The Many and One Isles

In the ancient days there were many islands of people devoted to Mycelyix in the west, each one having evolved independent of the others. They each have a distinct culture and view of the lord of decay. Far to the east lay the Mycenorion Confederacy, far removed from its kin.

Shou'Ye
Shou'Ye was the southern most of the central Plagued Isles, almost the closest to the magical barrier around Templehelm. It was home to a group of Mycelyites known as the Yin'Kang.

The Yin'Kang
A simple, reserved people, the Yin'Kang have lived on Shou'Ye longer than anyone knows, their origins quite possibly being there. Mushroom harvesting, fishing, and cattle raising are all common professions for the majority of these people; however, about 10% made up an "upper class" of religious leaders known as the He'Shang'Que.

He'Shang'Que
This monastic order serves as the governing, religious, and protective body of the Yin'Kang. One can only be born into the He'Shang'Que, though not by familial ties as most cultures do this sort of thing. On the day of a male Yin'Ka's birth the Scourge are consulted, the Dun is interpreted, and the infant tested - females are not considered. Only with adequate results in all three categories is one accepted into the He'Shang'Que, and those that are accepted are immediately taken away from their families to be trained in Yin'Ka tradition, religion, and combat.

Religion & Ideology
Mycelyix, Lord of Flaw and Sin, is worshipped by those of Shou'Ye. His constant struggle to overcome the flaws thrusted upon him are an inspiration to the Yin'Kang, who strive to embrace their flaws, while still not allowing these flaws to control themselves. Flaw is strength, but one must keep it in check.

The Scourge are revered as all who served Mycelyix in life and continue to do so in death. The He'Shang'Que frequently honor and communicate with the Scourge, and it is not uncommon to see Scourge shrines in the homes of Yin'Ka commoners. Animal sacrifice is common practice when there are available offerings, and pigs are generally most desirable for this.

The Siniu, or mooshrooms as they're called in the common tongue, are seen a sacred beasts, which are never allowed to be harmed. When prepared properly the future can even be divined by interpreting the Dun, or stew, of a Siniu.

Large gatherings are also common, usually incorporating the entire population, or a large portion of it, and involving hymns of praise, readings from the great book, and a shared meal afterwards - all in honor of Mycelyix.

Characteristic of Decay: Solitude
In the beginning days, the Yin'Kang looked upon their land and saw solitude. To them, Yix's decay revealed the fundamental separation of the world as it tore apart and assembled the environment, only to repeat the cycle. They looked, they enterpreted, and they called this solitude admirable. It is for this reason that the Yin'Kang prefer structured, hierarchical worship to individual prayer- why the Yin'Kang isolate themselves from their fellow Mycelyites and one another. To this solitary people the idea of togetherness is a falsehood and the interplay of persons a shallow, insincere mechanic of life.

Dhurnae
Dhurnae, the land of humility, was seen as a bit backward by the other peoples of Yix. The people uniformly denied skill and constantly admitted fault; something which made them seem incompetent to many. Dhurnae was the westernmost of the isles, perhaps more magically in tune than the other islands due to its proximity to Templehelm's borders.

Government
The Dhurns, like all Mycelyite nations, were a purely religious society. These humble people were governed by a system of druids. There was no one ruler, for none would dare to claim the ability to organize and lead so many others; rather, the druids gathered as a whole to make decisions on behalf of the people. These gatherings would typically take place around the ancient monoliths of Dhurnae, giant rocks protruding from the ground and covered in strange curving and intertwining symbols. At these points, the druids would listen for the will of Decay and speak such to the people.

Citizenry
The common people of the Dhurns were predominately farmers. On their plagued island, these simple folk would till the soil in order to grow the famous megafungus of the lands as well as smaller, stranger varieties of naturally occurring fungus. The raising of mooshrooms was common and their beef and stew was a staple food in any Dhurn household. Due to their simple, unassuming lives, the Dhurns were rather uneducated. They left any decisions up to the druids and followed their words, or rather the words of their god, unfailingly. Culturally, these lower class farmers were very superstitious. Symmetry in the face of a newborn was viewed as a bad omen, so many children were scarred in some fashion at birth to keep good fortune for the family. In addition, any patterns in cloth or another material were intentionally flawed so as to not invite evil into the home.

