Teel

Teel may also refer to

• The Free City of Teel

The peninsula of Teel

Teel (also The Peninsula of Teel, Perah in Juru language) is a sparsely populated peninsula in the North Western region of the Infinite Sands . The peninsula covers several climate zones, though most of the continent is a deserted area due to the seasonal Wave and the following hot spell. Its capital, the Free City of Teel, is located in the coastal area in the North East.
Teel has forever been the home of the undying Juru people who live in harmony with the local flora and fauna. Since the arrival of the first few hundred Settlers in the last century, modernism and urbanization changed the way of living in the country.

1. Etymology:

The word Teel originally meant home or house in the Juru culture. A misunderstanding at the first encounter between Juru and Settlers from Harkom lead to the renaming of the country. The Juru readapted the lovely misinterpretation as a sign of respect and friendship.
The old Juru name for the peninsula is Perah, a name that only very traditional Juru people use to distance themselves from the modern Teel.

2. Geography and Biomes:

The peninsula of Teel is shaped by the coming and going of the seasonal Wave in the Ago Sea . The Wave frequently floods the Eastern Coast and the Infinite Sands , which extend from the East to the South East of the country. In the North, the Wave is detained from flooding the land by the great Impatient Peaks mountain range. It is unknown what lies on the continent beyond the Infinite Sands or how wide the area actually is. Current plans for Sun Two incorporate the exploration of the rest of the continent in the South East. The Southern border of the land is shaped by volcanic cliffsides (The Black Teeth of Gendal ) and the active Cauldron volcano. It is unknown if some native Juru people still have settlements in the area.
There is only one known inhabited island about 5 kilometers West from the Coast (the Ochintis Dynasty). The island is only partly flooded by the seasonal Wave, which the inhabitants of Ochintis adapted to with villages on stags and rafts.
Several climate zones and habitats give place for a distinctive flora and fauna in Teel. The Juru people from the different areas adapted to the environment and established a diverse culture, with traditions varying from village to village.

2.1 Climate zones:

1. Northern Teel

• The Impatient Peaks with the shimmering blue Almas Peak in the northwest. The mountain range extends along the whole northern coast of the peninsula. It is the only region that has never been inhabited by Juru people. Heights above 500 meters are freezing all year long.

• The Northern part of the Great Forest of Juru is traversed by thousands of stairways in the rocky ground, which can not be assigned to the history of the Juru. Actually, nobody knows when these stairways were made.

2. Central Teel

• Central Teel is characterized by the V-shaped Forest of Juru , with rocky stairways in the North and swampy mangrove fields in the South. Most people fear the dark and confusing depths of the woods. Traders prefer to circuit the central forest through the Mofta Grasslands in the South.

• The The Everdry Beach is a deserted beach which divides the Juru Forest from the Infinite Sand in the East. It is the cultural center of the Juru villages Mizar and Alkor, the two greatest settlements before the foundation of the Free City of Teel .

• The Free City of Teel is the cultural center of the peninsula. It is placed near the Western Beach area, where the Wave is much milder than in the East.

• The second city in the center of Teel (Sun Two ) is currently under construction around the new Alchemist's Guild, which is the highest point in the Mofta Grasslands.

3. Southern Teel

• Southern Teel is mainly composed of volcanic rocks. The Black Teeth of Gendal is a volcanic mountain range that divides the inhabitable Eery Plains from the mainland and functions as a natural sea wall for the Eastern coast of the peninsula. It is warm and muggy all year long beyond the Black March, although the winters are a little milder.

• The Eery Plains are seasonally flooded by the Wave and it takes several days for the water to flow back to the ocean in this flat area. This steepens the salinity of the ground, so nothing grows here.

• From time to time, the Cauldron produces giant fireballs. These tend to fly eastwards and fall down on the plateaus and cliffs of the Cauldron, causing the strange shape of the rocky area.

4. The Infinite Sands / Vermillion Clouds

• The deserted area borders the mainland in the southeast and in the east, covering the entire East Coast and probably the rest of the whole continent.

• The seasons in the Infinite Sands region differ from the seasons on the mainland. Flora and fauna depend on the Wave.

• After every Wave, the area turns into the Vermillion Clouds for a short period of time and the land flourishes with birds, lizards, insects and glowing red blossoms.

5. Ochintis Dynasty

• Strong winds and the forces of the seasonal floods define the rough landscape on the Island of Ochintis. The rocky ground seems as if it is flowing into the ocean, scarred by millions and billions of Waves flowing by in the past.

