Mukasa Peoples

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The Flag of the Mukasa Peoples, as it was drafted on the Day of Blood during the Expansion War

The Mukasa Peoples, also known as the Whalefall Eleen, are a lineage based exclusively within the Salt Desert. They are descended from Eleen who crash-landed there around -6000 ANC, and discovered eternally-bleeding Anarai corpses around which they formed a society.

History

The Dark Times

(approx. -6000 to -1800 ANC)

The name "Dark Times" is fitting for this period for two reasons. The first is that, for the most part, little to nothing is known of this time. The second is that, during the time before discovering the Fountain Corpse, survival in the salt desert was extremely difficult. It was likely a time of short lifespans, sustained by lean meals hunted with the assistance of the Lizard Horses, which the Mukasa are said to have quickly learned how to ride.

The First Ge'jai Sana and the first Sana'xa

(lit. "Drinking blood, Blood leader." approx. -1800 to -100 ANC)

In about -1800 ANC, the Mukasa discovered the Fountain Corpse. Several drank from its blood and perished, and others drank and were granted immense power, the title of Sana'xa, and the ability to sense the presence of Lesser Fountains. There exist few records from this time, but what there is suggests the presence of several Sana'xa, each of whom with their own devout following. As they died out, more from their followers took their place, or perished in their attempts to perform the Ge'jai Sana. These factions were not necessarily friendly; some warred with each other, while others formed alliances, only to betray each other later.

The Je'faokă

(lit. "family tribe." approx. -100 to 1782 ANC)

The most successful Sana'xa was known by the name Aikă Sana'xa, and in -100 ANC, she managed to unite all of the factions under one name, using a combination of military genius and the form of alchemy she devised which later became Fao'visa. This single tribe became known as the Je'Faokă. Following her conquest, she established a Theocracy, repurposed her conquest supply and intelligence networks for governmental use, and determined a means of formally determining all future successors, centered around the Ge'jai Sana. This is largely written of as a time of relative prosperity, and most of Aikă's governmental structures remain influential in the Je'faokă even in the modern day.

The Great Unveiling

(1640 to 1780 ANC)

In 1640, newly-appointed Sihu Sana'xa took a scholarly interest in the numerous temples and ruins which were previously considered forbidden ground except for the Sana'xa. After two years of negotiations with the populace, he dramatically reduced the prohibitions on archaeology in those sites, setting the stage for a decades-long period of discovery and the formation of the myth of the Bretheren of Blood.

The Expansion Wars

(1782 to 1854 ANC)

In 1782, Aisana Sana'xa was nominated as a challenger to the established ruler Çaoje Sana'xa, based on the platform of the council's desire to expand northwards out of the desert, opposed by Çaoje Sana'xa. Aisana Sana'xa won the duel and thus took the throne, and began what became known as the Expansion Wars; a decades-long period of bloody conquest that placed the mountains and forest north and west of the desert under Mukasa control, displacing Spring Kradin and Silver Kazcol from the area and earning significant notoriety with the Empire.

The Time of the Desert Spider

(1854 to 1863 ANC)

Following the great expansion, the Mukasa found it necessary to engage in highly coordinated guerilla warfare to maintain their control over the land. Most of this warfare was orchestrated and carried out on the western front lines, with only distant support from the homeland sent by Akia'maokai Sana'xa. This became known as the time of the Desert Spider, named after the Salt Desert's burrowing spiders and their tendency to spring from concealed holes in the sand to capture prey.

The Toppling, and the Formation of the Sa'faokă

(1863 to 1865 ANC)

In 1863, military leaders on the western front became annoyed at the homeland's lack of support, and declared their independence. When faced with nominating a new leader, though, the front found themselves at odds between two main candidates: the traditionalist Tebau and more radical Vishoji. The front split, with Vishoji leading the Agatoba taking the northern forest and Tebau leading the Zio'faokă taking most of the extreme edge of the front. Both fought each other for a time until establishing an uneasy ceasefire to focus on cutting off the Je'faokă's access to the region. By 1865, the Je'faokă relented under the weight of crushing losses.

In the midst of all the fighting, many small settlements found themselves incidentally cut off from the Je'faokă and newly independent, and formed a loose confederation of minor tribes known as the Sa'faokă stretching across most of the land between the western front, the forest, and the Agatoba and Zio'faokă settlements on the northern desert border. These tribes are mostly self-sufficient, relying on trades within the Sa'faokă to survive, and are largely acknowledged by the Zio'faokă and Agatoba.

