Šïbha-Ýïr

Šïbha-Ýïr, or Zibaner, was one of the 32 tribes that fought in the Crisis of 24982 AYM and Khólteðian Wars, and one of the eight that were part of the Arðor-Tal. In regards to its role in the Crisis, it was formed as one of the two largest groups following the scattering of the Talians after the Battle at the Palace, and was led by Ëšrum-Ðofek, one of the two Talian representatives and signatories of the Ceasefire of Zïlëŋý. After the Crisis, Šïbha-Ýïr was one of five tribes to fight in the Ýïrúl War, which mostly took place within the tribe's territory, much to its chagrin. However, it would largely survive the Ýïrúl War, and went on to fight in five more major conflicts.

Etymology

The Name Šïbha-Ýïr is related to those of two other Khólteðtian Tribes, namely the Kýïan Šïhal-Ýïr and the Talian Šïvýð-Ýïr, all of whom begin with the very recognizable Šï- prefix. The most direct meaning of this prefix is one of 'verity' or 'authenticity', namely that the members of this tribe represent the truest ideological successor to their constitutive whole. For the two Talian tribes of Šïbha-Ýïr and Šïvýð-Ýïr, this was apparent in them being the largest splinter groups among all of the Talian tribes and in their dual representation of the entire Talian community during the negotiations of the Ceasefire. For the unrelated Šïhal-Ýïr, which did not come from a unified whole but was formed as part of the Second-Phase Kýïan Tribes, they saw themselves as the progeny of the Khólteð Family as a whole, and sought to take power through this claim to legitimacy.

The suffix of -bha is comparatively very obscure. Historians almost always interpret it in the context of the sister tribe Šïvýð-Ýïr, which was largely formed from surviving members of the civilian population of Khëlër-Ðórr. In that sense, the suffix 'výð' is seen as an extreme shortening of several words, namely 'vüra' (civilian), 'ýardaŋ' (protecting), 'Ðórr' (from Khëlër-Ðórr, but in isolation simply meaning 'land'). The name Šïvýð could thus mean 'the true civilian protectorate of the Khëlër-Ðórr land', and this definition is agreed upon by almost all scholars. The contrast between Šïvýð-Ýïr, formed from a civilian background, and Šïbha-Ýïr, formed from remnants of the army, would thus be apparent in the names, and it is believed that the suffix -bha represents in some way its military origin. However, no surviving Khólteðtian words do convey that, and as such, its exact derivation is unknown.

History

As part of the Unified Talian force

The tribe of Šïbha-Ýïr, like all other Talian tribes, did not exist as an independent group before the Battle at the Palace in 22 Ulta-Eimarae, 24982 AYM. Before then, it was a part of the unified Arðor-Tal, and its members made up part of the 7,000-strong army of the Talians. These members were entirely from the army, and would participate in most, if not all of the battles that this army engaged in. These include the Battles of the Khëlër-Ðórr, the Battle of Arhžvóo, and the Battle at the Palace. Šïbha-Ýïr, being not united by a common idea, was made of members from all aspects of the army.

By the Battle at the Palace, the entire army had been reduced to numbers less than 3,000, and Šïbha-Ýïr would make up a substantial part of this 3,000. In the Battle itself, the cornered and disorganized Talian force was severely beaten and scattered by the Úŋïans, and the survivors, now numbering in the high 1,000s, would manage to escape through holes in the deteriorating walls of the palace, and the chaos of the resultant scene rendered these disparate escapees unable to regroup. These fragments would thus form the majority of the Talian tribes, and several large groups wuld come together to form Šïbha-Ýïr. Typical estimates say that 60-80% of this surviving army would constitute Šïbha-Ýïr.

