Oksandanderi

Oksandanderi is a region located in northern central Fountainhead. The climate of Oksandanderi, with some exceptions, is generally dry. Oksandanderi is locked in between mountains and desert. Agriculture in the lowlands is dependent on rivers and especially on irrigation. These rivers are fed by glaciers high up in the mountains. Only parts of the Highlands are densely forested and receive sufficient precipitation.

Name
The name Oksandanderi is but one of many terms to call this region, but it is certainly among the most common ones. Oksandanderi means "The place of apple tree orchards" in the Kathurn language. Another name is Pikhanda-Erkhanda "Lowlands and Highlands", Ván-tis "Mountains and rivers", Ethan "Great garden". All of these names are from Kathurn. Then there is Ban Toh from the Walken language, meaning "The great land". This term however does not only rever to Oksandanderi, but to the known world as whole. A more specific term comes from Ardanic, Alpa Yumta "The blessed garden". Many terms allude to the nature of Oksandanderi as a place of cultivation and gardening. A place of plenty in betwee two hostile poles. Indeed the people of Oksandanderi understand the garden as the core of civilisation. Cultivated effort to survive in a harsh environment. A beautiful garden within a desert oasis, a fertile valley within barren highlands. This is their view on the world they live in.

Geography


The diverse landscape of Oksandanderi has given rise to a multitude of different microbiomes and climates. The mountains in the northwest are generally humid and heavily forestes. In the southeast the climate is extremely arid and gives way to an inhospitable desert. The north is covered in steppes. In between these many different regions flow rivers, which feed into the Lowlands and enable irrigation agriculture.

Lakes and Rivers
The most important river in all of Oksandanderi is the great Yarla. It originates in the central Highlands and is fed by glacial melt every spring. It feeds the Highlands and Midlands before it enters the Lowlands. When the river breaks free into the Lowlands, under natural circumstances, it turn the Lowlands into a large swamp. Here the rivers becomes calm and gently flows into the southeast. But the Yarla does not end in any sea or ocean, instead ot empties itself into the giant salt lake Mofitvin. Few people permanently live on the shores of this lake, but it has become a pivotal resource. Ages ago the people along the river have tamed the annual flooding and created a sophisticated network of irrigation.

Another rivers which ends into the salt lake is the Erthis. This river originates in the Kuperi region and flows through Erme. It goes parallel to the lower Yarla river and is of a similar current.

In the mountains lies the great lake Muul. It is situated in the western Highlands and its shores are covered in dense forests. This region is called the Temakkerei, the land of barbarous Highlanders. From lake Muul originates the river Vighe which ultimately a tributary of the Yarla river.

In the southwest lie the lake Uskay and its main tributary the river Fsikay. This river system somewhat resembles that of the Yarla, but on a much smaller scale. The Fsikay originates in the western mountains and flows through the Ardan basin until the empties into the lake Uskay. Its current is much slower and more gentle. The salinity of the Uskay is much lower than the great salt lake Mofitvin. The shores of the Uskay are densely populated and make up the centre of the Ardanic culture. Another important river flowing into the Uskay is the Očew, which originates in the north and has a much faster current.

Further in the north lies the lake Baban, the great mother lake. It is located at the centre of the Valke. While there isn't much agriculture taking place around lake Baban, it plays an important part within the culture of the Walken people.

Yarlish Lowlands
The Lowlands along the Yarla river are the largest population centre in all of Oksandanderi. The Lowlands are essentially twofold, there is the Kapkhanda, the "Central Region" and the Pikhanda the "Flat Region". The former lies along the central Yarla, while the latter is the large flat area irrigated and/or flooded by the annual glacial melt. The Kapkhanda is definitely not a part of the Highlands, but it is geographically, economically and culturally distinct from the Lowlands-proper, the Pikhanda. Despite this it shares more commonalities with the Lowlands than with the Highlands. The Midlands are also the region where agriculture originated from and where Yarlish cultures originate from. This happened in past before 1500 BGS. The Midlands are indeed the Goldilocks zone of Oksandanderi. They have a mild warm temperate climate and enough precipitation to sustain sedentary agriculture. At the some time they are spacious enough to allow for expansive settlements to arise. This made them the first large agricultural population centre in Oksandanderi. The Lowlands proper, the Pikhanda are subject to annual flooding, which, due to the flat landscape, turns the region into a swamp in spring, while it returns to an arid steppe in fall. This stark contrast made agricultural activity cumbersome. But the urban revolution of Oksandanderi took place in the Pikhanda. The need for irrigation created the need for larger political structures to arise. This gave rise to a different population structure in the Lowlands than in the Midlands. Both are comparatively densely populated, but in the Midlands one sees a myriad of small villages lining along the Yarla river. The Lowlands however feature large urban centres which have large rural periphery supporting them. This is due to the fact that life in the Lowlands required larger political structures to arise, which then vied for supremacy. In the Midlands every mid sized town could exist independently and each population centre was roughly equal in strength, making it harder for any single large city to come out at the top. Only the cities of Pakkan and Imnagal managed reach massive sizes in the Midlands. These two cities are located at the northwestern and southeastern ends of the Midlands.

