The Morord

The Morord Downfall

Morord was a name originally belonging to a small Human settlement within the Demon Forest, sitting in a peninsula on the northern border of the Forest. The location contained ~1500 individuals, and the population sustained itself off fishing in the ocean along with a few edible plants that still existed at the time within the Demon Forest's borders. They thrived off domesticated bull-like omnivores called Abaga, which fed off sickly members of their herds along with leftover seafood provided by the villagers. The town held basic trade revolving around ocean life and Abaga with nearby towns who did not neighbor the ocean as they did. Their homes were created from trees of the Demon Forest.

by Aston Barkley

"Human skulls are fairly common around these parts. Now an Abaga, on the other hand... I've only ever heard about them from tales passed down by my elders. As it turns out, they actually exist... Must be some strange northern species, because in my home village we only had herbivores. Why these creatures have such sharp teeth is beyond me."

-Aston Barkley

Territorial aggression over control of residence by the ocean escalated and eventually, they fell victim to an attack from two of their trading partners, a group from the southeast called the Noha So and another from the east called the Kirit. They burned much of the village to the ground and murdered all who opposed, and anyone who surrendered was assimilated into one of the invading villages.
A group of ~300 individuals escaped, fleeing by boat and heading east, following the land bordering the ocean. Roughly 45 boats managed to escape, taking with them what livestock and food were already found on the boats. Along with them came two large fishing boats. They were pursued until the border of the Demon Forest was no longer visible to them. When they reached land again, they found themselves in an uncharted area that would later become known as the Dead Land.
The land held no promise to the remaining members, so they set out to follow the beach yet again in hopes of a more sustainable location. Their flotilla of about 45 boats soon dwindled, becoming 30 within the first week of sailing. Drinkable water was running low, and the Abaga soon grew aggressive and desperate for fresh water, with many turning on their keepers on the boats and some ending their lives by falling into the ocean. With water nearly depleted and long-term food sources running low, the group could continue no longer and made landfall once more, this time for good. The name Morord is now attributed to the few survivors who escaped the initial attack done by their previous trading partners.

The Hidden Downfall

The Morord settled in an area where only the bare necessities for life were present, with their own additions being the creation of makeshift shelters from some of their fishing boats. While their numbers were few, they survived nonetheless, and with enough motivation and desire to live that some of the members got together in hopes of planning out their next steps. These meetings, while frequent at first, eventually stopped.
Search parties were being sent out into the wasteland in hopes of discovering new, more lively areas, but none of the groups ever returned. Some took to separating from the survivors, and a few stole boats in an effort to escape the area. Over time, any and all efforts to search for new land or run away ceased.
The Morord no longer exist, and the true nature of their eventual downfall is left unclear, for no firsthand accounts exist and very few Demons have been confirmed to have witnessed the events. From known Demon accounts it is pieced together that it may have been prolonged exposure to the bacteria present in the nearby water as well as soil that led to infections causing a variety of symptoms ranging from depression, mania, language deterioration, hallucinations, all manners of suicidal behavior, and hostility.
According to some accounts, many willingly starved to death, refusing to eat or move from their chosen resting place. Some were seen drowning themselves in the nearby waters. Many of these symptoms line up with those witnessed nowadays in Humans who venture out into the Dead Land. This town remains mostly forgotten by those living within the Demon Forest.

by Aston Barkley

"Life finds a way, I suppose."

-Aston Barkley

Architecture

Before the collapse of their settlement, the Morord lived in small homes generally created from severed Demon Forest trees and Abaga hides. Using the toughness of Abaga hide, they created semi-permanent, tent-like homes.
Due to the Dead Land being devoid of any large or plentiful flora, the Morord survivors used a majority of their remaining boats as shelters, some taking apart the boats in an effort to create better housing, and some simply dragging the boats onto dry land. The few boats with sails were stripped of them, with the cloth used in creating tent-like structures similar to their original homes on the peninsula. The sails that could not be repaired were used as bedding material.
From bits and pieces of Aston Barkley's Notebooks, along with a handdrawn map of the location, it was pieced together that the remaining homes consisted of 14 fishing boats, two of which were broken in half and used as makeshift homes in that state. One attempt for a permanent shelter stood out, as it was created from individually collected planks from the fishing boats, however it seemed to be left in an incomplete state and unusable as a proper shelter. All organic material save for the wood has long since rotted away.

