Ninessoleli (,ni.ne's:o:.le,li)

and thus a new world came to be

''-O, dria! Tamerio merio kóe mo s'oeri ninani, yttessettiovi ma rennali vosy.
Samô, tio hiloammoi farei nine yttessio. Gialli drario éoreiva fareifareore, hiloi resy lilallilalo o tio zareu zarellía koguâ zarellía ioriammiâ sirassiraso...
-Ehanno, t'avelio avelio''.

-A Nui Tarelosy

''-Oh, lord! Mighty one who dwells beyond the Mirror, I beg of you to grant me my wish.
Please, bring sweet relief to the suffering. Set them free from having to work under the scorching Sun, put an end to their misery and replace all foul smells with pleasant ones...
-So be it, worthy one''.

-A Myth About Tarelo

Appearing right after the sea broke, the Sweet Death dashed any hopes of ever rebuilding the Old World. Highly contagious and wholly untreatable, the Plague killed those who had survived the previous floods and famines. Though, unlike the previous calamities, this one left behind no corpse mounds, just the sweet smell of cinnamon.

Vikohannía - Symptoms

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''Nennes tio chirokolía iviâ nuilisâ hâ tarieheluâ na!''

-A aruero sorivosy

''The infected look just like the undead from stories past, I swear!''

-A doctor's diary

Even ignoring the distinctive scent it produced, the Ninessoleli had a rather unique way of ruining its victims' lives. Namely, it caused a very intense photophobia. Patients were all but forced to live in darkness, as any exposure to the light caused their muscles to weaken or even become completely paralyzed in some cases.
It should be said, though, that this only lasted as long as direct exposure. Thus, it wasn't unusual for people to seemingly just ''drop dead'' in the street during daytime, only for them to suddenly regain control of their bodies at night.
Other... less temporary symptoms, however, included blindness, hair loss and coughing cinnamon-scented blood, the latter usually the actual cause of death. Although whether any of those pains were related to sunlight isn't known.

Fariehelli - Development

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Se Naggy Velu

Silent Phase

''Aaaa, iliri nes lilivi! Liune lis sie ninivi, eni...''

-Ai Ikky

''Mmmm, it smells like cinnamon! Where are the sweets, though...''

-A child

This first stage began when the pathogens entered a person's body. While the details on how that may have worked remain unclear, it was seemingly able to easily spread through air, water and all forms of bodily contact. Furthermore, being within 20 meters of a body for any extended period of time all but guaranteed contagion.
Immediately after infection, the patient wouldn't have noticed anything. And, in fact, wouldn't have for a month or two, as Sweet Death was in no hurry to claim its victims. But it certainly wasn't idle during this phase, as its carriers were able to infect others before they even knew what they were hosting.

Hiemmanu Serivéo

Scared of the Light

''-Gami Seleselio ta hyviry e, na? Li sery sery hone na!
-O chittsira, ha nelo omoli omy ivvinesâ tsi. Arinely, limâ kallíoli maddriovvéo, komaige ge na!''

-Ai nelli rannie

''-Can you please close the window, mom? It's too bright in here!
-Oh it's not, that's just your sleepiness talking. Speaking of which, you have class today so hurry up!''

-A common conversation

But eventually, the patient would have begun to show some symptoms. Mild at first, most only noticed an increased difficulty to see in the light, but nothing anyone would have paid much attention to, let alone imagined what was to come...
After a few days, though, an increasing sense of tiredness would have started to set in. But of course, there was plenty of work to be done, and who would have let a few nights worth of bad sleep get in the way. Or at least that's what people said before they started collapsing at (seemingly) random.
If the patient didn't die because of the fall, they became trapped inside their own body for as long as they were exposed to the light. Completely sentient but unable to move or speak, that state could have lasted for hours, days even, if the Moon was particularly bright.

