The Salamdeul

Won-in, Salamdeul, Chonwon-in

The Salamdeul (사람들) trace their descent from the Ship-Born (배탄생) and the Forest-Cradled (숲에 안겨), two legendary peoples in the time before time that met along the ancient shores of Won (원). Their nation, more broadly called Cunyuan (촌원), occupies the southern shores of Ai-zho, bounded by the Xia tribes of Zhourrenia to the west, the Hui and the Cathantene Empire to the north and east.

Harmonious Records of the Won Kings

Creation | 사이

Oral traditions tell of the All-Encompassing God (모든 것을 포괄하는 분명한 사랑의 신), who was himself All (원) and Nothing (무). In his soul, the Void (영혼을 삼키는 가마솥₁) he tore from himself Form (형태), grafting from that expanse the Stars (빛나는 영역₂) and Terra (생명을 주는 광활한 공간₃). Upon Terra he made a form of each element, living and static; and each he mixed into ten-thousand (만) more, and each a million (무한) after that until he was contented, and all the Universe (사이) formed.

_{1 |  lit. Soul-Devouring Cauldron}

_{2 |  lit. Shining Realms}

_{3 |  lit. Life-Giving Expanses}

_{4 |  lit. Four Gods of Heavenly Brotherhood}

_{5 |  Thought to be a literal representation of ‘Dun’, ‘Ildun’, or the personage that exemplified it; in this case, Harren.}

_{6 |  Thought to represent or be descended from the name Sarai.}

The Forest-Cradled | 숲에 안겨

The Forest-Cradled, Sup-e Angyo, were born in Ai-Zho, little different from their Li-Ren (리인) counterparts. In the time before recorded Salamdeul history, they lived relatively simple lives of oral tradition, tribalistic familial structures, and subsistence via a ritualized form of pastoral herding, moving from one feeding grounds, or Hwanggeum-bich Peolbat (골든 그래스 밭₁), to the next. The ruins of stout stone temples that once overlooked such Peolbat still stand in Heshan, in the Fifth Central Imperial Governing Province of Cathant. While these are off-limits to those below the Third Lesser Ministerial Echelon, Eight-Graded Jade Inspector Zhou Min-Zhu (1582-1647) once described it in his report to the Interior Bureaucratic Office of the Grand Seal:

The temple is a measly thing, no more than ten zhi₂ tall, in its center what first appeared little more than thirteen rocks aligned in a rounded shape. Yet upon further inspection, the shadow of each was perfectly measured so that the hours of the day matched that of the third autumnal cycle. How many centuries have these sat here, unburdened save by time? Dew that sways the leaf does not oft snap it.

The slow agrarian spread of the Li-Ren eventually led to conflict, and the far less organized Sup-e Angyo were pushed to the west by their relentless expansion - yet it was the earliest of Oyashi invasions of the northern coast that erased their most fertile territories, finally leaving their lands little more than the southern corridor between mountain and sea. While this rocky land could barely support the already thin population of the Forest-Cradled, we know them to have survived in part thanks to the fortuitous landing of the Ship-Born - and the beginning of the Era of Sea-Meets-Shore.

_{1 |  lit. Goldengrass Field}

_{2 |  A standard Li-Ren unit of measurement roughly analogous to 1.3 feet.}

_{3 |  Part of ancient Sup-e Angyo oral traditions, the Stone and Grass Ballad is traditionally sung on the new moon festival commemorating the scattering of Keleugi’s sands and the beginning of its namesake era.}

_{4 |  lit. Wild Ones, what few cave drawings remain of them often depict inhumanly tall, thin beings dressed in barks.}

Sea Meets Shore & the Age of Won | 바다와 해안의 만남 시대

While little remains of the Era of Stone and Grass, the Era of Sea-Meeting-Shore has been recorded faithfully as the beginning of the Salamdeul states across dozens of histories both domestic and abroad, such as the Myriad Happenings of the Court of the Second Won King (수많은 일들 원왕의 법정₁)  and the Records of the Western Pavilions (西閣記 | 서부관 이야기₂).

When Hyeondeul Wang expelled the Hou-zi plague (저주받은 기 원숭이 왕국₉) that had invaded the pastoral lands of the Salamdeul, he was made first Won King and built for himself the fortress city of Tamoi, taking the name Hyeondeul Libja Wang (현들립자왕). The period between the first landing of the Lords-Beyond-the-Water and his death would thereafter be called the Era of Sea-Meets-Shore, and each Salamdeul era thereafter measured by the lifespan of its rulers.

