The Ancient Hansetians

[Mirtok 2853]

The Ancient Hansetians

 

 

In the times of Horen's waking and slumber, in the times in which the Human Ancestor had walked upon Aegis and laughed and played with his three other companion-brothers, in the times in which Aegis's inhabitants were but four and shared fairly the bounties of the World, but that they found mates and propagated the World; mankind was flourishing in the beginning in tranquility. Nonetheless, all was not what it seemed in the years to follow, certain places appeased the Humans as they founded their first villages and towns; simple homes to shield the fragile human from the elements of the world. The very meadows and riverbanks to draw the most important of needs, water, were not as plentiful as it may have seemed. The Histories spoke as if the world was perfect to all, fair and bountiful to each and every individual, but one can simply look past the records of merriment and view in stark reality that all was not as it seemed.

 

Horen's children once again did what they always sought to do, they propagated and raised families, and these families founded their own and populated more and more. Unfortunately, there were only so many feasible and appraised regions to inhabit to consolidate the success of their blooming families, villages, and towns. Soon, man began to act aggressively towards his own kind to vie for such lush lands, to see that their own has the best of chances to survive and build upon what they had started. Due to said aggression, violent measures were taken and people had been felled to advance the interests of the attackers to gain the greater lands for their own.

 

One such tribe, the Hanseti had sought the assistance of the wizened Wandering Wizard to allow them a chance to find a land in which they would be persecuted to inhabit. At the time of the request, the four Companion-brothers were engaged in defending against Iblees, a fickle and sinister being. Taking into account the fact that some of the current descendents of Horen had been aggressive and would paint Horen as being a hypocrite for fighting Iblees despite his own kind being warlike, the Wandering Wizard would open what was called the Verge for the Hanseti. Upon the arrival to unknown lands of the Verge, the Hanseti would begin to observe their surroundings. The varied archipelagos would force the Hanseti to form naval tendencies and progress the shipwright they would commit to to allow them easier traversing of the waterways in between the islands.

 

Producing galley-like structures to ship men and women across the seas would soon after produce one of the most startling discoveries; the continent of Asulon... 

 

Upon arriving to this much larger swath of land, the Hanseti tribe had begun to spread alongside the shores to find a more feasible area to anchor as they had encountered sheer cliffs at first. Finding shorelines at last, the Hanseti had anchored and after a few days erecting temporary camps, the males had sent themselves out to discover the various features that had come into view upon climbing the sheer cliffs they first encountered. As the Hanseti tribe began to secure their foothold in the mixed environment, between a more fertile land separated from the harsh colds of the Trinskiril arctic. Inevitably as families grew and divided, the Hanseti had once again realized what that they were nearing a repeat of what had happened with the descendants of Horen, that they were competing for space in what little fertile land they held so dearly.

 

 

Reaching agreements for the numerous families to begin splitting, in hopes to seek newer lands that would beckon them with it's bounty to sustain; husbands and widows begun stepping forth from the village and sought to travel the continent. Unfortunately, the people who had walked forth were not to return with glad tidings in the number that had originally left. Out of the approximately eight families that had left, only three were to remain alive. One of them would form the Subudai, a nomadic group of clans that had served initially to preserve the Hanseti as mobile defenders in the land of Trinskiril and defenders of the second family that would become the Dervas; a family that would would become useful in the ways of engineering and masonry. The third family would become the inheritors of half the population of the original Hanseti tribe and kept the name.

 

As the years progressed, the Hanseti became increasingly distant with its two brother tribes. The intense landscapes and deadly geography kept contact to a bare minimum and with the outer groups prospering in the greatly fertile lands of the North, the Hanseti decided that others were unnecessary towards creating a life they had long sought after since the first migration. Holding the majority of the citizens, the Hanseti were able to congregate and collaborate on projects and progressionary ideas better than the other groups, contributing to their survival despite the hostile environment. Building, farming, and general work was allowed to be completed at an accelerated rate because of their numbers. The tight knit qualities that the Hanseti displayed progressed themselves to forming the first inkling of organized government in the new world. Starting with the foundations of permanent homes as opposed to mobile tents, to eventually making the Northern passages into the land impossible to use.

 

However, much of the early history of the Hanseti is plagued with extreme hardships. The winters were harsh and the summers did little to thaw the frozen landscapes. Even with the advantage of higher numbers, food was difficult to harvest. The crops were feeble towards the low temperatures and the wildlife was scarce. Many efforts were put forth towards improving the food stocks and after many failures a conclusion was met. A form of selective breeding was enacted with the Hanseti wheat crops, selecting the plant stalks that displayed minor signs of strength against the harsh environment and quickly uprooting those that did not. After many years the Hanseti had developed an effective crop that both grew well in the freezing landscapes and grew quickly. The minor plague was dealt with, allowing the Hanseti to focus on other aspects of their lives.

