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Map of Chielio

A THUMBNAIL HISTORY

Chielio has been a mysterious and frightening place for as long as there has been recorded history on Drak. Approaching the continent from any direction presents an impassible barrier of unbelievable height, steepness and harsh conditions. Even the coasts at the foot of the mountain ranges are ill-suited for habitation due to the rocky nature of the land. The two exceptions to this are the populated southern tip, and the frigid fjords of the far northwest.

While the geological processes that formed this ancient continent are lost in the undocumented past, modern scientific thought assumes that the continent was formed by the collision of three major tectonic plates.

The known population of this huge continent is minescule, and concentrated almost totally in the tiny southern tip. Tiny villages dot the eastern and western coasts, clinging to a precarious existance based on fishing. These villages, of relatively modern origin, have generally been traced to surviving remnants of shipwrecks, fishing fleet encampments, and groups of persons seeking isolation, escape, or religious enlightenment. The latter is due to the ancient mysticism that has grown up around the continent, named "heaven" in the ancient Drakatoj language.

The population of the southern tip of the continent, in comparison, is of very ancient roots. Diapordo has existed as a settlement since 27,000 PA, according to archaeological evidence, but the linguistic roots indicate a far earlier beginning. Surviving documents and inscriptions show very close correlation with the ancient Drakotoj language, the closest such relationship on Drak. The city itself dates to 1738 PK.

GOVERNMENTS & RULERS

The vast interior expanses of the Chielian continent are impenetrable, uninhabited, and unexplored mountains. This mountain wilderness also includes most of the northern and northeastern coasts where the mountains rise less than a mile from the ragged shores of the Empty Sea. Where coastal land is available, however, fishermen and others cling to an isolated existance in what is some of Drak's most inhospitable areas. The continent and neighboring Mysterious Sea harbor four nations and two independent city-states.

CHIELIO-ALTAPINO

ALTAPINO ISLAND is a commercial center, primarily a home base for trading companies, ship builders and outfitters, and farmers. The island began as a source for the tall, straight trees needed for masts on sailing vessels, and much of the island is still preserved for that use. Local government is by the Commercial Council, a group of island business proprietors, but it is well known that the real control is in the hands of the Sepdomoj. Ricol Akvo-Altapino, who represents the family on the Island, is the leader of the Council and the effective President.

INFERO ISLAND The population of Infero is now clustered in small villages and underground habitations in the southern half of the island, and in the city of Rescue Point. The northern half is dominated by an active volcano which first erupted about 200 years ago, and is slowly enlarging the island's north coast. The residents of Infero are 90% dwarven by race, and are descendants of folks who have lived on this island for a thousand years. The island has a reasonable deposit of iron and nickel, and handcrafted blades are a valuable export. As "Infero" means "Hell" in the ancient language, a name given to the island only after it's volcano erupted, the blades from Infero are often referred to as "Swords from Hell". The city of Rescue Point grew, after the eruption from a small town from which many residents chose to abandon their island.

PURGATORIO ISLAND. Also renamed after the eruption on Infero, Purgatorio is home to about 5,000 souls, primarily mariners and fishermen. The economy is poor, and life on the island is rough. Most healthy men, and many women, go to sea as young as 12 years old. The population is mixed, but predominantly human.

PORT CHIELIO is a thoroughly modern city based on world trade, and is the capitol city of Chielio-Altapino. Their local government, and most of the local governments of southern and coastal Chielio, are democratically based, with citizens taking an active role in the affairs of the community. In theory, leadership in governmental affairs is taken by those most involved and who are the most knowledgeable. In reality, there are a number of very powerful, though benevolent, "advisors" whose leadership is assumed if they are involved in a particular function. The local communities elect representatives to a Chielio-Altapino Federation which oversees the coordination of local efforts.

SOUTH CHIELIO is a pleasant place with a very temperate to warm climate. It was settled by traders quite early, and great fortunes were amassed by traders doing business with the Felinian nations. Only the coastal areas are under the control of Chielio-Altapino.

WEST CHIELIO is a long coast. Small cities, towns and villages dot the coastal fringes and foothills of the Chielian interior mountains, Farming is not particularly successful here due to poor, rocky soil, but fishing is excellent, and there are extensive mineral deposits on the fringes of the mountains. The area is subject to frequent, strong storms, and many mariners have lost their lives when caught by surprise.

DIAPORDO

Diapordo, to much of the rest of Drak, is a strange and forbidding place. The Diapordo Wood is virtually closed to visitors unless they have government permission, which is given only to very few. The primary access is via the Diapordo River where traffic is strictly controlled. Access is also possible by sailing across Lake Diapordo from the northeast, but this is also strictly controlled by well-armed naval forces. Persons attempting entry without permission have a tendency to disappear without a trace. The population dresses in an unconventional way, preferring toga-like garments. They speak an archaic language that is said to be close to the language that the original Drakatoj brought with them.