_{1 |  Written approximately 500 years after the Sea-Meeting-Shore, the Myriad Happenings is a classic Salamdeul history in that it is barely a history at all; more a collection of moralistic stories of court ministers and ladies, it begins midway through the Second Won King Brae Dae-bol Wang and his Era of Blooming Peonies (피는 모란) and ends with his invasion and cleansing of the last independent Hou-zi foothold in the region, Goewon (기괴한 원숭이 나라, or 괴원).}

_{2 |  Ten years after the founding of the Li Kingdom, the Young Master of the Western Pavilions conducted diplomacy  with the 난초 왕국, or Kingdom of Bauhinia Grottos, a petty realm ruled by the lesser Hyeondeul branch of Hyeoncho, and recorded what histories he learned of the Salamdeul in his diaries.}

_{3 |  lit. Sacred Puyang Temple of Alabaster and Onyx}

_{4 |  lit. God of All Creation and Eternity, coll. ‘God’}

_{5 |  lit. Lesser Gods of the Heavenly Court}

_{6 |  lit. Shaman Maidens of Onyx}

_{7 |  lit. Purple Dragon Usurpers of the Many-Colored Flame}

_{8 |  lit. Awe-Inspiring Seventy Zhi Black Tortoise Ship}

_{9 |  lit. Accursed Ki Monkey Kingdoms}

Age of Sorrows | 슬픔

Many Won Kings ruled in succession after the expulsion of the Hou-zi plague, yet the Age of Won would not last forever. What had begun a united folk slowly devolved into the power struggles of the Inner Clans against the ascendant Branch Families and Outer Clans (하나의 나무의 여러 가지 가지₁). Court favors spiraled into intrigues, and three generations rarely make three wealths (첫 번째 세대는 부를 가져오고, 세 번째 세대는 가난을 가져옵니다₂). Finally it came to a head, whereupon the deposition of the Thirteenth Won King - the choice of Hyeondeul and the majority of the Inner Clans - in favor of his brother, who was the nominee of the Hyeondeul Branch Families, Clan Brae and the Outer Clans (and would thereafter be the Fourteenth Won King) began a civil war - the famed and terrible Rivers and Mountains War (쌍둥이 강과 산 형제의 전쟁₃).

Whilst the Northern Tamoi Kingdom was in its earliest days the stronger, it lacked a natural bay with which to trade with the friendly, if largely weak and nomadic, states of Xia. It was also subject to constant Hui raids, eventually collapsing into the Seventy Kingdoms of the Age of Sorrows (시대의 슬픔 칠십왕국). These fractious states are rarely recorded to have been larger than a day’s ride from any minor city or village, and all northern cities slowly reduced in size from constant battle. Yet rather than expand and consolidate the Salamdeul, the Later Won Kingdom grew only its defenses, building walls from mountain to marsh (오중 성벽 건설 노력나중에원₆) and a new fleet of Hyeonmu ships in hopes of repelling future conflict. The Later Won Kingdom’s First Hyeonchon through Seventh Deulla Kings would continue this status quo, to their eventual loss.

The choices made by consecutive inwards-facing rulers would be the prelude to the true Age of Sorrows, as Invaders from the North and East (공허에서 보낸 북섬과 동부해의 침략자₇) slowly but surely conquered each petty kingdom even as they fought each other; in two hundred years they reached the Fivefold Walls, and within a hundred after that Puyang fell to the Empire of Cathant. Such began three hundred years of shame, marked by Salamdeul culture forced into subservience beneath foreign rule and Won turned into a rump state - referred to for the first time as Cunyuan₈.

_{1 |  lit. Manyfold Branches of One Tree (also translated as ‘The manyfold branches of the Great Tree that is Won’, in reference to the kingdom at large, historians now disagree on whether this was a literal representation of the clan hierarchies or a reference to a general revolt).}

_{2 |  lit. ‘Though the first generation creates wealth, the third portends poverty’. This saying encapsulates the belief that the first generation creates wealth, the second builds it, and the third spends it - a saying taken and subsequently repurposed from the Li-Ren.}

_{3 |  lit. Twin Rivers and Mountain Brothers' War, in reference to the two great rivers, Geum and Woncho, between the banks of which the decisive battle of the war was fought, as well as Brothers’ Mount (형제의 산), where the first mandate of the Fourteenth Won King was declared.}

_{4 |  lit. Four Wrongs of the Great Civil War, the scouring of the cities created five generations of animosity between the powerful city-ruler clans of the era, irreversibly weakening the Won Kingdom in the pivotal moments before the invasions.}

_{5 |  Called the Northern Tamoi Kingdom to differentiate from the later Kingdom of Tamoi, ruled by the Hyeoncho Branch Family of Hyeondeul and existing sometime between the Fifth Hyeonchon King of Won and the Invasions.}

_{6 |  lit. Fivefold Wall-Building Effort of Later Won}

_{7 |  lit. Void-Sent invaders of Northern Isles and Eastern Seas}

_{7 |  Named rather crudely after the Hyeonchon (Chon) dynasts of Won (Won), Chon-Won was transliterated to the Li-Ren language and became Cunyuan.}

Age of Distainment | 하층부 시대

Cunyuan is a largely monoracial state, with those other than the Salamdeul, and occasional Xia, Hui and Zhou, rare beyond the trade port of Puyang. Elves have long been eradicated or disappeared, and few texts beyond the Harmonies (깨달은 원왕들의 조화로운 기록₁) survive the changing of ruling clans to tell foreign histories.