• The average temperature on the barren land is rather mild, although it is raining almost all year long. A monsoon season that lasts for several years follows after every Hit Wave .

2.2 Nature and Ecology

It is believed that the geological isolation of the peninsula for millions of years has led to a unique endemic flora and fauna. Several nomadic species can be found on the peninsula (e.g. the shenbuu ), though the other stations of their seasonal journeys beyond the peninsula have not been revealed yet.

Seasons

• The seasonal Wave strikes on every seventh day, usually in the evening time before sunset. It takes several hours for the water to drain off to the Ago Sea.
• The following Vermillion Cloud blooming usually lasts for one day, before the next dry season begins.
• Exactly every 1560th Wave turns into a Hit Wave that floods the Infinite Sands for several weeks. This time period is divided by the 30 ancient Juru signs of the zodiac, ergo the year changes after 52 waves.

A depiction of the flooded regions during the Wave .

Flora

About 50 % of the mainland is covered with the Great Forest of Juru. The climate in the cool central and northern Juru Forest clearly differs from the hot and humid Black March in the South. The Vermillion Clouds appear after every Wave in the whole Infinite Sands area, but they never last longer than a day or two.

Fauna

The number of carnivores on the peninsula is exceptionally great, because their diet mostly incorporates the hunting of nomadic birds and marine species that come and go with the seasons. Actually, the abundant food supply caused many carnivorous animals to evolve as gatherers and scavengers, making them easy prey for even more fierce hunters.

Creatures of the Athem

It is said that invasional creatures from other worlds roam the land since the first Rift opening. There is evidently something in the area, but up to this point the Arrivals only brought pieces of defeated anthropomorphic fiends from different kinds.

3. History

Prehistory
The Juru have lived on the peninsula of Teel for thousands of years. It is unknown where the Undying come from, since there is no confirmed case of a native Juru who is able to remember their childhood or the childhoods of other Jurus. Their calendar went in circles, so it is also not clear how long the nomadic culture maintained before the Stranding.


The Foundation of Teel
The Stranding of the Settlers marks the beginning of the urbanization in Teel. 134 settlers from the other side of the world were found in the Vermillion Clouds just after the great Indi Hit Wave. In the year 12 AS the Settlers and some liberal Juru people founded the Free City of Teel. The traditional oral culture declined and the interest for science and technological improvement increased.

The Athem Era
After the discovery of the Athem and its possible use in the 70s, the culture in Teel shifted again and people began to breathe life into machines. Eventually, the limited availability of the Athem increased rapidly after the first Rift Opening in 118 AS and the Arrivals were instrumentalized as sources of Athem, resulting in the current monumental growth of the Free City of Teel.

3.1 Milestones of modern progression in Teel

Date	Event
Wave 1/0 S	The Stranding 134 Settlers from Harkom stranded in the Infinite Sands
Wave 34/12 AS	Foundation of the Free City of Teel. First Harkom settlements at the Western Beach.
Wave 22/18 AS	First election of the mayor of Teel. Establishment of a democratic system and the town hall of Teel.
Wave 11/23 AS	Establishment of the modern information system. Mandres introduces the Harkom Herald newspaper desk.
Wave 5/24 AS	Establishment of the modern historiography. Mandres expands the newspaper desk by the library. The transcription of the millenia-old oral culture begins.
Wave 1/30 AS	Capensis Hit Wave Teel bemoans the loss of the first four human victims of the Wave in thousands of years.
Wave 28/44 AS	The false killing of Fulso. The first murder attempt since the old Juru ages.
45 AS	Foundation of the Alchemist Guild. The Juru Lead-Alchemist and four mortals intensify their scientific research outside of Teel City.
Wave 1/60 AS	Indi Hit Wave No critical damage was noted.
Wave 18/79 AS	First successful extraction of Roa. Herma extracts Roa from the former undying man Karden. Eventually, the new resource Athem is introduced on the market.
Wave 1/90 AS	Capensis Hit Wave Teel bemoans two victims of the Wave, one of which is the first dead Juru woman in the history of the country (Abell).
Wave 2/91 AS	The printery of Teel burns down. The printery fire marks the infamous present highlight of the social polarization caused by the modern politics and the exploitation of Athem.
Wave 8/91	The first Ishi Mirror is released. Ishi mirrors quickly ascend to the most popular form of entertainment in Teel.
Wave 25/117 AS	The first Rift is opened by theLead Alchemist The Lead Alchemist creates the first Rift. Since that day the leader of the Alchemists is missing, leaving the affairs of the Guild to Yesod, Herma, Bo Yang and Thos.
118 AS	Yesod introduces the building site for Sun Two. Although the building of Sun Two is not approved by the people yet, the Alchemist's Guild starts preparing the scaffolding for the foundation.

