Lands of Red and Gold, Act II
- Thread starter Jared
- Start date
Damn. No matter how many times I review a chapter, I always miss something. Thanks; edited.
There are still logistical constraints, but the supply lines are much easier when horses and cattle are mobile. He has already incorporated some conquered soldiers into his army; the Goanna battalions referred to here were mostly formed from conquered Kiyungu. It will take a while longer before he will incorporate conquered soldiers from Daluming, but assuming that he holds onto the territory, he will do so eventually.
Great chapter Jared! The Hunter is a very large threat to both the aururian states and European trade. I suspect that the Hunter (or another leader of the dominion if he dies) will probably strike south (?) into the five rivers for his next conquest. However he is smart and would be aware that he needs a wife and knowing the tjibarri they would give him one. Also a map of Aururia as of the end of this chapter would be great.
Goanna battalions. As in monitor lizards? Or a different word spelled the same?
Yes, the Hunter is a huge threat to the established European trading companies. Of course, that may be to the advantage of others: as was shown in one of the earlier Hunter chapters (pre-hiatus), the Hunter has had discussions with France about exporting spices.
In terms of next conquest, he basically has three options. Keep going northeast against the northern Kiyungu and then the Nuttana, along the OTL Queensland east coast. Or he can keep going south along the east coast, against the Patjimunra in the OTL Hunter Valley, and thus secure complete control of all of the relevant spices. Or he can strike south into the Five Rivers, at Tjibarr and/or Yigutji. That is the greatest prize, but it's also the most populous and likely to be challenging.
Getting a Tjibarri wife would be a great idea, if not for one problem: the practicalities of the Endless Dance means that no-one would dare offer one. If the king offered one of his relatives, all eight factions would deem it a bid for the monarchy to gain too much power (since the king might have outside support from the Hunter), and would soon be a former monarch. Similarly, if someone aligned to one of the factions was offered as a political marriage, all seven of the other factions would turn on them, since it would be giving that faction too much power.
I would love to be in a position to supply one. Unfortunately, I'm rather graphically challenged and can't draw any electronic maps worthy of the name. The reason this sequence was delayed for so long was because I was working with someone to have maps designed. Unfortunately, the mapmaker has disappeared (hopefully fine but just busy offline), and so I had to proceed without maps.
If someone would like to design them, I'm happy to give some guidance as to what the geography is.
As in the monitor lizards. It's a "translated" name. The symbolism is that in their culture, goannas are considered as representative of determination and steadfastness, which is the qualities they ascribe to the recruited soldiers.
Fantastic. I really like how the Hunter is being presented in literary terms; largely off-screen, unnamed, and with limited insight into his thought processes. Really drives home the 'outside context problem' nature of his emergence in Aururia. Menacing, but enticing. I hope he gets as far as Durigal and gets rid of the Yadji, though I also hope that Tjibarr is able to survive which is probably mutually exclusive. I do very much like the idea of 18th century Europeans being forced to deal on equal terms with a "colonised" people. Not quite as satisfying as the 19th century would be, but then we wouldn't get a (semi) nomadic Empire.
We-ell, in pre-Houtmanian days, there were two groups of decent shipbuilders in Aururia. The Nangu were by far the best, but the Kiyungu could also make decent vessels.
Today, the Nuttana have built on the Nangu technology and have ships that can sail around the world. The southern Kiyungu had improved in shipbuilding a bit, learning off the Nuttana - and now the Hunter has conquered them. The Nuttana had started to outsource some of their shipbuilding to some of the northern Kiyungu cities, since they had more easily accessible timber. That actually reversed in the last decade or so, since the Nuttana have built improved shipyards and it turned out to be better to ship bulk timber by sea instead. But a lot of their shipbuilding knowledge is still around in the northern Kiyungu. And the Hunter has declared that he plans to conquer both the Nuttana and the northern Kiyungu.
The other decent shipbuilding complex which is emerging is amongst the remaining Nangu and in Tjibarr. Tjibarr has always had a good shipbuilding capability for riverine vessels, but they left seagoing vessels to the Nangu due to geography (a lot of the time, they didn't even control much coast since the Yadji conquered it). Since they have steadily held a coastline for a while, and during the weakest point of the Nangu, Tjibarr started recruiting Nangu ship-captains, shipwrights and the like to sail for them. Thus far Tjibarr's main commerce is short-range vessels - they trade a lot with the Mutjing and to Yadji ports - but they are slowly improving. If the Hunter conquers all of Tjibarr, he will inherit a lot of that too.
Glad you liked it. I've experimented with various ways of depicting the Hunter, but those ways are indeed largely without access to what he's actually thinking. I'm also working on showing contrasting perspectives of the Hunter too (especially in the next chapter, incidentally, but also throughout the remaining sequence).
In terms of Tjibarr surviving but Durigal not - that would take an odd combination of circumstances. It's not inconceivable that the Hunter would strike for Yigutji before Tjibarr, but Tjibarr would the logical next target. Even if he went for Gutjanal first, the logistics for going against the Yadji first are horrible. The continental divide is in the way, and the terrain is more more forested and rugged than the more open country which the Horse-Riders have used to such good effect thus far. Yes, the Tjarrlinghi mobility helps to an extent, but even with that they would be leaving a long exposed frontier against Tjibarr which would be begging to be raided.
And for Europeans, yes, at this stage their biggest problem is they really can't come to terms with how to negotiate with the Hunter. Military force would possibly allow them to reconquer some territories in the short-term, but they would be exposed to attack whenever the Hunter marshalled forces, and as shown at Mandalong, they don't have much more of an idea of how to fight him than other Aururians. Diplomatically, they could try to encourage revolts amongst the Kiyungu and others, but that's an uncertain strategy at best.
Last edited:
If the Hunter does die off, I got the feeling it’ll be similar to the Khanates. He’ll divy up the land amongst his successors,but have them swear allegiance to a head(Supreme Khan). These successor states will conquer even more, perhaps pushing other Aboriginals into each other lands, or into new lands.
