Žúž-Akëð

Žúž-Akëð was the early leader for the Fýr-Hŋýtor, and later its successor organization the Arðor-Tal, from around 25010 to 24982 AYM. He mainly served as a ideological leader for most of his reign, uniting the once-disparate groups into a collective society bound by common goals and wishes, but upon the outset of the Crisis of 24982 AYM, he would be thrust into the role of a military strategist as well. In this capacity, he would lead the chaotic defenses of the Krëšŋ-Ðórr and Khëlër-Ðórr territories before attempting a makeshift barricade with the Palace itself. The intense fighting within the close quarters led to Akëð's death. The power vacuum that emerged in the scattered Talian forces afterwards resulted in the eventual ascension of Ólðavë-Üknard and Ëšrum-Ðofek.

Biography

Žúž-Akëð was born on 25036 AYM as part of the Fýr-Hŋýtor. His name is typical of the Hŋýtian double-barrelled format, the majority of whose semantic meanings have been lost to history. The prefix Žúž is very unusual due to its brevity, as typical Hŋýtian names are of lengths exceeding 5 phonetic letters and involving more than one kind of Action movement. There are some theories that the prefix was a newly-formed title that Žúž-Akëð gave himself, although potential meanings of that title vary wildly.

At the time of his birth, the Fýr-Hŋýtor had been largely ostracized from the rest of the Khólteð Family for around fifty years. This ostracization included, but was not limited to, the relegation of the Hŋýtians to the Krëšŋ-Ðórr and Khëlër-Ðórr in the extreme west of the familial lands, and the total exclusion of this group from all familial and tribal affairs. However, in the years since then, the Ïlýrhonid Tribe at large had been embroiled in numerous events of the Ýmor-Šapariž, including the rise of the Žötó-Žimiara from 25080 to 25044 AYM and a sustained period of natural disasters from 25045 to 25021 AYM. Both of these events would cause considerable cultural and physical strain on the Ïlýrhonid Tribe and all its families, resulting in much-decreased birth rates. However, for the Hŋýtians, who had been excluded, they did not experience this decrease, and by the time of the Crisis they had risen to make up a quarter of the entire familial population. In their ever-increasing quest for more food (since the rock in their designated territories was barely edible), the Hŋýtians had begun a series of long tunnels that snaked throughout the familial land.

Rise to Power

Žúž-Akëð's adolescence saw the re-assertion of Khólteðtian dominance over the Fýr-Hŋýtor through the refilling of these tunnels, the summary execution of a few of their leaders, and the posting of various guards at the edges of their territory to curtail any threatening deeds. This would the start of Žúž-Akëð's rise to power, in that the resultant power vacuum left the populace disgruntled and in want of an ideological leader. Starting in 25020 AYM, he would begin to make his influence on the Fýr-Hŋýtor through various wall carvings that spoke to the people's needs and wants. Namely, they advocated for a Hŋýtian identity that was not dependent on their oppressors, and therefore an approach to one's own actions that was steadfast and confident irrespective of what would occur in retribution. These carvings were situated in parts of the Krëšŋ-Ðórr and Khëlër-Ðórr that were hidden away from the watchful eyes of the Khólteð Family. Initially creating them anonymously, he would reveal himself in 25013 AYM, and the populace would quickly flock to his side. Thus, in 25010 AYM the position of Žúž-Akëð would be formally established as the leader of the Hŋýtians, and in this position he would put his ideas into action within the community.

On the whole, Žúž-Akëð would keep the same ideas that he had originally made in the wall carvings, but deeply elaborate on them for the purposes of guiding the populace towards what was, in his eyes, the state that held the least tension and most freedom. The key was to redefine all standards and expectations through the Hŋýtian lens rather than the Khólteð lens, and these standards would be what the Hŋýtian cause was to a substantial degree. Central to this distancing from Familial values was the symbolic changing of their name, from the Khólteð-enforced name of Fýr-Hŋýtor, meaning Corrupted, to the self-enforced name of Arðor-Tal, meaning the 'group seeking newness'.

