Excerpt from "A Study into the Pre-Fraternal War Kaiś-ke Seloniŕ"

In the one and a half millennia since the Hasiŕ’gaŕokan engrained themselves in southern Hasiŕea, the political organisation of the diverse Hasiŕ clans encouraged small tribal settlements over urban centres. However, this would change in the mid-2000s BCE, particularly in the Tabaiŕen Valley. Previous Hasiŕ migrations had in the past generally only involved the Olśkuan due to their sea-borne abilities greatly surpassing their inland cousins. The Lakuilteŕa and Kiteiborsi migrations were a testament to this, both stemming from the Olśkuan. In the meanwhile, the other two major clans of the Hasiŕ had focused more intensely on growing and expanding in the hinterland of Hasiŕea.

These clans were the Kaiś-ke Lasiŕos (the folk of the Mountains), located at the time around the western portion of the Lasiŕua Chain, while the other was the Kaiś-ke Seloniŕ (the folk that are hardy) who was based alongside most of the minor Hasiŕ clans in the Tabaiŕen Valley. While the Lasiŕos were mostly focused on combating a foreign culture to the Hasiŕ’gaŕokan in the Lasiŕua Chain, the conquest of which would be the focus of their efforts for the following millennia, the Seloniŕ instead funnelled their efforts into becoming the industrial and creative power base of the Hasiŕ culture. Based on archaeological digs in the valley, it was the Seloniŕ that were the first Clan to first make bronze jewellery and objects, combining tin from the north of Hasiŕea with the extensive copper mines in their zone of influence. The metal-working industry needed to be centralised and the core of the Seloniŕ lands in the Tabaiŕen Valley were chosen due to their size and power.

Erected on the shores of the Tabaiŕ River, Leguśeaki, or Leguśegi’aki (the Home on the River) as it was referred to back then, started as an urban/metal-working centre of the Seloniŕ. Remains of pottery from the Late Hasiŕ Era found near Leguśeaki display that the foundation of the settlement is mired in myth, with the story differing in interpretation depending on the area of the Tabaiŕen Valley. Generally, the myth itself refers to two individuals or 'heroes', having been immortalised as aŕikaŕ’kinuŕe - individuals blessed by the Gods - long after their deaths. They were called Isceŕadin 'the Guardian' and Aunia 'the Firesmith'.

The legends on their subject claim that the deity that blessed Isceŕadin and Aunia was *Arsakŕ*, the Hasiŕ God of Fire and the Hearth. Due to accounts differing on exact nature of their origin and actions, we will instead be (....)

Creating a Home on the River

Many of the Tabaiŕen Valley Kaiś-ke claim to have been the Clans from which aŕikaŕ’kinuŕe Isceŕadin and Aunia hailed from. In truth however, both Isceŕadin and Aunia hailed from a small village located on the banks of the Tabaiŕ. The village itself had no formal Clan that ruled over it, the inhabitants were aunkaiś'ken, or 'Without a Clan'. The tense and strenuous peace between the increasingly fragmented clans caused certain groups of individuals to break away from their clans to live in small communities, giving tribute to the Seloniŕ in order to stay safe in the Tabaiŕen Valley.

This particular village had managed to keep the Seloniŕ's protection through its trade. That being the practice of creating weapons made of the very material that made the Seloniŕ the powerhouse they are today. Bronze. This weaponry proved to be deadly in the hands of capable warriors, and capable warriors the Seloniŕ had aplenty. These weapons and their rarity enabled the Seloniŕ to dominate the Tabaiŕen Valley, casting its shadow even on the Olśkuan and the Lasiŕos. Rumours began circulating that the weapons could only be made by one individual in a small village on the shores of the Tabaiŕ. A young woman by the name of Aunia, who wielded the flames of her forge with such proficiency that she could bend the strongest known materials to her whim. Whispers claimed that she had been blessed by the God Arsakŕ.

To the near-feuding Clans of the valley however, controlling the source of the weapon production was something that was quickly becoming a strategic necessity. In the village itself, tensions were high as the villagers did not wish to be raided over one person. Isceŕadin, the village's leader, did his best to assuage their concerns. He succeeded in doing so, proclaiming that he would do his utmost in order for the village to remain untouched by war. He then went to find Aunia, his Hearth's Fire, in order to lessen her own concerns. Entering her forge, he found her relentlessly smashing her hammer into a refined bronze weapon.

"I still find it hard to believe that you created this with your own hands - it seems as though Arsakŕ himself blessed you in manipulating fire in such a way."

"I did not want this, I do not want to create tools of war - it was never my intention."

"Yet you did so, and forgive me for my misplaced humour my Heart - but these are extremely well-made weapons."

"The Clans will want them for war - to shed blood and destroy. They will seek me to create more."

Isceŕadin stepped forward, hand held over his heart.

"Then I will build stone walls so high that none, not even the greatest warrior, will be able to climb. I will build a home around your forge, so that you can remain safe and practice your craft, creating whatever you wish. And if there are any that cross the walls, then I shall guard your forge with my life - stopping any from crossing the threshold of the home's hearth."

And so he did - Isceŕadin began building walls of stone to replace the flimsy village palisade. He worked day and night, unrelenting, so that he could accomplish his vow to guard his beloved's hearth. With Arsakŕ's blessing, he continued until the village had practically become a fortress, and able to repel any attempts at reaching Aunia.

And so, Leguśegi’aki was born.

Lasiŕua Chain - the Baetic Chain

Tabaiŕ - the Guadalquivir River