Tayzem Region

The Tayzem Region (Tëžem-Ürnatóð) is a subsection of the Urnimrine continent. It refers to the area of land west and southwest of the Blýfónic Valley/Arbin Watershed and north of the Ŋaraïðúl Strait. Occupying 18% of the continent's total surface area and measuring at around 20.832 million square kilometers, it is the smallest region of the 4. It is famous for its arid climate, which permeates the vast majority of this region. Particular landmarks include the stepped stopes and cliffs of the Tayzem Desert as well as the crater lake of the Múhr-Ïúýkóš.

Etymology

The most commonly-used phrase for the Tayzem Region is 'Tëžem-Ürnatóð', which partially arises from the language most commonly spoken within the region, that being Ariduro. Namely, the suffix 'Ürnatóð' comes directly from Ariduro, as it is a combination of the base phoneme 'Ürna', meaning land, and the affix 'tóð', meaning a blend of 'dry' and 'reaching'. The exact meaning of this affix is hard to describe; principally, it conveys a meaning of 'dryness' or 'aridness', but dryness in this context (and given the physiology of the Ibrófeneð species) signifies easy harvest and sustenance. The 'reaching' part is a modification of this 'dryness'; if the rock was perfectly suited for harvest (i.e. dense, easy to mine, nutritious), it would be given the suffix (-wýð), representing the ideal nature of the Hýyo-Wýðúr rocks in this regard. However, the 'tóð' implies that this rock is not of that quality, but instead strained and starved; the fibers, which are few and far between, are rope-like and thin. This is the origin of the 'reaching' analogy; the fibers 'reach' for and hold together the bulk of the rock through flimsy means.

The Tëžem prefix is a term that has always been linked to the region. In its purest form, it means 'west', reflected in the fact that the Tayzem Region is oft shown as the westernmost landmass. Historically, this is also true, and the individuals that first gave it that name were almost certainly from areas east thereof, like the Blýfónic Valley and the Ïlýrhonid Tribe.

Geography

The Tayzem Region is bordered on the west and on the east by the Tlïvhakk Ocean and Ëriðorn Ocean, respectively. The strait between them, the Ŋaraïðúl Strait, forms a sharp divide that separates the Tayzem Region in the north from the Kalzuth Plains in the south. In the north, the Khamalov Ocean acts as a barrier between it and the northern continent of Bluzaquin, while in the northeast, the Arbin Watershed, more specifically its main river, acts as the primary dividing line between the Region in the west and the Blýfónic Valley in the east. The Arbin Mountain Range, which surrounds all major rivers of the Watershed, are similarly separated based on their position respective to this main river.

The Region is typically separated into three subregions. The entire southern half is the Tayzem Desert, which is marked by a series of stepped cliff-faces and plateaus that represent the main feature thereof. It also takes up the vast majority of the region's contact with the Ëriðorn and Tlïvhakk Oceans, whose coastal winds are actually the cause of this stepped appearance. In the northeast, the western half of the Arbin Watershed is designated a subregion in itself, while in the northwest, the stretch of low-lying plateau cenered around the Múhr-Ïúýkóš is its own subregion.

History

Geological Activity

The Tayzem Region rests on the similarly-named Tayzem Plate, which is known for its erratic nature involving the two bordering plates, the Blýfonic Plate in the northeast and the Northern Kalzuth Plate in the south. Currently, the Tayzem Plate is moving northwards and has been doing that since 563 YMA; this motion gradually increases the height of the Arbin Mountains and widens the Ŋaraïðúl Strait by a few millimeters each year. In the past, however, the Tayzem Plate has alternated between moving northwards and southwards, and this, in many respects, is responsible for the entire geographic layout of the Region.

Formation of the Kalzuth Plains and Tayzem Region

It is estimated that, back to at least 1,500,000 AYM, both the Tayzem Region and the Kalzuth Plains did not exist, with the exception of the Arbin Mountains, and that the Ëriðorn and Tlïvhakk were joined together into a single body of water. Around that time, a variable number of underwater volcanoes erupted simultaneously or at least within a comparable time difference, such that the sheer volume of debris and rock formed the entirety of the Region and the Plains. This is known through the rock contents, which are rendered so light and airy due to repeated reactions under extreme heat involving the water and the air. This would have turned the outermost layers into a hard and thin shell that left the innermost layers, still dispersed and fluffy, from contact with the air. At that time, the Ŋaraïðúl Strait did not exist and the Tayzem Region and Kalzuth Plains were joined into a singular region. The Kalzuth and Tayzem Plates would have been moving towards each other at this time, and this movement is why the elevation at the Strait is noticeably high (~9-15 meters above sea level) compared to the low-lying areas to the south (-3 to +2 meters above sea level).