Lilivichiroko

Cinnamon Vampire

''(Ivvivelese...)
-Aova, mmionio kua, chili ne ne teveli haravu ai téoge naliulis. Chines ge, fano fano ai tsa hô valía chisías ge, si fari téa liulesei teséoge naliulis, afy cioleisivéa kai.
(Ai la seonie tsi tehaso e? Syvo syvo izoly fa melo *me* eruirarai...)
-Li a taoa liune chaone, mochili n'ony nna-''

-Ai níe trelie

''(We are waiting...)
-Farewell, my dear son, there is no choice but for you to leave. Speak not, don't make things harder than they already are, when night falls please leave, lest they kill us both.
(You think she's guilty? Why else would she take so long to oust *it*...)
-There is a cave where you know, there should be some food so-''

-A sad mother

After the faintings started happening and the connection was made, the patient's choices would have been quite limited. As blindness set in and hair started falling, most withdrew from public life, taking refuge in cellars or caves, that usually depending on the community's kindness to the sick.
While many simply accepted their fate and locked themselves up, waiting for thirst or hunger to kill them, others did not. Leaving their hiding spots in the dark of the night and stealing/gathering whatever they could, they quickly became known as ''cinnamon vampires'', the smell following them everywhere.

Ssoleli, Ilovi

Death, At Last

''Nine ssoleli, eni ne nino hely li...''

-Ai ikky

''Sweet death, but no sweet blood...''

-A child

And then, after a while of having lived in the darkness, death would have at last come. Sweet to the nose but bitter to the mouth, the patient started coughing up blood, few making it past the third day.
With nobody left to bury the body, the infected's remains generally remained wherever they died. Thus, it was rare for Ninessoleli to leave behind any visible signs of its passing, as the corpses stayed hidden in cellars and caves. Unseen by all but those brave or foolish enough to follow the cinnamon.

Fanyralo - History

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Kari e Karíe

Once Upon a Time

''Hamevi, Dria Mo S'oeri, syvo erraloge la? Se hiloi voliâ tio vivaroammiâ silie silie fa hyna omedrai e?
Hamevi, Aría Arríane, syvo chisenonirovía la? Syvo sie yvalía araviâ ittsa la?
Hamevi, Dria, syvo iseciolioveavéa la? Chilli ne ne síe volinnuâ e?''

-N'onnis Misiâ

''Tell me, Lord Behind the Mirror, why do you hide? Are the woes of us the doomed too great for you to reverse?
Tell me, Aría Who Art On High, why did you not warn us? Why were the stars silent?
Tell me, God, why did you kill all? Were there no saints among us?''

-a Few Last Words

Ravaged by all sorts of calamities, the world was a rather bleak place back in 587 BP. A mere 40 years after the Alleli had killed 80 million people and washed entire countries into the sea, the land was still in ruins.
In fact, the amount of ruins had done nothing but grow since then. As the Flood destroyed all the trade routes, farmland and industry that kept the Old World running, the remnants of Antediluvian society started to fade away. The moment the last rusty generators broke down and the last bags of fertilizer were used, everyone knew, would mark the start of a truly dark age.
And it was around this time that that dreaded day came. Though, admittedly, the Earth was already facing plenty of problems before that. Widespread poverty and famine drove people to conflict, millions were displaced from their homes and disease outbreaks were rather common.

Vynnie Sovine

In a Swamp Far Away

''Tzelía! Me tzelía sinevi! Tio ô onâ tolorhai!''

-A risenéo

''Reeds! Reeds for sale! The best for weaving!''

-A peddler

It was to that world, ill-prepared and devastated, that Sweet Death came to. Whether it came from the depths of Hell, some fluke of Nature or a wizard's cauldron, all can agree on one thing: Its first victims lived in the swamps the Alleli left behind.
While the bards love telling grand tales about Patient Zero, reality was probably not as impressive. As fun as it is to imagine them as an avatar of Nature, brought down to start the world anew, it was probably not the case. Same with the stories claiming they were the greatest villain known to Man, their soul so vile it turned the water foul.
In all likelihood, this mysterious figure was just like any other peasant from the area. They likely spent long hours waist deep in stagnant water, harvesting reeds, fish or whatever may have been hidden under the mud.

