Meledesians

Meledesians were a people who lived in northern Tarnaria in the 17-18th centuries of the first revolution. They occupied vast territories, most notably what is today known as Ydoh Rol.

Historical data

The information on Meledesians is scant. The fact of their existence is known only through the writings of Ludoh and Porteek. Any other mentions and sources either did not survive or were even purposefully destroyed by Stogen, due to its quest of rewriting history to justify the philosophy of Mōroh. The concept of True Lineage placed Sopoh Dolysoh as the first true gole, and the mythological nature of the narrative required for Sopoh to be the first one to have reached Ydoh Rol. In fact, Sopoh was the one who basically created the myth of having reached Ydoh Rol first to begin with.

Porteek gives a very detailed account that he bases on three Oaleed sources, none of which have survived.

He talks about how Sopoh justified his rule by being the first to reach Ydoh Rol, same as in the myths, but that as soon as they arrived, they realized that they were far from first. Porteek speculates that Meledesians must have reached Ydoh Rol as early as a century earlier, basing it on the level of their integration with the environment and established routes and settlements.

At the same time, Sopoh's party was not the only one and Bonten is described as a member of another group which was led by a woman named Doroh Hun. Both groups were fiercely competing and had previously clashed, as both were planning to use the achievement as claim to power. When it was discovered that the area was already populated, Sopoh approached Doroh and suggested to merge their groups and claim the land from Meledesians, who lived in small groups and could be attacked village by village. Porteek reports that Doroh seemed to have rejected the proposal, although her reasoning was not specified in Porteek's sources and he writes that he is not interested in speculating. Bonten, on the other hand, realized that Sopoh's plan was the only one that was capable of bringing them glory and he murdered Doroh, by pushing her off a cliff. He probably had enough support among the group to kill Doroh, as he is then able to take the lead and march to Sopoh's camp, where both groups were merged under Sopoh's lead, while Bonten became second-in-command.

Porteek then describes a bloody campaign that saw the merciless slaughter of Meledesians. Several months later Sopoh claimed that he reached Ydoh Rol first and the settlement of Peelee was founded near Gaajmas.

Ludoh begins mentioning Meledesians when describing Sopoh's reign. She specifically mentions the conflict over Seeved and identifies the coast to the east of Gaajmas, Palas and Marij as Meledesian territory. Meledesians were successful in defending Seeved throughout Sopoh's reign, with both Ludoh and Porteek mentioning five separate military encounters, all of which ended with Sopoh's defeat. It is not made clear what contributed to such decisive victories, but Porteek speculates that while Meledesian settlements at Ydoh Rol were few and far between, settlements at and around Seeved could have been more centralized. It is also possible that Seeved deposit was actually already being mined by the Meledesians themselves, thus providing them with tools and weapons which were more developed than those in the possession of Sopoh's forces. For instance, it is well documented that many settlers of the 3rd wave relied on archery and wooden arrows with stone arrowheads. Tin arrowheads were uncommon, since tin deposits in central Tarnaria are rare. Finally, Porteek suggests that a powerful Meledesian superhero warrior could have been responsible for standing up to Sopoh.

Fate

Neither Ludoh, nor Porteek mention the Meledesians again. Both of them talk about Toor's wars with Negy, both during Sopoh's and Opol's reigns, but Seeved is always talked of as Toor's territory after that.

Based on the fact that no campaigns are mentioned during the first years of Opol's reign, it is suspected that campaigns against the Meledesians happened at that time and that any surviving mentions of that in the Great Lore was redacted in the Swift Hen. It does not, however, explain silence of that in Ludoh's and Porteek's writings.