Yumil Motacet Basakan or Fonteran

History

Early Life

Yumil's parents gave him up for adoption along with his three sisters born in the same litter, making them all White Khetts. Before they were out of their infancy, they were adopted by a soldier and his wife, who were unable to have children of their own.   By all reports, he and his sisters passed a happy childhood. However, the times were changing and the country entered a state of political upheaval as the Shonsurogstanir took power in a coup, appointing their leader Shonsuroggat of "Or Shonsuroget Tucidorog Tosabir," or "The Sovereign Mountain Lands," their name for Or Tucidorog Gantortefisk ("The Mountain Republic").   Yumil's father, as an officer loyal to the Republic, was caught up in the second purge and imprisoned when Yumil and his sisters were only eight years old. In spite of their loss of income and the seizing of their assets, the warren allowed the family to remain in their home. Yumil's mother had to find work outside the home, leaving the children in the care of their warren while she was gone.   This arrangement did not last long, however. As a warren of soldiers and officers, the Basakan warren began taking on more and more Shonsurogstanir, who disdained the continued presence of Yumil's family. Soon, they were ejected and forced to find a new warren.

Early Adulthood

Yumil, considering himself the protector and provider for his household at the age of ten, found the idea of his sisters working in a factory to be intolerable and sought out a suitable career for himself that would allow him to provide for his family.   He found work as an apprentice miner, his broad frame and already strong body coupled with his will to work earning him the appreciation of his bosses. Recognizing his potential, productivity, and drive, they promoted him and raised his wages until he was making more than many of the men twice his age, which did not endear him to them. He put up with their mistreatment without complaining, considering it worth the ability to provide for his family.   However, he was wrongfully accused of plotting to sabotage the mine in order to undermine the Shonsuroggat and was imprisoned while only thirteen years old, barely an adult.   Gantortefet insurgents, who believed in his guilt and saw him as a potential asset to their cause, broke him out of jail not a year later after helping his family disappear into the mountains, to live in a remote warren friendly to their cause.   While innocent of the crimes of which he was accused and possessing the integrity to say so, he thanked them for freeing him and pledged his support.   Many former soldiers and officers who had retired or escaped the purges without imprisonment were among the ranks of the insurgents, and many maintained contact with those in the military still loyal to the republic who had kept their heads down and avoided the scrutiny of the so-called "Unity Inquest."   Yumil applied himself as rigorously to the cause as he had his work, now confident of his family's safety and seeing a path to freeing his father. Unable to show himself publicly, he remained in hidden hideouts and safehouses, learning from the others, studying war, and training his strength, for there would be a battle ahead.