In reality, Diapordo is a self-governing city-state with a unique government based on direct democracy, in which affected populations meet publically, agree on common decisions, and carry out those decisions themselves. All governmental decisions and laws are written in the ancient language, and all citizens are expected to speak and understand that language as a condition of participation. They are not actually violent or dangerous, but they are very protective of their unique culture and suspicious of strangers who do not understand the way they live. Trade on Lake Diapordo is most successfully undertaken in Cospi, a lake port within the Eastern Alliance, where many years of excellent trade relations have built.

EASTERN ALLIANCE

The Eastern Alliance began as an independent trade alliance that grew among the cities and towns of the rather forbidding eastern coast of Chielio. Many mariners do not like to sail the Empty Sea because of its great depth and lack of islands of any kind. Ships that encounter trouble or sudden storms can disappear without a trace, with no hope of rescue. But the sturdy fishing fleets of the southeastern coast are very successful, and furnish much of the food to Diapordo through their port at Cospi. The capital of the Alliance is at Torisa, and the government resembles that of Chielio-Altapino.

NORTHWEST CHIELIO

The "Cat Tail", as its residents tend to refer to it, is the coldest corner of Chielio, and the only part of the continent where the mountains are less dense and populations can live in the valleys. The population is rather self-sufficient and open minded, and welcome strangers who wish to live in what they consider is one of the most beautiful areas on the planet. Democratic, like the other areas of Chielio, great value is placed here on hard work and leadership is invested in the most able and industrious citizens. The population here is very diverse, and includes many flying citizens from the nearby Ghost Islands. Racial harmony is especially strong here.

THE INDEPENDENT CITY-STATES

Two very isolated cities, both located on the far northeastern coast far from anywhere else, maintain independent governments. SOLITUDE is a medium-sized city located on an isolated peninsula of land jutting out from the rugged coast about 200 miles north of Herring, the northernmost city of the Eastern Alliance. Life in Solitude is not as opressive as its location might suggest. There is some access to mountain valleys nearby, and the residents have domesticated and raised bears for many generations, providing both food and very prized bearskin clothing popular as an exotic trade item. This lures many ships to the excellent port, and the average citizen lives in relative comfort.

600 miles up the coast from Solitude is BLUEFISH POINT, a city about the size of Solitude, located on the last stretch of habitable land on the Eastern coast, about 200 miles southwest of the easternmost place on Chielio. Because of its location, Bluefish Point carries on a very lucrative trade with Gaiavio, especially Carka and Robaryl. Ships can avoid sailing through the Empty Sea by approaching from the north. Extensive mineral deposits exist in the nearby mountains, and many dwarves from Carka come here to seek their fortune. Fishing, especially for some very large, valuable species, is also a lucrative business here.

THE HIDDEN SECRETS OF CHIELIO

A fact totally unsuspected by all but a handful of handpicked Drakians, is that the Chielian continent contains three very large valleys, totally unreachable by the outside world. These valleys have been populated for many thousands of years, but as no open commerce with the rest of Drak has ever been possible or desired. The world has no hint of who is living among these rugged mountains. Indeed, all but the most open minded of citizens would shake their heads in utter disbelief.

When the Drakotoj came to Drak, there was no intelligent life, though animal life was fairly bountiful. Contrary to the known history of Drak, the Drakatoj arrived more than twice as early as history records, having first set foot on the planet as a fully developed, technological race 155,000 years before what Drakians consider 1 PA. Chielio's inner valleys, not ancient Arkramio, were the site of that landfall by what was the first of a series of settler ships from the planet of a very small, dying star approximately 1.5 light years from Drak, that is part of a tremendously long period trinary system with Drak and a still smaller, also dying star, 2.1 light years from Drak. Neither companion star can be seen by the naked eye on Drak, although a simple telescope would reveal both if the observer knew where to look.

The settlers had decided to land in the isolated central valleys because only there were they sure there was no intelligent life, although it later proved that none existed elsewhere on Drak either. However, life in Chielio's central valleys was satisfactory, and the limited population remained in that area for 30,000 years before small groups migrated out of the technological shelter of the mountains, and spread throughout the planet. Isolation caused great changes among distant populations, and much of the early technology was forgotten. In its place sprang up new cultures and tools that evolved ultimately into the Drak of recorded history. The racial changes in the Drakatoj actually date from this millennium, and were much more gradual than most Drakians believe, though still far faster than evolution normally occurs. Some scholars among the Chielien elite believe that a yet undiscovered form of radiation blankets Drak.

