This was annoying to write, not because there's anything particularly frustrating in it, but because halfway through I clicked on another page and deleted everything. Ah, well...anyway, an overview of the Omiri River Delta, the location where my story actually takes place, and a note or two on Salvian nominal declension.
The Omiri River Delta
The Omiri River Delta, with major settlements noted
Geography and History
The
Omiri or Ohmeeri River (from Coastal Kwehnu
Ómirị "water poured forth") is among the top five longest rivers in the world. It starts in the highlands of the High Plateau, the largest mountain range in the world (larger and higher than the Himalayas of today), and travels slowly but surely down the west side of the continent of Akwa, bringing life-giving water and nutritious silt to the Ochu Desert (Coastal Kwehnu
ọ́chu "dry place"), which is the third-largest desert on the planet (behind the Swooper and Shadow Deserts--and possibly behind the remains of the Quiramic Empire as well, if they don't get those demons sorted out). Finally reaches the sea around the equator--and the tropical saltwater mixing with silt-heavy freshwater creates an environment more alive than anything to the south for hundreds if not thousands of kilometres. Truly a melting pot of an ecosystem, plants from Salvi, from the Acúraçõ Jungle just over the mountains, from the Spice Islands and Jhagjama, and even a few unusual native ones (like the exploding cactus) all share the rich mangrove forests and swampy islands of the delta.
Naturally, a fair few humans have come this way as well. The first inhabitants of the river delta are unknown; they're mentioned briefly in the records of the Wild Men (possibly the first human civilization on Ajjamah) and the Changers (originally from up in the highlands, but they conquered downriver around 4,000 years ago just for the heck of it) as having some minor ability to camouflage themselves in the undergrowth, but apparently never developed much in the way of technology. Around 2,500 years before the present day, the area was firmly taken by a group called the
Vinunõshã; also known as the Reincarnators, their Gift was for their Speaking Soul to be retained after death and move from person to person, granting powers along the way. Perhaps because their Gift was rather similar to that of the Sorcerers of Salvi, or perhaps because of the distance between the Salvian Peninsula and the Omiri Delta (not very far, but far enough to make communication difficult without modern spells), there was much trade during the Classical Period. Indeed, the Salvians are believed to have been the inspiration for the
Anukombana, elf-like creatures who come from the sea and play tricks on mere mortals, and are still referred to by this title today.
Around 800 years ago, however, a zombie apocalypse happened. Well, okay, it was very localized--a new race called the Kwehnu, aided by armies of the dead, came forth from the desert and conquered the Changer and Reincarnator states, and established their own empire, which they called
Anosha (Coastal Kwehnu
Aanọ́sa) after the Reincarnator name for the river. The local chiefs sent out for help from whoever they were in contact with--in this case the Salvians, as well the Crusaders from Hercua down south--but to no avail. Salvi was trying to fend off invaders from the Quiramic Empire, and Hercua was collapsing into a civil war that would eventually lead to the rise of
Guandunianism and the Sects-in-Union. Indeed, it took six hundred and fifty years before anyone made a move--the Salvians because they were being frustrated by ghost pirates, and the Hercuans because they were trying to conquer the world so that everyone would have a chance on the day of Resurrection, and undead armies tend to be kind of a bad sign when you're not quite finished the job yet. They were joined by Berserkers from far-off Wenglau, who wanted a convenient point to trade with the west and preferred not to have to deal with the chewed-up remains of one-time clients. It took several decades and a combined army, but in the end the three managed to claim the Delta from the witch-lord who'd set up shop there. Each empire claimed a portion of the territory as their own, although they haven't gotten around to fully settling the whole scoop yet, and vowed to save the Kwehnu--now known as the Survivors instead of the Zombies, in the vain, somewhat PC hope that distancing the people from their deceased relatives would erase centuries of slavery--from themselves.