''Pink water! Pink water, cinnamon scented and not at all painted! Get yours while you still can! I assure you there is no finer perfume...''

And it probably was in that environment that they smelled that peculiar scent. A scent whose source they may have brought with them, to sell as a trinket at the local market...

Tanemmo Ivio-Taranaine

Anarchy at New Taranai

''ANEARYVVA VELIMOTUÂI, SOMERIO RÂ IVVININANISI: IVIO-TARANAINE O YLETENNE, NAVEKKORINE, DRANNETTUÂI.
Tio veliakkalía hamasu velisiâ tealiakkalía isemigohalu. Lare larellía o ieulare ieularellía, natali natalillía ueriâ raliu isessolelu.
Farali velimovâ chinirottiolu naovari lenoi lenoiluvveu''.

-T'yvveli Ania

''TO THE CITIZENS OF ANEARYS, ESPECIALLY TO THOSE LIVING IN: NEW TARANAI, YLETE, NAVEKKORY AND DRA.
The central districts of the aforementioned cities have been declared war zones. All roads, railways and public services there have been shut down.
Citizens' safety cannot be guaranteed until gang activity is fully eradicated''.

-Ania Government

But of course, Sweet Death wouldn't be confined to those bogs. Instead, it sought to spread, and thus it didn't take long for it to reach Anearys' scattered remains.
Once the Old World's beating heart, its cities home to millions and its industry unrivalled, the empire's heartland was washed into the Ocean by the Flood. But that wasn't the end, of course, as a group of... exiles took direct control of the so called:

''Provincial backwaters and Coal Country''.

And restored Anearys, though in reality their state was never stable. Reliant on dwindling stockpiles and a rather shaky coalition of warlords, this new regime was already on the brink of collapse by the time the first cases were reported.
Finding particularly fertile grounds among the poverty stricken cities and crowded refugee camps, things got out of control very quickly. By the outbreak's third month, the Ania government had already been forced to abandon its own capital, 40-year-old New Taranai, and in the fifth its ''president'' was found and killed.
But the people's victory was short lived, as by the tenth month the cities became silent, a few rural communities making it to the thirteenth.

Gio Silie

Never Enough

''-Si Sôlei Ivie civisi go! Nna-
-Chimarinéoro! Te garautsy tsi, suo kui mmianníary aemaniâ nirisserevisi na lottâ hivio...''

-Ai sery rannie

''-The New World Order is coming! So-
-Listen not to him! He is a charlatan, only my sacred oils can stop this foul plague...''

-Just another evening

But, obviously, the 9 million it had already claimed were not enough. Far from it, in fact, so Sweet Death's spree continued. Spread by wanderers and what little trade there was in the first days of the Blackout, it infected and wiped out every city, town and decently sized hamlet in Tylly.
Though each culture had its own way to deal with the Plague, collective hysteria was the norm. Some burned the infected's houses (with them inside), others joined in mass prayer circles while others followed messianic figures that claimed to have the cure, only for them to inevitably get sick and die.
Only a few had the idea of isolating themselves, running off into the wilderness to wait it out. Admittedly, it was a pretty good idea, which by all means would have worked had the disease in question not been Ninessoleli, as it still found ways to reach many of those groups.

Taualía Oalilles Ivvinerhuisi

Corpses Washing Upon the Shore

''Nilo, téoge ge naliules! Ai ra io aliettzelíane tsi nekkuai la?''

-A navo

''Nilo, come here! What do you think is that thing among the seaweed?''

-A fisherman

Thus, most of those hermits eventually became infected too. Be it through some ill-planned raid into the ruins, a pint of contaminated water or even because a corpse found its way to the local beach, very few escaped Sweet Death's grasp.
Not even the fact there wasn't a single functioning port in the whole of Tylly managed to contain the Plague to its mainland. All it took were a couple floods to hit some ruins, as their nooks and crannies were full of corpses, and the debris proved to be prime raft making material.

