings, that lay in an area to the south that was known as the Naareen, which means haunted city. This was the first of the Gaust Barrows left by the Ancients of Gaust. It had a sombre tone, the shimmering heat that left a crease in the mind, making rocks look like carcases and the smell of dry-baked rock like that of death. The eyes were tricked to seeing movement that wasn’t there. At night, lights could sometimes be seen, or shadows flicker over the stars. Those that lingered too long, wandered in the desert in a dream that lead to their deaths.
The name Jerrimoo travelled as far as the Cyborgs of Krea, and representatives of these too ventured out along the trade routes in winter 2568. They arrived at the far tribes amongst suspicion, but a Dhani Cybercloister was among them, who cited information gleaned from the CCB, which named the name Jerrimoo, made reference to MikeUnit Cyborg and had record of accounts from the World of Jer, specifically naming the Brick Pits. The Krea were convinced that another very important discovery would be made at the Walls of Jerrimoo.
A Dhani expedition set out a month later to explore tunnels, and other diggings, and to sift through the remains. Relics corroborating the CCB account appeared, which were mainly writings and time capsules, but it was on the approach of summer that the skull of MikeUnit Cyborg was uncovered in a simple burial mound. Debate ensued as the Cyborgs wanted to bring the remains to the CCB, but the Geopooreenians were very reluctant to allow them to be moved. The approval for this was only won when Far Tribe elders had received visions that a great city was to be built high in the northern extents of the Dragonedge Mountains, and the Cyborgs would be able to assist in this endeavour.
The Founding of Geopooreenus (2615-2627)
The city was to be built within a ring of three mountains that were believed to have a special quality, a certain spirit that would strengthen the people of Geopooreenus and guide them further in their journey. The city would have to house all of the Dhani people over a great span of years.
The Cyborgs developed many architectures and construction nanobots, using genetic algorithms to come up with a design that allowed multi-level dwellings, gardens, walkways, in such a fashion that light was admitted to the deepest levels. A meltwater aqueduct was to thread the city and keep its deepest dungeons dry. The complex and beautiful architecture promised a truly great city, and the Dhani were very pleased with the plans. The city was begun in 2570, and completed later that year.
The crystal of the pure granite city glittered in the sun. The roof of the city made a kilometre-wide dome that was fissured in as many places as not, and through these fissures, dwellings and other buildings poked through, and visible every where were the winding paths, banisters and gardens of Geopooreenus. Six tunnel roads entered the city from below the mountain sides in which it sat. The tunnels emptied into the surrounding lands. Three bore south-east into the meadows of Quats and towards the trade routes, one bore north into the Gap of Wallsend to a new grove of Quats, and two bore down to the west. One of these western roads then bent south and lead most of the way to the Walls of Jerrimoo. Around the surrounding lands, complex dykes of meltwater regulated the flow all the way down to the deserts on either side. This allowed for the planting of exotic gardens, to support a large population.
People from seven tribes that were living amongst the Quat groves began inhabiting the city almost straight away. Other tribes chose not to live in the city but to instead move into the lands that others vacated. Elders amongst all the tribes began a tradition of meeting monthly in the central chambers. Two cybercloisters were also regularly in attendance. Despite the building of the city on the basis of the tellings from the Stones of Jerrimoo, it was pledged that the Stones would not be removed from their sacred place. Rather, the stones and the pits around them would become the centre-piece for another great city, the Holy City of Jerrimoo. The city itself would protect the ruins for those that value them.
Early Geopooreenus (2627-2645)
A vast desert separated the Geopooreens from the Republic and the Roggers, which was very much to their liking. With safety and productivity, the population of Geopooreenus increased throughout the following Century. During this early period Goona son of Dhani, held the leadership, which was formalised with the signing of the tribal pact that lead to the formation of the Tribes of Geopooreenus. Goona thus became Goona I of the Geopooreens.