The colonies themselves are ruled by three different governors, and in theory are independent. In practice, there's free passage from one colony to the other if you hail from Salvi, Hercua, or Wenglau, it's as easy to claim to follow one legal tradition as any of them. (The Kwehnu and Vinunosha are responsible for keeping their own law.) There are certain no-nos, of course--don't argue religion with a Hercuan, don't expect the Salvians to understand your problems with breaking the laws of physics, don't
ever mention the words "income tax" to a Wenglanese--but for the most part everyone seems to get along just fine. This despite the fact that the cities are claimed by three different countries, all of whom want the whole thing to themselves. And then there's the zombie army building itself again upstream...
Quarters of the Colony
The colonies are present for two purposes, one humanitarian (rebuilding a country after the reign of the undead) and one somewhat more pragmatic. The latter changes depending on the motherland, and is intimately tied in with their method of "saving" the Survivors.
Visauru, the Salvian colony, is a place of new beginnings for people from the overcrowded lands of Salvi proper--and also a place for those whose magic is less than stellar, most notably refugees from the Telepath Empire. In exchange for land to settle on, and food to eat, the Sorcerers provide the Kwehnu and Vinunosha with amulets to enhance their quality of life--water purification spells, for example, or nazars to ward off (evil) spirits. (Astras? Not a chance, no non-Salvian is getting their hands on the magical equivalent of atomic bombs.) Their efforts are thus mainly focused on nearby communities, with whom they establish contracts (of the Salvian type, which leaks into your brain and compels you to be honest).
Guarino, run by the Dorian Church from Hercua, is as always dedicated to spreading the gospel and increasing God's power and influence--as well as that of their own church. The priests in the city make long treks into the wilderness at times, building churches where people can take refuge from the undead. (Any discrepancies about how Kwehnu society is purported to work and how it actually works are mostly ignored; how the heck could people live
safely with zombies anyway?) They, too, receive food--and also conscripts, who are sent south to fight in other parts of the Dorian Church's mini-empire, in Hercua or on the High Plateau or across the sea near Malehi or even in other Crusader Colonies in Akwa. In return, converts are made citizens of the empire--second-class, sure, but with the system the way it is at the moment they should be fully accepted by the second generation to be born Guandunians, right?
Won Zan, settled by the Wenglanese country Changui, has no interest in settlement, and could care less what the natives believe. Their primary focus is on maintaining a trading colony that reaches the Central Ocean, and thus the nations of Salvi and Hercua (among others). They keep their depot on the eastern bank, not on islands that can be closed down during a zombie attack. Not that it matters; a Berserker in full battle-mode is more than capable of disposing of a zombie, no matter the strength of the undead. Traders travel upstream to the villages to seek out gold, diamonds, and exotic animals. Mercenaries, too--the Wenglanese have a long tradition of fighting for pay, and it doesn't stop just because your customer has skin as black as midnight and might come back to eat your brains some day. The Wenglanese trade--and in exchange, they provide luxury goods for the Kwehnu and Vinunosha, such as psychedelic drugs from their tropical rainforests, or clock-punk contraptions that are easily repaired but require trademarked parts.
The fourth settlement,
Ibongedu or Eebongedoo (from Coastal Kwehnu
íbọ ngọ ẹdú, appropriately enough also meaning "sun-land"), is where most of the remaining Kwehnu and Vinunosha dwell on the delta. There is little rhyme or reason to this poorest of quarters; like the favelas in Brazil, the poorer folks live up on the hills, while the wealthy live closer to the shore--and to protection by the Three Cities of the Delta. Most modern Survivors and Reincarnators live in constant fear of attacks by the undead; they bury their own dead out at sea, where the newly awakened will be less than accustomed to the new environment and probably will be swept along in the current. (They cannot bring themselves to
burn the bodies, even after a hundred years.) Also note that, while more susceptible to
becoming zombies, the natives are for some reason less likely to be
attacked by zombies. The colonists can't take a hint, it seems.
