Oasis

The city of Oasis is located in the center of the Golden Desert. It was founded for the purpose of trade. Oasis provided a stop for trading caravans to rest and replentish. Within a decade of its founding, the city tripled in size. It became and is, one of the most diverse places in Agarithia. Merchants from all over Agarithia came trough Oasis. Humans, Elves, and Eretis lived in peace and harmony.

During the Cleansing, the inhabitants of Oasis became angered by the anger against the Elves. The city opened its doors to refugees of the war and declared its neutrality. To avoid any conflict, the manufacture, trade, and posession of any type of weapon was prohibited in Oasis. The city was hurt by the Cleansing. Trade halted, thousands fled to the city in search for safety, and there was a drought during that time.

During the climax of the Cleansing, Akmar Etida sieged the gates of Oasis for twenty days. He demanded the surrender of the Elves in exchange for mercy. Weakened by the drought, the city manage to hold off the attack for some time. The Elves watched sadly as their comrades fought to defend them. Finally, Estir Silon, the leader of the Elves, called upon every male Elf to deliver himself. He made a famous speech from the main balcony of the Oasis palace.

It is only a test the gods have given us. We must sacrifice our selves to preserve our culture through our children. The gods will repay us some day, when we join them among the stars.

He closed his speech by saying that he would turn himself at dawn. Anyone was welcome to join him. Dawn came but no one showed up. Silon left the safety of the city alone. Etida was not satisfied, he continued the siege until he broke into the city, slaughtering every Elf inside. He did not touch any Human or Ereti. When his job was done, he left the city in silence.

Today, Oasis is completely restored. The city is not part of any Nation. It is a center of trade and knowledge. If is one of the few places that trades with the Wildlands.

The Elements

Although there are different cultures in Agarithia, they all share the elements system. The Jaden Eretis, believe the elements are forces that can be controlled by them and their gods. The Yellow Eretis use the elements for their purposes. Humans use the elements to their advantage but also believe them to be part of a higher deity. Across all cultures, the elements are symbolical.

Energy: Energy is the mother and source of all elements since everything needs energy to exist. Oceans need energy to produce waves. Winds use energy to propel themselves. The earth cannot produce plants and fruits without energy. Flames cannot dance among the burning logs without energy. Notice that the written Amtret word for fire is symmetrical, symbolizing balance.

Water: water symbolizes tranquility and life. It is believed that life began in water. Dark blue is associated with water. Healing is also associated with water. Water is an ally when fire goes out of hand. United with earth, the two elements produce plants, a vital source of food.

Air: Air symbolizes constancy. Although the winds go through seasonal changes, these changes are constant. Air is believe to be the lightest and swiftest of the elements. Air is known for its independece, it rarely forms an alliance with the other elements.

Earth: earth symbolizes rest, life, and hidden power. Mountains rarely move, sleeping volcanoes wake only when angered by the fire within them. Farmers depend on Earth for their crops. Earth is forever in an alliance with Water. Although mostly in a stagnant state, Earth can erupt on its own and shake with anger, destroying anything that rests upon its surface.

Fire: Fire symbolizes fickleness, danger, and passion. Fire is a double edged sword, it can warm and light the way but it can also burn and destroy. Fire usually takes advantage of the anger of Air and Earth. When the wind blow strongly, a small camp fire can spread across miles of land burning houses and forests. When Earth shakes with anger, Fire arrives to worsen things. A hart that is on fire usually refers to a person that is passionate about something or someone.

Amtret: The Language of Agarithia

A variation of the Elf language is spoken throughout Agarithia. The language was introduced, of course by the Elf conqueros. the language, known as Amtret, was declared the official language. With time, it became the only language spoken and written in the Empire. The Meekhrshun and the Wildlands are the only two regions that did not adopt Amtret.

Amtret has a variety of sounds that when combined form words. Some words, like our language are united and together gain a totally new meaning. Word combination usually ends in a contraction in which a total of two syllables are removed to form the new word. For example, the word for boat is tetarg, and the word for group or collection is shimakr. The combination of these two words, temakr, means navy.

Here is a brief list of words in Amtret:

regu- milk

nimsta- fish

ik- and

jut- to like

teker- rain

ruget- lion

khamr- music

edut- water

co- I, or me

jut co khmar- I like music

In Amtret, nouns can take a different meaning with their context. For example, the sentence jut cot khamr ruget, does not mean I like lion music. It means I like the lion’s roar.

Amtret is written phonetically. There are 154 sounds in Amtret. Each sound has its own character. There is no capitalization in the written Amtret language. The only punctuation that exists is the equivalent of our period (.), the Sitket. The Sitket comes at the end of every sentence. When a passage or piece of writing comes to and end, a double Sitket. The double Sitket has a slash that unites the two symbols to avoid confusion. The word sitket, also means “end.” Because of this, the double Sitket has the slash to avoid the misunderstanding of a sentence ending with the word “end.”

Below are some illustrations of written Amtret.

One character per sound

The Sitket

The double Sitket, notice the slash uniting the two.