Mhirdrun | The Thradhel | Linothor | Sundering Isles | Sea of Calingwai |Gwathia | Sulgate | The Blasted Wastes
Of Daedina
Amidst the wars of Sulgate, Daedina, the Land of the Daes, or Daeland, has most removed itself, declaring itself independent and ascribing within its borders only those lands which the Ssianid Empire took from it. having succeeded in this it has acted as a silent watcher, and for this preserved much of its history and its people. Unlike its neighbor Bethar Garmak, it is home to few ambitions, for the Dwarves there called Daes have accepted living by humble means. However, recent stirrings have appeared to disrupt such an approach, and from the Daelands yet rises a potential power, something heretofor never seen.
Many ages ago Dwarven exiles came to what is called now Daedina, then a wasteland much as Bleakland today, though ere any made attempts to claim it. Bearing only those valuables which could within their stunted arms be carried, the nomadic and savage Men of the land, who had never before seen Dwarves, named them Dae, meaning "Short," or "Short one," and this name has yet become attendant to their identity, well into modernity.
A union existed between the Men and Dwarves of Daedina, who overland lived in equal numbers to one another for a time. From the Men the Dwarves learned the lifestyle of the desert nomad, and of their Sun god, At'ar, and from Dwarves the Men learned of ores and metals, and how they might be shaped most expertly.
Ere long the Dwarves found passage to caverns beneath Daedina and with much toil they created small and humble towns, but as worship of At'ar had spread fully through their ranks, they in exile being desperate to restore what faith had been stripped from them, they build villages only shallowly into the ground, and with one large, open ceiling, as a window without glass, that appears as a crater from above, walled about with high towers so none might easily attack the town below through the opening. These girded chasms the Men called in their tongue Hufra, and were fashioned by the Daes so as not to invoke At'ar's wrath when exposed by hiding from him at all hours, as other Dwarves might. It is also by this wisdom that they profit from the Daeland's few rains, and find still some shade from the walls of their caverns ere the sun reaches its peak, and as it sets. But when that god they call At'ar is highest the Daes cease all of their activities to stand or kneel in the light from the Hufra and worship. Their towns soon grew in size and were called Huframadi, the Crater-Cities.
The humans who profited from this union eventually departed, heading south or west and spreading the worship of At'ar with them, along with a craftsmanship newfound which blended the styles of Sulgate men and Dirzubad Dwarves uniquely. The Daes expanded into this ceded territory from below, until a small kingdom they had carved, marking is presence with these many craters in the ground, and thus did the country become Land of the Daes.
The Ssianid Empire did take root in Daedina after a time, spread through the coast and nigh to the Sarazor mountains and to Zelegin, the gate from which the Daes were expelled by Dirzubad. But its rule was light there, the land having little to offer and the Daes themselves being resistant moreso than others, and populating much of Ssianid's warrior class. When the sundering of Ssianid was at hand the Daes acted swiftly, with a great general among them called Malmand of Clan Sugin, himself son of Tigrin of Clan Sugin who had ruled as de-facto governor under Ssianid authority, named himself Ssul, the Dae's word for "king." Malmand rules still, and is fashioning his capital Daema into a jewel of Sulgate, should his will bear fruit.
On the Ssul of Daedina, Malmand of Clan Sugin
Malmand succeeded his father as governor of Daedina before the fall of the Ssianid Empire, and it is said he entertained his designs then also, engaging rapidly in trade with Linothor and Gwathia so as to fashion not only greater strength among his armies, which pledged their allegiance officially to Ssianid, but to the improvement of Daedina's cities, shaping them into centres of culture and prosperity. When Ssianid fell he was well poised to maintain the independence of his country, and having cloven from the Empire with little blood or violence, he proceeded to do so after first conquering those elements which resisted.
Malmund is as hardy as his Dwarven kin would give leave to expect, and dresses in gold robes similar to those of the Diruzbad emperor, while swaddled in deep purple hoods and belts purchased at great expense from Nuumalon. He is bronze of skin, with dark brown hair, and in his beard wears often many jewels even while dressed for war, to mark himself Ssul. Although averse to slaughter by reputation, he is said to be fierce as the warrior-kings of Linothor, and wades into battle with a great-axe, with which he has hewn apart many a Man and Dwarf who might seek to challenge him.
