Sol'cha
"As long as Sol'cha exists as the child of two seperated parents who constantly bicker over custody, she will never grow into her own.
Sol'cha is currently a province in the hands of the Triamic Empire. However, Et'cha proves to put the "dispute" in "disputed territory" every few centuries or so.
Relationship with Et'cha
Sol'cha was the birthplace of the first Great Anima, the spiritual leaders of the Et'en religion. For this reason, Sol'cha is viewed as a cultural homeland that, by rights, belongs to Et'cha.
Currently, Imperial Sol'cha has to deal with occasional raids from Et'cha. It's usually written off as "piracy" despite numerous sources claiming these raids are sanctioned by the Et'en government. Neither Et'cha nor the Empire want to risk war with the other due to economic reliances.
Geography
Sol'cha is sunny and warm; a subtropical paradise along the outskirts of the harshness of the desert. The coastal areas are lush and beautiful, while inland the environment gets drier to the point of being barely habitable.
Structure
Sol'cha is currently overseen by a provincial circle of Mekulet clans that each officially manage certain regions. Unofficially, most communities are individually self-monitoring, and a general cooperativeness between communities means that Sol'cha rarely needs higher intervention to sort internal affairs.
History
Sol'cha's history is a tumultuous one, wherein the local land and people were used as the figurative rope in an ongoing game of tug between the Et'ens and Mekulets.
In the beginning, Sol'cha was populated by unconnected fishing communities that lived along the coast. A few nomads lived inland, but they were rare and isolated.
The Desert Wars - 1300s - 900s BEC
The Jachi'en tribe were driven into the area by the rising Mukala. The Jachi'en named the land "Sol'cha" ("Land of the Sun." in their language ).
Once there, the Jachi'en organized the local communities under themselves, carving out territory to stand against the Mukala. Once established, they turned and began harrying the Dominion.
The first of the Great Anima was born in Sol'cha during this period, establishing Sol'cha as a place of spiritual importance to the Et'en people.
Mukala Conquest- 730s BEC
After a few centuries of border tension, the Mukala Dominion expanded west into Sol'cha. After a hard-fought war, the Jachi’en were pushed west, to the island of Et’cha (the Land of Exile).
The Dominion integrated Sol'cha, using it to gain access to the Great Ocean and Dusk Isles. They seized control of the infrastructure the Jachi'en had built and improved it to their own ends.
Sol'cha remained in Dominion control until the Great Plague of 533 BEC.
Et'en Recaptures Sol'cha - 520s BEC
In the wake of the devastating Great Plague, Dominion control of their outer corners weakened, allowing the Et'ens (who had fortified against the plague through use of their own magic) saw an opening. Et'cha invaded Sol'cha and took back control of the area. This control lasted through the fall of the Dominion a century later.
For nearly six centuries, Sol'cha flourished under Et'en control, even with the Crimson Sands pecking at their borders despite numerous treaties between them.
Crimson Sands Recaptures Sol'cha - 55 EC
With the Heartland growing to prominence in the north--including the integration of Mekulet clans into their structure--the Crimson Sands sought to stabilize their own power against the potential threat, and once again conquered Sol'cha, once again pushing Et'cha off the mainland.
During this time, Sol'en of Et'en descent were considered inferior savages (not in small part due to their practices of animal sacrifice) and were habitually enslaved. Some Et'en slaves were sent as far as the Sands to help shore up the strength of the nation.
In 83 EC, Et'cha struck back in defense of their suffering kinsmen and managed to regain a section of the southern coast of Sol'cha. However, the two nations stalemated and both reluctantly drew up another treaty, both entirely intending to attack once they had an advantage.
Sol'cha Occupation - 117-118 EC
After a protracted war, Crimson Sands was annexed into the Triamic Empire in 111 EC. Pretty much as soon as the Crimson Sands was properly integrated, they seized the southern coast of Sol'cha back from Et'cha. Rather than dispute their treaty with a nation that no longer existed, Et'cha retreated to lick their wounds. The Sol'cha region remained under the control of the Crimson Sands for some time after that.
Black Powder War - 126-145 EC
In 126 EC, Shaal invaded Manea . Sol'cha, as the direct southern neighbor of the Shaali-occupied area, served as one of the landing sites of the allied Et'en and Triamic armies--one of the few times in history Et'ens and Mekulets ever fought side by side. Slaves in Sol'cha were even given amnesty to serve in the army against the Shaali.