Surely one of the sites master cartographers would be interested?! Are the maps you used years ago at the beginning still available?
Lands of Red and Gold #115: Parallel Dreams
Lands of Red and Gold #115: Parallel Dreams
“Faith imposed at the point of a blade will amount to naught, for it will be lost as soon as the blade is no longer in sight.”
- Attributed to Pinjarra
* * *
From Bareena Uranj, a Tjarrling religious text which is typically though inaccurately rendered into English as the Orange Bible:
Chapter 74
1. And so it came to pass that Warrbi surrendered, its chiefs yielding to Tjuwagga’s piety and valour.
2. Thus Tjuwagga declared the third time of Yaluma [crusade] at an end.
3. Tjuwagga allowed a time without Yaluma, in which he ruled from Cankoona [Toowoomba] and Ngampug [Grafton].
4. Tjuwagga said, “All actions have consequences, and as conquest is the strongest of actions, so it produces the greatest consequences.”
5. Tjuwagga said, “Always there will be those who do not accept that they are conquered, and so will work against their conquerors. Here there are those outside [i.e. Nuttana and European powers] who will seek to break the conquest by intrigue, and perhaps force of arms.”
6. Tjuwagga became an exemplar of the true faith for the peoples of his new dominions.
7. With piety, valour and good judgement, Tjuwagga consolidated his rule and inspired the people to follow the true understanding of the Seven-fold Path.
* * *
Taken from: The True History of the Yalatji: Translation and Commentary, Heron Publishing, 2nd edition.
English translation by IM Donne.
The third declaration of Yaluma concluded, the Hunter determined that a time of extended peace was merited. He told his Warego [heroes / visionaries / senior commanders] that he needed to bring harmony in peace as much as in war. He said that his new peoples had been brought into one banner, but that did not make them one nation. He desired to form a common law and common nationhood amongst the new peoples, that all might know of his wisdom and good governance.
Thus the Hunter spent the next three years consolidating the new lands into the Dominion of Harmony. He divided the lands into new provinces, and appointed six governors to oversee them. He set up schools for new priests in Mullumba [Petrie, QLD] and Ngampug, that worthy men might be trained in the true faith and might then instruct others. He had a new royal road built from Cankoona to Mullumba, that merchants and men might more easily travel between the lowlands and uplands. He appointed three Wirrulee [warriors / priests] to survey the customs and laws of the Kiyungu, Bungudjimay and Yalatji, that they could then advise him on a code of laws by which all the men of the Dominion might be judged in common.
The Hunter ordered that no tolls or duties be levied on men or goods moved from one part of his realm to another. He said, “All of these lands are one Dominion, and it is not proper that it cost a man to move within the same Dominion.” With this declaration, trade began to prosper within the Dominion, as merchants more easily moved their goods whither they wished.
The Hunter diplomed with representatives of the Raw Men trading companies, who sought to bargain endlessly for trade unfettered, to their interests. The Hunter permitted outside trade only on terms which suited his desires and the needs of the Dominion.
* * *
From: The Lord of the Ride (Williamson translation).
The Third Yaluma ended, Tjuwagga declared a time of Consolidation, when he ruled the lands he had conquered but did not take the field of battle. His warriors continued to serve him in their duty of arms, ordered as and where he saw fit, based on need anticipated or on unrest demonstrated.
The need most strongly anticipated came in the north, the lands of the Kiyungu, where the cities of the rebellious kings continued to refuse Tjuwagga’s authority. He had appointed some of his valiant Warego to command them, at first Jowarra and Minjaree, then later Minjaree and Kyulibah. They conquered cities in his name, while Tjuwagga deemed his personal presence unrequired, with the Kiyungu too minor.
In the years of the Consolidation, two Kiyungu cities fell, Tukka Nyukka [Maryborough] and Ooneerraba [Dundowran / Hervey Bay] and a third, Beyral [Buxton] was besieged. Save for one commander, Minjaree, no warrior of the Dominion served continuously in the northern campaign for the duration of the Consolidation. As was his wont, Tjuwagga rotated his warriors between duties, with many units called north to serve in arms and be reminded of the course of battle, before being called south to perform other duties.
Other needs anticipated were in maintaining order throughout the new lands of the Dominion, and in two occasions at Kutjigerra [Maroochydore] and Ngutti [Yamba], in responding to unrest that arose.
The final need anticipated was in raids, where Tjuwagga permitted some of his cavalry to raid to the south, most commonly into the lands of Yigutji, but sometimes also into the lands of Tjibarr or Murrginhi [1]. He sent them there for glory of the men who fought, to gain knowledge of the River-Men and Patjimunra lands and methods of warfare, and to obtain plunder. This also brought fear to the heathens and had them chasing after ways of protecting their own lands rather than provoking unrest in the Dominion.
This duty, too, Tjuwagga rotated between different units of cavalry, so that by the end of the Consolidation most of his cavalry had some knowledge of lands to the south.
* * *
From: The Chronicle of Tjuwagga the Unbeliever (Merringford translation).
Word reached Cankoona by fast rider that Tjuwagga had subdued the last of the peoples of the Confederation of Warrbi. All knew that this marked the last holdout from the lands which Tjuwagga had ordered to subdue, so the time of Yaluma would soon be ended.
Most expected that the peace would be short. Tjuwagga had conquered so many lands so quickly, few expected that the interlude between war would last long. Most wondered which target would be next. Yalatji laid wagers amongst themselves which would be the next target, either south into the lands of the Loomal and Patjimunra [2], or south-west into Yigutji and the Five Rivers. As best I could tell, most believed that Yigutji would be declared under Yaluma.
Instead, Tjuwagga forsook conquest for a time, becoming more intrigued by the pleasures that were available in civilised countries, or which could be brought there. Ganyu [yam wine] and other drinks, great feasts with all of his commanders and chosen warriors, riding to the hunt rather than to war, wrestling and other Yalatji sports, racing chosen horses, and many mock-combats.