4. Population

The peninsula is rather sparsely populated, averaging 4.2 inhabitants per square kilometer. It is estimated that the whole population of the peninsula counts around 800 people, though some Juru villages and settlements deep in the wilderness remain unreported. The Free City of Teel is the social-cultural center of the peninsula, with an estimated number of 610 villagers with both Juru and Harkom ancestry living in the area.

4.1 Ethnicities

Juru
The immortal Juru people are native to the peninsula of Teel. Their values and traditions formed over at least 10.000 years and remained relatively stable in virtue of the wide diversification of the different tribes and houses.
Since the invention of Athem extraction in 79 AS, the ancient Juru ethnicity is divided. Most of the natives remain immortal, but some of them obtained fertility (and thereby, mortality). The estimated number of undying Jurus is down to 160, but the number of eremites who may live in the untouched wilderness is unknown. Around 40 former immortals have chosen to participate in the procedure of Athem extraction to become mortals, so far.
Known Juru tribes and houses:

• Mizar

• Alkor

Settlers
People from the foreign land Harkom and their descendants consider themselves as Settlers or simply as people of Teel. A few of the so-called Settlers who ran ashore after the Indi Hit Wave of year 1 are still alive today, which is attributed to the medical use of Athem. 134 Settlers crashed on the peninsula in the first place. Their descendants and the descendants of the former immortals do not keep track of their heritage, which makes it difficult to estimate the number of members of both ethnical groups.

Arrivals
All humanoid beings summoned from other dimensions are known as Arrivals in Teel. The name of the first Arrival who appeared in Wave 25/117 AS remains unknown, for they were killed moments after they emerged from the first recreational Rift by the alchemist Bo Yang. After the discovery of the Roa, more Arrivals were summoned by the alchemists. Currently, there are four known Rift locations where Arrivals haphazardly appear, but it is believed that there could be even more interdimensial doorways hidden in the wilderness of Teel.
Arrivals are accepted as citizens of Teel, although the attitude of the teelean people towards them differs widely. Records indicate that the number of Arrivals will one day exceed the number of Teeleans, which will likely bring more significant social, economical and ecological changes.

4.2 Religion

Traditional mentality
Myths and narrations play an important part in the teelean society. The Juru have preserved their oral culture over thousands of years, which lead to a significantly great number of mythical stories. Most of the stories contain elements from the real world and have a didactic purpose, covering the genesis, the moral code and the laws of nature. The fictional lore is widely accepted, which makes it unnessecary for traditionalists to look beyond the fantastic and seek for scientific explanations or to practice investigative historical research.

Modern rationality
The foundation of the Alchemist's Guild in 45 AS marks the beginning of constitutional scientific research in Teel. Traditionalists accept scientific findings, even if they do not align with the mythical explanations, since they do not persist on their accurateness. Nevertheless, the old myths and narrations mostly determine the way of thinking and the understanding of the world, because people find them more appealing.

4.3 Health

Immortality
The undying natives are immune to infectious or congenital diseases and their injuries swiftly heal without any scar formation. Their average physical and mental status is equivalent to the status of mortals in their 30s, with some exceptions that appear obviously younger or older. The stories say that their physical appearance represents their mental sageness. Immortality comes with infertility in Teel: The old Juru people are not able to bear children, men and women. This condition changes if their inner Athem is extracted.

Mortality
Mortal individuals in Teel are mostly stranded people from Harkom and their descendants, but it is also possible for old Juru people to become mortal and have a family by creating a charmstone of their inner Athem. However, the average lifespan for mortals is still extraordinarily high (110 years), which leads to the conclusion that the flow of the Athem on the peninsula has a positive effect on the general health.

5. Politics

Teel is not united by a common government, nevertheless the Free City of Teel serves as the political center of the country since its foundation in the year 12 AS. The mayor of the city has no political power at all, in spite of the fact that they oversee the civil referendums which come up from time to time. Every citizen of Teel is allowed to initiate a referendum on a topic of their choice, but there is no obligation for citizens to participate in every referendum that comes up.
The referendum procedure

• A referendum is registered by the central administration.

• On the next day of the Wave, the administration posts the referendum with other polls from the last seven days at the southern wall of the town hall.

• People have seven days to answer the poll, supervised by the rigorous eyes of Lawkeeper Stelav, who has proven to be absolutely incorruptible.

