Drying of the Melikke and Våkkai

The Disaster That Forced a Great Migration

What's a man to do when the rivers dry up and the land around him starts to die. You either move or you face the fate of your homeland.

— Värkki of Lointen

The drying of the Melikke and Våkkai was a devastating natural disaster that had turned the original homeland of the Aeth and Pijari people into a dry and desolate location. The change in the environment forced the two peoples, who were more alike at the time and referred to as the Vokai, to migrate north towards Pekkola.

The Dying Homeland

Melikke and Våkkai were home to the Vokai civilisation for centuries. They had grown to heavily rely on the rivers, using them for food, fresh water, and transportation. While most of them were content with their lot in life and failed to see any threats to their ways, there were some who feared that overreliance on the rivers would be the end of them.

Forest Photography by Emre Can

When the first signs of the waters' demise had become apparent, many of the people who were hesitant to rely on it packed their belonging and gathered in massive groups that migrated north.
The first Vokai settlers in Pekkola had arrived in the region now known as Ougadiai. Whether or not there were natives there before the Vokais arrival is unknown as no documents have survived from the period, possibly suggesting that writing had become less prevalent than it had been around the two rivers.
Those who had failed to see the signs mocked the Vokai who had fled. Eventually, the two groups drifted apart, those in Pekkola became the early Aeth and the ones left behind were the Pijari, although that name wouldn't be used to refer to them until 1st century.

Mass Exodus

Years after the migrants had headed north, most of the Vokai who had remained began to worry about their two rivers. The signs that rivers would dry out were as clear as day. The situation deteriorated for nearly a decade, and as the water levels fell and their harvests worsened, people looked for ways to save their home.

Rivers of Blood

Through countless hours of prayer, thousands of sacrifices, and a holy chant that lasted a week, the rivers had been reinvigorated. Melikke and Våkkai recovered, and life for the Vokai returned to normal once the waters were clear of the sacrificial blood.

Comeback

Roughly four centuries later, the threat of the drying rivers returned. No amount of prayer or sacrifice could help them, and a grand exodus was organised to save the Vokai. They moved en masse towards the northern region, encountering the Aeths upon their arrival.

Date

c. 800 - 400 BU

Result

Migration of the Vokai into Pekkola
The Vokai split into the Pijari and the Aeths

Type

Natural