Sutnet
The spark in a powder keg
In every surviving text, Santi is portrayed as kind and sensitive. Through her song, she could convey most any emotion and cause you to be nearly overwhelmed by its intensity, but I believe it implies that this is simply a reflection of what she felt. To create emotion you must first understand it, intimately.Sutnet has been ignored by most for several centuries. A crumbling town's ruins, stuck in between the borders of the Trade Union and the Empire, was all it seemed to be. However, it apparently had more to it than met the eye.
The History
Much of Sutnet's early history has been lost or deliberately destroyed, but some information has survived to the present day. Sutnet was settled towards the middle of the Colonial Era, and though the island did not have large mountains like its neighboors, mines dug into the rock were still profitable. Some of the people of Sutnet, like many early colonists, worshipped the Fullblooded, a pantheon of guardians said to protect humanity from the terrors of the Blue.Temple to Santi
Large temples to the Fullblooded were almost unheard of until Cito Glesseal's reforms, but it is very likely Sutnet had one or several small shrines. As the first high priest gained prominence along with the religion, he sponsored several projects to build large temples all across the Blue. Sutnet was chosen to be the home of Santi, Goddess of Emotion, and in her honor a temple more akin to a theater or orchestral hall was built in the center of the town. Over the centuries that followed, it was refurbished and developed further multiple times, until it more resembled a palace or a fortress.Glesseal War
Very little is known about what spurred the Glesseal War that nearly wiped out religion of the Fullblooded. What is known is that Sutnet was not among the towns that agreed to peacefully remove their temples, and took some part in the fighting that followed. Sutnet was largely untouched by the fighting in the early stages of the war, with most of the Imperial Navy's focus set upong the northern colonies of Luceria, Isurim, Scarwe, and Cirta. Once those battles were won, however, the full brunt of the Imperial Navy fell to Sutnet.The Seige
Ilysium's forces were spread thin at the end of the war, with many fleets divided searching for the last pockets of dissent to snuff out. This was not the case for the 2nd fleet, which descended upon Sutnet in full force. Unwilling - or unable, perhaps - to repeat what had been done at Cirta a year prior, to rend the temple to Santi from the island and cast it down into the Depths, the 2nd fleet instead blockaded the town and started shelling it. Soon, the people retreated inside the temple, as it was the sturdiest building on the island, and its stores of food were deep. Days turned to weeks, and the food and water, previously used for decadent celebratory feasts, were rationed and then dwindled to near-nothing. Finally, the Navy landed marines in the town to force the weakened survivors out of their hiding place. Instead, they found every member of the town, to the very last, had sacrificed themselves inside the temple.From what it appears, idealogy had only a minor affect in this incident. There are several clear examples of Imperial killing Imperial, and Clansmen killing Clansmen. This was not a brawl turned ugly, or an extension of the cold war between Sayles and Ilsyium. This was something else.
The Incident
After the Glesseal War, Sutnet remained untouched by almost everyone. Smugglers used it as a place to rest during long trips, or recently between tricky border crossings, but they stayed away from the town itself. It was cursed, said sailor's knowledge, by the ire of both those who had killed themselves and the goddess for whom they had died. So people stayed away. At least, until recently.The Rumor
A pirate ship that usually smuggles metals from Spoletium across the border returned to Sayles with its hold half-full of raw silver. This had not been stolen, they said, but gathered, from caves that criss-crossed underneath the island of Sutnet. A few of their crew had gotten lost in the maze of tunnels, otherwise they would have stayed and gathered more. This story swept across Sayles like wildfire, leaping to the other islands in the Trade Union and eventually trickling across the border into the Empire.The Silver Rush
Because of the fact that Sutnet was situated in a demilitarized zone, neither power could claim these apparently lucrative mines for themselves. The Empire made some attempt to keep its citizens from crossing into no-man's land, but plenty of smugglers were happy to oblige well-paying customers who only wanted to risk a single border crossing instead of the regular two. On the Trade Union's side, there was less of an attempt to fully close the border and more of an attempt to regulate the number of people leaving their jobs in search of finding riches in the cursed soil. This, like the Empire's attempts, was also flaunted. Less than two days after the smuggler's ship had landed on Sayles, several hundred people had already made their way to Sutnet to try and find silver. Hundreds, maybe thousands more were still attempting to find passage.The Slaughter
Before any real mining could occur, however, something happened. The details are incredibly unclear, as survivors are very hard to find, but it appears that a small fistfight between a clansman and a slave owner escalated into a full-on brawl, and then into a bloodbath. In less than an hour, almost every single person who had set foot on Sutnet was dead, and the few survivors fled the island. This grisly sight was discovered before the blood had much time to dry, as people were still heading to Sutnet to seek their fortunes. Once news spread, however, the Sorcerous Academy took control, quarantining the island and making sure no one else was allowed to land.Secrets
This article contains secrets, which are unknown by most or all of the people of the Wilde Blue.View Secrets
The Investigation
Shortly after the incident was discovered, the Sayles and Ilysium Academies sent teams out to investigate what had happened. Most suspected that some underlying tension - a brawl over slavery, perhaps - escalated into a bloody riot. However, the Academics quickly uncovered evidence of sorcerous manipulation, and decided to lock down the island until it was certain it was safe. Very little information has come out since, but Academic ships continue to fly back and forth between the nearest Academies.Hyacinem residue evident.
Silver
Though the island is currently quarantined, some people do try to sneak through the Academic's blockade to try and grab some of the rumored silver. Of those, one or two has made their way back across the border with small crates and bags of raw silver. This appears to confirm the rumors of silver beneath the soil of Sutnet.Uncovered topographical anomalies, similar to below ███████.
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