While the Guild remnants sought a way back to the World of Gul, though their vassals the Helgar Neti, Goona I was resolved to make the World of Jer his home and that of his people. Within republic politics the leanings varied. Gone was much of the first generation, and with them the prospect of a return. Many people of the republic were now born in the world of Jer and knew of the old world only through pictures. The Geopooreens represented the extreme margin that abandoned the old and sought only the relics and customs from the world that they were in. The Geopooreens were sometimes incorrectly branded as luddites, or unhelpful savages from citizens of the so-called civilised Republic.
As is detailed in other works, the Helgar Neti had already split in a manner that was like that between humans and Xanja panjan, with the Cyborgs of Krea representing the Xan borgs. This second group became heavily involved with the Geopooreens, mostly in secret. The Cyborgs believed that a Geopooreen king would, deliver the Xan, and form a great empire in the stars. Otherwise, the Geopooreens remained on the margins of the republic, never being admitted into the fold, despite many bridge-building efforts from sympathetic Republicans. Their lycanthropy remained a cause for mistrust among non-Xan people, and they were the spearhead of a new culture; always beyond of the line of acceptance.
Geopooreenians always managed to get many strong Xan allies, because of their courage and sacrifice in fights against roggers over the previous 20 years. The strength of will gave many other marginalised Xan hope and pride, and amongst them spawned the Geopooreenus-like culture that was to characterise the later republic, and to form the basis of Eporrhynchine culture years later. However, even by the turn of the Century, a darker heart within Geopooreen mind began to stir in the depths of the great city.
With length of stay in the Granite City, visions came to many of the Dhani people. The very earth was moved by the struggles of life, and images of the rise and fall of lands and people flashed by. A great sight was felt and for times some Dhani could see farther than their eyes, they began to see the lies in the Guild and the Republic, and the guilt that many wore. The Cyborgs were kept close, but many non-Dhani tribal leaders were eschewed for their over-involvement in Republic affairs.
The stature of Goona I grew along with that of the Sect-monks, within the Dhani people, when it became apparent that their sight and wisdom grew beyond the measure of ordinary people. They were not without rivals, for there were also many Dhani witches that emerged from the general population. Although these were troublesome at times, many of those that showed these talents were admitted into what was simply called then “the Monastery”. As the quat trees took root, elements of the Dhani people spread over the Dragonedge Mountains. This allowed for the creation of villages along the roads from Geopooreenus and wherever granite monastries were built. Despite the tensions between Goona I and the leaders of the Republic, trade continued, particularly for fine foods and spices. Through the Cyborgs of Krea, advanced firearm weapons were developed, and hardened combat soldiers trained. These largely did battle with the Roggers along the trade routes, but the occasional scuffles with the Rebublican Guard were documented from 2615 onward.
Middle Geopooreenus (2645-2779)
This period is marked by the beginning of hostilities with elements of the Republic, and the consolidation of Geopooreenus as a nation. The eschewal of ownership became enshrined in cultural belief, as did the binding statement: “I am dutiful to my family, my family are dutiful to the monarch, and the monarch is dutiful to the land”. The statement isn’t easily interpreted by non-Dhani people, but it basically means that you must provide for your family first. Your family must provide for the king, and the king must provide for the land. The individual may depose the family head for the good of the family, or the family may depose the king for the good of the land, and the land, lets all be by its own graces. It was also a help that the Dhani were beginning to share a single consciousness that was palpable to the individual. When war brewed, there were no heralds because the people just knew what the king knew, just slightly more vaguely. The people also inherited the king’s non-trust of Republicans, and suspicion of other Xan, and they remained jealous of their journeying to the Walls of Jerrimoo. Most importantly, they began to get their wisdom from the witches, whom were seen as wise and far-seeing. The witches, sometimes called the Zhoti (short for Zhotikazoo, meaning witch-sense), varied in their powers, but were often able to see into the future, or read from the distant past. Amongst a witch’s greatest powers were their mastery of their lycanthropy. The witches became the village elders, consulted on all matters from medical to religious.
