Encyclopedia - Kalatsu, Island of the Moon

Geography:

The Island of the Moon's actual name is Kalatsu. However, the term "island" is a misnomer, Kalatsu is an archipelago. It's made up of three large islands and several dozen smaller ones. The largest island is Solla, which comes from the Old Language word for "dusk." It has three major cities, one being the capital and the other two major harbor cities. The capitol is Kal'ishka, where the King and Court are located. This is where most of the guilds have their Halls, and the biggest merchant city in Kalatsu. It is also the only city left in Kalatsu from before the Rift.

The other two cities are commonly referred to as the Twins. Kal'Hara and Kal'Harath are both harbor cities, with similar design and architecture. They've also both been burnt, destroyed and pillaged numerous times, as they're on the west of Solla and thus the part closest to the Island of the Sun. The second largest island is Keiski, from the Old Language word for "landing." This is the northernmost island in the archipelago. It's only major city is Kal'Islan. Legend claims that this is where Islan first landed on Kalatsu.

The third Island is Cresula, from the Old Language word for "wisdom." Cresula is fairly barren, and is currently being controlled by the Knights. They renamed the only city Kal'Ylanna - "Goddess' Freedom." It isn't really a city, however; it's actually a huge fortress where the Knights train and live.

Solla and Keiski are both densely populated places; they, along with a few of the smaller islands, are the only ones that have enough vegetation to support human life. The only reason that the Knights chose Cresula for their base is that it's very easily defensible, and they are able to bring in supplies from the other islands.

Kalatsu has a frigid climate. The southern islands, including Cresula, are subject to snow year round. Their temperatures peak around forty degrees (F) in summer and, when wind chill is added in, drop to about far below zero in the winter. They are subject to frequent blizzards, which is why they're basically devoid of life.

However, the northern islands have regular seasons (as opposed to perpetual winter.) The summer can be quite warm, but is the shortest season. During summer, farmers go crazy planting so that they can have full harvests in the autumn. The harvest is important, and if not enough is brought in, winter becomes all the more miserable.

Holidays (secular):

The largest holiday celebrated is the Festival of Flowers. This takes place the first day of summer, and lasts for a full day and night. Celebration involves the planting and picking of various flowers. The flowers all have certain meanings when given to another; the most common are the Ynna for friendship, Alna for hope and Elnala for love. (Flowers similar to a daisy, lily and rose respectively.) The Festival generally ends with adults getting very drunk, and it's said that children conceived the night of the Festival are blessed.

Another major holiday is Harvestend, the day that officially ends the harvest season. (Never mind that, if crops still need to be brought in, the harvest continues.) This is also largely celebrated by getting drunk, but there are also bonfires involved. (Tended by members of the church, who are thus forced to remain sober.) When there is a large harvest and still a good deal to be brought in, this holiday will be postponed so that not a day of harvesting is missed, since (as previously stated) winters without enough food are bloody miserable.

The current King's birthday is also usually celebrated.

Religion:

Kalatsu's official religion is the worship of Kaleal, Goddess of the Moon. There are a very few other religions, but they are relatively minor and most of their followers practice secretly. Kaleal's religion has never actively persecuted others, but frowns on their existence.

Hythala is a religious holiday. It's also known as The Day of Mourning and is a time when the past is honored. People light candles for lost loved ones and spend most of the day praying.

People can pray in several ways. Reading the Holy Books of Kaleal is considered prayer, as is attending Temple. However, Temple is not necessary (it mostly makes the Priests feel important) since the religion dictates that everyone ought to have a personal relationship with the Goddess. This is, it says, best achieved by speaking to Her in whatever way makes you the most comfortable. The most obscure way to pray, usually only used by Knights, is by marking your face with a rune. Generally, this is used to ask the Goddess for something very important; Knights will usually use it to ask for courage or strength in a battle.

The religious hierarchy goes thusly: The High Priest (or Priestess), also known as The Goddess' Voice or The Goddess' Speaker, is chosen by the Goddess Herself. He or She knows they've been selected from the first time s/he is Called to the Goddess' service, but doesn't remember until the current High Priest dies. Thus far, no one has ever claimed to be the High Priest if it wasn't true. The High Priest leads the religion because, where anyone can speak to the Goddess, very few get answered. However, when She has something to say, She does it by telling Her Voice.

Aside from the Voice, all other Priests are technically equal. Some, however, are more equal than others—Priests generally rotate where they sever every few years, with the exception of honor positions, serving as the primary Priests in major cities, such as the Twins, Kal'Islan, or Kal'Ishka. These posts, while considered the most glorious, are also the most dangerous—all of these cities have been sacked at several points, and Priests are always targets for invading Warriors.

The Knights are the Clergy's strong arm, and until a few years before Kalin was born, they were entirely subservient to the main body of Priests, and in particular to the whims of the Voice. Though not always a bad thing, there have been several High Priests who were concerned almost solely with Kalatsu itself, rarely with either liberating slaves on Arpiar or actively pursuing the war against it. These Priests severely curtailed the Knights' ability to act; in response to one of them, the Knights split off from the main Church and created their stronghold, Kal'Ylanna.

Like most military organizations, the Knights have ranks within them; the highest ranking Knight is referred to as the Blade of Kaleal. The Blade is sometimes selected by Kaleal, and other times selected by the Knights themselves. Technically, he or she is equal to the Voice—not as a Priest, but as a leader. The Blade does not have to obey the Voice. However, most often the Voice and the Blade work in harmony.

Angels play a large part in Kaleal's religion. Some members of Her Clergy who do large amounts of work for her (and, for some reason, usually die in Her service) are elevated to the status of Angels at death. The most famous case of this was Islan, who became the Angel of Freedom after his death. Most of the High Priests become angels as well. Also, many who enter the Goddess' service will have a vision of an Angel that calls them to it; the role each person is destined to play determines what Angel calls them. Kaleal rarely communicates more directly than that with her followers, aside from choosing the Voice or the Blade, but rarely will reveal herself in dreams.

