Uncovered Beginnings

[HIGH_FIRE 5490]

Uncovered Beginnings 

 

 

 

Upon searching the Archives of the Old Amiratuses and Seneschals of Balian, His Royal Excellency Kristoff var Ruthern, Amiratus of Balian, has uncovered the Journals of Father Ledicort Vuiller, the first Amiratus of Balian. While not all of the Journals have been published as they are not deemed relevant for such, these entries may slowly be released when they are deemed such. 

 

The first of these will be the very first Journal entries made during the very beginning of the Balianese realm, from the very beginning as a camp until the eventual opening of the city of Atrus. It details how the rather quick changes of the people of Balian, their clothing, architecture and cuisine came to be. The hope is that the publishing of these entries shall aid with the understanding of this time, of which very little is understood due to a lack of penmanship as people focused on survival and construction of their new home.

 

<~~His Royal Excellency, Father Ledicort Vuiller, First Amiratus of Balian, Third Seneschal of the Crown~~>

 

Entry 1 - 12th Harren’s Folley 1867:

The Imperial Diaspora, ousted from their home by the False King of Mardon, have arrived to set up camp in the Southern Continent of Almaris. His Imperial Highness has declared this to be our new home, claiming to be the ‘Grand Duchy of Balian’, named for Saint Lothar of Balian, whom’s constellation has guided our way here. Upon the mountain, his Imperial Highness thrusted his sword into the rock, signifying the foundation of our new home.

I fear we are not prepared for this change in climate, as we find ourselves in days of sweltering heat and unending sunlight, and nights that other nothing but cold embrace and pitch black darkness. Water is a rarity and the soldiers have to hunt local creatures and shoot vultures for our dinner.

Our Petrine dress has no place here, we have to remove most layers for the day and roll up the sleeves of our outfits. The soldiers began a trend of people wrapping cloth around their head, as their Imperial State uniform was not made for such weather. Their dress coats have been cut short, their sleeves rolled up like everyone else and their boots covered in the muck and wear of both the desert and the march from the Northern lands. Most people find their skin burnt, though a local plant seems to make a gel of sorts that cools said wounds.

The camp has been made with several circles, each with a roaring fire to heat each tent around it during the freezing tide of nightfall, allowing fire to relieve the hardships. I myself have taken to the use of a cane made from the bark of a Candelabra tree for my injured legs, which have provided me with naught but trouble in this move. I wished for a horse, but our horses weren’t bred for working in the south, so they have become a commodity that most don’t get. 

It is my hope that we figure out how we are to live in such an aggressive climate that seems to want us to fail at all turns. I have prayed to our Lord that the spirit of the new Balianese people is one of resilience as it seems that if such isn’t the case, we will find ourselves as an anecdote told to adventurers to scare them into proper preparation for any journey to the Southern continent. Our fate is in the hands of the most high God above.

 

Entry 4 - 27th Harren’s Folley 1867:

On this day a small group of five Imperial State soldiers have returned from a five day scouting trip with news of a friendly tribal realm to our southwest. This news has sparked a sense of hope between the people of the camp who were struggling to find an effective way of life or means of building in this barren land. 

The scouts claim that these people had found a way to not only survive but a means to thrive despite the many adversities of our new home. The soldiers came back fully fed and with rations made with new grains and spices that we haven’t tried before, something that all sought to sneak a taste of. While I watched this scene unfold, I took a soldier aside to speak with his Grace John I of what could be gained from exploring a relationship with this new found group and what they may offer to us.

The soldier spoke of houses made with bright, often white materials, extremely low roofing and glassless windows as well as robed, bright clothing that appeared to be incredibly light and aerated worn by the people. Sadly the soldier had very little to offer on this matter aside from this information, but I took this as a sign of God answering my nightly prayers for aid. As such, I requested a small detail of soldiers and two scholars to aid with my documentation, together we would document what ensured this small civilisation could run so perfectly and formulate a way to utilise this information to build our own Nation.

Despite concerns over using resources for this and giving up some horses for this expedition, the Grand Duke did agree to our plan. Alongside the selected soldiers, led by Viktor Darkwood and my two scholars, I shall embark unto this land in five days time, more than enough to plan and prepare for this undertaking properly. My prayers have changed now, I now pray for our safe passage to this land and that those who remain are protected from any harm.

 

Entry 7 - 11th Sigismund’s End 1867:

I have been in the land I have come to know as Qaraal for seven days. We were fortunate enough to have a scholar who spoke Qalaashi enough to translate the Qaraali dialect into our own with relative ease. The natives of these lands are surprisingly welcoming to those who would be considered to be imposing or encroaching upon their own lands. They fed us, homed us and gave us clothing more suited to the weather.

Their clothing is, as we were told, more robe-like, their fabrics seemingly having been fashioned out of far lighter materials than we have currently and with such bright and unseen dyes. In truth I’m shocked by how much of a difference this has made, the feeling of every day being a struggle has subsided to welcome in a chance for us to find every day an easier one where work is easier to complete within a reasonable timeframe.

