Takuda (乙辰, Chijin)

Known to the High Elves as Chijin (乙辰) in the Kanshi Chihyō coordinate system, and to its inhabitants as the scattered hearths of the Takʉda lineage.   Chijin is a rugged volcanic island chain situated in the cold, storm-wracked waters of the far southwest of Erthas, extending from -50° to -45° latitude and -35° to -52° longitude. The archipelago consists of several medium-sized islands arranged in a rough arc, with one significantly larger landmass anchoring the chain to the east. The climate is humid continental, with heavy snowfall in winter, dense conifer forests, and active volcanic slopes that steam and rumble year-round.   The terrain is steep and deeply eroded, with narrow valleys, glacial lakes, and basalt headlands. The islands lie along migratory bird routes and seasonal fish flows, and the people of Chijin move with these rhythms, sustaining themselves through foraging, coldwater fishing, and hunting marine mammals and waterfowl.  

Lifeways and Peoples

  The islands are inhabited by the Takʉda, a seafaring and forest-dwelling people who speak branches of the Proto-Takʉda language family (inspired by Proto-Caddoan). Unlike the more centralized oral traditions of neighboring island cultures, the Takʉda are spread across many loosely related kin-groups, each bound to a specific volcanic island, spring, or cliff.   Their societies are egalitarian, semi-nomadic, and oriented around seasonal movements between the interior forests and coastal estuaries. Dwelling in bark shelters and stone ring camps, they build light-framed boats from spruce and whale sinew, and carry ritual flint knives in sealskin wrappings.  

• Nídara: Spoken on the large eastern island, where inland valleys and coastal cliffs provide year-round resources. Nídara peoples are known for carving ancestor masks, hunting sea lions, and crafting snow-shelters for winter feasts.
 
• Tsapiri: Spoken across the windward northern islands, where communities move with land animals and sea-birds. Their signal fires are visible from island to island on clear nights.
 
• Hawiku: The primary speech of the central islands. Hawiku groups maintain the largest canoe fleets and serve as traders, gift-bearers, and relayers of tales and names between outer kin-groups.
 
• Akʷashita: Spoken on the southernmost and most isolated islands, where rough surf and rain carve the cliffs. Akʷashita people are expert divers, fish-skin sewers, and winter storytellers who preserve ancestral lines through intoned sagas.

 

Geography and Features

  Chijin’s islands are sharp-edged and waterbound, with each holding deep mythic meaning to the Takʉda. Volcanoes are not feared, but fed.  

• Mount Dazʉn: The sacred volcano of the eastern island. Smoke from its crater is read as prophecy by elder dreamers.
 
• Ravine of Broken Names: A glacial cleft where water spirits are believed to steal words from children. Naming rituals are held here under new moons.
 
• The Black Shoals: A basalt reef where the bones of whales are left to drift. Considered a crossing point for the dead.

 

High Elven Contact

  The High Elves of Daitō label the chain as Chijin (乙辰), meaning “Twisting Earthly Dragon,” in reference to the curved, segmented shape of the archipelago as seen from Elven star-charts. Though they have never landed on the islands, Chijin appears in maritime epics as the far limit of the known world—where stars vanish beneath the ocean and volcanic breath clouds the horizon.   Elven accounts note the chain’s frequent storms, bioluminescent tides, and the presence of faint drumbeats carried on the wind, though scholars debate whether these are myths or misunderstood whale-song.  

Language Family

  The Proto-Takʉda languages of Chijin form a closely-knit family with regional distinctions driven by geography and kin migration. All feature glottalized consonants, nasal suffixes, and word-chains built from root and relational modifiers.  

• Nídara – Eastern island speech; valley-rooted and rhythm-heavy
• Tsapiri – Northern cliff speech; short phrases and sharp intonation
• Hawiku – Central linking tongue; lexically rich and diplomatic
• Akʷashita – Southern sagas; tonal, slow-paced, highly ceremonial

 

Mythology

  The Takʉda tell of a being called Ŋibara, the Stone-Eater, who vomited the islands from its throat during a time of deep winter. Each eruption was a cry of pain that left behind new land. The people are its teeth, the fire is its voice, and the black sands are its blood.   Nídara rites honor bones and quiet. Tsapiri rites honor silence and sky. Hawiku rites honor trade and name-giving. Akʷashita rites honor memory, story, and the unseen.