_{1 |  lit. Harmonious Records of the Enlightened Won Kings}

CULTURE

The Salamdeul believe in a social framework that governs their social relationships, government administration, and individual behavior. In Salamdeul philosophy, there are five pillars that keep society from falling apart, and a well rounded Salamdeul must not only learn these pillars, but live them every day of their lives.

Cuisine | 국

or pickled vegetables, light soups, and, for the sufficiently wealthy, pickled meats. Desserts, most often some form of sweet glutinous rice cake, are viewed as a relative rarity and eaten on special occasions. 

The relative austerity of the Won Court is to the point that rather than being praised, desserts are viewed as displays of excess - the more stringent households will forego it in totality, while those attempting to project their wealth (especially among the Outer Clans) might have it served nearly every day.

Soups (국) | Soups are a common part of Salamdeul meals, and the first of the ‘Three Ancient Pillars’ of Cunyuan cuisine. They are served as part of the main course, and tend to be made from meats and vegetables. In the summer months, it is very common to have cold soups to cool down. Rice is usually served alongside a soup, unless noodles are served in the broth.

Sam-Hwanggeum Oxtail Soup | Wordplay for Three-Season Soup based on the ancient feeding route parcels of the Sup-e Angyo, Sam-Hwanggeum (삼골든) is a fragrant dish of stewed oxtail, scallion, onions, cabbage and garlic; liberally seasoned but never spicy, it is a staple dish in the foothills of the northern mountains of Cunyuan, and Salamdeul from royal halls to the lowest of taverns oft have fond memories of the soup from their childhood. It is named as such due to being common between the late Autumn, Winter and into Spring; though it is considered ill luck to fell an oxen just before the harvest season, so the dish is only rarely had during summers.

Guksu and its Variants | Before the Oyashiman invasions, the Salamdeul primarily relied on grains such as millet and barley. Later wheat and buckwheat was also included, as these were the crops the Harrenites were most familiar with. From them, the Salamdeul made Guksu (국수) also known as noodles, and the ‘Second Ancient Pillar’ of Salamdeul cuisine. Often, noodles are eaten with a hot, clear broth, or cold in the hot summer months of Cunyuan. That soup is also synonymous with the cuisine itself; few meals are complete without one as, at the least, accompaniment. Wheat noodles (Milguksu) are eaten during special occasions such as weddings and birthdays as they are thought to bring bliss and longevity because of their long continued shape.

Nameday Noodles  | Saeng-il Guksu (생일 국수), or Nameday Noodles is a dish commonly served during one’s name day celebration. The long, thin noodles are often associated with longevity. They are usually served in a beef broth, topped with green onions, hot pepper flakes and kelp. This dish is quite a comforting one in Cunyuan, sometimes being used as a remedy for the common cold when served hot.

Ssal | During the Oyashiman invasions, rice (쌀) or Ssal became more common in Cunyuan. In some households, noodles started to be replaced with imported rice, as it was cheaper to buy - especially in times of famine. It quickly started to take over as a staple in every meal for most of the Salamdeul, especially in towns like Tamoi, bordering Oyashima. Products that seeped across the northern borders of Cunyuan started to become prominent within Salamdeul society like rice cakes, rice wines, and vinegar. A version of such rice cakes in a white bone broth made by Alabaster Priests, and served in black Won clay pottery, is the centerpiece of New Year’s celebration meals. It is said to represent the bringing of good luck from the Alabaster and Onyx Temples, though there are no records of the dish prior to the Age of Distainment.

Fermented vegetables | Balhyo Yachae (발효 야채) are the called the ‘Third Ancient Pillar’ of the Salamdeul diet. The base to most related Salamdeul dishes are various types of fermented bean pastes that use red pepper powder, soybean powder and rice flour - among other more exotic ingredients such as Golden Won Peppercorns. Such pastes are used as the seasoning to many of the dishes in Cunyuan, which can have an overwhelmingly numbing heat to the uninitiated. It is said that the Seventh King of Ttawang-gul, in order to spite the Crown Prince of Ultali-anjagul (whom had by many rumors taken the King’s mistress for his own), loaded so many golden peppercorns into his dish that the pair both died, their skin redder than persimmons. That said, nearly as many dishes have no such spices at all, relying on the quality of the fermented vegetables themselves. The western Tamoi region, in fact, has such a disdain for spicy food that they call their own cuisine Uahan Yoli (우아한 요리, lit. Delicate Cuisine) and other Salamdeul foods Abdo Yoli (압도 요리, lit. Overwhelmed Cuisine), and is known for a dish of rice porridge with no spices whatsoever save a single slice of pickled lotus (찬란하게 피는 연꽃 죽, lit. Brilliantly Blooming Lotus Rice Porridge).