Foreign Relations

 * Western Isles - The people of the other isles primarily viewed the Dhurns as rather backwards and zealous in their odd beliefs. Despite this, the Dhurns were historically hailed as some of Yix's most devout children.
 * Aurites - No Contact
 * Dark Fae - No Contact
 * Zeolites - No Contact
 * Emeraldites - The Dhurns hated the Emeraldites for all that they stood for and all that they were. In battle, one could only tell Dhurn from Mycenor by the expressions they held; the latter showed joy, the former showed loathing. This attitude was returned by the Emeraldites who wished to rid their new territories of the 'savage' natives.
 * Mycenorion - The Mycenors viewed the Dhurns as useful allies and, of the druid class, as powerful magi. Throughout the Mycenor campaign in the west, the Dhurns stood by their side as willing allies.

Characteristic of Decay: Flaw
In the beginning days, the Dhurn looked upon their land and saw flaw. To them, Yix's decay was essence of imperfection, eating away at natural perfection. They looked, they enterpreted, and they called this flaw glorious. It is for this reason that the Dhurn scorned perfection, it is for this reason that the Dhurn rose against the newly Sired. To this imperfect people, the very thought of superiority or the merest utterance of hubris was a mortal sin. They deemed perfection as worthy of the blade and they brought it forth unto the invaders once they began their conversions.

Mardoscoroga
Mardoscoroga is the northernmost of the western isles.

Government
The Mardoscorogan government was a rather odd Theocracy, control of the ever-changing priesthood switching hands weekly. The priests' sermons were always different, expressing the values of every other island on a regular basis as well as those of the heathen peoples of the mainland. There were seven levels of the priesthood, each individual advancing or declining in rank on a semi-daily basis. Often times, one who was an initiate on one day would end up as an Arch-Magister the next morning.

Citizenry
The citizenry was divided into castes, these divisions hardly permanent. Each caste performed different tasks; fishing, hunting, writing, performing, preaching and governing, trading, farming, and various other needed jobs. It has been noted by many a historian that the cultural works of the people of Mardoscoroga are the least uniform in their composition. One cannot tell from simple examination whether one of their vases originated one thousand years before Emeraldite arrival or the day that the island fell to slaughter and one might just as easily mistake a Mardoscorogan linen for the work of the Dark Fae or the ancient Zeolites.

Foreign Relations

 * Western Isles - The people of the other isles primarily viewed the Mardoscorogae as somewhat less than devout. In addition, the strange, flighty people appeared to be incompetent, superstitious, and altogether ridiculous by their more southern counterparts.
 * Aurites - The people of Mardoscoroga occasionally negotiated trades with the Aurites, though this was a rather uncommon occurrence as the people of the sun often lacked the patience to deal with a Mardoscorogan's ever-changing tastes.
 * Dark Fae - No Contact
 * Zeolites - No Contact
 * Emeraldites - The Emeraldites came first upon the Mardoscorogae of all the Mycelyite peoples. They saw them primarily as heathens to be converted to the faith of Planu and the early years of contact with Mardoscorogae lead to further conversion.
 * Mycenorion - The Mycenors viewed the Mardoscorogae as ridiculous fools of no use. It was not questioned, when the Mycenors relayed to the western isles further south that the people of Mardoscoroga were eradicated, whether or not the easterners had found them eradicated when they arrived; however, it was certainly present in the thoughts of the others.

Characteristic of Decay: Change
In the beginning days, the Mardoscorogae looked upon their land and saw change. To them, Yix's decay was constantly eroding, molding and reshaping the landscape about them, eating away at the natural stasis. They looked, they enterpreted, and they called this chaos great. It is for this reason that the Mardoscorogae scorned consistency, it is for this reason that the Mardoscorogae converted at once to the faith of Planu. To this dubious people, the very idea of sameness as a positive lead to ostrasization from society. They deemed stasis the realm of lower peoples and so, in their love of entropy, fell apart when times demanded a steadfast position.