By the 2640s the witches had grown considerably in power, and it had been seen that their abilities were being passed on to their offspring. The Zhoti were seen as a new strain of Xanja Panjan, and the next phase of their evolution. Some within the ranks of these new people supposed that they were a spiritual admixture between the unknowable spirits of the mountains and the Dhani people that lived over them. Many believed that the very city of Geopooreenus had tapped into one of these ancient spirits. There were those that believed that the Barrows of the Ancients of Gaust were connected to these old spirits. The witch’s quarry became the endless seeking of these spirits. Witches often travelled at night so that they could make out the white shimmers of spirits as they passed over the land, the dazzling light of day was seen as a hinderance in these pursuits.
Zhoti were also being employed in the armies of Geopooreenus as intelligence officers. Their proximity sense often guided soldiers to their enemies, or they perceived ambushes. It was often said that you cannot surprise a Zhoti by creeping up behind them for they could see in every direction at once. For this the Zhoti were feared amongst the Republicans that knew of their existence, perceiving that they constituted a threat. The Zhoti themselves rarely engaged in battle, and were often distracted by events not seen by others. Another facet of them that made them seem less concerned with day to day affairs, was that they seemed less prone to aging. Some of the oldest Zhoti were by the 2650s were known to be about 60 years old but did not look older than 30.
One of the truest tests of the consolidation of Geopooreenus was the construction of the Jerrimoo aqueduct from 2649 to 2664. This duct brought meltwater from the mountains and carried it out over the hot planes to the Walls of Jerrimoo, providing there a permanent water source. Quat trees were planted about. The construction occurred in many phases, and again, largely with nanobot technology, but was logistically complex, and required the establishment of many villages throughout the mountains. These later served as lookout posts over the western desert planes and Scrap Fallow Green. It is noted by most workers in the area of Middle Geopooreenus History that the long-awaited city of Jerrimoo was established and built in 2669. This was larger in area to Geopooreenus and was based on a granite dome structure, but the dome only extended up to about 20 degrees from the desert floor all around. The rest was open to the abundant sunshine. At the centre of this were the preserved Walls of Jerrimoo (often from then on called the old city) enclosed in a granite wall. Quat trees were planted within the dome ring and many structures were built. Most buildings served as monasteries or guest houses for pilgrims. Most importantly though from here on in food could be produced locally, and it was now well within Geopooreen sovereignty. Pilgrims would first travel to Geopooreenus, and then travel the watch tower road to the city.
The close of the middle era of Geopooreenus is marked by most with the proper formation of the Sect of the Lycanthrope. The Zhoti, in particular, became interested in the physical manifestation of spirit, and the whole interaction between flesh and spirit. There was much writing occurring over the latter half of the 27th Century, and as part of the research undertaken, the Xan manifestation of the Zhoti altered somewhat. Their faces became longer and more expressive, their rogger manifestation was less destructive, and this very manifestation gave them powers over the roggers in strange ways. The Zhoti could take on other forms, clothing themselves in stranger flesh that suited their circumstances. Lycanthrope Sectarians began to meet at the walls of Jerrimoo and were often marked travelling at night across desert plains on missions of their own.
Why any account of them is known at all, was that Goona was closely associated with the Sect, and the Sect, itself, became the ruling party of Geopooreenus. In this manner, the rule of Geopooreenus and the religion of Geopooreenus became a single compact, which was largely opaque to the remainder of Xan in the World of Jer.
The single compact was, however internally very divided amongst the opinions of the most wise. In this council, the king was not the master, and was often countered and warned away from certain thoughts by others that had, in their vernacular, grown more ancient. As the elements of the Sect of the Lycanthrope began to deepen their research, they began to perceive that there was not just one Geopooreen consciousness but several of similar flavour. Much of the evidence was pointing to a more mysterious cause of dragonbloom, which involved the destruction of another world, not just Jer.
The idea that Gaust was the original destroyed world, challenged the belief that the Dragon had brought Jer, Gaust and Gul together, but that an ancient retribution was wrought for a crime far greater than technology. The disturbing realisation was the Dhani and the Zhoti were receiving wisdom from both the punisher and the punished. They identified the Dragon as the punisher and mountainbuilder, but who was the punished, and could the sectarians tell the difference.