Geography

The Dead Land is mostly flat with some hills seen in the distance. The soil was rough and dry, sandier than anything else. Little flora was to be seen. The ground was so harsh on the Morord that it prompted the usage of clothing as footwear for those who came without any. There was a single river running by, with no end in sight. On one half, there was the land, and on the other half, the wide expanse of the ocean they already knew all too well.

by Aston Barkley

"There really isn't much to do around here... Just sand and rocks as far as the eye can see. At least the boats add to the scenery a little."

-Aston Barkley

Natural Resources

The single river was used to procure drinkable but bacteria-infected water. The ocean nearby was used as the main source of food for them and their remaining Abaga. Edible aquatic life was plentiful, and they continued their daily lives procuring sea life for their people. The ground provided little to no usable resources, although some plants were collected in an effort to make softer bedding. Considering the scarcity of the surrounding plant life however, this soon led to many developing obsessions in collecting even a single blade of grass for their "pillows." Beyond that, what they came with is all they would have. The area was very much like a desert, although temperatures were bearable with the supplies the group had.
The population was provided with the bare necessities for surviving, and not much else.

Submitted for the 2019 "The Colony Challenge" competition.

RUINED SETTLEMENT
4471 HE

Type

Village

Location under

Dead Land

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From Aston Barkley's Notebooks

Aston Barkley was the first Human to come out of the Demon Forest with the intent of discovering what lies beyond the confines of their safe woods. Fully intent on mapping the outside world, he set out and kept notebooks detailing every incident that took place.

Talk about some "Morord" tribe came up today... Apparently, none of the Demons here saw what happened, but the tale persists. Considering the accuracy of Demon memory, I'm inclined to believe that everything they say is true. They could just be saying all this to scare me. I don't know. Nameless said they saw the Morord once, out in the Dead Land, and they're honest with me.

Nameless tells me of there being a group that used to exist somewhere up in the northeast. There were about 30 people there, with many more being the corpses surrounding them. The Morord used boats for houses and beds. Nameless says the Morord looked a lot like my village's fisher-folk. They lived with the corpses, slept with them, and did little else. I think there were even some Abaga, if I'm thinking of the right thing. I doubt it, I don't think they exist. It's strange though, none of them did anything. It was like being a willing tourist attraction for Demons.

Nameless said that when they approached, many kept staring blankly at whatever the people were staring at, one of the individuals sprinted away while screaming (super hoarse, I think), and some approached with outstretched arms. I kind of wonder why the Morord would come close to someone like Nameless, I mean they're practically a nightmare in the flesh in the muck. Either way, it scared Nameless enough to spark panic and get away from the strange Humans. Needless to say, something was wrong with them. I wonder if you could still find the Morord up there.

I asked Kitasun about the Morord, he mostly avoided the topic. "Never went there, never saw them, but heard a lot about them. Ask someone else."

Nadiri had... little to say about the Morord. I'm so sorry for that joke my friend! But she signed the same as Kit told me. Ask others. I think she tried to look apologetic, but I wasn't sure.

The Demons at the nearby hot springs were eager to speak with me about the Morord. It's an exciting topic apparently, Humans acting strangely. I think they keep forgetting that I'm still Human when going into details about how stupid my kind is. I think I know where "as dumb as soil" comes from now. Something was definitely wrong with the Morord, though. I don't know of anyone with the willpower to starve themselves, let alone an entire village? Nobody knows where they came from, so there must have been a reason for them becoming this way. Maybe it was some Demon who did it to them? Mass mania? Mass depression? Can a Demon even do that? They say no, but I just...

---

How do I not end up like them?

Kit and Nadiri are against me going there. I've dealt with the Demons here, I can deal with whatever lives out there. Plus, Nameless agreed to escort me. Rather reluctantly, but agreed nonetheless.

by Aston Barkley

Nameless took me to the last place they saw the Morord... The location looked like it had been abandoned only a few years ago from a distance. Our Forest's trees age little, if at all. The pale wood's origin was obvious from far away. As I came closer, I could make out the skeletons of who I think were the Morord that Nameless mentioned before. It was as they all said, the people here seemed to have just lied down and accepted their deaths. They look as though they died in their sleep. No struggling. I don't know why these people came here, but it must have been some sort of grave situation. They didn't seem like nomads. They wouldn't have taken apart their boats and settled down for no reason.

Maybe they really did die of boredom. It's only been half a day here and I'm wondering if I'm being affected.

I'm starting to miss Nadiri's cooking. As well as Kit's scolding. Nameless already had to save me from underneath a boat that shifted in the sand while I stood inside. I imagined my first alone time with another Human would have been with a living one.