The Modern Day

(1865 ANC to present)

Since the toppling, the status quo has not shifted dramatically. The original Je'faokă remains cloistered in the desert, bordered directly to the north by a front of Agatoba and Zio'faokă detachments. The Zio'faokă has developed the western front into a defensive wall of cities, governed by a roughly exact copy of the Je'faokă's theocracy and the Agatoba have steadily grown in population, having mostly abolished the system of duels still used in the Je'faokă and replaced it with a popular vote, along with establishing a constitution to ensure certain aspects of the government remain intact despite the decisions of the ruler. These changes have attracted several migrants from both the Zio'faokă and the Je'faokă, making the Agatoba the most populous of the factions. Between them all, the Sa'faokă continue to exist peacefully, though a handful have thrown in with either the Agatoba or the Zio'faokă.

Mythology

(Main article: Bretheren of Blood)

The Mukasa's mythology is centered around something of a creation story: the I'sa'miukai ra sana (Ji'lako, fig. Bretheren of Blood), a legend about a pair of fraternal twin Zahar and the fanatical order they founded. As the legend goes, they were among the first generation to be cast down from the Anarai — born in the Salt Desert, back when the brown grasses grew there, when it was known as the Sa'inu'raiau (lit. Dead Fields). The brother, Çao'sana, is said to have been skilled in transmutation magic, and the sister, Ai'sana, in all things to do with blood.

The legend, and all of the names of entities within the legend, were scrapped together by the Mukasa from historical evidence, wall-carvings found in temples, and salvaged pieces of writing, and combined with a healthy dose of mysticism from those who drank the blood of the Fountain Corpse. As a result, parts of it are backed to an extent by scholarly research, and other parts were woven to fill the gaps.

Government

Je'faokă

The original Je'faokă forms the template for several other Mukasa governments, and has remained in use in the original Je'faokă mostly unchanged since the time of Aikă Sana'xa. It is a theocracy centered around a singular monarch, the Sana'xa, who must have consumed the blood of the Fountain Corpse and lived. They are given unilateral ability to hire and fire officers, add or remove titles, and in general decide every aspect of the governmental structure. The only thing out of their control is the council: a collection of representatives from different geographic portions of the Je'faokă, all of whom have drunk from a lesser fountain. If the council is ever displeased with the actions of the Sana'xa, a majority can nominate a challenger, who must drink the blood of the Fountain Corpse and, if they survive, duel the Sana'xa with a ritual knife for the throne. Either combatant may forfeit, and each counselor may grant a boon of their choice to a combatant of their choosing.

Counselors may also be replaced by a similar process, and otherwise serve life terms. Should their region elect a challenger, the challenger drinks of a lesser fountain and duels the extant counselor. No boons may be granted in these fights.

Zio'faokă

The Zio'faokă is modeled largely identically to the Je'faokă, but with adjustments to compensate for the lack of fountain access. Challengers in all duels are not required to drink from a fountain, but instead drink the blood of the challenged if they are victorious. In the event of a forfeit, this is done through ritual bloodletting. In the event of a fatal victory, this is done on the field by whatever means possible, typically through an artery in the neck.

Agatoba

The Agatoba are also organized roughly identically to the Je'faokă, but have replaced duels with democratic votes in the case of replacing counselors, and written a constitution that prevents the Sana'xa from changing or removing certain basic laws and rights. Additionally, they have done away with blood consumption altogether, though would resume it given access to a fountain. They regard the Zio'faokă's solution as short-sighted and foolish.

Sa'faokă

The Sa'faokă do not have a system of government per se. Each tribe within the Sa'faokă has its own way of ruling itself, and its own set of treaties and informal agreements with neighboring tribes. In this way, the broader network of tribes manages to interact and flourish, occasionally dealing with problems (such as a rogue tribe attempting to conquer the others) as a confederation.

The sacred art of Fao'visa

(Main article: Fao'visa)

Fao'visa, literally "together magic," is the invention of Aikă Sana'xa, and has been improved upon over many centuries. It is an esoteric blend of alchemy and magics, centered largely around the distillation and combination of "essences" from various parts of nature, the world, and life, to be applied to a person, a weapon, or simply the environment. It serves several purposes within Mukasa culture, especially in combat and medicine; in fact, the essences and mixtures distilled by a skilled alchemist are so useful that a Sana'xa will typically appoint a court alchemist, and mixtures are commonly granted by counselors as boons in duels.

The Ji'lako language

(Main article: Ji'lako)

The language of the Mukasa peoples is known as Ji'lako (lit. Sand Language), and is also sometimes referred to as Ji'laka (fig. Way of the Sand) when evoking patriotism. It was developed completely in isolation, and so is not mutually intelligible with anything.

Ji'lako is a source of patriotic pride for many Mukasa people, being uniquely theirs. Learning a second language is often seen as diplomacy, which is ill-respected work in several tribes, or abandoning the culture entirely, which is punishable by death in most Mukasa governmental structures.