Salvian Noun Classes and Nominal Declension
Classical Salvian nouns are inflected for case, number, and class. There are seven cases--nominative, accusative, genitive, instrumental, ablative, illative, and allative. Nouns can be singular, partitive, or plural. The twelve classes of nouns--divided into animate/inanimate/ethereal/miscellaneous and masculine/feminine/neuter--provide, with a few exceptions, a fairly standardized method of derivation (unfortunately lost in a lot of the daughter languages).
The
nominative case is used for the subject of sentences and for the predicates of certain copulas, and is derived from the Proto-Empath absolutive (it is still used this way in the Quiramic languages, but not in Ankoseiwas).
The
accusative, derived from the indirect object case in Proto-Empath, is used for the direct object of a sentence and occurs after some prepositions.
The
genitive is largely used as a possessive marker, but occasionally serves double-time in its original position as the ergative case.
The
locatives are specialized cases derived from the older instrumental case in Proto-Empath, and all can be used with prepositions.
The
instrumental is used to indicate the means by which the subject acts, and is used in temporal constructions to indicate passing time.
The
ablative denotes motion away, be that phsyical, temporal, or emotional (in poetry the ablative is used occasionally as a negative, and this function is preserved in the languages of Ḍalsah).
The
illative, similar to a locative, indicates where something is at this very instant. It is used temporally as well, for specific moments (in contrast with the broader time suggested by the instrumental), and for emotional states (in the same way that English speakers might talk of being "in denial" but extended to other emotions as well).
The
illative rounds off the trio of locative cases, referring to motion
towards something.
There are also two varieties of
compound form. The first is used in concatenation of words, for purposes of poetry or derivation, and is immediately followed by a noun or a verb. The second is used solely in derivation, and extends the root of the word (again from the original Proto-Empath compound form) for a further suffix to be added. The latter is rare but still present; for example, the Classical Salvian word for the Sorcerers as a collective,
Salvī, is derived from
salun 'magical symbol'--for which the compound form is
salvi--and adds an feminine suffix to it, shifting its case from feminine inanimate to feminine miscellaneous and applying the class 'specific location'.
Masculine Nouns
Noun Class | Cases | Singular | Partitive | Plural |
Masculine Animate
Compound Forms: -ō/a-,-ō-
Male sapients, birds, fish,
fire/light, small reptiles | Nominative
Accusative
Genitive
Instrumental
Ablative
Illative
Allative | -a(r)
-am
-āu
-ōk
-ōt
-ōn
-ōr | -as
-amu
-asi
-ak
-ati
-ana
-aru | -os
-āum
-āul
-āuk
-āut
-āun
-āur |
Masculine Inanimate
Compound Forms: -u-,-ū-
Long/tall/thin objects, flat
objects, roots, chordophones,
some grains, grasses, vines,
animal-based materials | Nominative
Accusative
Genitive
Instrumental
Ablative
Illative
Allative | -ū
-ūm
-ūl
-ūk
-vus
-vu
-vur | -ū
-ūm
-ūli
-vuk
-vut
-vun
-vur | -uva
-uvam
-uvas
-vōk
-vōs
-vāu