On the Peoples of Daedina
Daes (Dwarves)
The Daes are diverse people, ranging from rugged peasants and a growing warrior class to those of higher merchant and noble classes with softer skin, though they are most of them bronze, with dark hair. The women of the Daes take to shaving their chins, likely to distinguish themselves further from other Dwarves in Gwathia and Linothor. The Daes dress much as elsewhere is seen among those Sulgate men who are oft out of doors, for even underground the Daes feel the sun. Thus are they hooded or otherwise swaddled in like manner for their protection, and carry with them always skins filled with water, for there is little to be found in Daedina, except by trade, or the collection of rains.
Men
The Men of Daedina are quite unlike the Daes, residing most of them along the coastline with the Thamun Sea or Lake Manzar, where they have less to fear of sun and heat. For them the fashions of Sulgate are more a matter of preference than necessity, and mingle also with fashions imported from the empires of Gwathia, and thus do they integrate much stone, silks, and gold into their clothings. The Men dress most oft as sailors, or as merchants, they being the primary occupations among them, but some also are taken as slaves and share in their lot, though they are better cared for than in other lands, having rights to marry and to gain freedoms o'ertime. They are most of them bronze or dark-skinned, and with dark eyes and hair.
On the Country of Daedina
Concerning Daema, the Capital City
Daema has been transformed and sees still many transformations presently, having begun its existence as a small market village dealing inland with traders from the coast as it worshiped still Kurdu in the manner of Diruzbad Dwarves. It now grows beneath a hufra, and there rise the first grand temples dedicated to At'ar, and splendidly does the city extend even beyond the light which its window offers, so that the hufra must be constantly made wider and longer. Ssul Malmand resides there in a great palace, as does a growing host of admirers and foreign dignitaries. Gathered there also are many scholars and historians, as Malmand has enticed them with offers of opulent lodging if they should bring to him their records and knowledge.
Concerning Gwatadi, the City of Wind
The largest port of Daedina is Gwatadi, a name which means City of Wind, and it invokes it name aptly, for the sailing there seems ever favored to enter as it is to depart, and to demonstrate this favor, many colorful windmills are mounted high on the buildings, which do not otherwise loom tall. Gwatadi is the only city of Daedina peopled most by men, as it is also most ruled, if less by official decree for its governor is a Dae.
Concerning Lavajj
Of those few who resisted Malmand's rule, Lavajj is the city stood longest against him, being attached more to their own notions of independence than the unification of an independent Daedina. The siege upon them lasted many months before they were overcome, without great shedding of blood, for they were too weak then to fight, having been starved and denied waters, and the rains had not favored them. The city now attempts to rebuild, but the effort is severe, for Malmand plundered it without mercy, the victory having cost him much.
Concerning Kabba, the Fortress City
When Ssianid laid claim to Daedina, the termination of their claim lay not at the border to Gwathia, but at the holdings of Kabba, a walled fortress atop a mountain which from above guards a high-walled pass to Zelegin, the gate of Diruzbad, and it is the only city in Daedina not under hufra. The Daes there call still the Aburu of Diruzbad closest kin, and worship Kurdu also, and thus are they forced to live overland in their manner, severed from the Aburu magic of stoneshaping but forsaking also mining. It is said they hope still to amend their severed bonds and return from exile, if Diruzbad would have them. Kabba peacefully tolerates Ssul Malmand and his rule, for he provokes them not, knowing for the present time better than to challenge what stayed for many ages emperors more powerful than he.
Concerning Assorted other Sites in Daedina
As it lays just at the border of Daedina, Zelegin bears mentioning in this entry as the only westward passage into Diruzbad. Innumerable other sites do not bear mentioning, they being fishing villages, oft-small, along the coast to the Thamun Sea, or lesser cities stretching inland now freed from Ssianid, as if after a long sleep.