Their architecture is very interesting, much more cuboid with huge hallways that seemed to tunnel any draft into the house, cooling down those in it. The colours are again bright and beautiful, much like the ones in the outfits we were given, it creates a much more vibrant and luscious atmosphere to the one that could be seen in the Orenian Capital of New Providence. They’ve cultivated small plots of land that are looked after by large groups of people, who spend their days ensuring that these patches of land grow harvests that people are able to live off.

The food they grow and serve are unlike that in the Northern continent nations, seemingly plants that are more able to wear the arid heat and animals whom seem to have adapted quite well to the climate. They both eat and live very well, something that we ourselves are most definitely struggling with at our camp, however I believe what I have learnt here shall provide our new Grand Duchy with becoming a blossoming nation of progress. There is a lot I shall suggest to His Grace, but I shall surmise it.

I shall suggest we build white houses with small amounts of colour to express individuality, low roofing or even tower-like flat roofs. Large halls and no glass in the windows to allow drafts to enter the house and cool down those inside. In addition, larger buildings should have domes as the Qaraali claim that not only does it aid in cooling but also maintaining warmth in the cold nights. I shall also suggest we turn the lighter sheets and cloths we have into makeshift robes, in order to make this fitting for our home, we should ensure the Splendor of Empire continues in both clothing and architecture. Finally, I wish to introduce a weekly draft of people to aid with overseeing new cultivated parts of land to ensure we have a reasonable amount of food. I pray his Grace sees wisdom in this and it is able to ensure we are able to survive the coming months.

 

Entry 12 - 22th Sigismund’s End 1867:

Our entourage returned from our trip three days ago, and I was able to meet with his Grace last eve with both my findings and suggestions. We spoke for quite some hours, looking at architectural plans and drawing up some changes from what had already been planned. Material requisitions have been made for our houses to be made more similarly to what we saw in Qaraal and we have prepared to build the way we should. We have planned new plots of farms with the seeds that were graciously given to us by our new friends of Qaraal so that we can eat in a substantial manner.

We have agreed that the leadership and any willing Peers will be the first to wear these new robes, and they shall be provided with the most beautiful and ornate outfits. We plan to do this with the belief that those who are in our Nation shall swiftly follow this as though it was one of the many Orenian Social Season trends that came to pass many times over. Should this not come to pass, we shall send out a missive explaining the benefits of our new style of clothing and why people should take this up.

I haven’t much else to explain on this matter, the meeting went well and it seems the Crown has been very open to my suggestions. Construction shall begin in the next week and we shall see our diaspora finally become an actual nation as we have planned for quite some time now. We have spent over a month in camp, I imagine more shall come before we are completed, I merely pray that this time shall come sooner rather than later. 

 

Entry 46 - 19th Godfrey’s Triumph 1 B.A:

On this day our city, Atrus, has been completed, our Cathedral built around the very sword and helm that Grand Duke John placed in the ground. We worked together alongside the Qaraali who offered their aid with the simple request of continued friendship between our lands. I now sit at a bench, writing this, bright white cuboid houses around me with rings of colour to the top of their walls. We have plants around us, identified to be adapted specifically for the weather we experience. I sit beside a fountain, created using the irrigation system that the Qaraali seem to have created, or at least benefit from strongly as we soon shall.

The people of Balian now almost unilaterally dress in robed clothing with bright clothing with the most ornate, beautiful detailing. New hairstyles have also seemingly become a trend, those with longer hair using pins and ties to hold their hair up and away from their face, whereas those with shorter hair keep it up. While everyone seems to appear very different to how they did prior to our diaspora, during our times in the Petrine area, I believe it is easy enough to see the influences. There’s the splendour, the unique House influences and most importantly, the same attention to detail, every part of an outfit meaning something to the person wearing it.

Some will argue Balian is a continuation of the Imperial way, some will argue it to be a death of the Imperial way. Both are correct and incorrect concurrently. The truth is that it is an evolution from such to fit our new home in a completely different climate and land. We have changed to befit what we need, so that we may survive and do well in our new home. We shall always honour our roots, that is a given as all should honour and respect their ancestors, such is what we are taught by the scrolls. God shall guide our path as he deems fit, I only pray that the path he sets forth for us, shall ensure our people thrive in the ever-changing landscape, both political and physical. God has brought us to where we are, he has his reasoning for such and we shall fulfil his plans.

 

 

Spoiler

A little early Balian lore to bridge what has always seemed like a gap that i wrote well very bored.

Thank you to Hanrahan for helping with the idea, as well as checking it over with Ave_imperium and Haraldmarron

 

[Imperium 3495]

Kristoff reads the discovered entries in his office, "Oh my this offers an interest source of our earliest days, new light on forgotten time."