-vōr |
Masculine Ethereal
Compound Forms: -i-,-iyu-
Male deities, plans,
coming-of-age festivals,
patron gods, invocations,
features | Nominative
Accusative
Genitive
Instrumental
Ablative
Illative
Allative | -ir
-im
-āi
-yuk
-yut
-yu
-yur | -yus
-yum
-yul
-yuk
-yut
-yu
-yur | -yō
-yōm
-yōs
-yōk
-yōt
-yō
-yōru |
Masculine Miscellaneous
Compound Forms: -u-,-u-
Temples/shrines, spells,
verb results, periods of
time, shapes, male names,
specific objects, male animals | Nominative
Accusative
Genitive
Instrumental
Ablative
Illative
Allative | -Vr
-um
-āu
-uk
-ut
-un
-ur | -va
-vi
-vu
-uk
-ut
-un
-ur | -vas
-vis
-vus
-vuk
-ōs
-ō
-ōr |
Feminine Nouns
Noun Class | Cases | Singular | Partitive | Plural |
Feminine Animate
Compound Suffix: -ē-/i-,-ē-
Females sapients/animals,
fluids, insects, snakes,
shelled vertebrates | Nominative
Accusative
Genitive
Instrumental
Ablative
Illative
Allative | -an
-am
-āi
-ēk
-ēt
-ēn
-ēr | -as
-amu
-asi
-ak
-ati
-ana
-aru | -ēs
-āim
-āil
-āik
-āit
-āin
-āir |
Feminine Inanimate
Compound Suffix: -ō/u-,-vi-
Short/squat items, round
items, fruits, aerophones,
bushes, symbols, condiments,
plant-based materials | Nominative
Accusative
Genitive
Instrumental
Ablative
Illative
Allative | -u(n)
-um
-āu
-vik
-vit
-vi
-vir | -vis
-vim
-vil
-vik
-vit
-vi
-vir | -vāi
-vēm
-vēs
-vēk
-vēt
-vē
-vēr |
Feminine Ethereal
Compound Forms: -i-,-ī-
Female deities, conversations,
life festivals, patron goddesses,
prayers, constructions | Nominative
Accusative
Genitive
Instrumental
Ablative
Illative
Allative | -ī
-īm
-īl
-īk
-yis
-yi
-yir | -ī
-īm
-īli
-yik
-yit
-yin
-yir | -iya
-iyam
-iyas
-yēk
-yēs
-yāi
-yēr |
Feminine Miscellaneous
Compound Forms: -e/i-,-i-
Locations (specific),
verbal nouns, gardens,
water sources, charms,
female names, concepts | Nominative
Accusative
Genitive
Instrumental
Ablative
Illative
Allative | -Vn
-im
-āi
-ik
-it
-in
-ir | -ya
-yi
-yu
-ik
-it
-in
-ir | -yas
-yis
-yus
-yik
-ēs
-ē
-ēr |
Neuter Nouns
Noun Class | Cases | Singular | Partitive | Plural |
Neuter Animate
Compound Forms: -a-,-ā-
Children, saints, neutrals,
winds, beasts, family names | Nominative
Accusative
Genitive
Instrumental
Ablative
Illative
Allative | -ā
-ām
-āl
-āk
-āt
-ā
-ār | -ā
-ām
-āli
-āk
-āt
-ā
-ār | -ās
-āis
-āus
-āk
-āt
-ā
-ār |
Neuter Inanimate
Compound Forms: -u-,-va-
Soil, meat, collected items,
idiophones, membranophones,
trees, drawings, mineral-
based materials | Nominative
Accusative
Genitive
Instrumental
Ablative
Illative
Allative | -us
-um
-vā
-vak
-vat
-va
-var | -vas
-vam
-val
-vak
-vat
-va
-var | -vā
-vām
-vas
-vāk
-vāt
-vā
-vār |
Neuter Ethereal
Compound Forms: -ya/i-,-iya-
Spirits, boundary deities,
death festivals, personal
deities, sacrifices, speech
acts, family names | Nominative
Accusative
Genitive
Instrumental
Ablative
Illative
Allative | -is
-im
-yā
-yak
-yat
-ya
-yar | -yas
-yam
-yal
-yak
-yat
-ya
-yar | -yā
-yām
-yās
-yāk
-yāt
-yā
-yār |
Neuter Miscellaneous
Compound: -a-,-a-
Locations (general), buildings,
marks/markings, rituals/events,
types of magic, collective nouns,
family names | Nominative
Accusative
Genitive
Instrumental
Ablative
Illative
Allative | -Vs
-am
-ā
-ak
-at
-an
-ar | -ā
-āi
-āu
-ak
-at
-an
-ar | -ās
-āis
-āus
-āk
-āt
-ā
-ār |
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