• The decisions that were made are proclaimed by the mayor (presently Alfan Bernardi) at the Shenbuu Festival on the following day of the Wave. People can also read up about the newest polls in the Harkom Herald newspaper.

Important agreements in the history of Teel

Date	Referendum
Wave 22/12 AS	The first political poll in Teel is organized by Lawkeeper Stelav and held at the meeting square of Alkor. The people of Mizar and Alkor decide to allow the foundation of the independent City of Teel on the other side of the great forest.
Wave 52/12 AS	The practice of shenbu slaughtering is forbidden for the whole West. Instead, the first Shenbuu Festival is initiated.
Wave 1/29 AS	The modern calendar is officially introduced.
Wave 49/44 AS	Lawkeeper Stelav posts the first referendum concerning a serious crime after the attempted murder of Fulso, but her request to call the Holl siblings accountable is denied. The request of the Holl siblings to allay suspicion under the citizens is also denied by the majority, eventually locking the situation in stalemate.
Wave 7/91 AS	People vote against the restriction of the production of Ishi Mirror .
22/91 AS	Again, the Teeleans vote against the prohibition of Ishi mirrors.
Wave 30/117 AS	The prohibition of Athem rifts is rejected by the poll. Over 80 % of the voters prefer the usage of Arrivals for a faster technical improvement.

5.1 Legal system

Juru Law
For most of the Juru land, selfjustice is an accepted legal system that worked fine for thousands of years. If people are suppressed by more vigorous parties or if two parties find themselves in stalement situations, they call on a lawkeeper. The whereabouts of the Juru lawkeepers are conceiled by the members of the Juru society.
Free City Law
Every citizen has the right to post referendums in the Free City of Teel, in order to address misdeeds and to convoke court hearings. The hearings are held by the mayor of the city, who acts as a neutral mediator. A jury of four random participants of the poll issues the verdict. If the mayor suspects corruption or if the verdict is not respected, Lawkeeper Stelav takes matters in hand herself. Fortunately, this last resort was not nessecary so far.

5.2 Foreign affairs

There are no records of any international communication beyond the borders of Teel. Available information about the rest of the planet arise from the reports of the first castaways from Harkom. A Juru woman named Rese was the last one who tried to explore the rest of the world. She vanished in the Infinite Sands hundreds of years ago and never came back, just as her predecessors whose names faded into obscurity.

6. Economy and Infrastructure

Splinters are still the official currency in every region of the peninsula, despite the fact that Athem charmstones have a much higher request at the moment. The diamond shards had been mined by the Juru people in the early days of the colonization of the land, yet they agreed to stop the mining on Almas Peak because some miners never came back from the cold heights and there are some horrible rumors about their whereabouts.
The utilization of the Athem during the last 50 years brought wealth to the country. Athem charmstones are used as a resource to breathe life into machines, which leads to overproduction without increased effort.

6.1 Communities

The Free City of Teel is the only urban colony on the peninsula, however, a second city (Sun Two) is under construction beneath the Alchemist Guild. 65 % of the population live in the capital city or in the countrified border regions. Trade with Juru villages and inbetween Juru houses barely takes place, the communities stay mostly self-sufficient and engage in inherent skilled crafts and trades.

Regional crafts and goods

Region	Commodities
Alchemist's Guild	Alchemist charmstones
Alkor	Juru chamstones (green) Hammer Oysters, clams and cockles
Free City of Teel	Silver charmstones Ishi mirrors
Mizar	Juru charmstone (red) Hammer Fish

7. Culture

The culture in Teel is manifold as its citizens and many-faceted regions. Every region has typical cultural hobbyhorses which they can show off at the Shenbuu Festival. It is the only central festival where people from every region in Teel come to participate as guests, merchants and entertainers. Other festivals and holidays are celebrated decentralized in the circle of the community or family.
Hammer
Used for nearly every task in the daily life of the ancient gatherers and hunters, the hammer is the most important tool and likewise a central cultural symbol in Teel. Even hardliner traditionalists and naturalists show a sense of materialistic thinking when it comes to their hammer tool, which can be found in every household in the rural and wild areas of the country.

Entertainment
Good stories are in high demand in every region of the peninsula. The oral culture of the Juru people had a significant influence on the contents of the fictional written culture of the last 120 years. All the classy tales changed over the centuries, since they do not have a specific originator, but the moral core and some mythical figures turn up time and time again. Old tales from Harkom are shared in the Harkom Herald and make up most of the written tales stored in the Library of Teel, though the Juru have significantly more stories to share than the Settlers.

Type

Peninsula