Tjuwagga sought pleasure not just at Cankoona, but also at Ngampug, which he had designated his capital in the south rather than any of the former Daluming ruling cities, and at Mullumba which was his favoured Kiyungu city. Confined as we were to Cankoona [3], I can only relay this through tales, but we heard that in Ngampug he became much-enamoured of the many-flavoured offerings of Daluming cuisine. In Mullumba, I am more reliably informed by Kiyungu I knew, he became fond of proper Kiyungu poetry and music, bestowing gifts on any poets and musicians whom he deemed worthy, and calling all who might have talent to the city.
Even during his times of indolence, he remained alert to matters of war, giving a stream of orders to soldiers about where to go and how to behave. When revolts arose, he had them quelled in short order…
If the Hunter received any emissaries from the Five Rivers, he did not meet with them anywhere that word reached back to the general people of Cankoona. As time passed on, everyone came to believe that he would aim next at the Five Rivers, whenever he was roused from indolence. His blood-stained banner had been created there, and someday it would return there.
* * *
From: “The World Historical Dictionary”
Consolidation
Part of the Yaluma era, also called Aururian Crusades era. Refers to a period between 1714 and 1717 when Tjuwagga paused his armies of conquest, instead seeking to stabilise his rule and establish effective administrative structures for the Dominion of Harmony. Some of the notable developments of this period were the development of the Code of Burren (q.v.), a common law code for the Dominion, and the beginnings of the creation of a road network and developing trade links within the recently-conquered lands. The Consolidation ended with the declaration of the Fourth Yaluma (q.v.).
* * *
From: The Hunter and His Times
RG Toohey (1996). Oxford: University of Oxford Press.
One curious fact about the Hunter and his times is that one of his most effective actions in securing his legacy was omitted from each of the four main primary histories of his life and times. The Orange Bible does not mention it, since it does not fit with that history’s depiction of the Hunter as a warrior-sage. The Chronicle of Tjuwagga the Unbeliever does not mention it either, since the author never reached Daluming and either did not hear of the action or did not deem it worth mentioning. The Lord of the Ride does not describe it, which is less surprising since that chronicle focuses on military adventures. The True History of the Yalatji does not include it, an omission which is most surprising because it would be in keeping with the depictions there of the deeds of the Hunter.
Despite being omitted from the main primary sources, the Hunter’s actions in Daluming were well-recorded in local oral history and in surviving correspondence, including letters from visiting Europeans.
During the Consolidation, shortly after completing the Third Yaluma, the Hunter gave orders about Glazkul. This infamous pyramid with skulls interred behind glass, known to the local Bungudjimay as the Mound of Memory, had been damaged during the first English invasion in 1648. Since then, social disruption and disgust from European colonial overlords meant that the pyramid had been allowed to fall into disrepair. The Bungudjimay traditional religion depicted the completion of the pyramid as the Closure of the world, but that Closure had never been completed.
Astute to the symbolic potential, the Hunter ordered that Glazkul be repaired. Worthy heads were collected from those who had fallen during the Third Yaluma, those of former Bungudjimay royalty, and others who entered ritual combat to compete for the privilege of interment. When sufficient skulls were available, they were sealed behind glass.
The Hunter declared that the time of the Closure had arrived. That the old world, the world of misguidedness and partial truth, had come to an end. A new world had arrived, the world where the true faith would rule, where all would be guided toward harmony by the heirs of Tjarrling.
* * *
Venus’s Day, Cycle of Lead, 12th Year of King Puckapunyal [11 November 1715]
Morri-Murri Waterworks [4], River Gurrnyal [Lachlan River], Kingdom of Yigutji
The sun had not yet ascended to mid-morning, but heat already clung to the ground, heat more suited to high summer than late spring. Off to his left, water glistened invitingly atop the bed of a great river.
Kullerin resisted the temptation to dive into the river. Usually he preferred to avoid water which he could not step across. Until he heard the Hunter’s call, Kullerin had been a man of the highlands, where even the hottest summer rarely reached this temperature, and even then, not so early in the year. With heat such as now, though, even water looked appealing.
Instead, he waited with apparent calm and little outward emotion, as befit a herald. After serving the Hunter as a messenger for several years, he had been promoted to serve as a herald last year, in the later progression of the Third Yaluma. He had been one of the heralds who stood beside the Hunter when the great leader accepted the submission of the Warrbi chiefs, bringing war to an end, for now. Ever since, he had striven to maintain the composure expected of a herald.
The twenty or so Riders around him showed no such compunction, of course. Yalatji and Butjupa cavalry-men mopped their brows, fanned themselves with their hands, or otherwise quietly cursed the heat. Except for Weriyu, the band commander, who had chosen the privilege of standing beneath the one tree large enough to offer decent shade.
Kullerin absently patted the neck of the horse beside him. The horses had recently been watered, but this might need to be repeated if the wait continued indefinitely.
Weriyu held up a hand, and the Riders quietened. More alert than most, Weriyu had been the first to notice the scout riding back to the group.
Soon enough, the scout came back. His grin was wide before he made his report. “A dozen men, and two women, near the edge of a pond. One of the men is wealthy, from his dress. They have caught some ducks and are doing something with them. Not butchering them, exactly. None of them have horses. One boat which will not carry all of them. They will not have seen me; my spyglass gave me a good view, and they were in the wrong direction to see any sunlight glinting from it.”
“A worthy prize,” Weriyu said. “Mount up! We ride to raid.”
The Riders climbed up on their horses. The wealthier of them readied their wheel-lock pistols; the rest just checked that their swords were at the ready. Kullerin mounted his horse too, but he had no weapons. A herald should not need one. He had joined this raid to see the Five Rivers himself for the first time, and because he spoke the languages of both Yigutji and Tjibarr.
Weriyu said, “Take care not to harm the wealthy one; the River-Men may pay ransom for him. Spare the women if you can, too. I’m sure some of you want concubines, and if not, there’s plenty of men back home who will.”
