Shattered Islands

The Shattered Islands are an archipelago of numerous islands at the southern tip of Southwest Delezia. The term refers primarily to the islands, but may be extended to the culturally similar flat plains that surround them. Today, the Shattered Islands are divided between dozens of small nations, many of which are puppet states of the two current regional powers, The Nautical Peace and Meó. The region is very diverse and is home to numerous cultures, religions, languages, and ethnicities. Despite this, there is a broader common identity shared throughout all of the various people groups. The main cultural influence over the centuries has been the Htaevic peoples and their many empires and dynasties, with the neighbouring Hsuqliht additionally heavily influencing the region in the earlier years. Outside influences such as Nokhta, the Khydeans, the Meó peoples, and Unuvun have additionally had a large impact on its history. The region has long been the powerhouse of trade within Delezia, due to its extensive maritime connections, central location, and access to the Yot river. The lingua franca that unites the region is Standard Htaevic, a modernised form of Classical Htaevic.

Etymology

The Shattered Islands receive their name from a war period known as The Shattering.

History

Some of the first people to inhabit the Shattered islands were the Raiwlawbiwmtë, living there until the 6800s Y before being displaced by the expansion of the First Htaevic Empire. The Raiwlawbiwmtë notably were largely divided by hair color, the majority of the green-haired Raiwlawbiwmtë fled the islands and settled in Unuvun, largely displacing the native Konod people and leading to the ethnogenesis of the Unuvi. The purple-haired Raiwlawbiwmtë, on the other hand, largely moved to the southern parts of the Meó nation where they became the Hkamisëbiwmtë or assimilated. A very small number of Raiwlawbiwmtë remained in their homelands, the majority of them being purple haired.

The First Htaevic empire started in the vast plains east of the Yot river sometime prior to c. 6,700 Y (when Htaevic writings first appeared) and spread quickly throughout the islands, eventually securing control over regions as far as Htasei and Unuvun. The Htaevic Empire was an empire rich in culture and its art, clothing, theatre, music, cuisine, language, etc. have all had a lasting impact on the region, as well as greatly influencing Meó and Unuvi culture and history.

Also raids from Hsuqlihta or something right.

• 6300s Y - First Htaevic Writings appear under the Alotsë Dynasty
• 6700s Y - Burë Dynasty
• 6800s, 6900 - First Htaevic Empire, Raiwlawbiwmtë migrate to Unuvun and Nokhta after their displacement
• 7244 Y - Split of Hsuqlihta, Beginnings of Haki Republic under Emperor Lucclucc (base 8 system, Herlucc religion enter the islands at this time)
• 7520 Y - End of Haki Republic, Beginning of The Shattering
• 7625 Y - 1024 Year Spring beginning
• 8650 Y - Blinding plague enters, killing 40% of the population
• 8778 Y - Second Htaevic Empire reformed
• 9178 Y - Fall of the Second Htaevic Empire to expansionist Nokhta and subsequent development of Hakiism roughly around this time period
• 9100s Y - Hakiism

Demographics

With a strong native Htaevic presence, there's a significant minority of Meó and Unuvunese in the region. They speak a multitude of languages deriving from Old Htaevic. Many still follow the Herlucc religion, which originated from Hsuqlihta.

Culture

Food

Whistlefruit, also known as popfruit, is one of the most common types of fruit in the region. It comes from whistlefruit trees. Whistlefruit trees grow fruit in long, hardened cylindrical tubes. During maturation, the tops and bottoms of these tubes open up, and the delicious whistlefruit falls out onto the ground below. The long tubes then give off a deep, reverberating sound like a wind chime, and this is where is where the name "whistlefruit" comes from. Animals and birds have evolved to seek this noise; they come up to the tree and scavenge the whistlefruit on the ground beneath. Whistlefruit has a caviar-like appearance, and when eaten it tends to 'pop' in ones mouth, hence the term "popfruit".

One dimension along which whistlefruits are bred is for 'whistletube' length and girth. The bigger the whistletube, the more whistlefruit that can be contained within. The largest commercially grown whistletubes approach sides exceeding that of bananas. Another dimension is whistlefruit size; some variants of whistlefruit trees produce whistlefruit balls the diameter of a tapioca pearl.