Beyond that, one had to achieve total physical and material independence, which was already to a large part achieved through the neglect on the part of the Khólteð Family. However, to get to total independence, punctuated by the legal freedom to act without the threat of retribution, one had to endure multiple hardships, the most daunting being a violent struggle towards recognition. This was, in essence, what the Crisis was, and Žúž-Akëð, believing such a struggle was necessary, raised up a truly formidable army, around 7,000-strong, to fight on behalf of the Hŋýtian community as a whole. However, he did not expect to be the military commander of this army, but the public seems to have had so much faith in him that he was forced to assume that role as well. In these early years, he would thus take up residence in a structure known as the Ëzó-Akëð, which was a hollow mound made from the bedrocks of the Krëšŋ-Ðórr. This was the largest structure in all the two Hŋýtian territories, reaching a height of 10 meters.

The Crisis

Main Article: Crisis of 24982 AYM

The Crisis of 24982 AYM was the culmination of these tensions that built up within the Hŋýtian community. In 12 Anta-Eimarae of that year, Týyšat, the Hyvamto-Žö-Ýšïb and a big proponent for the ostracization of the Hŋýtians, died. In his place was to ascend Šïk-hórom, but mere hours before the coronation, the Talians used the tunnels to sneak into the Ëzó-Rhažóval, kidnap Šïk-hórom, and bring him back to the Krëšŋ-Ðórr, where they showed him to Žúž-Akëð. It is likely that Žúž-Akëð was unaware of this nor was not involved in the planning of this operation, but he nonetheless understood that retribution from the rest of the Khólteð Family was now certain. He would gather his army and station all of them at the border separating the Hŋýtian territories from the rest of the Khólteðtian land. That same day, Rëžýnð would arrive at this border with a mustered Úŋïan army numbering in the 5,500s.

The following days saw a near-constant struggle between the two sides, rife with hand-to-hand combat. Žúž-Akëð was said to have perilously climbed atop the Ëzó-Akëð, from whose vantage point he could hope to get a semblance of the situation. Rëžýnð, who was Šïk-hórom's brother, would impatiently lead several concentrated attacks that attempted to pierce into the Krëšŋ-Ðórr. On one fateful assault in 13 Heta-Eimarae, he and a small band of warriors would break through the lines and end up deep in the Krëšŋ-Ðórr. Coming within meters of the Ëzó-Akëð, they were quickly surrounded by Talian troops and all killed in the span of several days.

Massacre of the Krëšŋ-Ðórr

Main Article: Massacre of the Krëšŋ-Ðórr

However, the situation had become so dire that Žúž-Akëð had even decided to move from the top of the Ëzó-Akëð, whose structure was now prone to collapse. Finding no other structure as tall, he would then decide to move towards the lines, but never again could achieve the vantage point of the Ëzó-Akëð. This lack of vantage point would become crucial in the following days, as Rëžýnð's successor Lŋórak began a series of large-scale assaults that involved all such parts of his army, completely pushing the Talians back en masse. A wave of confusion spread across the army, and despite Žúž-Akëð's admonishments, the retreat of the Talian army was bloody and ill-coordinated. The Úŋïans thus made staggering progress, reaching and freeing Šïk-hórom by 22 Anta-Eimarae and pursuing all the way to the western edge of the Krëšŋ-Ðórr, which they reached in 25 Anta-Eimarae. All the while, the Úŋïans ravaged and razed the Talian territories through which they passed, and surviving civilians and the Talian army alike were only able to escape through a timely reconvening at the northern edge of the Krëšŋ-Ðórr. Overall, throughout this entire process, which is deemed the Massacre of the Krëšŋ-Ðórr, more than 2,500 Talians were killed, and Žúž-Akëð himself took it upon himself to right the tragedy that he, in his mind, could not stop from happening.

