Conversion of the Hundred Tribes (ca. 400 - 700 I.D.)

While the Kalkorae directed the majority of their resources and attention to crushing the Totanbeni and pressing into the more resource-rich lands in the northern half of the subcontinent, mapmakers continued to operate in the wetter, poorer regions in the southwest. The motives of these mapmakers varied enormously. Some were explorers and adventurers. Others were treasure-hunters who might have believed these wints could provide clues about the impossible Totanbeni devices. Some few clearly had political ambitions among the tribes, since some wint communities possessed harvesters and foci as early as 400 I.D. and no wint could operate a Kalkoraen focus.

By far the most successful, however, was a mapmaker remembered only as Kukul ("cuckoo"). Kukul completely immersed himself in the culture of the Erden — a peaceful tribe who associated themselves with Erd, the goddess of the earth. Kukul spent several years (ca. 500 I.D.) living among them, recording the history of the Hundred Tribes as the Erden remembered it. Kukul was the first to recognize that the wints and the Kalkorae had radically different ways of using magic. The magic of each of the Hundred Tribes came from that tribe's patron, who grew more powerful as the tribe became more populous and healthy.

Armed with this substantial deviation from the Kalkoraen mindset, Kukul set out to teach the Erden about his people. It was his hope that if he could place the Kalkorae within the religious history of the Hundred Tribes, the Erden would be more willing to treat them as just another tribe of wints. Since the Erden had seen how he had devices that depended on wind and fire to work, Kukul created the deific persona of Marrish — the lord of wind and fire — as the patron of the Kalkorae. The Erden accepted this explanation without argument, and their oral history soon translated all the deeds of the Kalkorae as the deeds of Marrish.

This did not stop with the Erden, however, for they counted many other tribes as their allies. Not only did the tribes recognize Marrish as a member of their pantheon, but many began to instead call the Kalkorae either "Marrishen," or "Mar," in keeping with the naming conventions of their tribe. The Erden quickly became strong supporters of the Kalkorae (by 550 I.D.).

The next few generations (ca. 550 - 700 I.D.) saw Kalkoraen mapmakers forging an alliance between several other tribes, starting with those allied with the Erden. The patron deities of nine of these tribes have clear parallels to the Mar pantheon — with the patrons of the Erden, the Frae, the Send, the Niminthen, the Seru, the Zeden, the Sonnen, the Swinden, and the Norns strongly resembling Dinah, Fraemauna, Sendala, Niminth, Seruvus, Cedar, Her, Swind, and Heliotosis, respectively.

During this period, the Kalkorae learned a great deal about how to survive in the swamps. The tribes taught mapmakers how to cure most diseases and how to prevent the rest. They showed the Kalkorae how to hunt with spears, what plants were good to eat, and how to prepare safe soup. While much of this did not become common knowledge among the Kalkorae — who were, on the whole, still completely dependant on supply ships from the West — it still found wide distribution, especially once it became clear that the steady stream of imports would soon come to an end.

Despite this quick friendship, the relationship between the Kalkorae and the Hundred Tribes was far from perfect. While Kukul simply wished the Hundred Tribes to accept the Kalkorae as one of their own in order to prevent potential future conflicts, not all who came later shared his ideals. It seemed obvious to many of their leaders that the Kalkorae were superior to the wints, and they spent a significant amount of time attempting to civilize the Hundred Tribes (ca. 680 - 700 I.D.). This understandably rankled the wints.

The Erden were particularly incensed by their treatment at the hands of the Kalkorae. While the Frae, the Seru, and the Sonnen openly advocated peaceful reforms, the Erden quickly determined that the only way to put an end to such patronizing behavior was to force the Kalkorae to realize how much they needed the Hundred Tribes. In the end, they proved their point, though some of the consequences were unanticipated.

(Contributed by Weard Leif Gesyk)

Copyright 2005-2007 Eric Zawadzki and Matthew Schick. All Rights Reserved.
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