One of the most interesting qualities of whistlefruit is the diversity of their tastes. Whistlefruits can have a peppery aftertaste or not, and they also encompass a wide range of citrus and citrus-adjacent flavors such as pineapple, raspberry, orange, and strawberry.

Cocotatos are a staple vegetable of this region. Wild cocotato trees function akin to palm trees; they are tall with small cocotatos growing along the trunk. But for thousands of years, cocotatos have been domesticated in order to better serve human needs. The modern cocotato tree is low to the ground, with masses of large cocoatos growing all along the trunk.

Cocotato Bread the humble cocotato's flesh is ground into a mushy powder and squeezed dry of its oils - these oils are put aside. This powder is combined with water, flour, and an egg (and sometimes a small amount of the cocotato oil). Extra ingredients may be added at this stage, such as milk, cheese, or cabbage. This is then mixed until it has an almost doughy consistency, it is then shaped into flat circles and either fried in a pan with the cocotato oil, or left under the sun to bake. The resultant product has a pancake-like texture and is a fragrant product, with sweet coconut like undertones. Cocotato bread is often used as a base in many dishes.

Vegetables: tree with potato-coconuts growing on the trunk. maybe originally started more like coconuts, high up in tall trees, but domesticated to grow on trunk in low trees? As for leafy greens, cabbage but orange.

Grain: Unuvun has a rice thingy that spreads north and we eat it because we love rice.

Pëya is the main staple grain of the Htaevic Empire. The grain grows on a herbaceous annual plant. The plant consists of a thick stalk 2-5 cm in diameter and 1-1.8 m in height that has pinnatisect leaves branching off in a spiral around the stalk. At the top of the stalk is the flowering body, a dense and branching inflorescence that bears the grain. The grain ranges in size from 0.5 mm to 1 mm . It has a very slight earthy, nutty taste. Leaving the seeds to germinate brings out the nutty tones and sweeter flavours.

Legumes: soybeans that grow on wisteria trees.

Pastes: purple avocadossssssss that can be made into a sweet paste. also a variant that is made into a garlic paste.

Seafood: crab centipedes, salmon-eel crossover, megalodon

Dairy: 4 main types

1. Knonts produce a milk that is mostly unsuitable for processing into further dairy products. But the milk is delicious enough that it is very common (albeit a bit pricy) throughout Unuvun and a staple of many dishes. 2. Mamonas are the main milk producers in Unuvun. They are from the same family as knonts, and as such inherit similar features such as being bipedal. However unlike knonts they have been bred to grow twice as large, and the males have long, ivory tusks that are often harvested. Mamona milk is the predominant milk used to create most Unuvi butter and dairy. 3. potato-coconut milk / butter / etc lik so 4. purple avocado butter / oil / etc lik so

Eggs:

1. huge dinosaury eggs used for more special occassions, come in all sorts of different colors 2. generic small eggs from maybe big guinea-pig-like creatures

Architecture

Houses throughout the Shattered Islands are often large and open-layout, folding screens (name) are used to subdivide these into smaller sections for a number of reasons - for privacy, or for demarcating an area for a particular activity. This allows for a versatile use of the house, and more open airflow and ventilation for hot temperatures. Artistic works are meticulously painted on these folding screens as they are considered a very important part of the house and treated with care, art in the home is also believed to spark joy and longevity in many cultures throughout the islands (they function like Fusama or Shoji). Around houses is often a deck/verandah/engawa type construction that is used for resting, dining, and protecting the inner house from the elements. Screen doors are used for ventilation and to keep out anything unwanted (insects etc.). Large wooden panels called (name) are used in times of intense weather (if we get that here) to protect the house - like amado.

Statues on the outside of houses are very common. Some hypothesise this may stem from the Raiwlawbiwmtë's monument traditions.

Clothing:

• no displaying breasts in formal clothing but casually is ok (maybe kind of weird in some parts of htaevic rouge?)
• rain ponchos, wool ponchos, thin sheet ponchos, school uniform ponchos. baggy djinni pants or sarongs or whatever. generic prestige vietnamese straw hats. maybe undershirts too
• geta wood shoes, other types of flip flops too