Col Ekela (COAL eh.KAY.luh)

Col Ekela is a city of Colarchial rank (i.e. the city is the seat of a Colarch, and the capital of an administrative region) within the Zendylite Empire. It is located near the mouth of the Bala Ekel, a major river in the southwest of Abhagan.

The city is notable for having one of the most distinctive variations of Zendylite culture, owing to the region's unique history.

Government

The city and its surrounding domains form the Ekelani Colarchate, and are ruled by the Colarch Col Ekela. Like most other such cities in the Zendylite Empire, the Colarch is elected, though only property-owning citizens of the city itself are permitted to vote. In keeping with the traditions of the Ekelos, the Ekelani Colarch is always female.

History

Prior to the Targotian Cataclysm, the ancient Targotian people had spread far up the coast northward from their shining capital city, Targos. When the land broke intermittently for seven fearful months, the people were scattered and countless lives were lost. One group of northern Targotians, already living at the northmost frontiers of their nation, survived by finding refuge even further north, on the banks of the Bala Ekel, where they settled once the sea had ceased its advance.

By the end of the second century ATC, these survivors had already begun to acquire a culture distinct from their now distant Targotian kin, calling themselves "Ekelos" after their major river, which in their emerging dialect of the Targotian tongue was referred to as the Bol Ekel. This period, leading into the early third century, saw rapid expansion of the Ekelos as their culture stabilised enough to settle widely through the fertile lands of the Bala Ekel basin.

The discovery of the Bol Azcar (present-day Bala Ezcara) river, and exploration thereof, led to contact with far-ranging Efaleain in the 5th century, leading to valuable trade and cultural-linguistic exchange between the two, as well as bringing the Ekelos to the attention of the Aisling Lýsenngead.

Though the Ekelos had heard rumors of the existence of Akaea from the Efaleain as early as the 6th century, it was not until the after the 8th century founding of Admorom on the Koramoroso River that contact with the Akeaomans was actually made, when Ekelani explorers successfully mapped a route through the mountains they called the "Teeth of the World" (Kalamoros Mts. of southern Akeaom).

Speaking a distinct Ekelani language and boasting a vibrantly unique culture, the Ekelos civilization flourished for a further two centuries before hardship struck. Beginning in 949ATC and lasting forty-seven years, a drought spanning two generations brought widespread famine and disease, leading to a significant reduction in population and corresponding contraction of occupied territory. This in turn led to the gradual loss of contact with Akeaom, as the Kalamoros Pass became too difficult to maintain. Though the Ekelos began to recover somewhat in the middle 11th century, the 1080's and 90's once again brought massive disruption as seasonal temperatures cooled, leading to crop failures and increased livestock (and human) mortality.

When explorers from the Zendylite Empire first encountered the Ekelos in 1119ATC, the latter were on the brink of collapse, their territory reduced to a narrow strip of land along and between the Bala Ekel and Bala Ezcara. In 1155, the Empire declared the formal annexation of the Ekelos and all their territory, founding the city Col Ekela as the seat of the new Colarchate. The Ekelos themselves, so accustomed to Zendylite support by this time, welcomed the announcement with joy, assimilating smoothly and gratefully.

Founding Date

1155ATC

Type

Large city

Related Ethnicities

• Targotian/Zendylite

Inhabitant Demonym

Ekelani

Location under

Abhagan

Ruling/Owning Rank

Colarch

Owning Organization

Zendylite Empire