Sopoh Dolysoh

Sopoh Dolysoh
Gole of Toor
Reign	1771-1779 FR
Successor	Opol Dolysoh
Personal details
Born	c.1740-1750 FR
Died	1779 FR
Parents	Mylda and Blos Dolysoh
Siblings	Blos Dolysoh

Sopoh Dolysoh /'sɑpə dɑ'liːsə/ was a Dawn settler and the founder of Toor. He claimed to have been the first to reach Ydoh Rol, "the Edge of the World" - the northernmost point of Tarnaria. He then used a religious interpretation of that achievement as a justification for his rule. Aided by a man known as Bonten, Sopoh founded a settlement called Peelee at the foot of Gaaj-Mas. Eventually, the settlement was moved away from the mountain after multiple avalanches made it clear that the location was not safe.

Sopoh wanted to pass on the rule to Bonten's son, but was instead murdered by his own son, Opol.

Early life

Sopoh was born in Gantolia, to a family of late Dawn settlers, who were part of the third wave of migration that took the settlers to the north of Tarnaria. His mother was Mylda Dolysoh and his father was Blos Dolysoh. He was the youngest child and had several siblings, although records exist of only his eldest brother, Blos, who was named as his father. The latter fact makes several historians confuse aspects of their lives.

Founding of Toor

Osdol's version

Osdol's version is a highly mythologized version which is part of the Stron Ydoh Rol (Song of the Edge of the World). He talks about how Sopoh and his right hand Bonten led their people to Gaaj-Mas, which is "the Seat of Mankind", and established what is a "paradise and home to any person, the true Mamkoon".

The song then goes on to talk about the great structures that Sopoh and Bonten had build and how Sopoh left to die on Gaaj-Mas, "to pass on his powers to the Seat of Mankind and to infuse it with his personality".

"His Eternal Companion watches over him. And his body marks the Edge of the World".

Stron Ydoh Rol is part of the north-eastern tradition, also known as the Great Lore, and has been passed on from generation to generation until the middle of the second revolution. From there on, only parts of the Great Lore survive, including Stron Ydoh Rol.

Ludoh's version

Ludoh generally sticks to Osdol's version of events, adding in just a little more detail. For instance, she does say that Sopoh was succeeded by his son and that Bonten became "estranged from the blessed family". She also briefly speaks about how Sopoh built Peelee at the foot of Gaaj-Mas. But she doesn't mention anything else about Peelee, other than that the city "pushed for the sky. It could not be a rival to the Seat of Mankind, but its ruler wanted it to not be an embarrassment to the stars."

Ludoh does mention "the treacherous Meledesians", which is the first indication of another party mentioned at the location.

Porteek's version

Porteek's account differs dramatically. He bases his work 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. In fact, there were many villages where the people known as Meledesians lived. 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 as 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 Gaaj-Mas.

Reign and later life

Having proclaimed himself the visionary, the one who has the insight into Xaewoon, Sopoh sent messengers south to let the word out and to compel other explorers to settle at Ydoh Rol. While Sopoh stopped short of proclaiming Ydoh Rol the literal Mamkoon, this was implied. Stogen was the kingdom that ended up splintering Xaewoon into the Green and Blue variants, but it is Sopoh Dolysoh's claim to power that is thought to have planted the seed. This claim was later mimicked by the Kareden, with Gole Anashary similarly sending out missionaries to compel Xaewoon believers to live in the Kingdom of Mamkoon.