Formation of the Ŋaraïðúl Strait and the Tayzem Desert

However, a short duration (around 10,000 to 100,000 years) after this initial formation, the two plates somehow switched directions, and the spontaneity of this still-non-understood change caused the boundary between the plates to give way and form the Ŋaraïðúl Strait. This exposed the two faces to the air, which, due to the difference in pressures, forced the air into the much less dense interior. Air buildup would cause the more inland areas of the Region to swell, forming a massive 11-12-kilometer-high mountain-like shape that stretched from coast to coast. Simultaneous to that was the progressive sealing of the exposed edges of the now-separate Tayzem Region and Kalzuth Plain at the Strait, which kept the air inside and thus left the Desert in that bulbous shape.

At that point, the mountain became so high that it exposed itself to numerous wind patterns. Because the Tlïvhakk and Ëriðorn Oceans are so close to one another, their winds commingled and created a series of discrete altitude zones that increased in wind ferocity as one went higher in elevation. As they all acted upon the massive mound, the erosion stripped away at the crust and exposed the air-filled inside; this would cause the mound to 'deflate' slightly, and combined with increased erosion levels, the formation would come to rest around 8,000 to 9,000 meters high. The different winds caused higher levels to erode faster than lower ones, and the boundaries between each wind zone became marked by a sharp plateau. This is the cause of the 'stepped' nature of the Desert.

Formation of the Múhr-Ïúýkóš

The Múhr-Ïúýkóš is the largest lake in the world, and one of the only such examples of a lake being formed from a meteorite impact. This impact happened around the same time as the formation of the Ŋaraïðúl Strait, with some theorizing that the two events may have been correlated. The impact, which struck dry land and caused it to immediately fill with water, was so sudden that the combined heat and the water cooling prohibited any meaningful air transfer into the surrounding rock. This is the reason why the low lands surrounding the Múhr-Ïúýkóš did not swell up following it.

Settlement

Khólteð Family (24981 AYM)

Main Article: Khólteðian Wars

The Khólteð Family are the first recorded settlers of the Tayzem Region, having landed slightly north of the Tžamókk Bay in early Heta-Eimarae, 24981 AYM, following their expulsion from the Ïlýrhonid Tribe (see the Crisis of 24982 AYM and the 24982 AYM Ultimatum for details on the causes behind their eviction). They were split into 32 warring tribes, at that time joined together under a flimsy peace treaty that installed Šïk-hórom as their collective leader. Hoping to preserve this short-term peace, Šïk-hórom conducted an extensive survey of the entire Tayzem Desert that used the delineations of the various cliffs as basis for the lands of the tribes. Each tribe was given ample land, which was extensively worked for sustenance and shelter. However, the unideal composition of the rocks meant that one had to mine up a massive chunk of their land to sustain themselves for a decent amount of time, and the relative reactivity of the exposed rock with the air resulted in a loss of nutrients and a barely-edible outer layer. As such, those who were inland (had no access to a water source) were much worse off than those of the coast, as the latter could use the nutrient-rich waters to grow a near-endless supply of food without damaging the land. This disparity would spark the Khólteðian Wars, which saw extensive violence from 24981 to 24977 AYM as tribes conquered each other for domination for each others' resources. By the time it ended, the Desert had suffered immense damage, but there were only four tribes left: Sellmoor, Zolaus, Oragona, and Pinoth.

Farïnýð Family (24976 AYM)

The Farïnýð Family were the second group to settle in the Region. They emigrated to the Múhr-Ïúýkóš following the First Varhoŋïan War, which saw their home city of Ožërhýŋ virtually destroyed and their power stripped. Due to the earlier 25000 AYM Syöwú-Iyöphl, they were a very small group, around 20-30 in population. In the Tayzem Region, they would construct the Merios Towns around the Múhr-Ïúýkóš as a series of settlements from which a steady farming operation of the lake could be established. It is in these years that the Family flourished, reaching a population surpassing 2,000 within 4 years.

Old Stuff

The history of the region dates back to 24997 AYM, when the tribe of Lotao migrated to the Merios Lake. In 24981 AYM, the Kaultedt Family migrated via boat to the deserts of the Tayzem Region and created the tribe of Kaultedt, eventually spreading out and occupying most of the area south of the Arbin Watershed. In 24977 AYM, Kaultedt fractured into 4 tribes, Oragona, Sellmoor, Zolaus, and Pinoth, in an extremely bloody war called the Kaultedtian Wars. In 22891 AYM, Olgliva began a large-scale military campaign (the Tayzem Campaign), dealing significant damage to the land occupied by Oragona and Pinoth. Eventually, the 4 tribes were all conquered and a new tribe of Blivon was created.

In the many years following Blivon's creation, more and more people have emigrated to the Merios Towns due to the Merios Lake's abundance of nutrients. When Blivon spread out eastward in 19950 AYM, many settlers settled along the coast of the Blivonic Valley and along the Kairn River, leaving a slim amount of Blivonians still left in the Tayzem Region. When the Blivonic Civil War occurred from 16848 to 16840 AYM, Blivon agreed to acknowledge the creation of Aurhundi, who was formed from Blivon's territories in the Tayzem Region and the Kalzuth Plains.