Amanita
Amanita was the smallest of the western isles. On it lived a distinct race, also called the Amanita, which worshipped Yix in their own way. The Amanita are a race of fungal beings very similar in appearance to the fungi which grew on all the isles. They are a unique form of consciousness, a collective mass of individual personality as well as group thought and sentiment. When one Amanita dies, one (or more) "spawn" from the remains of the dead.

Government
Amanita had little formal government for the Amanita did not require much. The hivemind generally came to its own agreements amongst itself when decisions were required. The closest approximation of traditional government might be a Direct Democracy. The small hamlets that the Amanita developed were under the guidance of what they refer to as "Seers". These Seers were apparently given the ability to see things "as they are not". This is likely a form of divination granted by Mycelyix.

Citizenry
The Amanita of Amanita, racially distinct as they were, were a peaceful race, each one of them, for the most part, equal among his peers. They revere the Seers, a rather odd situation given that they and the Seers are simply parts of one whole. Mostly farmers, fishermen, and various other menial laborers, the Amanita lived simple, happy lives.

Foreign Relations

 * Western Isles - There was little contact between the Amanita and the other ancient Mycelyites. Occasionally, an Amanita would go to learn of the other islands in order to contribute to the collective knowledge of the species; however, this was not a very often occurrence.
 * Aurites - No Contact
 * Dark Fae - No Contact
 * Zeolites - No Contact
 * Emeraldites - Despite the proximity of the Amanita to Mardoscoroga and the north from which they came, the Emeraldites did not come upon the small island of Amanita until the later stages of their invasion. It was of little value to them, though the many sailors of the emerald empire which stopped there often went out seeking food. They didn't truly care whether they were eating fungus of the stationary or of the sapient sort. Slaughters were common.
 * Mycenorion - No Contact

Characteristic of Decay: Life
In the beginning days, the Amanita looked upon their land and saw life. To them, Yix's decay was not just a necessary part of terrestrial life, but the very core of it- their very being. They looked, they enterpreted, and they called this life joyous. It is for this reason that the Amanita found happiness in simplicity, it is for this reason that they greeted the northerners as friends only to see them as butchers. To this simple, biologically intertwined people, the very idea that others who live might carry malice, vice, or deceit in their hearts was unthinkable. It is for this reason that they fell so easily to those who hungered for flesh.

Yavas Oukami
Yavas Oukami was the isle, aside from Shou'Ye, placed closest to the Southern half of Templehelm- which in those days shared in much of the trade of the northern half. The isle, too, participated in this trade and adapted many of the mainland flora, fauna and fungi to the purpose of worship and commerce. The Yavan people called this isle home.

Government
Yavas Oukami was governed primarily by wealth. Merchant Princes directed the flow of resources and dominated politic in the isle and smaller trade colonies scattered upon smaller fungal islands in the surrounding sea. The plutocracy functioned as if by decree, the rich simply paying for things they wished to be done. Mycelyix always seemed to keep the foundations of one's wealth rather uncertain, though, and positions of power changed hands often.

Citizenry
The people of Yavas Oukami were eccentric in their taste for experience. Hedonism was a driving philosophy of the romantic people who centered their lives on wealth, otherworldly pleasures and living in the moment. Soma and the Vial de Fleur among other opiates from the mainland were popular as entheogens- often being utilized in tandem with the native fungal concoctions. Ancester Worship of a sort was as popular in Yavas Oukami as it was in Dhurnae; however, the dead were viewed not simply as guides but as divine beings who bestow wealth and beauty. It must also be noted that the focus on wealth in Yavas Oukami was not a sort of gold-seeking greed but rather a recognition that wealth was required for greater pleasures; drugs, sex, food, etc., as well as for paying debts and bills while taking part in various mind-altering practices; meditation, food deprivation, sensory deprivation, etc. Interestingly enough, the original Chantry of the Scourge was borne of a plutocrat's wish to possess an isolated location for his own explorations into the world of forms on one of the satellite islands north of Yavas Oukami.