Highlands
A gigantic mountain range stretching all over northern Fountainhead makes up the backbone of Oksandanderi. The glaciers located here are essential for all civilisation in Oksandanderi to exist. The highest peaks of this mountain range are around 4500m above sea level. The climate of the mountains is very varied due to the many micro climates within each valley essentially. The Highlands themselves can be subdivided into western, central and eastern Highlands. The Western Highlands border the regions of T'ugü and Qnōp' in the far west and to the Ardanic basin in the south. The majority of the western Highlands however is very arid and consists of Highland tundra. Glacial lakes and rivers allow for some human habitation, but not much. The Western Highlands are part of a much larger plateau, which separates the aforementioned regions of Fountainhead. The Central Highlands are probably the most important highland region in Oksandaneri. The central Highlands were originally settled by Yarlish speaking peoples during the agricultural revolution in Oksandanderi. In the 2nd century AGS the central Highlands, called Erkhanda were conquered by the Astmergian Empire. In the centuries after the conquest, a unique culture developed in the central Highlands, called the Makhat. The Erkhanda province developed into the Makhatganda state. This state became an axis of international trade during the 9th century AGS, being at the crossroads of many cultures. The Eastern Highlands are, from and Oksandanderian perspective, the least civilised part of the Highlands. It is often called the Temakkeri, the place where hostile Highlanders live. Another neutral name for this region is Korre. The people of this region, the Korrenians, are most likely one of the most ancient groups living in Oksandanderi. There are few larger settlements in the eastern Highlands, most of it is covered in dense forests. It is considered a backwater of Oksandanderi as a whole. Most people in the eastern Highlands live in small villages supported by horticulture and foraging.

Walkenian Steppe (Valke)
The northern part of Oksandanderi consists of steppes. It is populated by the Walken people. They are mostly nomadic pastoralists. The most important domestic animal are a particularly large breed of Mabur. Some Walken people also live as sedentary farmers in the hills west of lake Baban and around the lake.

Ardanic Basin (Ardan)
In the southwest lies the region of Ardan. It is home to the Ardanic people, who live around Lake Uskay. Most of the region is originally covered in steppe, some parts of it belong to the red steppe biome. The Ardanic people have build a large network of irrigation surround the lake, so that most of the area around it is cultivated nowadays.

Deserts
Mountains demarkate Oksandanderi in the north and northwest. In the south a gigantic desert marks the boundary of Oksandanderian civilisation. The rivers of Oksandanderi finally fade away into central Fountainhead, where they evaporate in the desert. Traditionally no one could cross the deserts and the people of Oksandanderi knew nothing about the world beyond it. The desert was also always a place of terror. The inhospitable landscape was the opposite of their vision of the civilised world and the death of all people and culture. In the past the desert climate was less harsh, but climate change and human activity had furthered desertification in some places. In the religion of the Oksandanderians, not even demons, the abhorrent Murgal live in the desert, as it symbolises a place of death and existential nothingness. This view was only challenged when the enigmatic Golems were discovered. This discovery changed the view on the desert and allowed for the first successful crossings. Even despite this, the desert remains a place of infinite danger in the minds of most.

Suhadiganda
The Suhadiganda is not part of Oksandanderi itself. It is the land which lies north of the great mountains. Suhadiganda is also called Irimri by its inhabitants. The name of the region means "Land of eternal spring". It is a subtropical humid coastal area.

Cities
Since around the beginning of the first millennium BGS cities started to grow. The largest amount of cities are located in the Yarlish Lowlands. This region is also the epicentre of urbanisation in Oksandanderi itself. Most of these cities grew around temples, which housed the early urban elite responsible for planing and upkeeping irrigation networks. The Yarlish lowlands are notable for featuring several large cities, while most other regions have only one or two notable cities. Among the notable cities of the Yarlish Lowlands are Kamag, Tarin, Sardo, Khisvit, Vithos and Vërev. In the northern part along the Erthis lie the cities of Erme and Vukhun. Many other cities are foundations by the Astmergian Empire, such as Kalotgane, Yardungane, Altëngane and Vánarv. Other regions have one or two larger city. Within the Kuperi there are Misyáls and Yaldo. The Midlands, although densely populated, have fewer notable cities, among them are Imnagal and Pakkan. In the Temakkeri there is only a single city called Zhürme. It likely originated as a ritual centre, which became the seat of local petty kings. The Ardanic basin also contains three notable cities, which there are Alpa, Ksuray and Tyelesh, these three cities make up the threefold state of Tyon-Arat.