 

The Hanseti officially announced their lands as Hanseti and took to calling themselves Hansetians. Shedding the chains of tribal life they put tremendous effort into establishing settlements. The most prominent of settlements lay towards the East- the original sight of their migration- along the base and in parts on the top of the now named Eastern Peaks. Their normal houses were constructed from wood and other easy materials while important buildings relating towards government and infrastructure were carved from stone. The eastern settlement grew gradually over several generations alongside the populations numbers.

 

 

The core government of Hanseti was based off of a dictatorship. The Hochmeister or leader was in charge of every aspect of the lands progression. He had full control over the people and every other aspects of their lives. However, the Hochmeister normally never meddled with the private lives of the inhabitants of Hanseti and instead put resources towards the overall advancement and progression of the people. Under the Hochmeister were several officials that regulated many parts of Hanseti. From food to housing, to resources and organization; the Hanstians took great pride in their ability to create stability and efficiency. The peoples of Hanseti enjoyed an equal field within the government, no one particularly lived better than their neighbor and it was a great honor to contribute to the whole. Much of the Hansetian government remained the same throughout Hanseti’s entire existence. Only after the acquisition of expansive territory were new positions amended in, such as the Landmeister. It was a system that made the people happy and still provided progress.

 

The Hansetians as a whole were generally a hard people. Whilst still enjoying prospects of music and celebration, the areas of literature and the like suffered. Their language was basic and only conveyed emotions that were the most powerful and necessary. Skipping detailed adjectives or having words feelings or actions that weren't utilized everyday. Their language as a whole lacked strict structure and wasn't given much focus simply because it worked well as it was. The Hansetians held a profound attachment to their snowy lands, referring to it as the Mother Land whenever possible. However, unlike their northern brothers -The Subudai- they had no problem with extracting the finer resources from its depth. With the coming of the boom in technology, the Hansetians found it more prominent to live underground and to become one with the Mother Land. Every citizen was given training in the ways of mining; Mining grew to become a staple production of Hanseti. The wood homes of the surface were allowed to rot as each year the Hansetians moved deeper and deeper into the rocky underground.

 

 

It was widely believed that the world around them was controlled by a divine community nicknamed “The Users”. The Users were celestial beings who had complete and utter control of their lives and had the complete creative control of anything that can or will happen in their world. They decided the landscapes, the intelligence, the progression and the eventual end of everything. The belief system helped the Hansetians explain many aspects of their life from the early days of Aegis to their time in Asulon. Why other races existed, why the people were the way they were, why things happened the way they did. The Users had their own form of government that was the structure of the universe. They had to adhere to their own set of laws and comply with their leaders as well. When someone passed away it was believed that their essence was given a proper mourning among that beings User. Each and every person had their own User, their own director of their life. They took comfort in the thought of having everything decided for them on a scale of unimaginable size with its own set of governing to regulate it. The Users existed in a plain that transcended their own, a whole different dimension unmeasurable.

 

The architecture employed by the Hansetians progressed from tents to wooden homes to underground networks. They valued power and strength over decoration and beauty. They saw their own beauty in the thick stone walls and the pillars holding up their heavy ceilings. The Hansetians greatly favored stone as opposed to other materials for construction. The vast majority of Hansetian architecture is found underground or carved out of mountains simply because it did not wither away like most wooden structures. It is possible, although only theoretically, that the Hansetians first mastered masonry as a race quite early by keeping a close eye on the Dervas settlements. Metalwork and extra decorative pieces were added on to much earlier stone designs as the Hansetians began to master more complex tools. Regardless, the foundation of all known Hansetian ruins is built on stonework, and the structure of Hansetian stonework is sharp, angular and intensely geometric in nature. There are many samples of Hansetian buildings made of precise square shapes, and far fewer examples of discretely rounded or curved stonework - this leads to the belief that early Hansetians favored and trusted well-calculated designs based on angled lines rather than riskier, more imprecise calculations based on arcs and curves.The center component of each Hansetian home was the hearth. Every home had a hearth built in the center of the family room. Every market had fire pits injected in many areas along the shopping roads. They were centers of discussion and recreation, an escape from the constant cold of their lives. Further in their development the Hansetians started constructing massive chambers where thousands could live and stores could function. This gave birth to the ideas of cities in the underground setting. Of course such an idea was already used by the Dwarves in Aegis but it was entirely new to the Hansetians. Large tunnel networks spiderwebbed out from the populace centers, smaller compounds were given specific functions and whole sectors were formed dedicated to specific branches.