Foreign Relations

 * Western Isles - Yavas Oukami was a source of much external wealth and product for the isolated peoples of the Mycelyix in ancient days.
 * Aurites - The Aurites were active trade partners with the Yavan people.
 * Dark Fae - The Dark Fae took part in semi-occasional trade with the Yavan people.
 * Zeolites - The Zeolites were active trade partners with the Yavan people.
 * Emeraldites - The Emeraldites did not reach the shores of Yavas Oukami until after having met the people of Dhurnae and Mycenorion. Suffice to say, there was no trade to be had.
 * Mycenorion - The Mycenors were active trade partners with the Yavan people.

Characteristic of Decay: Beauty
In the beginning days, the Yavans looked upon their land and saw beauty. To them, Yix's decay revealed forms and noumena through its jarring influence on the soul. They looked, they enterpreted, and they called this beauty sublime. It is for this reason that the Yavans embraced the moment, it is for this reason that the Yavans delved into their drugs and their pleasures. To this fanciful people, to live a life focused on the observable was deplorable when one could so easily escape into outer realms of pure creation and true being.

Po'Poroi
Po'Poroi was an island of dwarves- people of noticeably smaller stature than their counterparts on the other isles. The Poroi, as the natives were called, had no explanation for this and seemed to think that it was everyone else who was large, rather than the other way around. Most of the development on Poroi was underground, in sprawling cave-complexes and subterranean cities. This was due to the difficulty involved in besieging tunnels that are too small for the average person to stand up in.

Government
Po'Poroi was governed by direct assembly, in which only employed individuals were allowed to take part. This form of democracy functioned well for its time and the Poroi attemped many times, unsuccessfully, to introduce the institution on the other isles.

Citizenry
The Poroi were excellent craftsmen, botanists and alchemists. They were a hardy, industrious people who traded heavily with their neighbors in Yavas Oukami and the other Isles of Yix. Additionally, the Poroi supplied many of the necessities of life for free to the holy men and women on the Sacred Isle. The Poroi believed steadfastly in good, honest work and in fine craftsmanship. They often worked themselves to their own limits- their equivalent to a fast being working non-stop until one physically cannot work any longer.

Foreign Relations
Emeraldites - Like the Yavans, the Poroi were eradicated without any attempt at civil contact by the Emeraldites.
 * Western Isles - Po'Poroi was the primary source of labor among the many isles- where Yavas Oukami brought in the most material wealth it was the Poroi who crafted and worked with that wealth.
 * Aurites - It was not unheard of for Aurite slavers to come seeking industrious Poroi citizens, though this seems to be the extent of their relations.
 * Dark Fae - No Contact
 * Zeolites - It was not unheard of for Zeolite slavers to come seeking industrious Poroi citizens, though this seems to be the extent of their relations.
 * Mycenorion - It was not unheard of for Mycenor slavers to come seeking industrious Poroi citizens and during the war against the Emeraldites, the Mycenors shipped out massive numbers of Poroi for just this purpose.

Characteristic of Decay: Creation
In the beginning days, the Poroi looked upon their land and saw creation. To them, Yix's decay molded the land, masterfully crafting vast landscapes and laboring behind the forces of nature. They looked, they enterpreted, and they called this creation majestic. It is for this reason that the Poroi hone prize their crafts and hone their skills of generation, it is for this reason that the Poroi work ceaselessly and without question. To this industrious people to be idle was to forsake the divine and to craft shoddily was to spit in the face of Mycelyix.

Wassere
Wassere lies south of Mardoscoroga and Amanita. The people- called the Wasn- divided themselves by gender in their settlements- the males living on elaborate systems of docks on the fringes of the island and the females living in a large settlement at the centerpoint of the isle.