Battles at the Khëlër-Ðórr and Arhžvóo

The most immediate mission for Žúž-Akëð was to prevent the razing of the Khëlër-Ðórr, inside of which was contained the vast majority of surviving Talians. To protect them, he took a massive gamble, in that he would not use his army to directly protect the Khëlër-Ðórr, but instead would use it to force Lŋórak to go after him rather than continue towards the lightly-defended Khëlër-Ðórr. To do so, he and his army would venture eastwards, into the territory of the Khólteð Family itself, and wreak havoc in various parts thereof. To ensure the safety of the Khëlër-Ðórr, he would send 300 individuals to guard the territory in his absence. Lŋórak, for reasons still unknown, would take the bait, leading the bulk of his army in a chase towards Žúž-Akëð. However, he would also, as predicted by Žúž-Akëð, send around 1800 men to the Khëlër-Ðórr, and the various engagements between these 1800 Úŋïans, the 300 Talian armymen, and the civilians of the Khëlër-Ðórr are known as the Battles at the Khëlër-Ðórr. Although the Talians were ultimately successful in these engagements, Žúž-Akëð could not maintain communication with them, and would never come to know of their success.

From his perspective, he could not know of any such event in the Khëlër-Ðórr nor could he know of the exact plans of the Úŋïans, and this was exacerbated by the fact that neither he nor the majority of his army knew of the layout of the Khólteð Family land. Given the hordes of Úŋïans that faced him, he could never tell of whether Lŋórak had sent troops to the Khëlër-Ðórr, and thus whether those he had hoped so save were even still alive. As such, he became a victim of paranoia and helplessness in the days from the Massacre all the way to his death. Returning back to the virtues and goals that he had created as the ideological leader of the tribe, he thus reformulated his strategy; instead of striving to survive or preserve himself or his army, he would use his present situation to draw attention to the Talian cause.

However, in the present moment, the remnants of the Talian army, which by now numbered 4,500, were being ruthlessly chased by the Úŋïans. From 1 Ulta-Eimarae to 15 Ulta-Eimarae, the army would be whittled down steadily by multiple small-scale engagements to around 3,900. Finally, in 15 Ulta-Eimarae, with the Talians having traveled around 10 kilometers, Žúž-Akëð hypothesized that the Úŋïans had worn themselves out, and positioned his army to engnage them. The resultant Battle of Arhžvóo was a sound defeat for the Talians, by now lowered to around 2,500, and the exhausted Talians were forced to retreat further eastwards. In 21 Ulta-Eimarae, they reached and barricaded themselves within the Palace, or the Ëzó-Rhažóval, the building that was closest to the other families' lands and most visible to the Ïlýrhonid Tribe at large. This was, in effect, what Žúž-Akëð had hoped would happen, as any major battle here would consequently render the Crisis unavoidably visible to the Tribe, and with the Talians already at a heavy disadvantage, the perception of the tribe would be squarely on their side.

Battle at the Palace and Death

Main Article: Battle at the Palace

The Battle at the Palace was the last battle of Žúž-Akëð. A day after they settled within the Palace, the Úŋïans would arrive. The Talians at this point were extremely disorganized and very low in morale, having been made victim to the same uncertainties that plagued the mind of Žúž-Akëð. All throughout these times, Žúž-Akëð had repeatedly assured them of the implications of a battle at the Palace, and this would be for many of them the very last memory they would have of him.

In the early hours of 22 Ulta-Eimarae, the Úŋïans would arrive and begin assaulting the Palace. Although the door was barricaded, they would make easy work of it, barging into the Palace itself. Žúž-Akëð, by then at the front of the Talian lines, would be among the first to die, and the Talians were completely routed. Due to the chaos, his body was mangled beyond recognition, and never formally retrieved from the Palace. In the resultant chaos, the Talian army was completely routed, and the survivors, which constituted barely over 50% of the force that had entered the Palace, were only able to escape through select holes in the highly-damaged walls of the palace building. In the aftermath, two main Talian groups sprung up, Šïbha-Ýïr and Šïvýð-Ýïr, represented by Ëšrum-Ðofek and Ólðavë-Üknard, who became the new leaders and representatives of the Talians in the wake of Žúž-Akëð's death.