Government:

Kalatsu is a monarchy, ruled over through most of its modern history by the Kelanister family. There is a nobility, but due to the harsh climate and the ravages of war, they aren't very powerful and more concerned with survival than with power. There is also a very influential Guild system; Guild leaders wield power close to that of the Nobility, but are elected.

Technically, the Church of Kaleal has nothing to do with ruling Kalatsu; traditionally, however, the Kelanister family is tied closely with the Church. However, anyone who enters the Goddess' service gives up all claims to nobility; for example, upon becoming a Knight, Erra Kelanister resigned from his hereditary position as Heir. After the death of his parents and brother, he reclaimed that position, but only by leaving the Knighthood. The Voice of Kaleal, while not a ruler of Kalatsu, wields considerable influence. To a lesser extent, the Blade functions the same way.

Miscellaneous:

The people all have black hair. All of them. It goes along with the Religion, some believe it's a form of magic. The only exception to this rule is the Clergy itself; all Knights and some Priests have white in their hair. It's very rare to see anyone with completely white hair with the exception of the High Priest, however. (Oddly, the Kelanister family follows similar patterns with hair—all have black streaks at the very front, and otherwise entirely white hair, should they enter the Goddess' service.)

The language was derived from something known only as the Old Language. Interestingly enough, so was the language spoken on Arpiar, although the two languages differ greatly. There are a few people who still speak the Old Language and can read it, which is difficult, as it's written in runes. Most people only speak the current language of Kalatsu, although a very few also speak the language of Arpiar.

Magic is very rare, although not nonexistent. Currently, no one can use it, with the exception of Healers. Healers are doctors who can use magic to heal patients as well as the usual techniques. About one person in a hundred has this gift, but having it in strength is much more rare. It shows up most often among Priests, and occasionally among Knights. Healing is a strenuous process, but when done correctly, the largest side effects will be exhaustion and thirst.

The only other form of magic is directly tied to religion. Angels can perform magical acts, as, to a lesser extent, can the Voice. The only non-Angelic, non-Healing magic in use is a prayer that powers a series of underground tunnels, which can lead instantly from one end of a tunnel to another. Most Knights and Priests know and can use this spell, but find it difficult and physically draining. The more closely a Knight is tied to the Goddess, the more effectively he or she can use the tunnels. Not surprisingly, Knights from the Kelanister family have the strongest magical abilities.

There is a system of identification on Kalatsu. This involves ear piercings. On a boy's eighteenth birthday (sixteenth for girls) adulthood becomes official. Part of this ceremony involves piercing the upper part of a child's ear. Everyone wears a hoop earring, which has a color code to go with it. Silver goes to the Clergy (who also wear a crescent moon earring); gold to royalty, green for merchants, brown for farmers, etc.

The crescent moon earrings are also color coded. Priests wear blue, Knights wear white. Healers wear a crescent moon also, theirs is dark purple. The High Priest wears a silver crescent moon. However, as a Knight can also be Priest and a Healer can be either one, these earrings can be split into several parts and colored to show all of the functions a person fulfils.

Genders are considered more or less equal on Kalatsu. Every person is expected to contribute to society, as the combination of the climate and the war make even just surviving difficult. At times, the Island has been ruled by Queens; similarly, both the positions of the Voice and the Blade have been held by women. (The first Knight to be named the Blade of Kaleal, in fact, was female.) The language of Kalatsu evolved from an Old Tongue, which was gendered, but most gendered terms have fallen out of usage. The language has no true feminine form for job titles, such as Knight or Priest; Priestess is used very rarely, usually when dealing with translations either from the Old Tongue itself, or the language of Arpiar.

History:

Very little is known of the time before the Rift, but legend says that Kalatsu and the Arpiar were united as one land mass, and that they were much closer to the mainland, which is also now a thing of legend. The Rift was a series of violent earthquakes, which (legend says) destroyed pretty much everything and split the one mass into islands.

The truth of this is unknown.

Where written history begins, the two Islands were at peace until an ambitions Priest of Ocando (God of the Sun) began to preach about being the one true religion and needing to convert the heathens... And things went rapidly downhill from there. The first war began, and was won by the Island of the Moon, who then began to ignore their neighbors, as the Island of the Sun had been pretty brutally dealt with and was in no shape to attack again, for about a hundred years.

At the end of this time, a woman known as Analla Sundancer (the second Prophet of Ocando) united and reinvigorated Ocando's Church. Under her guidance, the Warriors again invaded Kalatsu, which was completely unprepared. Many were slaughtered, and the Island was occupied for close to a decade.

At this point, a pirate named Islan was up an the shores of Keiski, and was saved from hypothermia by a Priest named Nyala Kelanister. Unbeknownst to him, Nyala had prayed to Kaleal for a savior for her people; Islan was the answer to that prayer. Before becoming a pirate, he had been a Knight on the mainland of Temira, and had trained an unlikely army to win a revolution against great odds. Upon learning of the occupation and enslavement of Kalatsu, he helped lead furious natives against their oppressors on Keiski, the slowly the movement grew and, with him as its leader, Kalatsu was liberated. Islan founded the Knights and married Nyala; their son, Alis, later became the first Kelanister to rule Kalatsu as King.

After Islan routed the Warriors, there was a very tentative peace for a time. It fell through several decades later, setting up a pattern that has prevailed ever since: open warfare, with short interludes (ranging from as brief as a month to as long as a decade) of shaky peace. So things continued until the year 360, the beginning of Kalin's Story.

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