He kept giving instructions about how to conduct the raid and best manoeuvre, but Kullerin did not bother to listen. His role was to watch, and speak to any captives, if such were secured.
The Riders went ahead, breaking into two groups. Kullerin rode behind them, keeping a good distance apart as the Riders hurried along the riverbank. It was not proper for a herald to be too close to death if it could be avoided. He heard the faint shouts of disturbance amongst the River-men, and the discharge of three pistols.
By the time Kullerin arrived, eight of the River-men were down, dead or dying. Three others, and the two women, had jumped into a boat and were rowing across the pond as fast as they could.
One of the pistol-bearing Riders asked, “Should I shoot the cowards in the boat?”
Weriyu nodded. “No. We can’t kill them all. The rest will report our presence. Save your bullets. We have a long ride home.”
The prizes from this raid did not appear large. A pile of large, drab-brown ducks had been assembled by the shore. A couple of abandoned knives. Whatever jewellery or other valuable things these fallen men might be carrying. And one captive, the only River-Man who had been left upright. The wealthy one which the scout had described.
The wealthy captive stood with an air of quiet dignity. He appeared well-proportioned, with broad shoulders and well-muscled arms. He had dark skin, darker than Kullerin had ever seen on a man, and thick, curly hair. His face was almost lost in one of the longest beards which Kullerin had ever seen, black with only the faintest hint of silver. The man wore a headband with checked squares of carmine and lime green, and carried a pendant of some opaque green stone around his neck.
He wore a tjiming, a form of clothing which Kullerin had only seen once before, worn by a small delegation of visiting Tjibarri priests in Cankoona. This tjiming was black-collared, with the rest grey, and had long sleeves with wide cuffs which hung low beneath the man’s wrists; the mark of someone who worked with his head rather than his hands, or perhaps did not work at all. The main bulk of his garment was wrapped twice around his chest and held in place with a light blue sash, while the hem of the garment just covered his knees. All in all, he looked wealthy indeed.
The captive did not utter a word, calmly waiting for the Riders to speak first. If he felt fear because the other River-Men had been cut down, he did not show it.
Weriyu motioned for Kullerin to come closer and translate, if necessary. “Do you speak Yalatji?”
The captive nodded, recognising the language if not the words.
In the Yigutji language, Kullerin said, “Do you understand me?”
The wealthy-looking man nodded again.
Weriyu, who knew enough of the Yigutji speech to recognise what had been asked, said, “A wealthy man here who does not speak their own language?”
Kullerin shrugged, and switched to the Tjibarri tongue. “What about this language?”
The man shook his head. “Yes, I speak Gunnagal. Or Junditmara, Wadang, Inglidj or Nedlandj, if you prefer any of those languages.”
“Tjibarri will do,” Kullerin said. He did not speak either of the named Raw Men tongues, and knew only a couple of words of Wadang, which people spoke in the third Five Rivers kingdom, Gutjanal. He did not even know what language Junditmara was.
Weriyu said, “Herald, translate this for me: you are our captive, understand?”
The man said, “I could hardly argue with so many swords and pistols.”
“Will your family ransom you?”
The captive said, “Family, no, but I have friends in Yigutji who would pay well. Perhaps also in Tjibarr-of-the-Lakes, though Gunnagal friendship tends to evaporate quickly when debts are called.”
“Yigutji will do,” Weriyu said. “We will bring you back to Cankoona, and then you can start writing ransom letters. If your friends are generous, you will live to return here.”
The man simply bowed his head in acknowledgement.
Weriyu instructed several Riders to kill the fallen if not already dead, then search the corpses for anything of value. He then looked at the pile of ducks next to him.
“Did you come here to hunt ducks?”
The wealthy-looking man said, “No. These ducks make poor eating, I am told. The hunters came for that.”
The captive gestured to a small leather pouch, which until then Kullerin had not seen behind the duck-pile. Looking closer, Kullerin realised that something small had been cut from the rump of each of the ducks, and must have been placed in the pouch.
Weriyu looked inside the pouch. “What worth is a few balls of duck skin?” He tossed it into the water.
The wealthy-looking man said, “That was musk, something which the people of the Five Rivers esteem for making perfume and incense.”
When Kullerin translated, Weriyu’s lip curled in disgust. “I am no perfumed River-Man.”
The captive grinned. “That musk would have been worth twice or thrice its weight in silver, if you sold it to the right people in the Five Rivers [5].”
“What worth is silver?” Weriyu asked, though by now Kullerin him well enough to recognise the hint of regret in his voice.
The wealthy-looking man shrugged. “The Raw Men value silver more than do Tjibarri; this much I already knew to be true. Now I learn that Tjibarri value silver more than do Yalatji, too [6].”
“Never mind silver,” Weriyu said. “If you are a man of wealth, why were you out here harvesting ducks?”
The captive said, “I was not harvesting them myself. I was simply curious to see how they collected musk ducks; I have used Yigutji perfume, but never known much about the musk they use to make it.”
Weriyu looked to Kullerin directly. “Do you believe him about this... musk?”
Kullerin said, “I’ve never seen these ducks before, but I’ve been told about them. As part of a memory of a memory, from the one who taught me the Yigutji language.”
“Ah, well. The captive is worth more in ransom than any perfume. He had better be, if he wants to live. Ask him his name.”
When Kullerin translated, the man bowed slightly and said, “I am called Pinjarra.”
* * *
[1] Murrginhi is the indigenous name for the Kingdom of the Skin, that is, the Patjimunra lands around the Kuyal [Hunter] Valley. Its name derives from murr, “kingdom” (where murra means king) and ginhi, which literally means “skin” but effectively means caste.
[2] The Loomal are a people who inhabit a Dutch-backed protectorate along the Lumbarr River [Manning River], producing a small but steady amount of spices. The Patjimunra, living along the Kuyal River, produce a larger volume of spices. These two peoples are the only major producers of Aururian eastern spices which remain beyond Dominion control.