Cultures


Oksandanderi is home to many different cultures. They can be classified by various means, language, economy, anthropology, religion, history and so on. The most important cultural groups are the Yarlish Lowlanders, Makhat, Ardanians and the Walken people. This list is mostly linguistic in nature, with some respect to economy.

History
The history of Oksandanderi goes back centuries or even millennia. The people of Oksandaneri believe that the region was settled many thousand years ago, by repeating waves of migrations coming from the east. There is no consensus when these first migrations happened. Conservative estimates date the first migrations at around 2000-3000 BGS. Other proposals state a much earlier date of over 5000 BGS. The earlier estimates are based on archeology, while the more conservative estimates are based on linguistic evidence. Like the date of first settlement, it is likewise debated which modern group is descendent from the first migrants to Oksandanderi. A likely candidate are the Korrenians of the eastern Highlands. The first inhabitants of Oksandanderi were nomadic foragers. Foragers in the became first sedentary in the Midlands along the Yarla. Agriculture likely first began at around 2000 BGS. At around 1500 BGS it had become widespread.

Ancient History
At around 1000 BGS Yarlish peoples had spread all around the Yarla river, up into the central and western Highlands. This spread of Yarlish peoples is most likely connected to the agricultural revolution. In the coming centuries a second socio-economic revolution took place, the urban revolution. New inventions in irrigation lead to a massive population increase within the Lowlands, which furthered the growth of cities. With the cities came writing. At around 700 BGS, the so called Formative-Literate period began. This period saw the invention and early development of writing in Oksandanderi, from it developed the Kakhemke script.

Astmergian Dominion
The first large empire in Oksandanderi was founded by Astmerge the Great. The empire grew out of the dominion of Vërev. In the century prior this city had risen to prominence within the Lowlands. The Astmergian Empire was founded in 164 AGS. It lasted until Astmerge's death in 210 AGS. The empire basically already ended with its founder. The period directly afterwards is called the Astmergian Dominion, a time when the structure of the empire was still largely intact, but mostly headless. Astmerge had founded a efficient bureaucratic apparatus, which continued after his death. Internal tensions between different classes, old nobility, settlers within the colonial cities, Astmergian bureaucrates and so one, began to dissolve the empire piece by piece. These tensions escalated in 267 AGS, when the capital city of Kalotgane was attacked and largely destroyed by an alliance of Vërev and Tarin. The following period is called the Age of Fragmentation. It was pivotal for the development of Oksandanderi in this post-Astmergian world. While the empire once again splintered into many smaller states, many of them would shape the Oksandanderian history for the centuries to come. Many philosophical movements also started during this period. The former province of Erkhanda went into a small civil war, but reformed itself by the end of it, thanks to the effort of the Five Lords. In 331 AGS the former province of Erkhanda had become the Makhatganda. In the southwest, three cities bounded together in fear of the Astmergian conquest. These three cities would form a union known as the threefold state of Tyon-Arat.

Four Empire Period
The Four Empire period began in the 6th century (512 AGS) with the invasion of the Walken people and the foundation of the Walkenian Empire. Their sudden advance sent a shock through the Lowlands and created the necessity to bound together once again. The Walkenians were successfully fought back, but advances anew two decades later in the 550s and 560s. After that invasion ended in a failure the situation developed into a stalemate. The Walkenian Empire continued to control the states of Erme and the Kuperi, additionally to its large northern territory, it was the large empire of its period. The states of the Lowlands had banded together to found the so called Yarlaganda Empire. This military alliance grew closer together in the following century, mainly to counter the Walkenian attacks. Further in the north and west, the state of Makhatganda grew in size and importance. Lastly the threefold state of Tyon-Arat is considered the fourth empire of the Four Empire period. This period lasted between two and three centuries. A common endpoint is the liberation of Erme in 710 AGS.