Military Career

A few short years later, an uprising across the four mountains and the valley, aided by Soreborne mercenaries and widespread mutiny within the army, overturned the control of the Shonsurogstanir. However, the Shonsuroggat was still recognized by a sizeable portion of the populace, and so two competing governments, each with a powerful military, vied for control.   Yumil was finally reunited with his father after a decade apart, although he was sad to see his parent's condition. They had not treated him well, and he was emaciated, his fur had become patchy, and his eyes lacked the glittering luster they had once held. He escorted his father to reunite with the rest of his family, but had no time to stay and visit. The war was still ongoing.   Many skirmishes and battles later, the Gantortefet army finally reached the cusp of their ultimate goal: retaking the mountain refuge that had sheltered their united government for centuries, safe from the internal politics of a state or the military designs of foreign powers. Now, to end the war, they had to conquer it.   In the final climactic battle of the struggle for Yumil Tucidorog ("Justice Mountain"), then known as "Or Tucidorog bor Kherrogant" ("The Mountain of Civilization"), Yumil lead the charge up the slope to the seat of power, urging his compatriots onward with a saber in one hand and the flag of The Mountain Republic in the other.   While unconfirmed, the story goes that he was wounded six times by bullet and sword, but fought to the end in spite of his injuries, not seeking medical care until the floor of the congress was painted in the mingled blood of the Shonsurogstanir and of the Gantortefet liberators who defeated them.   After the victory, Yumil received many plaudits from his comrades-in-arms, and the interim Hirthrain gifted him with two war-dogs, which Yumil named Shurotan ("Hunter") and Wolsket ("Adventurous").   The newly-restored republican government had little time to restore the nation, however, as The Centrality had sent an army to conquer them under the guise of preventing another country in the mold of The Fire Kingdom from arising to their south and of reuniting with their "wayward children."   This was intolerable, and Yumil urged immediate action. Promoted to the rank of colonel within the republic's army, he was sent to help marshal defenses on Dresinsk Tucidorog ("Bulwark Mountain"). Upon receiving the assignment, he is believed to have said "I fervently wish them to attack us there. We shall break their backs upon the rocks they wish to conquer and send them back to their forests with lead where their hearts had been."   Once the mountain's defenses had been plotted out, Yumil begged his general to let him lead an expedition of guerillas to harry the advancing army. Reluctantly, the general agreed, and Yumil left before he could change his mind.   He ordered that in addition to the standard equipment of a soldier, each man be given "One coat of warmest fur and an ishvanur (traditional fur hat) of like material."   Laden down with equipment for the journey and accompanied by a group of hunter bowmen, they set off to confront the invaders by any and all means. Through skirmishes, sabotage, avalanches, and sleep deprivation, they wore down the enemy force as it struggled through the cold mountains during late autumn and into the winter.   Multiple Cent-Khett watchmen, across several incidents, reported seeing a single huge Khett standing atop a peak with his bare chest exposed to the winter air as his coat blew out behind him, with many seeing it as a sign of catastrophe to come.   While it is likely that not all sightings were true and that even those that were true did not always feature Yumil, it is popularly held that it was Yumil each time, surveying the enemy and taunting them by his presence beyond the range of firearm or bow.   There was a single pitched battle in the harassment campaign, a night attack where Yumil led his force in a swift attack on a Cent-Khett camp. The Ice-Khetts crept up on the camp and then charged with saber and bayonet, tearing into the startled Cent-Khetts. Yumil's war-dogs also participated in the fight, bringing down several soldiers between them and inspiring fear in the already-shocked defenders, many of whom had never seen a howun before.   The attack turned for the worse, however, when a company of soldiers kept in reserve for such an occurrence joined the battle. Yumil ordered a retreat, but found they were cut off from their intended route. Improvising, they bounded through the camp and escape through the other side, vanishing into the mountains and then regrouping.   When The Centrality's army was twelve-days' journey from the mountain, Yumil and his forces returned swiftly to Dresinsk Tucidorog to join the defense. In spite of the privilege of his rank, Yumil insisted on joining his men at the frontline, urging them on and rousing their spirits as the Cent-Khetts came on, swarming up the mountainside.   At the final line of defense, Yumil, his coat open and bare chest puffed out aggressively, hoisted the flag of The Mountain Republic and rallied his men as they were about to break, rushing to the line where it was weakest with a saber in his hand. This action inspired the famous painting of "Or Fonteran," which portrays Yumil wearing blood-red pants, a heavy overcoat open down the middle exposing his barrel chest, and an ishvanur with the insignia of an adilys. He stands on the mountain with his right foot planted firmly atop a ridge and his mouth open in a defiant shout, right arm hoisting the flag of The Mountain Republic while his left holds a saber, point held down toward the ground.   Yumil is said to have planted the flag in the ground and bellowed "Not one shall pass our flag!" as he joined the fight in earnest.   When the Cent-Khett lines broke and they began retreating down the mountain, Yumil leapt over the top of the earthwork but was struck in the shoulder by a ball and fell back.   Leaping up, he tried to pursue them anyway, still yelling threats to his enemies and encouragement to his friends, but was held down by his men, who urged him to not pursue, lest the tables be turned.   He survived his injury (though his left arm was never the same again) and was decorated twice for bravery, once for leading the harassment of the invading force and once for his actions at the final battle. These joined his awards for the rebellion against the usurpers, making him one of the most highly-decorated warriors in the history of The Mountain Republic.

Post-War Years

With their enemies abroad chastened and enemies at home suppressed, the military demobilized. Yumil remained, however, and was essential in the reorganization of the military and restoration of its position within society.   He retired from the military after thirty years of active service, but remained active in politics. He accepted office as a representative, focusing on ensuring republican governance and a military in its proper role, but refused to run for reelection once his term was up, declaring that he had had enough of politics and wished to live out the rest of his life in peace, with his aging war-dogs.

Relations

While he stayed in touch with his parents and sisters, he took no interest in starting a family of his own, shocking in that time, and was content to live in solitude on a mountaintop with his war-dogs as his only companions.   While his behavior baffled nearly everyone in his time, many historians suggest that he may have struggled to connect with anyone who hadn't fought how he had for as long as he had, explaining not only his lack of desire to live in a warren but his disgust with politics outside of what he thought was essential.

Death and Legacy

He died peacefully in his sleep at the age of 51, after just four years out of public service. His death was discovered when Wolstet traveled alone to Yumil's sister's warren, leading her and some companions to Yumil's home where they found Shurotan mournfully watching over the body.   He received a state funeral, attended by thousands, and was given a monument at the site on the mountainside where he was believed to have planted the flag and rallied his men.   Years later, Or Tucidorog bor Kherrogant was renamed "Yumil Tucidorog" in his honor, the meaning of his name befitting the seat of government while also paying homage to the man who did so much to free it and return justice to the land.   He has an almost mythic status among those in the republic's military, or those Ice-Khetts who fight under the banner of The United Sovereignties of Khetta, and especially among the Mountain Rangers who were founded as an official branch of the military shortly after his death. To this day, they are each given "One coat of warmest fur and an ishvanur of like material," along with blood-red pants, to wear as their winter dress uniform, and their motto remains "Floretak basot prantinsk bor wer!" which translates to "Not one shall pass our flag!"   Many consider him the greatest patriot to have ever lived, but regardless of how true that is, he has been an inspiration to billions of Ice-Khetts.