[3] Gorang of Kabeebilla [Caboolture, QLD], the author of the Chronicle, was one of several prominent Kiyungu held as guest-hostages in Cankoona to reduce the risks of revolt in their homeland.
[4] The Morri-Murri Waterworks, located between historical Condobolin and Derriwong, is one of many artificial wetlands along the Gurrnyal [Lachlan River], maintained by the inhabitants of the kingdom of Yigutji. Even historically, the Gurrnyal has many natural wetlands and lakes associated with it, since it has a very variable river flow which leads to the wetlands being replenished during flood times. Allohistorically, many further artificial wetlands have been created along the Gurrnyal. Most of these artificial wetlands have been maintained into the eighteenth century, despite the population collapse of the plagues, because the lower human population makes them more attractive breeding sites for the highly-desired musk duck (Biziura lobata).
[5] During the breeding season, male musk ducks produce musk from a small gland on their rump. Similar to deer musk, the duck musk is a very useful fixative for perfumes, and also a strong, highly-valued aromatic compound for incense and some medicines. The musk duck’s social structure (highly competitive males) means that it has never been domesticated, so the people of the Five Rivers have encouraged the breeding of wild musk ducks on many of their natural and artificial wetlands. Because the male musk ducks breed with multiple females, who then nest and raise chicks alone, it is possible to harvest a significant proportion of the adult males each year for musk, without reducing the overall population.
[6] Tjibarr is a large producer of silver, thanks to the world’s largest lead-silver deposit at Gwee Langta [Broken Hill], and some smaller deposits nearby. These mines are located in semi-arid parts of the Dead Heart (outback). The difficulties of mining at such remote locations means that Tjibarr does not produce silver at as high a rate as the largest historical silver producers in this era, i.e. Andean silver. (Although early historical production from Broken Hill was higher than the equivalent production of all New Spain silver). Allohistorically, New Spain silver production is lower than its historical equivalent, due to the depopulating effects of the Aururian plagues. Tjibarri production more than makes up the difference; world production of silver here is higher than it was historically.
Some Tjibarri silver is used within the Five Rivers for jewellery, currency and chemistry, but most of it is exported. Europeans and Nuttana both trade Tjibarri silver into Asia, where it is a valued trade good. The same thing happened historically with Andean silver, which mostly ended up in Asia because the value of silver relative to gold was higher in Asia than it was in Europe.
* * *
Thoughts?
“Faith imposed at the point of a blade will amount to naught, for it will be lost as soon as the blade is no longer in sight.”
- Attributed to Pinjarra
* * *
From Bareena Uranj, a Tjarrling religious text which is typically though inaccurately rendered into English as the Orange Bible:
Chapter 74
1. And so it came to pass that Warrbi surrendered, its chiefs yielding to Tjuwagga’s piety and valour.
2. Thus Tjuwagga declared the third time of Yaluma [crusade] at an end.
3. Tjuwagga allowed a time without Yaluma, in which he ruled from Cankoona [Toowoomba] and Ngampug [Grafton].
4. Tjuwagga said, “All actions have consequences, and as conquest is the strongest of actions, so it produces the greatest consequences.”
5. Tjuwagga said, “Always there will be those who do not accept that they are conquered, and so will work against their conquerors. Here there are those outside [i.e. Nuttana and European powers] who will seek to break the conquest by intrigue, and perhaps force of arms.”
6. Tjuwagga became an exemplar of the true faith for the peoples of his new dominions.
7. With piety, valour and good judgement, Tjuwagga consolidated his rule and inspired the people to follow the true understanding of the Seven-fold Path.
* * *
Taken from: The True History of the Yalatji: Translation and Commentary, Heron Publishing, 2nd edition.
English translation by IM Donne.
The third declaration of Yaluma concluded, the Hunter determined that a time of extended peace was merited. He told his Warego [heroes / visionaries / senior commanders] that he needed to bring harmony in peace as much as in war. He said that his new peoples had been brought into one banner, but that did not make them one nation. He desired to form a common law and common nationhood amongst the new peoples, that all might know of his wisdom and good governance.
Thus the Hunter spent the next three years consolidating the new lands into the Dominion of Harmony. He divided the lands into new provinces, and appointed six governors to oversee them. He set up schools for new priests in Mullumba [Petrie, QLD] and Ngampug, that worthy men might be trained in the true faith and might then instruct others. He had a new royal road built from Cankoona to Mullumba, that merchants and men might more easily travel between the lowlands and uplands. He appointed three Wirrulee [warriors / priests] to survey the customs and laws of the Kiyungu, Bungudjimay and Yalatji, that they could then advise him on a code of laws by which all the men of the Dominion might be judged in common.
The Hunter ordered that no tolls or duties be levied on men or goods moved from one part of his realm to another. He said, “All of these lands are one Dominion, and it is not proper that it cost a man to move within the same Dominion.” With this declaration, trade began to prosper within the Dominion, as merchants more easily moved their goods whither they wished.
The Hunter diplomed with representatives of the Raw Men trading companies, who sought to bargain endlessly for trade unfettered, to their interests. The Hunter permitted outside trade only on terms which suited his desires and the needs of the Dominion.
* * *
From: The Lord of the Ride (Williamson translation).
The Third Yaluma ended, Tjuwagga declared a time of Consolidation, when he ruled the lands he had conquered but did not take the field of battle. His warriors continued to serve him in their duty of arms, ordered as and where he saw fit, based on need anticipated or on unrest demonstrated.
The need most strongly anticipated came in the north, the lands of the Kiyungu, where the cities of the rebellious kings continued to refuse Tjuwagga’s authority. He had appointed some of his valiant Warego to command them, at first Jowarra and Minjaree, then later Minjaree and Kyulibah. They conquered cities in his name, while Tjuwagga deemed his personal presence unrequired, with the Kiyungu too minor.