These revelations put a sharp echo throughout the Zhoti and Dhani worlds and, for a time, hostilities with the Republicans ceased. Many Zhoti travelled in this time and discovered that many of the mountain spirits and those within the Dragonedge and Antarctic Mountains were manifestations of the punished spirit. Geopooreenus was built on such a mountain spirit. But many counsels were taken, and witches meditated to discern the damage to the Geopooreen mind. It was seen that the rogger manifestation itself was this very clothing. When a Xan becomes a rogger, they are listening to mountain spirits, and many Dhani never return. The mountain spirits were known as the Demons of Segliot.
Already the mountains were becoming populated with a new breed of rogger, which was more intelligent and longer-lived, and to these it was recognised that some Dhani descended. These newer Demons of Segliot were powerful adversaries, capable of spirit vision, and higher powers of organization. At the same time they could be reasoned with, and were often influenced by non-rogger Dhani.
The Account of the new Demons of Segliot did much to scare humans away from lands west of the Divide, and caused the Xan to move in much larger numbers by 2715. These new, heavily armed brigands were not a particularly welcome sight within the borders of Geopooreenus, and the practice of pilgrim escorting was taken up by about 2718. This was largely replaced by air travel to Jerrimoo from Quatzeletamaine in 2720 onwards, when pilgrimage on foot was not a viable option to non-Geopooreens.
From 2725, the Sect of the Lycanthrope was very much in league with the Cyborgs of Krea, and many might say the Cyborg actions were very much guided by Geopooreen interests, but another very interesting contact was made at this time. Several Sectarians had resolved to try to patch up differences with elements of the Guild Sects, and in particular, a group influenced by the young Xan Emilia Eporrhynchus. It is known now that Eporrhynchus had travelled to Geopooreenus many times in her formative years, and had learned much zhoti lore. In the times of quiescence with the Republic, it seemed very likely that the Geopooreens themselves would be the architects of lasting peace.
Late Geopooreenus (2779-3013)
The Late Geopooreenus Era is marked at the beginning with the immobilisation of the Sect of the Lycanthropes with the assassination of Goona I, and at the end with the destruction of the civilisation in the Eporrhynchus-Geopooreenus war. Geopooreen infiltration into the Republic was quite deep at the beginning of this era, and we mark this era but a powerful schism within the Sect of the lycanthrope had formed. This sundered the Dhani population at large, and for many years, while the Republic was falling into civil war, the Geopooreens were effectively headless.
When Goona I was assassinated, plots were uncovered within the Sect that revealed a desire to take mastery of Geopooreenus through the Demons of Segliot. For a time many Sectarians were unaware of who the enemy was, and in the suspicion various leaders held smaller counsels and no central council was convened for a time. Various alliances formed and the first of two traitors were uncovered in 2784 when several compared notes. During these years there were many minor conflicts in the mountains as various provinces were put under siege.
An alliance of sect members finally took the capital and formed a Sect head, emplacing the monarch, Tannaar I in 2785. This was immediately contested by another alliance and the city itself was put under siege of 4 months, before emissaries were able to negotiate a peace. Immediate orders were made to dispatch the uncovered traitor by attacking the fortress he occupied in Wallsend. This was successful after a time, but peace did not prevail for an attempt on the life of Tannaar I was made before the year was out. While the assassin was caught and questioned, no information could be gained from him before he took his own life.
A second assault on Geopooreenus from the south followed in early 2786 by demon hordes under the leadership of Gargoraall of Segliot. While this assault was repelled by the forces within the city, many lands around were sacked. Constant battle was fought outside of the city thereafter as monasteries were fought for and taken, then retaken as the seasons wheeled and passed.
A rot had set in within the Sect and suspicion grew of a second traitor. Something or someone was lending the hordes their strength of will. Many dhani and zhoti were becoming demons, and it began to seem as if the battle was being lost. After many years, the tide began to turn. A new resolve arose from some newer sect members that had mobilised around Eporrhynchus, and these led an army from Jerrimoo to the capital, that carved its way through the deepest demon territories before laying siege on the capital in 2823. After many machinations the two sects joined and in council uncovered the traitor as the new monarch.
