Tír na Creatlach

Women valued for only their reproductive organs, men only for their ability to fight in a war that was hardly theirs. Humans were easily replaceable, our lives delicate and unimportant, only given meaning by what we could do for the aignaoithe and their endless war with the naered. Shapeshifters were hardly better, the males reduced to mere reproduction machines. The Colonization dehumanized all it touched, all but the dragons who ruled it from afar, seeing only its results.   Whether we'd like to acknowledge it or not, today's Kingdom of Crathlia was forged in the colonization. Its horrors and inequalities, along with the ways that people found to make their lives worth living, still resonate within all of us. It must not be dismissed as merely a terrible story that ought to be forgotten.   I seek to report the truth of the colonization, to dispel the legends surrounding it with historical fact. Too many believe exaggerated stories that make the shapeshifters mere cackling villains and the humans mere tortured victims. The reality is far more compelling—and disturbing.  

Government

The colony was controlled by the Council of Elders, none of whom were ever shapeshifters.   The Council's laws were enforced by female shapeshifters, females being less suited to efficiently producing powerful offspring. They therefore spent their time fighting the naered in their youth, training the boys who also did after reaching their majority, and governing the colony in their age.   One male shapeshifter was put in charge of the colonization at large. Referred to as the High Lord of the Colony, he carried out the Council's orders and desires in more specific policies and laws. His personal experience with the humans was valued as an asset to the more detached female shapeshifters. There were only three High Lords over the 600 years of colonization: Torin, Seanán, and Flaithrí.

Gender Roles

Shapeshifters:

• Males are capable of impregnating several human females at once, and reproduction doesn't interfere with their ability to fight. Therefore, shapeshifter males were required by law during most of the period to have at least ten human females in their compounds producing offspring.
• Females cannot shapeshift while pregnant or the baby will die. Furthermore, no shapeshifter has ever been recorded to be able to remain in human form for longer than three months, a far shorter period than the nine months required for human pregnancy. Thus females were primarily fighters, assigned to enforcement of the Council's law.

Humans (modern-day Dregs):

• Males were viewed by shapeshifters as fairly useless. They were put to work on farms (which is, of course, what they'd do anyway). However, depending on the time period and how many human women were taken by the local male shapeshifters, there was often competition among them for the females that weren't kept by shapeshifters--and the best females were held in compounds.
• Females were the most useful to shapeshifters. The most likely to survive among them were selected to be kept by a particular male shapeshifter. Depending on the time period and the shapeshifter's preference, they may have been taken as infants, children, or young adolescents. Valued for their femininity, characteristics such as kindness, submissiveness, and motherly strength were highly valued and encouraged.

Part-dragons (modern-day Paragons and Amalgams):

• Males were believed to have more impulsive tendencies (particularly the young). Thus they were trained as fighters, considered of less value than shapeshifters since they could be replaced more quickly. Owned by their father, grandfather, or other male shapeshifter ancestor, they were trained to fight starting at age six. Disobedience was not tolerated, and they were often physically beaten for any insubordination. Throughout most of the period, they never met women other than the female shapeshifters training them.
• Females, as mentioned above, were owned by a male shapeshifter, either their father or their husband. Their primary purpose was producing children, though later in the period they were also trained in their abilities and used as warriors depending on how powerful they were.

 

Compounds

Modern-day Crathlia was split into manageable sections with female shapeshifters as the governmental leaders. Compounds, castles surrounded by walls with no gates, formed the basis of colonial life. Three types of compounds existed: those for living, those for training, and those for raising.   Living compounds were those inhabited by active male shapeshifters, their wives, and their children (boys under the age of six, girls under the age of fifteen). The oldest of these males was the elder of that particular compound. He was responsible for the behavior of the younger shapeshifters. Depending on the time period and the preference of the elder, two to eight male shapeshifters lived in one compound.   Training compounds were those inhabited by part-dragon men from the age of six until death. Their trainers, usually female shapeshifters but occasionally older male shapeshifters, also resided in these compounds. Part-dragon men could be deployed at the discretion of their trainers, usually starting at the age of fifteen. Men raised in these compounds were not allowed wives, and in fact they usually never had the opportunity to see females other than their trainers.   Raising compounds were those inhabited by the young fully human females who were being raised to be wives of shapeshifters. The firstborn daughter of every human family was taken at age one as tribute by female shapeshifters and placed in one of these compounds. They were married at age fifteen. These compounds were led by a single shapeshifter, usually an older male or an older female. As the fully human population dwindled, part-dragon females were sometimes also raised in these compounds.   By the height of the Colonial Era, the walls of the compounds became the center of the growing cities, surrounded by farms increasingly tended by part-dragons who were considered "useless" due to a physical, mental, or power-related weakness. In name, these people were still owned by a male shapeshifter (whom they would answer to in the event of crime), but they were not kept as warriors or wives.  