In the years of the Consolidation, two Kiyungu cities fell, Tukka Nyukka [Maryborough] and Ooneerraba [Dundowran / Hervey Bay] and a third, Beyral [Buxton] was besieged. Save for one commander, Minjaree, no warrior of the Dominion served continuously in the northern campaign for the duration of the Consolidation. As was his wont, Tjuwagga rotated his warriors between duties, with many units called north to serve in arms and be reminded of the course of battle, before being called south to perform other duties.
Other needs anticipated were in maintaining order throughout the new lands of the Dominion, and in two occasions at Kutjigerra [Maroochydore] and Ngutti [Yamba], in responding to unrest that arose.
The final need anticipated was in raids, where Tjuwagga permitted some of his cavalry to raid to the south, most commonly into the lands of Yigutji, but sometimes also into the lands of Tjibarr or Murrginhi [1]. He sent them there for glory of the men who fought, to gain knowledge of the River-Men and Patjimunra lands and methods of warfare, and to obtain plunder. This also brought fear to the heathens and had them chasing after ways of protecting their own lands rather than provoking unrest in the Dominion.
This duty, too, Tjuwagga rotated between different units of cavalry, so that by the end of the Consolidation most of his cavalry had some knowledge of lands to the south.
* * *
From: The Chronicle of Tjuwagga the Unbeliever (Merringford translation).
Word reached Cankoona by fast rider that Tjuwagga had subdued the last of the peoples of the Confederation of Warrbi. All knew that this marked the last holdout from the lands which Tjuwagga had ordered to subdue, so the time of Yaluma would soon be ended.
Most expected that the peace would be short. Tjuwagga had conquered so many lands so quickly, few expected that the interlude between war would last long. Most wondered which target would be next. Yalatji laid wagers amongst themselves which would be the next target, either south into the lands of the Loomal and Patjimunra [2], or south-west into Yigutji and the Five Rivers. As best I could tell, most believed that Yigutji would be declared under Yaluma.
Instead, Tjuwagga forsook conquest for a time, becoming more intrigued by the pleasures that were available in civilised countries, or which could be brought there. Ganyu [yam wine] and other drinks, great feasts with all of his commanders and chosen warriors, riding to the hunt rather than to war, wrestling and other Yalatji sports, racing chosen horses, and many mock-combats.
Tjuwagga sought pleasure not just at Cankoona, but also at Ngampug, which he had designated his capital in the south rather than any of the former Daluming ruling cities, and at Mullumba which was his favoured Kiyungu city. Confined as we were to Cankoona [3], I can only relay this through tales, but we heard that in Ngampug he became much-enamoured of the many-flavoured offerings of Daluming cuisine. In Mullumba, I am more reliably informed by Kiyungu I knew, he became fond of proper Kiyungu poetry and music, bestowing gifts on any poets and musicians whom he deemed worthy, and calling all who might have talent to the city.
Even during his times of indolence, he remained alert to matters of war, giving a stream of orders to soldiers about where to go and how to behave. When revolts arose, he had them quelled in short order…
If the Hunter received any emissaries from the Five Rivers, he did not meet with them anywhere that word reached back to the general people of Cankoona. As time passed on, everyone came to believe that he would aim next at the Five Rivers, whenever he was roused from indolence. His blood-stained banner had been created there, and someday it would return there.
* * *
From: “The World Historical Dictionary”
Consolidation
Part of the Yaluma era, also called Aururian Crusades era. Refers to a period between 1714 and 1717 when Tjuwagga paused his armies of conquest, instead seeking to stabilise his rule and establish effective administrative structures for the Dominion of Harmony. Some of the notable developments of this period were the development of the Code of Burren (q.v.), a common law code for the Dominion, and the beginnings of the creation of a road network and developing trade links within the recently-conquered lands. The Consolidation ended with the declaration of the Fourth Yaluma (q.v.).
* * *
From: The Hunter and His Times
RG Toohey (1996). Oxford: University of Oxford Press.
One curious fact about the Hunter and his times is that one of his most effective actions in securing his legacy was omitted from each of the four main primary histories of his life and times. The Orange Bible does not mention it, since it does not fit with that history’s depiction of the Hunter as a warrior-sage. The Chronicle of Tjuwagga the Unbeliever does not mention it either, since the author never reached Daluming and either did not hear of the action or did not deem it worth mentioning. The Lord of the Ride does not describe it, which is less surprising since that chronicle focuses on military adventures. The True History of the Yalatji does not include it, an omission which is most surprising because it would be in keeping with the depictions there of the deeds of the Hunter.
Despite being omitted from the main primary sources, the Hunter’s actions in Daluming were well-recorded in local oral history and in surviving correspondence, including letters from visiting Europeans.
During the Consolidation, shortly after completing the Third Yaluma, the Hunter gave orders about Glazkul. This infamous pyramid with skulls interred behind glass, known to the local Bungudjimay as the Mound of Memory, had been damaged during the first English invasion in 1648. Since then, social disruption and disgust from European colonial overlords meant that the pyramid had been allowed to fall into disrepair. The Bungudjimay traditional religion depicted the completion of the pyramid as the Closure of the world, but that Closure had never been completed.
Astute to the symbolic potential, the Hunter ordered that Glazkul be repaired. Worthy heads were collected from those who had fallen during the Third Yaluma, those of former Bungudjimay royalty, and others who entered ritual combat to compete for the privilege of interment. When sufficient skulls were available, they were sealed behind glass.
The Hunter declared that the time of the Closure had arrived. That the old world, the world of misguidedness and partial truth, had come to an end. A new world had arrived, the world where the true faith would rule, where all would be guided toward harmony by the heirs of Tjarrling.
* * *
Venus’s Day, Cycle of Lead, 12th Year of King Puckapunyal [11 November 1715]
Morri-Murri Waterworks [4], River Gurrnyal [Lachlan River], Kingdom of Yigutji
The sun had not yet ascended to mid-morning, but heat already clung to the ground, heat more suited to high summer than late spring. Off to his left, water glistened invitingly atop the bed of a great river.