CLANS & FAMILY

Salamdeul families can generally be separated into the Inner (안뜰) and Outer (바깥뜰) Clans, distinct in both nature and form. The Inner Clans are those who can best trace their descent from the legendary Lords-Beyond-the-Water (바다의 군주 너머). Those with the purest Inner Clan blood are noticeably taller, paler, and often weaker than their Outer Clan counterparts. The Third Great Elder of the Bauhinia Grotto (난초 동굴) was known to have lived for two hundred years, seeing five generations of recognized Won Kings (원왕) and serving four. Staunchly traditional, many have largely kept to the pastoral diet of the late Stone and Grass Era and building and protection of ancestral shrines along the treelines, oft thought to invite Wail-Deul and ward against demons. Many, however, have fallen into poverty as clan wealth has dispersed to hundreds of branches and those same traditions have prevented the poorer branches from taking up Deoleoun Jigeob (더러운 직업), a blanket term for sullying jobs such as merchantry.

 The Outer Clans, by comparison, are those that are either of unrecognized blood or purely of Sup-e Angyo stock. While once considered inferior in blood by the closest of Inner Clan stock, their ability to forgo certain traditions has often led to those of the outer clans eclipsing those of the inner in fortunes - and the two have been so intermixed as to be nearly indiscernible. Peoples of the Outer Clans are make up nearly ninety-five percent of all Salamdeul.

Inner Clans

Clan Hyeondeul (현들) | Arriving with Clan Brae, Hyeondeul - transliterated from their names Beyond-the-Water, with the Hyeon of their Great Hyeonmu Ship and Deul of the first of the Four Great Gods - was said to have been more powerful than Brae in their homelands, but toppled by the rebirth of the Thousand-Headed Snake in the Wayward Continents. Most famously of all, however, the Hyeondeul are known to be especially susceptible to growing white of hair, even as early as their coming-of-age.

It is the clan from which the overwhelming majority of petty Salamdeul kings have claimed some form of descent, though most if not all have since adopted new names as royal clans. Few, however, actually retain the name Hyeondeul in the modern era; most prominent of its branch names are Hyeoncho, Hyeonmi, Hyeonchon and Deulla - each of them rulers of petty realms in turn.

Clan Brae (배) | Named after the long-masted ships upon which they arrived, or perhaps the ships named after them - Clan Brae, often said as ‘Pae’ or ‘Bae’ in the tight-lipped dialect of eastern Won, was the earliest of the Lords-Beyond-the-Water to land, and its Hyeonmu Ship turned into the first Temple of the Third Pantheon. It is by extension the oldest, if not the most powerful, of the Salamdeul Inner Clans. They are said to be especially favored by the Celestial Court, retaining relatively youthful appearances even until their hundred-seventies, with black hair and brown eyes. 

희망의 순례자

A Ship in the Distance:

A hush fell over the city as faint, distant chants reached the ears of the gathering. It was a murmur at first, the steady rhythm of the drums grew louder in unison with the voices that were carried on the fog as a shadow loomed within. Square sails, large and imposing emerged from the thick fog, revealing the silhouette of a strange ship. Its hull was decorated with spikes, like the armor of a great ancient beast. At the bow, a dragon’s head jutted forward, its mouth frozen in a silent roar devouring the waves beneath it. The ship glided into the lagoon, the waves parting for the tortoise ship as it cut through the water, pushed not by wind but by the quiet rhythm of its oars.

A Call to Arms:

The music came to a slow stop as a monk dressed in white stepped forth to those gathered at the gate. Tension filled the air as he spoke, first in a foreign language before switching to common.

“The call has been answered. The order of the Black Tortoise has come, as once the children of Harren aided us in expelling 저주받은 기 원숭이 왕국 - The Hou-zi plague from the lands of Won and liberated us from the Li-Ren Imperials.” 

The monk paused, letting his word hang in the air like a long-forgotten tale, before speaking again. 

“Now, we return the debt. We come to stand besides our western kin, in this righteous crusade against the darkness that looms to the east. The Salamdeul have come to join in the Robertine Crusade!”

The words of the monk were followed by a flurry of drums, chants and celebration from the Salamdeul parade, the Easterling Adunians finally reuniting with their long lost siblings.