Those Drakatoj who stayed behind in Chielio intentionally had no commerce or communication with their descendant colonies throughout Drak. They wished the societies to develop in response to differing local conditions, thereby promoting self-sufficiency. Besides, travel to and from the central valleys was treacherous, and was totally dependant upon the flying capabilities of the Drakatoj themselves. The technological base of the Chielio society (which peaked at around 500,000 (about 30,000 AA), but stablized quickly at about 100,000) remained relatively high, although the technology of space travel was abandoned early, since the Drakatoj had found a home.

THE MARINERS

Then the first visitors arrived. In what was about 92,000 AA, 63,000 years after the arrival of the Drakatoj, exploration ships from another civilization landed in the southernmost of the three central valleys, guided by communications signals that they had picked up some centuries before. They called themselves "The Mariners". Although little is known of these beings, other than they were of humanoid appearance, it was agreed that they would continue to observe Drak from afar, would make no contact with any part of the planet outside of the central valleys, and left one very important gift, a technology for travel through portals. It was agreed that this technology should remain limited for the protection of everyone involved, although it was well-developed and in common use throughout the Mariners' society. A portal was established in the mountains overlooking Lake Diapordo. Other portals were established in various places on the east and west coasts of Chielio, and in each of the three central valleys. It was agreed that no portals would be set up on other continents, although an exception was made to that agreement when a portal was set up, thousands of years later, in what had by then become the center of non-Chielian Drakatoj civilization in Ark-Kram.

The existance of the portals was hidden from anyone outside the Chielian valleys. A few trusted people, initially from the valleys, were placed at each portal to protect, maintain, and operate them.

THE AAREN

It was a long time before other visitors arrived. The second contact, in about 36,000 AA, was with a race so technologically superior to the Drakatoj that little if any interest or value came from the contact. The differences in experiences and goals were so great as to be mutually incomprehensible. They were, fortunately, not hostile. Drakatoj experiences with this civilization, the Aaren, did alert them to the need for some planetary defense, and some powerful weapons were built in those years, though fortunately never used.

THE KRAELEONS

The third contact, in about 7,500 AA, was to have far-reaching consequences. The Kraeleons, as they called themselves, unlike the earlier contacts, were intentionally sent to Drak to make contact. Involved in what was becoming a fairly brisk interplanetary trade and alliance, the Kraeleons were essentially a race of advisors and diplomats. Brilliant of mind and very long-lived, their appearance upon arrival was that of large humans with heavy beards, "hair" on their heads that grew down their backs, and on their arms. The "hair" was actually fur, though it more closely resembled human hair. What made them so unusual were their senses and method of communication. "Vision", "Hearing, and "Speech", to the Kraeleons, was one thing, all communication via the electromagnetic spectrum. Emitting patterns of electromagnetic waves from the ultraviolet through the deep infrared (in our terms), they expressed emotions by the wavelength at which they communicated. Roughly, from the shortest to longest wavelengths, emotions of fear, excitement, beauty, sexuality, humor, intellectuality, anger, and reverence were expressed. Fortunately, interpretative technology was available to translate into wavelengths within the hearing range of the Drakatoj. However, the sight of a Kraeleon with a green aura was a hint to the opposite sex that the being was sexually aroused and a Kraeleon exuding heat was either furious with you, or praying for your soul!

The Kraeleons, highly intellectual and abhorring conflict, were sent to prepare Drak for ultimate entry into external society. Their mission was not only to contact the Drakatoj, but maintain a presence on Drak indefinitely. Using a much improved version of the portal, the Kraeleons enabled off-world travel, although this was seldom allowed for other than Kraeleons. A portal placed on their home world was joined with a portal in the east valley, where the Kraeleon settlement was established. After some years of this arrangement, during which time a spirit of trust had built between the races, the Kraeleons were permitted to place portals and observers in a few places throughout Drak. These "listening posts" survive today, still in use. In 597, approximately 20 Kraeleons live in the central valleys of Chielio, and another 20 are spread throughout the rest of the world. As Kraeleons have lived their lives on Drak, which has a somewhat stronger gravity that their home world, their features have taken on the appearance of Drakian bears, although human features hide beneath their furry faces.

Since the arrival of the Kraeleons, occasional visitors, usually on official business, have come to Drak. The general population has absolutely no knowledge of this, and great pains are taken to keep this a secret, as Drak is far less technological than their cousins in the Chielio valleys. A handful of representatives of various disciplines, mostly academics and intellectuals, have been initiated into what is going on, but even the vast majority of world leaders haven't a clue.