D'ekaš

D'ekaš is the most technologically developed of the Novan continents, and where the focus of the Novan conworlding project is. The lands of D'ekaš independently gave birth to two major civilizations, and in the present day is dominated by the Išyaɸa Empire in the west. The south-east on the other hand is a collection of squabbling states that bear descent from the legendary Affalhaq civilization, though other independent polities exist throughout the continent.

A map of D'ekaš

Etymology

The term D'ekaš is the Išyaɸan word for the continent. It itself is descended from ...

Geology and Geography

Geology

The bulk of the D'ekaš landmass is composed of the D'ekaš plate. Historically this plate moved eastward, colliding with the paleo-Elephants head. This collision is responsible for the large but eroded range that spans the middle of D'ekaš. Ultimately, this plate began moving west, resulting in its current position.

Northern D'ekaš is formed through the collision of three plates: the D'ekaš plate, the North plate and the Northeastern plate. The continental nature of these plates has created a large fold-type mountain range in the north, known as the placeholder mountains. The northeastern plate and north plate have sutured and geologic activity slowed. However, the oceanic portion of the northeast plate continues to subduct underneath the D'ekaš plate.

In the south, the small oceanic placeholder plate is slowly subducting underneath the D'ekaš plate, Atlingi plate, and placeholder plate. This action is responsible for the creation of the prong formation in the south. Simultaneously, the Atlingi plate is slowly subducting beneath the placeholder plate. This action has created the volcanic Atlingi arc. The entire region at large is heavily volcanic and prone to seismic activity.

Geography

As a whole, D'ekaš is a extremely mountainous continent. From the north to south, mountains dominate the land, and consequently the continent has a river-rich hydrography. A few degrees north of the equator, a large endorheic basin is responsible for the placeholder sea. Theres some handwavery here where, despite the large amounts of rainfall characteristic of such an equatorial region, the water level of the sea largely remains constant.

There are two major plains regions, both on the west coast of D'ekaš. The closest to the equator, placeholder, is in fact one large desert, and poses a major obstacle to any who wish to traverse its sands. A few rivers make their way through the area, notably the placeholder river, which flows through Lake Gigashad before turning into a delta, and is flanked by lush greenery fed by its waters. North of this is the largely Mediterranean climate placeholder plain. A massive river system flows through here into the ocean, and regular floods at its delta provide rich soils for agriculture.

North of there is the heavily forested placeholder coast, which lie northwest of the placeholder mountains. This dominating feature covers nearly a fifth of the continent's landmass. Forests dominate the east and southeast of the mountains, surrounding the placeholder range that branches off the placeholders. South of here is the placeholder valley, which is itself north of the tropical placeholder peninsula.

Climate

D'ekaš stretches from 15°S to approximately 64°N. Indeed, if the southern most point in the Atlingi arc is included, D'ekaš extends all the way down to about 39°S. This wide range of latitudes gives D'ekaš many varying climates within its shores. Perhaps most important are the placeholder rainforest zone and the western Mediterranean zone, which each gave birth to civilization within their unique contexts.

History

Prehistory

D'ekaš was initially peopled some 35 thousand years ago as seaworthy peoples navigated the Atlingi arc and reached the continent. Some 15 thousand years later, a subsequent wave of migrants again made the same voyage. This is reflected in the racial make up of the continent, where the southern tropical band and the Atlingi islands are comprised of dark skinned peoples with amber to pale green eyes. In contrast, the inhabitants of the norther two thirds of D'ekaš, as well as the easternmost isles, have a striking change in skin colour that does not reflect a gradual gradient as would be expected of the climactic variation. Northern D'ekašans are instead olive to pale skinned, but uniformly brown eyed. This divide is reflected linguistically as well, where all speakers of northern languages are of the Nothern D'ekašan race and all speakers of southern languages are of the Southern D'ekašan race. The sole exception are the Salt Sea languages, where likely through a historical process of pastoralist expansion and assimilation, both races are represented in the language family.

Early Civilizations

I should note here that most of the ideas for state formation in D'ekaš are derived from reading James C Scott's 2017 book Against the Grain.