''From the port in the island of Fivai, sail north for about 200 mellía. After that, you should find that the prevailing winds will effortlessly carry the ship eastwards, towards the Tevakari. Note, however, that this may take upwards of three months, five if the winds are bad''.

-Old navigation manual

Though, thankfully for Tevakari's inhabitants, those rafts broke down reaching their mainland, saving Tylly's colonies from suffering the fate of their former overlords.

Vynneli - The End

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Ta Chiroko Gynno

The Last Vampire

''Chis níevelu níevelu...''

-Ai nekkaili rannie

''I'm so tired...''

-A common thought

But eventually, it stopped. But not because of divine intervention, a miracle cure or any other such device, as in reality Sweet Death simply ran out of carriers. Having wiped out all but the most isolated and truly inaccessible communities, the Plague finally joined its 780 million victims in the Afterlife.
And it left as suddenly as it appeared, as all of this story, from Patient Zero to the death of the Last Vampire, happened in less than six years.

O Si Sôleiry Isessolila Iolime

And the world Became Shrouded in Beauty

''O si sôleiry isessolila iolime, io iolía ai chittsa enu isessoleisivéâu''.

-S'ivo Nine Ssolelissy

''And the world became shrouded in beauty, for all that once wasn't now lay dead''.

-The Book of Sweet Death

As... odd as that verse may sound, it did feel like that to many of the shellshocked survivors. After five decades of enduring every calamity known to man, barely anyone remembering the days before the Fall, the silence that followed Ninessoleli was generally seen as a relief.
As the people left their hiding spots, climbed down the mountain tops or just wandered off the deepest deserts and jungles, they found an empty world. Full of overgrown ruins that were best left undisturbed, sure, but otherwise one would have been forgiven for thinking they were the first humans.

And so new societies came to be, hunting in the plentiful forests, fishing in corpse-free rivers and generally moving around like the nomads of old. After all, with an entire continent out there to claim, its fruit and hunt more than enough to feed everyone, what need was there to settle down?

Trivia:

• Napping in public spaces became a pretty risky activity in many places after the Plague came, many people mistaking sleepers for unholy demons.


• That child isn't speaking proper Ania, as he should say ''tsa'' (are) instead of ''lis'' (there are), which itself isn't even a real verb, the correct form being ''li''


• People in present-day Tylly use cinnamon for funerary rites and not much else.


• Depending on where the fall took place, death was a very real risk.


• There are also tales of vampires blending into the cities' nightlife, depicted as either dashing gentlemen or barely contained lunatics.


• The calendar used by the Ania and those they influenced doesn't really give numbers to the years, thus most historical dates are given by saying ''(years) BP''.


• In fact, between the Alleli and the Ninessoleli's arrival, a further 60 million had passed away.


• Even if the areas that had the best access to electricity (namely Anearys) were destroyed in the flood, millions elsewhere still relied on it.


• The days of the Blackout feature quite prominently in the myths told nowadays, as a time of glory and struggle, where both the best and worst of humanity/divinity unfolded.


• Admittedly Anearys' public services tended not be available, ''gang activity'' or not.


• Despite being called an empire, Anearys was actually a (somewhat) democratic republic, with two presidents sharing the office.


• Anearys' first post-Flood president decided wasting resources on constructing a new seat of government was a great idea given his nation's current circumstances.


• There was quite a rise in the popularity of messianic movements after Ninessoleli, as many claimed that they had either stopped the plague or received some divine revelation after surviving it.


• The Ania word for ''seaweed'' literally means ''sea-reed''. 


• As the Flood caused sea levels to rise by a couples meters, which got rid of most of the world's coastlines.


• By the time of the Alleli, steam boats had been invented, which cut travel times significantly. Though thankfully Sweet Death never got a hold of one. 


• Both ''Tevakari'' and ''the Tevakari'' are valid terms, though the latter is admittedly more old fashioned.


• Tylly's population dropped from 900 million to just 4 in the span of 50 years, a drop of over 99%.


• Parallel to that, Tevakari went from housing 40 million people to 25 during the same time.


• Well some communities still preferred to live in permanent towns.