Show pageOld revisionsBacklinksBack to top This page is read only. You can view the source, but not change it. Ask your administrator if you think this is wrong. //**[[Untir|Click here to return to the Untir page.]]**// ====== Tekhayana ====== //(pronounced 'tee-kah-YAH-nah')// ---- > Life in golden grain; skilful might tames Kaliya; Tekha flows secure. //---from the words embroidered at the bottom of 'Prince Varo and Kaliya', a silk tapestry depicting Prince Varo, a Legend of Tekhayana, taming the great Naga Kaliya with his sacred spear in a flooded rice field.// ---- Tekhayana is a region of southeastern Untir characterized by fertile floodplains, rivers, and a tropical monsoon climate. In the past, Tekhayana consisted of decentralized, independent, principalities inhabiting the water ways and fertile lands of the region. However, three decades ago, the regions were ravaged by the Great Flood, which destroyed smaller principalities and forced larger ones to fight over water-logged grains and supplies. **[[Maer|The United Cities of Maer]]** swiftly annexed the region under its protectorate, ostensibly to stabilize the region and end the crisis. ==== Flumenpura (or ‘The Floating City’) ==== //(pronounced 'floo-men-POOR-ah')// ---- Flumenpura is the new regional capital of Tekhayana, located on the Tekha river inside the reservoir above the Kaliya Dam, which was constructed by **[[Maer#Tarqus|Tarqusan]]** engineers after the Great Flood. The dam allows Flumenpura to control the flow of the Tekha and thus a large portion of the region's water resources. It is partially based on this control that Flumenpura extracts a rice tax upon each settlement in the river delta. Although Flumenpura is only three decades old, as the United Cities' foothold in the region it has surpassed all other ancient principalities to become the most technologically advanced and wealthy. The majority of its people call themselves Flumenians, and often wear a half-mask made of porcelain alongside a fine silk sash in their day-to-day outfit to denote their unique status. While a large portion of the Flumenians were originally nobles of the Tekhayan principalities, any Tekhayan could theoretically rise to the status of Flumenian by fully assimilating into Maeran culture. > I will honour my ancestors as I honour the trees and animals. For they are my roots and my ends, and in this bark, they are eternal. //---a painted carving on a tree by the edge of the Tekha. During the construction of the Kaliya Dam, it was destroyed.// ==== Port Min (or ‘The Old Port’) ==== Port Min is situated at the estuary connecting the Tekha river to the southern sea. It functions as the center of commerce connecting Flumenpura and wider Tekhayana with maritime trading. Port Min used to be the capital of a small but wealthy Principality of Min---however, much of the town and its population were devastated by the Great Flood. In recent decades, it has been resettled and reconstructed with support from the United Cities, restablishing it as a centre of trade. > //A marriage ceremony, happening in front of the Port Min’s city hall. The immaculate marbled building is foregrounded. Looking down at the two parties in the ceremony reveals one groom dressed in a saffron-dyed cloak embroidered with rice plants, and the other dressed in a flowing robe and holding out a bronze ring. Between them, a Magister performs the ceremony from an elaborately decorated book.// //---'The Marriage of the Rice Merchant', a painting hung in the central chamber of commerce of Port Min.// ==== Decha (or ‘The Last Free City’) ==== //(pronounced 'DAY-chah')// ---- Decha sits on the mouth of Mindayanga river. The city was one of the few lucky survivors of the Great Flood, and was the last principality to submit to the the Unitied Cities' centralised regional government in Flumenpura, after the death of its ruling Prince Maya. Decha has since been granted partial autonomy in managing its own land and river, levying its own rice taxes in the name of the United Cities and exercising a monopoly on the spice trade up and down the Mindayanga river delta. > //A warrior, clad in Dechan leather armor, with a woman in Maeran dress. Seemingly entranced by him, she is offering him a white rose, which he examines with some perplexity. Close inspection of the image reveals that one of the thorns of the rose is piercing the warrior's hand.// //---'Peace and War', painted in indigo blue on a large white porcelain vase. It was a gift given to the United Cities by the nobles of Decha.// ===== Ways of Telling ===== Despite Maer's control over the region, many Tekhayans retain their reverence for nature and their more visualized and abstracted kinds of Telling, as embodied in their ancient traditions of pottery, painting, and textile-making. Tekhayan Telling is often characterised by its vivid colours and tones, whether they are woven into flowing silk tapestries or painted onto broad canvases and delicate ceramics. Conversely, Flumenians in large part strive to adopt Maeran traditions, technologies, and **[[Maer#ways of Telling]]**. ===== Society At Present ===== Tekhayana is governed by the slightly altered version of the technocratic ruling system of the United Cities. Each major city is administered by a council of Magisters selected via the **[[Maer#Society at Present|Maeran Magisterial Exam]]**. However, unlike in Maer, these councils cannot elect their own Governors, and are instead subject to Governors elected by the United Cities. Smaller towns in Tekhayana are often governed by a single Magister each, elected by the locals and educated by one of the major cities’ councils. While Flumenpura enjoys the technological development offered by the United Cities, tensions throughout the rest of Tekhayana are growing. In the last five years, Flumenpura's council has been involved in scandals around preferential water allocation to settlements who more readily adopt Maeran culture. More recently, it has begun pressuring settlements to begin speaking Maeran instead of Tekhayan. ===Character Inspirations=== * An upstart Dechan spice trader, trying to make a living during this tumultuous time * A minor aristocrat of Flumenpura, eager to maintain the status quo * A village elder seeking to preserve their community and their Tekhayan identity * A warrior employed by a magistrate, seeking fame and glory as a peacekeeper fighting against rebels ==Naming Conventions== Traditional Tekhayan names often associated with positive things---for example, Arun (sun), Ananda (happy, bliss), Malee (jasmine or flower), Dara (star), Phirun (rain), Siri (prosperity), Aung (success), Min (ruler), Vinh (glory), Phong (wind), Kham (gold), and Somchit (worthy soul). However, many Flumenians, especially those who were born after the Great Flood, have adopted **[[Maer#naming conventions|Maeran names and naming conventions]]**. Nevertheless, certain rebellious Flumenians have found a loophole where their public name works in both Maeran and Tekhayan languages, allowing them to preserve the Tekhayan tradition in open secret. =====Relevant NPCs===== ^ NPC ^ Pronouns ^ Description ^ Physrep ^ |Magister Gaia|she/they|Ex-mercenary and a Magister of Flumenpura. Friendly and knowledgeable in the old Tekhayan customs, beliefs, and history.|A green cloak and a wolf skull half-mask| ~~NOTOC~~ tekhayana.txt Last modified: 2026/04/19 09:44by gm_ameal