Kullerin resisted the temptation to dive into the river. Usually he preferred to avoid water which he could not step across. Until he heard the Hunter’s call, Kullerin had been a man of the highlands, where even the hottest summer rarely reached this temperature, and even then, not so early in the year. With heat such as now, though, even water looked appealing.
Instead, he waited with apparent calm and little outward emotion, as befit a herald. After serving the Hunter as a messenger for several years, he had been promoted to serve as a herald last year, in the later progression of the Third Yaluma. He had been one of the heralds who stood beside the Hunter when the great leader accepted the submission of the Warrbi chiefs, bringing war to an end, for now. Ever since, he had striven to maintain the composure expected of a herald.
The twenty or so Riders around him showed no such compunction, of course. Yalatji and Butjupa cavalry-men mopped their brows, fanned themselves with their hands, or otherwise quietly cursed the heat. Except for Weriyu, the band commander, who had chosen the privilege of standing beneath the one tree large enough to offer decent shade.
Kullerin absently patted the neck of the horse beside him. The horses had recently been watered, but this might need to be repeated if the wait continued indefinitely.
Weriyu held up a hand, and the Riders quietened. More alert than most, Weriyu had been the first to notice the scout riding back to the group.
Soon enough, the scout came back. His grin was wide before he made his report. “A dozen men, and two women, near the edge of a pond. One of the men is wealthy, from his dress. They have caught some ducks and are doing something with them. Not butchering them, exactly. None of them have horses. One boat which will not carry all of them. They will not have seen me; my spyglass gave me a good view, and they were in the wrong direction to see any sunlight glinting from it.”
“A worthy prize,” Weriyu said. “Mount up! We ride to raid.”
The Riders climbed up on their horses. The wealthier of them readied their wheel-lock pistols; the rest just checked that their swords were at the ready. Kullerin mounted his horse too, but he had no weapons. A herald should not need one. He had joined this raid to see the Five Rivers himself for the first time, and because he spoke the languages of both Yigutji and Tjibarr.
Weriyu said, “Take care not to harm the wealthy one; the River-Men may pay ransom for him. Spare the women if you can, too. I’m sure some of you want concubines, and if not, there’s plenty of men back home who will.”
He kept giving instructions about how to conduct the raid and best manoeuvre, but Kullerin did not bother to listen. His role was to watch, and speak to any captives, if such were secured.
The Riders went ahead, breaking into two groups. Kullerin rode behind them, keeping a good distance apart as the Riders hurried along the riverbank. It was not proper for a herald to be too close to death if it could be avoided. He heard the faint shouts of disturbance amongst the River-men, and the discharge of three pistols.
By the time Kullerin arrived, eight of the River-men were down, dead or dying. Three others, and the two women, had jumped into a boat and were rowing across the pond as fast as they could.
One of the pistol-bearing Riders asked, “Should I shoot the cowards in the boat?”
Weriyu nodded. “No. We can’t kill them all. The rest will report our presence. Save your bullets. We have a long ride home.”
The prizes from this raid did not appear large. A pile of large, drab-brown ducks had been assembled by the shore. A couple of abandoned knives. Whatever jewellery or other valuable things these fallen men might be carrying. And one captive, the only River-Man who had been left upright. The wealthy one which the scout had described.
The wealthy captive stood with an air of quiet dignity. He appeared well-proportioned, with broad shoulders and well-muscled arms. He had dark skin, darker than Kullerin had ever seen on a man, and thick, curly hair. His face was almost lost in one of the longest beards which Kullerin had ever seen, black with only the faintest hint of silver. The man wore a headband with checked squares of carmine and lime green, and carried a pendant of some opaque green stone around his neck.
He wore a tjiming, a form of clothing which Kullerin had only seen once before, worn by a small delegation of visiting Tjibarri priests in Cankoona. This tjiming was black-collared, with the rest grey, and had long sleeves with wide cuffs which hung low beneath the man’s wrists; the mark of someone who worked with his head rather than his hands, or perhaps did not work at all. The main bulk of his garment was wrapped twice around his chest and held in place with a light blue sash, while the hem of the garment just covered his knees. All in all, he looked wealthy indeed.
The captive did not utter a word, calmly waiting for the Riders to speak first. If he felt fear because the other River-Men had been cut down, he did not show it.
Weriyu motioned for Kullerin to come closer and translate, if necessary. “Do you speak Yalatji?”
The captive nodded, recognising the language if not the words.
In the Yigutji language, Kullerin said, “Do you understand me?”
The wealthy-looking man nodded again.
Weriyu, who knew enough of the Yigutji speech to recognise what had been asked, said, “A wealthy man here who does not speak their own language?”
Kullerin shrugged, and switched to the Tjibarri tongue. “What about this language?”
The man shook his head. “Yes, I speak Gunnagal. Or Junditmara, Wadang, Inglidj or Nedlandj, if you prefer any of those languages.”
“Tjibarri will do,” Kullerin said. He did not speak either of the named Raw Men tongues, and knew only a couple of words of Wadang, which people spoke in the third Five Rivers kingdom, Gutjanal. He did not even know what language Junditmara was.
Weriyu said, “Herald, translate this for me: you are our captive, understand?”
The man said, “I could hardly argue with so many swords and pistols.”
“Will your family ransom you?”
The captive said, “Family, no, but I have friends in Yigutji who would pay well. Perhaps also in Tjibarr-of-the-Lakes, though Gunnagal friendship tends to evaporate quickly when debts are called.”
“Yigutji will do,” Weriyu said. “We will bring you back to Cankoona, and then you can start writing ransom letters. If your friends are generous, you will live to return here.”
The man simply bowed his head in acknowledgement.
Weriyu instructed several Riders to kill the fallen if not already dead, then search the corpses for anything of value. He then looked at the pile of ducks next to him.
“Did you come here to hunt ducks?”
The wealthy-looking man said, “No. These ducks make poor eating, I am told. The hunters came for that.”