Manea Pact - 145 EC
Following the war, the nations of Estana signed the Manea Pact. Sol'cha was returned to the Triamics--this time as its own province outside the direct jurisdiction of House Mekulet . Et'en slavery was abolished (excepting certain obscure pockets) and Et'en Sol'en flocked to their own communities in the southern area of the province. Many cultural Et'ens congregated to and restored the Et'en holy sites.
In 165 EC, Morria Firuli Mekulet, a Sol'en noblewoman who was the daughter of a Mekulet lord and his freed Et'en "servant," won the bridal tourney to marry Prince Ceres II, future emperor. She was beloved by the province, and this helped cement the Sol'cha cultural identity as caught between two worlds.
Then, Morria died in 187, likely in the coup instigated by her brother-in-law. Et'cha used Sol'cha as a base to launch a number of rebellions and incursions against said brother-in-law, now reigning as Emperor Veratis. It wasn't until Veratis was slain in 197 that Et'cha stopped using Sol'cha as a secret base.... mostly.
By this point, Sol'cha culture was heavily leaning Et'en, especially as Et'en magical practices helped bolster the area against the Bicentennial Plague in 201 EC. Still, it seemed that Sol'cha could finally live in harmony as the progeny of two nations that had found some peace with one another.
Reign of Terror - 255-298 EC
Then, Donovan the Mad came of age and inherited the throne.
Donovan instituted a number of questionable policies, but of most import to Sol'cha was what became known as the "Two-Pronged Massacre" (269-274). During this time, Donovan targeted Et'ens and Wights, actively culling Et'en communities in Sol'cha and attacking the island of Et'cha itself--long considered off-limits by the Triamics and Mekulets before him. Sol'cha was once again a war zone.
Following Donovan's death, Sol'cha was once again the subject of much mistrustful glaring, even as the Triamic Republic welcomed back any refugees who wished to return.
Imperial War and Silven Interregnum - 311-344 EC
Sure enough, the Republic proved short-lived as Silven attacked the empire in 311. As Silven began overtaking the Crimson Sands, Et'cha allied with Silven to assist, with the agreement that Silven would take the Sands if Et'cha could have Sol'cha. Thus, Sol'cha was once again in the hands of Et'cha by 326 EC.
Ancestral War - 347-358 EC
Following the Imperial Restoration in 346, Et'cha had decided it had had enough and took its own shot at the Triamics. For the first time in centuries, they attacked the land east of Sol'cha, taking a good section of the Crimson Sands from the weakened Mekulets.
War of Honor - 368-380 EC
In 368, Emperor Piedre died of suspected assassination and his son, Cezear, ascended to the throne. Emperor Cezear immediately declared war on Et'cha. Over the course of the decade, Et'cha was pushed out of Sol'cha once again.
Their Sol'cha holy sites were defaced and destroyed and Imperials of Et'en descent were once again persecuted, though slavery was not instituted this time. The Triamic Empire declared trading sanctions on Et'cha... which prompted the rise of a powerful smuggling ring in Sol'cha and the Dusk Isles.
Reign of the Merchant Queen - 390-405 EC
It wasn't until Cezear was killed and his daughter, Kirana, took the throne as Empress-Regent that Sol'cha's waters were opened again. Kirana specifically arranged a make-good with Et'cha, wherein a Sol'en Mekulet clan would marry Et'en royalty, once again uniting the two in common cultural purpose.
From that point forward, Et'cha and the Triamic Empire have coexisted, with Sol'cha eyeing both nations nervously between them.
Demography and Population
The Sol'en people are a unique mix of the strong community ties of the Desert Imperials and the spirituality of the Et'ens. They exhibit a sort of cultural fatalism, where the ruling class might (and does) change, but their kin ties remain fast.
The Sol'cha population largely congregates on the shores, though many communities have found livelihoods inland. They are not isolated, however, many proving quite hospitable and open to their neighbors.
Sol'cha officially speaks Imperial Common, though most communities prefer to speak among themselves in Sands Trade. In addition, those of Et'en descent may also speak dialects of Et'en in their own households. For this reason, multilingualism is not uncommon in Sol'cha, with language use heavily depending on context.
Sol'cha religion is varied and mixed, many communities having devised their own mixes of Et'en animism and Sands spirit worship. The Kaelic Temple has attempted to spread to Sol'cha in the past, but had difficulty finding footing against the entrenched spiritualism of the locals. Even so, the Sol'en do not react hostilely to Kaelic overtures, and so there is usually at least an Order of the Horn outpost in most major cities.
Type
Geopolitical, Province
Demonym
Sol'en
Parent Organization
Location
Related Ethnicities
The Triamic Empire
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