The New Selkes
The Change and Exodus
As the disease known by the Selkes as The Change spread from the Tribe of the Reds to the rest of the Selkes'nations, the affected populations and their leaders tried desperate measures to stop it from spreading further.
The Tribe of the Deep, for example, set up a crusade against the Red Selkes under the mistaken belief that banishing the Red Selkes away from the Brechin Ridge would stop the 'plague' from progressing any further.
This misguided conflict would result in the founding of the Council of Four. After the Battle of the Coral Fields, Tribe of the Maya, under Galdianne A Oosan's leadership, invited the four tribes to meet several times a year to face the Change together and pull their effort together to find a cure for it.
After years of research, though, nothing would be found to reverse the loss of magic the Selke pups increasingly suffered from. Galdianne had passed away, and their daughter Jova A Oosan had taken the reins of the nation. Jova faced a worsening situation and was not as strong a leader as her parent.
The number of Selke pups suffering from the Change was growing at an increasing rate, and the Maya population feared their offspring would be next. The tribe's influential families put pressure on Jova to effect tougher measures, once again, to stop the plague from spreading.
Two influential and powerful houses, the House of A Flamin and House A Eaalion went as far as to plot against Jova and House of A Oosan to take control of the Mayas and purge the country of the 'plagued children'.
Aware of the threats against herself and her House, Jova decided to relent and enacted one of the most hateful rulings a Selke leader would pronounce in Selkes' history. Every afflicted Selke, including young pups, would be sent away from the safety of their mountain homes and banished into the wilds of the The Shimmering Seas to find a new home for themselves. Their sacrifice would ensure the salvation of the nation.
Many families were heartbroken and became divided by the ruling. Some afflicted Selkes believed it was their duty to leave the Brechin Ridge and prevent harm to future generations. Others thought their leaders had lost hope and gone mad and would not be persuaded to leave. They remembered the condemnation of the Deep Selkes' actions just a generation past and accused their leaders of being in the same mould and a bunch of hypocrites.
A civil war was looming over the streets of Pancador , the ancient and beautiful underwater capital of the Mayas. As the Blue Fin regiments were draughted in to maintain order, a rallying figure among the Banished rose to unite them.
Their name was Nessian A Eaalion . Nessian was the black sheep of the House of A Eaalion. Their offspring, Fragaria A Eaalion, only 12 years of age, showed signs of the Change and was among the people expected to leave the Brechins. Opposed and incensed by their family's political machinations, Nessian brought their considerable fortune and influence to bear. They swore to leave the country with the rest of the Banished and offer the protection of his private Blue Fin Fyrd to protect the convoy in the wilderness.
Tensions settled down under the charismatic Nessian's de facto leadership, and the Banished left their ancestral lands and homes to find a new place to build their tribe. An old myth, the Legend of the Greenfields, was touted by many of the Banished as proof that a truly verdant and fertile land awaited them deep in the vastness of the ocean.
It seems the gods were with the Banished after all. After three arduous months of wandering through the dangerous ocean deserts, as per the legend, the Banished found the new lands imagined by their ancestors, the fabled Greenhills.
A New Economic Power: the Tribe of the New
For a detailed article on the fascinating lands of the Greenfields, see The Greenfields Hills
The journey to the Greenfields was not plain sailing: the convoy had to cross barren ocean plains where food was in short supply, and on many occasions, the mounted Blue Fin warriors had to fight off large predators attacking the convoy.
This was not an easy task, as the caravan had a significant number of younglings and pups to protect. Lives were lost, and morale was at an all-time low when Nessian's scouts announced they had stumbled across an incredibly lush and vibrant kelp forest a few furloughs away.
It did not take long for the new tribe to settle in their new environment. The protected kelp forest was an ideal hunting ground, and the cavernous sheltered hills to the north made ideal new homes for the exiled Selkes.
Nessian quickly established a Council of Elders and assembled around him the wisest and brightest minds among the 400 or so exiled Selkes. After much deliberation, the tribe decided to call themselves the Tribe of the New.
The tribe became economically wealthy within its first century of industrious living. The Greenfields provided many resources. Soon, the Hills were mined for their riches: silver and precious stones, especially emeralds.
Relationships were renewed with the other Selke nations as safe trade routes were established between the Brechin Ridge and the Greenfields Hills. Within two centuries, and with the Change still spreading widely among the Selke population, the Tribe of the New had become an influential power among the Selke nations.
The New Selkes were, by nature, more adventurous than other Selkes, more open to the world around them. From the start, they mingled with the clansmen of Alven and had knowledge of human societies that no other tribes ever had.
In these changing and treacherous times, the New Selkes maintain a veiled presence in Alven, sending Envoys to the Thanes and keeping their pulse on the changing nature of the world. At present, both Ammil A Bilsong and Connal A Eaalion , a direct descendant of Nessian and a member of the powerful House A Eaalion are in residence in Highfort.
The New Selkes' dealings with the Alvenites have put them somewhat at odds with the rest of the Selke nations. Their involvement in human affairs is seen as suspicious and a bad omen with the more traditional tribes. However, a new school of thought proposes that the cure for the Change might be found on land.
The Landbounds' beliefs are gaining traction as more information is collected on the continent, which seems to back up the Landbounds' credence. It is spurring the old nations to look twice at human affairs.
Hollow Moons: Selke Characters
Character: Ammil A Bilsong
Character: Connal A Eaalion
I love the details of how displacement affected their culture, as well as how clearly it's tied in to other Summer Camp prompts. Good job!