 

 

After taking to the undergrounds of Hanseti, the Hansetians became increasingly reclusive and often shunned any outside contact. After practically stealing the techniques for building from their brother descendants- the Dervas- the Hansetians put extra focus on the advancement of their people. Throughout their development, new tools were constantly being created to give aid to every aspect of their lives. Starting with the early use of steel handed down from the days in Aegis to eventually working their way up to stronger methods of modeling and shaping metals. Metalwork was the primary method used to make almost all Hansetian crafts. Given the tendency of Hansetian design to favor the long-lasting over the fragile, it can safely be assumed that at the very least metal was a heavy preference along side stone, and the metal used in all so-far-discovered Hansetian relics is entirely unique to their culture. No other race has replicated whatever process was used to create Hansetian metal thus far. Although it can be easily mistaken for a type of heavy plate, it is most definitely a distinct type of metal of its own. The method of producing Hansetian metal has been lost to time as all attempts to imitate Hansetian metal's exclusive properties have failed.

 

They advanced at an exponential rate, quickly passing their tribal brothers- the Subudai- and their close rivals- The Dervas-. Without the hinderance of war or internal conflict they were allowed to progress unchecked. They soon grew weary of what lay beyond the sea, back in Aegis. The Hochmeister serving during the 32nd ruling put forth the plans to prevent the evil that pushed them away from coming over and corrupting their treasured lands. The Mother Land was incredibly important to the Hansetians, years of being told so had solidified it into every Hanseians mind. They sought to protect it at all costs. With that in mind, the Spire project emerged from conception. A weapon that would completely cleanse the lands of Aegis of any and all corruption or evil. The Hansetians began construction of three spires off the coast of Hanseti. Though for a reason not yet explained, they were all wiped out and thus were unable to complete the project. The surviving inhabitants of the Hansetian area moved north, only to return several generations later and give rise to a fraction of what their former glory was.

 

During the Spire project of Ancient Hanseti, a number of new technologies were utilized and developed. They started to dabble in the prospect of eternal longevity and genetic purification. Conducting tests on foreign creatures to the Motherland such as the northern tribals and the several elven groups to the far North. They had also began intense research into the components of life and what drove life to exist. They gave credit towards science as well as divine creation. Suggesting that each creature possessed a life force that upon death was allowed to transcend on the plains of existence that featured an even higher state of life. Further along the development of the Spires, the Cloud was engineered and testing began using the “life force”. Relics of the research still exist in the Hansetian Underground but as mere pieces to the over all puzzle.

 

Many features of their design still stand in modern Asulon; The two huge sentinel statues that guard the mouth of Hanseti, the statue of a man holding a mace whilst sitting on a stone throne guarding the gates of Dresden, several dungeons and burial chambers interspersed over the many mountain ranges and other ruins built on the surface. Most of the Hansetian’s work still lies underground, far from the primitives pickaxes digging capabilities. Their methods of excavation and the tools they used have been lost with time, preventing the access of the more important aspects of the Hansetian’s history. Only a small fraction of the Underground is reachable with very few things of value still remaining in them. Only scraps of larger projects and simple mentions of grand designs teased the modern explorers and gave inspiration to the then occupants of the lands.

 

 

It is speculated that the Hansetians did not die out and instead sealed themselves off from the surface world- locking out a small populace of people deemed unimportant to the race’s progression. It is entirely possible that they still operate deep within the earth, hoarding a wealth of technology incomprehensible by the minds of modern man- all of it shut away. It is also theorized that they had left towards better prospects in lands not yet explored by modern man; However, all the recovered texts greatly stressed the unbreakable pride in the Motherland. And lastly it is theorized that during the Spire project, there was a participant of the project that defected and caused a disaster to take place, releasing the Cloud into the population and killing off all those who were unable to reach the surface in time. Nonetheless, what was and may still be the Ancient Hansetians is locked far away, through portals of intense magic and drowned in an endless ocean of water, possibly never to be disturbed by the races of the many worlds that make up all existence.

[Samson Option 9652]

 

I am glad to reminisce on one of the greatest works of fictional storytelling and development of all time.

 

 

This cup is for all the people that enjoyed the Teutonic Order and the histories we wrote in the times of Aegis. Sup of the liquor of nostalgia; mayhaps there shall be a greater future written in finer inks for us in our later years.

[IevIr4d 29]

((tl;dr pls

[3VN 136]

((Good read

[TheBareSheet 194]

Moved to the Great Library. It shall be sorted into appropriate category shortly.