The captive gestured to a small leather pouch, which until then Kullerin had not seen behind the duck-pile. Looking closer, Kullerin realised that something small had been cut from the rump of each of the ducks, and must have been placed in the pouch.
Weriyu looked inside the pouch. “What worth is a few balls of duck skin?” He tossed it into the water.
The wealthy-looking man said, “That was musk, something which the people of the Five Rivers esteem for making perfume and incense.”
When Kullerin translated, Weriyu’s lip curled in disgust. “I am no perfumed River-Man.”
The captive grinned. “That musk would have been worth twice or thrice its weight in silver, if you sold it to the right people in the Five Rivers [5].”
“What worth is silver?” Weriyu asked, though by now Kullerin him well enough to recognise the hint of regret in his voice.
The wealthy-looking man shrugged. “The Raw Men value silver more than do Tjibarri; this much I already knew to be true. Now I learn that Tjibarri value silver more than do Yalatji, too [6].”
“Never mind silver,” Weriyu said. “If you are a man of wealth, why were you out here harvesting ducks?”
The captive said, “I was not harvesting them myself. I was simply curious to see how they collected musk ducks; I have used Yigutji perfume, but never known much about the musk they use to make it.”
Weriyu looked to Kullerin directly. “Do you believe him about this... musk?”
Kullerin said, “I’ve never seen these ducks before, but I’ve been told about them. As part of a memory of a memory, from the one who taught me the Yigutji language.”
“Ah, well. The captive is worth more in ransom than any perfume. He had better be, if he wants to live. Ask him his name.”
When Kullerin translated, the man bowed slightly and said, “I am called Pinjarra.”
* * *
[1] Murrginhi is the indigenous name for the Kingdom of the Skin, that is, the Patjimunra lands around the Kuyal [Hunter] Valley. Its name derives from murr, “kingdom” (where murra means king) and ginhi, which literally means “skin” but effectively means caste.
[2] The Loomal are a people who inhabit a Dutch-backed protectorate along the Lumbarr River [Manning River], producing a small but steady amount of spices. The Patjimunra, living along the Kuyal River, produce a larger volume of spices. These two peoples are the only major producers of Aururian eastern spices which remain beyond Dominion control.
[3] Gorang of Kabeebilla [Caboolture, QLD], the author of the Chronicle, was one of several prominent Kiyungu held as guest-hostages in Cankoona to reduce the risks of revolt in their homeland.
[4] The Morri-Murri Waterworks, located between historical Condobolin and Derriwong, is one of many artificial wetlands along the Gurrnyal [Lachlan River], maintained by the inhabitants of the kingdom of Yigutji. Even historically, the Gurrnyal has many natural wetlands and lakes associated with it, since it has a very variable river flow which leads to the wetlands being replenished during flood times. Allohistorically, many further artificial wetlands have been created along the Gurrnyal. Most of these artificial wetlands have been maintained into the eighteenth century, despite the population collapse of the plagues, because the lower human population makes them more attractive breeding sites for the highly-desired musk duck (Biziura lobata).
[5] During the breeding season, male musk ducks produce musk from a small gland on their rump. Similar to deer musk, the duck musk is a very useful fixative for perfumes, and also a strong, highly-valued aromatic compound for incense and some medicines. The musk duck’s social structure (highly competitive males) means that it has never been domesticated, so the people of the Five Rivers have encouraged the breeding of wild musk ducks on many of their natural and artificial wetlands. Because the male musk ducks breed with multiple females, who then nest and raise chicks alone, it is possible to harvest a significant proportion of the adult males each year for musk, without reducing the overall population.
[6] Tjibarr is a large producer of silver, thanks to the world’s largest lead-silver deposit at Gwee Langta [Broken Hill], and some smaller deposits nearby. These mines are located in semi-arid parts of the Dead Heart (outback). The difficulties of mining at such remote locations means that Tjibarr does not produce silver at as high a rate as the largest historical silver producers in this era, i.e. Andean silver. (Although early historical production from Broken Hill was higher than the equivalent production of all New Spain silver). Allohistorically, New Spain silver production is lower than its historical equivalent, due to the depopulating effects of the Aururian plagues. Tjibarri production more than makes up the difference; world production of silver here is higher than it was historically.
Some Tjibarri silver is used within the Five Rivers for jewellery, currency and chemistry, but most of it is exported. Europeans and Nuttana both trade Tjibarri silver into Asia, where it is a valued trade good. The same thing happened historically with Andean silver, which mostly ended up in Asia because the value of silver relative to gold was higher in Asia than it was in Europe.
* * *
Thoughts?
Yes, Please don't write a 5000 word essay on the history of the use of duck musk for perfume manufacture in the 5 Rivers Region.
None would be better. I hate these kind of diversions that take us out of the main story without adding anything of value to it.
I mean for any writer it's important to maintain a sense of narrative cohesion and flow. Certain authors (cough neal stephenson) very much struggle with that concept - but if duck musk is relevant in some broader sense, then it should be expounded upon so as to not come out of nowhere.
In any case, I rather trust Jared to give us just as much musk exposition as is necessary to carry the story to its conclusion. Personally, I find these asides that serve no purpose other than fleshing out a story to be incredibly satisfying, as long as they don't overwhelm any sense of narrative flow. This is an alt-history that built an entire world - anecdotes about duck musk can do far more to accomplish that goal than listing the deeds of some conquering religious leader.
Just as an aside. How old are you Jared, and are you training an apprentice to carry on this timeline should you be rendered unable to?
And X Castlemain and VB Carlton are expected along with the Coopers brothers, famous historians, Green Red and Gold eh? Is this the N Toohey (Toohey the younger) or O Toohey (Toohey the elder)? So many historians to mention such as Disability Stout.
I bet he was only 19.
* * *
We lost a quote there about concubines “if you want them”. Happy mardi gras. Musk up.
Musk sticks btw are an iotl Australian Lolly. Best served stale.