As a Separate Tribe in the Crisis

Reign of Ëšrum-Ðofek

The tribe of Šïbha-Ýïr would emerge as one of the foremost Talian groups in the days after the Battle at the Palace. This was helped in particular by the impromptu Ceasefire of Zïlëŋý, which prevented the pursuing Úŋïans from potentially exterminating the fleeing Talians. In its wake, the tribe of Šïbha-Ýïr would be born in the territories at and near the Palace, as Talian survivors gathered and reconvened around that area. However, they did not stay there, knowing that the Úŋïans still held animosity towards them irrespective of the Ceasefire, and wandered around the Khólteð Family's land looking for additional stragglers. Among their members was Ëšrum-Ðofek, who was one of the first to join and became an unofficial leader within the group. He would become a de facto leader during their wanderings, and due to their proximity to the Palace even at that time, Ëšrum-Ðofek and the Šïbhians became an important source of information about the Talians for the Ïlamatril Army that was tasked with keeping the peace. This initial peace was the interim that Zümiža, the Hyvamto-Rhïlýrhonid and the initiator behind this Ceasefire, needed to construct the second document in the Ceasefire, namely that which would use information about the present conflict to create a more lasting peace. The Šïbhians would thus play important roles in creating this second document through the information they provided. In 25 Ulta-Eimarae, this second document was released, and Ëšrum-Ðofek would be one of two official signatories from the Talian side, the other being Ólðavë-Üknard from the tribe of Šïvýð-Ýïr.

The second document's most influential proposition was that the Talians and the Úŋïans were each to be treated as half of a family in terms of tribal politics and representation in the Alaghúl-Garhifiŋ, the tribal council. This included the splitting of the Khólteð Family's land down the middle into two equal-sized slices, with the Úŋïans holding the southern slice and the Talians the northern slice. Within the northern slice, the two tribes of Šïbha-Ýïr and Šïvýð-Ýïr once again asserted their dominance over the Talian groups as a whole, and this dominance was met with stubborn resistance by the rest of the Talian tribes, who generally felt that they had not been adequately represented in the negotiation process. Amidst growing friction, several individuals from the Talian tribe of Múuŋ-Ýïr assassinated Ëšrum-Ðofek in 27 Ulta-Eimarae, ridding the Šïbhians of their leader. Ólðavë-Üknard, unwilling to risk his own life or those of his tribe, stepped down in favor of the Múuŋian leader, a figure named Sðó-šöŋ, who would lead the Talians until the end of the Crisis.

Reign of Ýžram-Ŋóðar

Meanwhile, the Šïbhians would choose Ýžram-Ŋóðar as the successor to Ëšrum-Ðofek, and he would reluctantly pledge his allegiance, and that of the Šïbhians, to the Múuŋians in the wake of skirmishes and the dissolution of the Ceasefire in and around 7 Suta-Eimarae. In this capacity, he would use the able-bodied army that was the Šïbhian tribe as the main defensive force of the Talians, positioning them at the midpoint of the Talian territory and facing against numerous threats of the Úŋïans and Kýïans alike. In this capacity, Šïbha-Ýïr became one of the most battle-worn tribes of the eight Talian tribes, having endured more than 150 separate engagements from 1 Suta-Eimarae to the end of the crisis in 15 Geta-Eimarae. Because of the tense nature of this period, they were unable to replenish their losses, and the population of Šïbha-Ýïr gradually fell from around 1600 to 1300 by mid-Geta-Eimarae.

Among these engagements was the last major battle of the Crisis, the Battle of Köš-Ëmvrad, which the Šïbhians became major participants in alongside another Talian tribe Róšaf-Ýïr. In the fierce fghting between the Šïbhians and the Úŋïan tribe of Ðýhëk-Ýïr, and later on the Kýïan tribes of Ömak-Ýïr and Irðar-Ýïr, the Šïbhians suffered greatly, losing about a full third of their group to injuries and fatalities. By the time the eviction occurred on 3 Heta-Eimarae, the population of Šïbha-Ýïr was recorded as being around 900, constituting a near-halving of their population since their initial formation and depriving them of the status of being one of the most populous Talian tribes.

In the Khólteðtian Wars

Main Article: Khólteðian Wars

Territory

The Šïbhian territory constituted

Ýïrúl War

Main Article: Ýïrúl War

The Šïbhians did not engage in the Ýïrúl War until the second part thereof.