Age of Harmony and Disharmony
Most of the Four Empire period was essentially a stalemate between the greater states of Oksandanderi. While the Walken and Yarlaganda were in an arms race against each other, the Makhatganda and Tyon-Arat enjoyed relative peace. This balance ended in 710 when Erme successfully rebelled and thus signalled the decline of the Walkenian Empire and at the same time the doom of the Yarlaganda alliance/empire. The Four Empires period gave way for a much more ambivalent period, both of great peace and great conflict. Both the Walkenian Empire and the Yarlaganda desintegrated at around the same time, creating a power vacuum in the Lowlands. The state of Erme was not able to fill this spot, having just recently become independent again. Instead it aimed at averting more foreign conquests and tried to prie apart any state which could be a potential danger, most of all the Yarlaganda. At the same time other states sent out emissaries to far away lands. The 9th century saw the beginning of international trade and expeditions. The profiteers of these were the Makhatganda and the Tyon-Arat.

Imperial Age
The Imperial Age is named after the Empire of Kalotgane. This empire grew out of the ruins of the Yarlaganda and in essence also contributed to its demise. Through strategic alliances it grew in spite of the influence of Erme. The League of Kalotgane was founded in the late 9th century and rose to power in the 10th century. The conquest of Erme occured from 979-980 and ended in a bloody siege of the city of Erme. The Kalotganians didn't stop there, but continued their advance. This cultimated in the rule of Emperor Suyeray, who founded the Empire of Kalotgane in 1020 AGS. The finale of the conquest of Suyeray was the annexation of the Makhatganga in 1076. When Suyeray died in 1092 he was succeeded by his nephew Kahas. Emperor Kahas wanted to go even further and conquer the Tyon-Arat, but was finally defeated at the battle of Nurmera in 1111 AGS. For the entirety of the 12th century, the political situation remained in a stalemate between the Empire of Kalotgane and the Tyon-Arat.

Languages
Oksandanderi is home to several language families. Successive waves of migrations brought peoples to this area, settling in different patterns. The largest language family in terms of speakers is the Yarlish language family. Its most important member is the Classical Kathurn language, which is the literary language for large parts of Oksandanderi. At the latest during the Four Empires period, it had subdivided into individual daughter languages itself, most important are Makhatdurn and Pikhanderidurn. A close relative of Kathurn is also Ermedurn. Then there are the Ardanic languages. The relations within this family are a bit different, as it is mostly concentrated within a single area. Ardanic in actuality a large dialect cluster containing several divergent dialects. The difference is that all these dialects somewhat influence each other and make up a large continuum. The Walkenian language is an isolate. Its speakers are the penultimate wave of migration into Oksandanderi. Typologically it is quite distinct from other Oksandanderian languages. The Korrenic languages are probably the smallest group in terms of speakers, but the largest in terms of terms of individual languages. They are situated within the eastern Highlands and are a very old and deep family.

Religion
Religion in Oksandanderi is rarely monolithic. The religious believes of all people of Oksandanderi share some commonalities, but also many differences. From folk religion to state religion and monastic orders and philosophical movements, there are a lot of different branches of religious thought and practice. In essence, the people of Oksandanderi share a common worldview and ideas on what constitutes a good life. The itself is thought of as horizontal in nature and thoughts about transcendence rarely come up. While there are believes in an otherworld sometimes, there are no believes in an underworld or heavenly realm or anything close to a world not within our world. Even the otherworld is part of this world, it is just one which does not comply to the laws (Kas) of the human mind and the human realm as such. Believes in reincarnation are not found in Oksandanderi. The eternal is the already existing eternity of all being, be it in this form as human or another. A great emphasis lies on idea of good deeds, both in regards to other humans and nature. Life is cultivation, both of nature and of humans. Nature has to be kept in check like a garden. Human control is only tentative, but essential to this, as the world beyond the garden is inevitably hostile. In regards to society, humans ought to inspire good deeds and good thoughts. A deep commonality is the emphasis on thankfulness and reciprocity, both towards nature and towards humans. Some of the Kamalči tell of the story of the wandering ascetic, who played his instruments to entertain people. He played and danced until he collapsed and died. Then his brother in faith took his corpse and made instruments and other useful things out of it, thus his being might inspire good thought even beyond his own capabilities. This is one extreme idea, that human nature must fade into nothing but joy and thankfulness.

Deities and the divine is rarely personified if at all. Older folk believes know a myriad of spirits and beings which reside outside of the human realm, in places of nature called the Sukhe, the eternal places. But these aren't deities. Ideas are instead reverred like divinity. If one celebrates a victory, they celebrate Yardun, but not as the personified victory, or to be thankful to Yardun for their victory. No they celebrate the abstract concept of victory itself and how it is good that one can experience victory itself.