Eporrhynchus, herself was offered the crown before Toleemius I was crowned in early 2824. Eporrhynchus, having refused the crown of Geopooreenus, returned to the republic, still in the midst of civil war. After seeing the Geopooreenus model, she sought to form a similar model for the Republic. The difference being that half of this would be composed of the Peak Sect, which was a collection of elders from the Near Tribes, the Cybercloister, and the Guild. The council became known as the Tribes of Eporrhynchus in her name, and she was offered the monarchy. The capital of this changed Republic would be the new city of Eporrhynchus.
From 2824 to 2840, Geopooreenus began to rebuild, people again moved out into the wilderness around. The forests on the eastern slopes of the Dragonedge Mountains had spread considerably and moved out into the plains of Scrap Fallow Green by three to four kilometres. Beyond the forests, grasslands had formed as far as the eye could see. Wallscarp had become a dry woodland area. But the greatest change had come to the extreme northern end of Scrap Fallow Green, where a massive forest had taken root, which was called the Poonagh by the Xan that had moved there. It was said amongst many that it even rained in the Poonagh, and that a river flowed out into Scrap Fallow Green for a short while.
Despite the success of the expedition to free Geopooreenus, the flight of the Sect of the Lycanthrope from the city of Geopooreenus, and thus the loss it’s central hold on Geopooreen consciousness was inevitable. The Sect went one way, but the armies and their lords went the other: answering the call of Eporrhynchus. The city of Geopooreenus was emptied for a time and powerful demons attacked.
It is recorded amongst the ancient texts held by the modern Sect of the Lycanthrope, that only the witch Xibritte survived that assault in any recogniseable condition. It is said that she fled to regions just west of the Poonagh, amid what were then nomadic tribe lands, populated by gizmoteers and other traders. But according to Kloomisoodine, a second witch by the name of Ceticloonis claimed in 3835 that he came from the original Sect too. He along with his dan disciples fled the city, but were able to return several years later when the demons scattered in all directions as a result of a madness which had taken them. Ceticloonis established the Opooreen Sectum in Geopooreenus, while over many years Xibritte gathered several witches around her and established the Sect of the Lycanthrope in the northern plains of Scrap Fallow Green. From 2866 onward, Eporrhynchus began to lose ground in her own council, as the Cybercloister and the Guild began to war on the Peak Sect and Cyborgs of Krea. Despite the fact that she herself was from the Cybercloister, they rejected her as one of their own and a bitter conflict sundered the Republic into a rabble of disputing warlords. The Cyborgs of Krea gave protection to Eporrhynchus and maintained strongholds in Eporrhynchus and Quatzeletamaine.
Various Near Tribes had themselves formed kingdoms in the surrounding areas and began entering the fray. Eporrhynchus tried to unite many factions over the years, based on the Cyborgs of Krea and the Peak Sect, but each party forever seemed motivated by their immediate needs, rather than the survival of an ancient empire. The Geopooreenus forces (known contemporarily as the Jerrimoo Guard) began to disband into smaller units led by witch-lords. Their proud military tradition was to spread to many areas following their campaigns on behalf of Eporrhynchus. Many of these peoples were to form the Nine Kingdoms (of Xoenner) in the north of the lands occupied by the Peak Sect, and the Desert Freeholds in where the soldiers and gone west to reclaim the trade routes. Some witches even took soldiers to the northern trade routes and eventually became the Monastery Guard to the Sect of the Lycanthropes.
By 2902, the last vestige of human population clung to the two Kingdoms of Republica near Faatunus and the Lords of the Guild near Espereetus. By this time powerful near tribes warlords had formed a pact in the south and made war on the Lords of the Guild, meanwhile the Peak Sect was ever determined to eradicate humanity at Faatunus. More scattered humans remained in Quatzeletamaine in tribal groups, more or less surviving on the sales of looted technology to gizmoteer traders.
The stress of warfare in the region, collapsed all industry, and it is commonly recorded that the Jerrimoo Dark Age began when the Kingdoms of Republica succumbed to the Peak Sect and the Lords of the Guild were crushed and their lands incorporated into the Kingdoms of Rhaalyn in 2912 and 2913, respectively.