Sìtilmi (/ˈsɨtilmi/)

We're a strange band, at least to outsiders. A tiny little village on a practically deserted island 40 miles off the coast. Strange people. One of the thousand or so who still carry the tongue and customs of an old empire. All we humbly ask, and I feel honour-bound to represents my brothers is for us to be worth what Ugane people of Amtaric descent are.

— Aìza Salat

Sìtilmi is the 415 people strong settlement on the island of the same name. These people are some of the last remnants of the Kyisafu people who once ruled only a day's ride north of Voost. While very few visit the island, those who do report the friendliness and hospitality of the families (though also report of their frankness).

History

Scholars have very little history about Sìtilmi for two main reasons. Firstly, Sìtilmi is a minor settlement in the grand scheme of things. Even prior to the plagues and devastations, it was considered . Secondly, most Kyisafu history is from outside sources which prefer to record the histories of people and events rather than places. From what sources can gather. Within Kyisafu culture, prior to their rapid expungement, it was the duty of Tsìtshìlta to pass the history down, who most of the time were illiterate. Even if they were literate, they were in Nyupyar script which has not yet been deciphered.

The village was founded by Patsnì Nyìnumilmuyt III as his ambitions to find what was beyond the Sukafuusi Sea were growing. However, these ambitions would prove fruitless as an epidemic of Munilas Fever sweeped their lands, hitting cities like Zofia and their capital Ìrastip. His successors chose to interpret this as divine wrath. Plus it was a waste to send hundreds of healthy men and women off into the sunset. And so Sìltimi languished for the first time.

The Amtar Conquests

Due to the war waged on the continent by Taan VIII and later Puhan the Patient against the heirs of Patsnì Trìtka, most Kyisafu folk merged into the Amtar and later Uganic culture. Those that didn't fled towards the coast, collecting themselves into approximately 30 villages, and the island. During the first Amtar conquest, the island of Sìtilmi was at its highest population.

Under Laymu I 'the Conqueror', the island officially became a part of the Uganë Kingdom. Though it is named the 2nd conquest, only 100 men were sent to the island and very little blood was spilled. Flaril Sarisha, the last Tsìtshìlta who had taken up the title of Patsnìts after the death of the previous Patsnìts, submitted to the heel of Uganë rule under the now famous Letter of Submission.

The Plague of Voost

During the regency of Hitanu Lyu, the Great plague of Vost occurred. Plagues and epidemics are common but none have brought the empire to kneel in the same fashion. It effected the island gravely, killing nearly 2/3 of its population. The settlment has recovered but suspicions surrounding outsiders have grown stronger in the century or two since the plague.

Reemergence

Due to the life of Aiza Salat, there has been a reemergance of interest in Sìtilmi bar that of The Hushirafrite Cult, who use the temple on the island for their rituals. The locals are split on this, though they are happy to have new and willing blood on the island despite their unique rituals and their lifestyle of fishing and some forestry to survive.

The Temple to Vayashe

On the western shore of the island, facing the eternal sea beyond, there is a small temple to the death god Vayashe. The villagers haven't used it much, worshipping the gods in a more communal fashion in the village itself, but The Hushafarite cult has took an interest in the island's temple and takes many of its rituals there.

The Fa Tamispast Tablets

The island has a set of tablets and stones with writing in only a half-decipered script. By the locals, these had been ignored up until the reemergance of interest in Sìtilmi and reviving of Kyisafu culture. Sadly, many of these tablets have been removed, unwillingly, from island by researchers. However, some 50 of the 400 tablets are still in the hands of Kyisafu people and all of the stones have not been extracted.

Type

Village