Government
Wassere is governed by an aristocracy drawn from its female population who direct the rest of the isle by way of decree- sent by eunuch servants to the men on the periphery. There is little known to us about the operation and election of this aristocracy, though the common belief is that women were trained for the role from a young age and the fittest of the bunch were granted the honor later on.

Citizenry
The Wasn are strictly divided by gender on account of the habit of Wasn males to mate, forcibly if need be, with any female he might come across. The females act as breeders and governors in the interior of the isle and the males work as fishermen, shipwrights, merchants and pirates from the dock-settlements on the periphery. When a male reaches the age of 30, he is expected to walk into the interior to mate and then submit to death. His male offspring are then sent back out to the periphery and are taken in by the community there. Some males, though, are castrated and kept from birth. They are raised an envoys to the males from the female governors as well as general purpose servants.

Foreign Relations

 * Western Isles - Wasn pirates were a hassle for anyone in the vicinity and they often stole the women of neighboring isles for their own pleasures.
 * Aurites - No Contact
 * Dark Fae - Wasn pirates were a hassle for anyone in the vicinity and they often stole the women of the mainland for their own pleasures.
 * Zeolites - Wasn pirates were a hassle for anyone in the vicinity and they often stole the women of the mainland for their own pleasures.
 * Emeraldites - Wasn privateers, contracted by the Mycenors, provided the bulk of the navy in many of the confrontations against the Emeraldites in the west.
 * Mycenorion - The Mycenors admired the Wasn for their skill as seafarers and naval warriors, though their women often had to put Wasn down for obvious reasons.

Characteristic of Decay: Unity
In the beginning days, the Wasn looked upon their land and saw unity. To them, Yix's decay revealed the fundamental unity of a changeless, connected whole. They looked, they enterpreted, and they called this unity just. It is for this reason that the Wasn males desire so strongly to mate, to become one with one another, and why such a mating results in their death- no unity such as that can be unforged. To this people focused on connection, the ideas of separation and change is so foreign and disturbing that they could not entertain them seriously without serious emotional trauma.

The Sacred Isle
Aside from the other Isles of Mycelyix, each of them inhabited by uniquely flawed societies and peoples, the Sacred Isle of Mycelyix was devoted solely to common religious exchange between each of the western cultures. The most devout from Shou'Ye, Dhurnae, Mardoscaroga, Amanita, Yavas Oukami, Po'Poroi and Wassere were sent to the Sacred Isle to train.

Mycenorion
Mycenorion, the distant isle, was spoken of with reverence on the tongues of those from the west. In truth, Mycenorion was but one of several eastern isles. In the beginning days, far before the arrival of the Emeraldites and their gods, the Mycenors conquered the eastern seas in their triremes, wielding blade and shield. They made their homes all across their ocean, claiming the other islands of Yix as their own and spreading plague to those that lacked his influence. By the arrival of the Emeraldites, the Mycenorion Confederacy extended from where Redwall stood before the second deiotakas, west to the massive landmass where Whitecrest once stood, and south to their original land, Mycenorion.

Government
The Mycenorion Confederacy was composed of many smaller city-states spread across the eastern ocean. Each city-state held a monarch above the rest and each monarch pledged him or herself to the service of the king of Mycenorion. These kings, chiefs, and lords commanded the military of their holdings and the King of Mycenorion commanded the whole of it all. Individually, governments would differ between each state, however the monarch generally held most of the power. Warring between states was common when a common enemy was not kept, though no serious confrontations ever divided the entirety of the confederacy.

Citizenry
The people of the Mycenorion Confederacy are at home in the plague and sea. They waged war across the coastal lands of Templehelm and they did so on the high seas. Death and war were their virtues and the death of a Mycenor was cause for celebration.