Ultimately, the hunter gatherer lifestyles of the earliest peoples gave way to more sedentary forms of subsistence. This was particularly so in Affalhaq, the placeholder and placeholder deltas, and the placeholder valley, where large urban settlements began to materialize. Despite this, pressures were never enough to catalyze state formation in the placeholder delta region nor the placeholder valley. This story was different in Affalhaq and the placeholder river. Historically in the Affalhaq, peoples relied on a mixture of hunting and gathering and small scale slash and burn agriculture. Overhunting of local wildlife meant that the population increasingly had to rely on foraging and agriculture, particularly the aqa bean to feed its people. Gradually, the carrying capacity of the environment was approached and an increasing reliance upon aqa farming became emphasized. By 5 kya, settlements in the area began to organize hierarchies and skirmish against each other in bids to increasing each proto-state's arable land. These cities were the genesis of Affalhaq civilization.

A similar situation would play out on the placeholder river. The alluvial plains of the river provided rich soil that, following annual flooding, flourished with plant and animal life. Settlements formed here by taking advantage of the rich yearly influx of growth, and was more then enough to feed the growing populations of the area. At some point in history, about 5 kya, as in Affalhaq, a particularly dry spell came to effect the region. The river receded and yearly flooding was a fraction of its historical size. This would lead to increasing concentrations of people on the banks of the river, crowding around the reduced annual growth. Ultimately, this too led to the formation of states, organized to win arable land from their neighbours to grow the native western millet and imported wheat. For both these regions, existence of the state ebbed and flowed, often fading away and re-surging, and lasting but a few short generations, if they became that lucky.

Elsewhere on Atlingi island, and two thousand years earlier, another civilization had formed and within the millennium subsequently collapsed. Dubbed the Atlingi civilization, polities here formed not as a response to the need to feed a growing population in a harsh time, but rather as the result of the creation of elaborate religious sites. Several of these sites are known, where specific deities or aspects of nature were worshiped. In this worshiping process numerous sacrifices were offered and placed in storage, which the gods then 'offered' back in times of need. These religious sites built up large urban formations around them to support the temple logistics, and in turn, needed to be supported by grain fed agriculture. This time of the 'e'la grain, endemic to Noso and the Atlingi arc. Warfare is again known between these cities. Agricultural acquisitions were here second to the procurement of slaves to work this land. The Atlingi collapse occurred roughly a thousand years following the formation of the first states, largely for reasons unknown. Large urban sites were abandoned and people returned to the subsistence lifestyles they came from.

The Atlingi civilization would have the last laugh though. Slowly, a corridor of states developed between the two major civilizations on the continent, and both spheres entered a golden age, fueled by centralization under respective imperial governments and exotic trade goods from the other. The vast interconnections of this era allowed placeholder disease, imported from Atlingi by a few plucky sailors to sweep through the continent. In an effort to save themselves, people fled from urban sites into the countryside and surrounding lands, triggering the largest pre-Modern migrations on Novo, and initiating the D'ekaš dark age. The end arrives some five-hundred years hence, first with the re-emergence of large scale urbanization around the Great Salt Sea, associated with the new and heavily seafaring Çiçet culture, followed soon by the return of large-scale urbanization in the Affalhaq and an end to the many centuries of strife in the north.

The Classical Age

The civilization that would arise alongside the Great Salt Sea would be long and fruitful. Çejjota ajam, founded by the prophet Çejjota, would arise some years later, and expand around the Great Salt Sea, and ultimately into the Central delta (as a result of the many similarities between existing philosophical traditions and the new religious import), and later the Northern Delta, where they would take on their own unique characteristics. For convenience, the year of the foundation of Çejjota ajam would become year 1 in Novan Reckoning (1 NR)

Languages

Pre-state formation language family diversity on D'ekaš.

The linguistic diversity of D'ekaš is astounding. From its northern tip to the Atlingi islands, a total of 25 language families exist. Perhaps the most important of these families are the Affalhaqic, Deltic, and Salt Sea Languages.