Aftermath and Legacy

Within the Crisis

The most profound effect Žúž-Akëð had on the Talians was in the scope of ideology. It is commonly noted that he had reshaped and reformulated their outlook on the present situation, and gave them the mental freedom necessary to take up arms, even if that rising up was not particularly successful. This was most profoundly seen in the actions of the successor Talian tribes, which were formed when the scattered remnants of the Talian army (who escaped through holes in the deteriorating Palace walls) were unable to fully regroup, both with themselves and with those in the Khëlër-Ðórr, among others. Among the very few aspects that these tribes had in common was their widespread adoption of the Akëðian philosophy.

This Akëðian philosophy, as it is known by historians and scholars alike, is typically ascribed to an oppressed group and its struggle to break free from that oppression. It is defined by the rejection of principles and virtues of their oppressors, and the adoption of principles and virtues that are uniquely their own and reliant on nothing else besides their own. For the Talians, this was merely the rejection of the legal codes and authoritative rules of both the Khólteð Family and the Ïlýrhonid Tribe at large, which were used to justify their ostracization and oppression, and thus affirmed their own status and values through violent uprisings and eventually the Crisis itself. Indeed, the Crisis was essentially a flawed attempt at justifying their own competence in self-defense but ultimately led to a tribe-wide understanding of the Talian situation through the increased visibility of the Battle at the Palace and the equal treatment given to Talians and Úŋïans in the Ceasefire of Zïlëŋý and the 24982 AYM Ultimatum.

As such, the eight tribes that were created from the Talians all strived for a greater recognition within the family. The two largest, which were Šïbha-Ýïr (representing the majority of the surviving military) and Šïvýð-Ýïr (representing the majority of the civilian populace in the Krëšŋ-Ðórr) were the main consultants for the Talian cause during planning and negotiations of peace, and understanding their roles in the framework of the Akëðian philosophy gave their positions extreme weight. It is likely due to their reverence of this unique opportunity that shaped their responses and thus led to the equal representation of Talians and Úŋïans (despite the legal quandries associated with Öhr-Fëkahr, the mutual descendant of all Talian individuals).

In fact, one could even very internal struggles within Talian tribes to be an example of the Akëðian philosophy. Soon after the two dominant tribes of Šïbha-Ýïr and Šïvýð-Ýïr signed the Ceasefire of Zïlëŋý, many of the other 6 tribes felt themselves unrepresented by neither dominant tribe, and one of these neglected tribes, Múuŋ-Ýïr, would usurp their roles and take over as the singular dominant tribe. It is very likely that, having felt oppressed in manners similar to the oppression of the Hŋýtians, they took matters into their own hands, having learned from the actions of Žúž-Akëð mere months earlier.

Later Interpretations

Although Žúž-Akëð's most immediate impacts were felt in the moments just after his death and the actions of the successor Talian tribes, his name and legacy do have a substantial place in history, particularly as one of the earliest representations of a leader of an oppressed group. In some contexts, this particular persona is even given the name 'Akëð', and it is deeply tied with the Akëðian philosophy as explained above. Most of the time, this term is given a heroic connotation and/or at least shown in a good light, mainly as one who guides the populace towards freedom, but in certain situations, especially when the speaker wishes to attack an Akëðian figure, it can have a negative connotation. Parallels are sometimes drawn with the 'unreadiness' of Žúž-Akëð, how he asserted the need for profound change but when thrust into the helm of this change, handled it with extreme reluctance and ultimately caused great suffering to his community. This is thus construed into an accusation of cowardice, describing someone who cannot follow through on their promises and puts no action behind their words.