History

Although Seanán was the first shapeshifter to forcibly reproduce with human women by trapping them in a walled compound as described above, Torin was the first leader of the colonization effort, called an experiment at the time. During this period, the colonization was limited to Seanán's compound, until another compound was built to the south, headed by Éimhín, in the year 82. This period also marked the beginning of the idea of raising human females to be kept by shapeshifters. The first compound to be built for this purpose was completed in the year 6 of the colonization. Also, young male part-dragons were sent to their own compound for training at the age of six beginning in the year 46.   After Torin's death in the year 93, Seanán was appointed leader of the colonization effort. On his command, all male shapeshifters were relocated to the colony, required to take at least 10 wives with at least 40 children total before they reached the age of 100. It was decided that female shapeshifters be split between the homeland and the colony. They were trained as warriors. During this period, the number of compounds increased rapidly at first, then stayed relatively constant. It is thought that throughout the period there were around 30 separate compounds for male shapeshifters and at least 10 for the raising of human women. The number that did increase was that of the compounds for the training of part-dragon males; it is thought that there were at least 60 by the end of the period.   In the year 217, Lonán began encouraging the rebellion of part-dragons. He gained a considerable following before he was sent on a suicide mission to Shui Lu. When he was killed by naered, he was considered a martyr and became a legend among part-dragons for the next 400 years. The subsequent rebellion was put down after some 6 years of fighting.   Seanán died of natural causes in the year 411. He was succeeded by Flaithrí, a younger shapeshifter (about 170 years old) who was said to be chosen by the Council of Elders for his leadership skills, determination, and vision—though records also show that his grandfather was on the Council. Flaithrí increased control over the human population, making the compounds into great walled cities centered at Rinn Srón (modern-day Bent Claw). He also expanded the colony to the other continents, most successfully along the Aviumi coast and in Dugoan. Part-dragon males were categorized by level of power, and compounds for the combat training of more diluted part-dragon females were instated for the first time. More powerful part-dragon males were given increasing numbers of human females until the population of fully human beings dropped to zero in many major cities.   The second major rebellion occurred in 513 in Craigden, a major port. As punishment, Flaithrí himself split Inis na Elathán in half, creating North Lautney, South Lautney, and Midland.   The third and final major rebellion, usually called the Crathlian Revolution, occurred in 588, led by Alden Ó Flaithrí (he also claimed Lonán as an ancestor, though this has never been proven). His descendants are the Alderleys, the royal family of Crathlia.   In the year 611, the shapeshifters were driven out of their rebelling colony in order to keep shapeshifters alive to fight the naered. Since the majority of the part-dragons wanted no part in the war between the fire-breathers and the water-weavers, the naered did not gain a true foothold in Crathlia. Instead, part-dragon warlords took control, promising protection against both kinds of dragons, a promise of the nobility that would last over 300 years.  

Relations with Shui Lu

During this time, the naered gifted humans they liked (or humans that would make good weapons) with abilities. Said humans were then used in combat against the aignaoithe—and these gifted humans and their naer partners were winning, which is why the Council of Elders found it so necessary to start the colonization and so quickly and efficiently produce powerful offspring.   Those are the facts, accepted by everyone. Now we get into conjecture and research. Compared with modern times (and contrary to general belief), it seems from my research that the naered had a close relationship with humans during the aignaoi colonization. It seems that although the naered were still worshipped (potentially?), they acted as relatively benevolent spirits. We see art across multiple cultures from this period that depicts gifted humans riding upon naered; if this isn't an artistic exaggeration, that's something that's not been seen for hundreds of years and indicates a very different relationship with gifted humans compared to today. There are also local stories all across Crathlia of fairies, spirits, old gods, or naered (all one and the same?) assisting humans in the Crathlian Revolution. I keep myself brief here, but I'm continuing to research this topic, which will almost certainly become a paper of its own.