Notable City-States

 * Blancmar - The westernmost settlement of the Mycenors, the Blancs consider themselves to be the greatest warriors of the confederacy. While a tad provincial, a Blanc trireme filled with local warriors is the best thing one can ask for in a fight against the Emeraldites. This state held out as a bulwark against the foreign interlopers until 1 AD when the island fortress fell under invading Planite forces and the newly born gods from above.
 * Kriole - A western settlement of the Mycenors, Kriole lay to the south-east of Blancmar and to the south-west of Sanbaala. Most notably remembered for the valiant efforts of its people in the Siege of Ironshard, Kriole fell to the Emeraldites in the year 1 AD, shortly before Blancmar.
 * Mycenorion - The capital settlement of the Mycenors was the final citadel of the eastern people to fall to the rapidly oncoming waves of Emeraldites, doing so in 35 AD.
 * Nodrei - The northernmost settlement of the Mycenors sat upon the island where modern-day Redwall once stood. As the Emeraldites advanced further south along the eastern half of Templehelm, both by land and by sea, Nodrei would become nearly as important as Blancmar in the defense of the confederacy. This most sturdy of strongholds held on until the year 3 AD.
 * Sanbaala - Sanbaala was, at one point, a city of the Mycenors. The Sanbaalan Mycenors aided Kriole and Blancmar in the Siege of Ironshard and was a hub of trade amongst western Mycenor cultures and between the east and west Mycelyites. The city of Sanbaala fell the year following the captures of Blancmar and Kriole, unable to sustain its people while under the siege of the Planites. A traditional mass-suicide of the defeated Mycenors took place throughout the final hours of the city's defense. It is oft said that when one stares at the grounds of the ancient city, he can faintly make out the spore-ridden ground which had once been.
 * Thoroi - One of the frontier city-states in the vicinity of Blancmar, Sandbaala and Kriole, Thoroi played a small role during its time as an independent state. The period of its independence was only about a month long and was ended when Blancmar soldiers razed the city for insubordinance in the war against the Planites.

Foreign Relations

 * Western Isles - The western isles were the only foreign bodies in Templehelm which the Mycenors held in friendly relations. They were brothers, after all, born of the plague and death just as any Mycenor. Hence, the western sea was spared by those of Mycenorion and her children defended from attack by their brothers of the west.
 * Aurites - The Aurites were foreign to those of Mycenor. The plague-born could not fathom such ridiculous devotion to the sun from such an advanced people. They did not even recognize the force of death as something to be revered and so, as their coastal cities burned, no reverence was left them. At the time of the Emeraldites' arrival, the Mycenors were actually in the process of expanding their claims along the North-Templehelm coast in the taking of several Aurite towns and villages, though in time they'd be faced with a far greater threat and be forced to drop their campaign. Eventually a formal truce was struck as the two nations embarked on their own respective campaigns against the Emeraldites.
 * Dark Fae - Lord Pohawten's territory was directly north of the city of Sanbaala. The natives in Darkroot Jungle would come south on small trade boats to exchange goods. After a long hiatus, trade began to flow again after the Zeolite Wars.
 * Zeolites - The Zeolites, had the Mycenors come across them before the arrival of the Emeraldites, would likely have made a worthy enemy of the warrior nations. This was not to be, though. During the great wars of Decay, the Zeolites pushed their own fronts against the Emeraldites and the people of Mycenorion treated them as allies, though no formal agreement was ever made officially. During the early years of war, the Aurites were exterminated by invading Planites, though rumor still holds that the Zeolites held a hand in the matter, perhaps even working directly with their enemy. The Mycenors disregarded this though, as such a betrayal, true or not, was not uncommon amongst their culture.
 * Emeraldites - The Mycenors waged many wars against the Emeraldites, seeing the new arrivals in Templehelm as a means to honor their deity through war and as a threat to the ancient balance of power.

Characteristic of Decay: Death
In the beginning days, the Mycenors looked upon their surroundings and saw death. To them, Yix's decay was the act of killing, the end of life, the snuffing out of the light that is the soul. They looked, they enterpreted, and they called this death beautious. It is for this reason that the Mycenors conquered, for this reason that they warred. To this brutal people, to live without killing was to fail morally and face damnation. As such, it was tradition for every Mycenor to either die by the hand of the enemy or die by the hand of thyself.