Zümiža

Zümiža was a member of the Ïlamatril Family and the Hyvamto-Rhïlýrhonid from 25021 to 24955 AYM, succeeding Úšýŋeban and Anirhož as the third recorded Hyvamto-Rhïlýrhonid.

Zumiza's reign was marked by a series of tumultuous conflicts, all underscored by a divergence from the traditional isolationistic Ïlýrhonid religion. Indeed, his rule saw 4 whole families leave the tribe; the Ýlëntuk Family left in 25020 AYM, the Farïnýð Family left in 25000 AYM, the Ürïstúd Family left in 24987 AYM, and the Khólteð Family was evicted by Zumiza during the Crisis of 24982 AYM. However, both contemporary and modern historians have remained fairly positive about Zümiža's overall reign due to his pursuit for tribal unity, consistency, and ruling efficiency. It is very much due to his actions in the major calamitous events like the First Ýlëntukian War, the Crisis and the Syöwú-Iyöphl that the tribal government was able to survive the physical and ideological battering and emerge as a ruling organization to which the populace both inside and outside looked to and trusted earnestly. Zümiža is a figure whose reputation and legacy would be long since associated with tribal leadership, and the year of 24981 AYM typically marks the beginning of the Heta-Ýmor-Mošindë, or First Golden (lit. good/well) Age.

Biography

Prelude: Status of the Ïlýrhonid Tribe before Zümiža's birth

Zümiža, as a member of the Ïlamatril Family, grew up in a community heavily dedicated to the notion of the Kavamïŋ-Ïlýrhonid. This state religion was very much seen as the Family's major contribution to the tribe as a whole, but by Zümiža's birth in 25038 AYM, this was already badly shaken. However, this instability was not necessarily due to the religion itself as much as it was due to the inability and inaction of the Ïlýrhonidian government, who were in many respects seen as the main adherents and leaders of the religion.

Throughout the Ýmor-Šapariž, the tribe was battered by two major waves of natural disasters, one from 25100 to 25080 AYM and another from 25045 to 25015 AYM. Although the tribal government itself was unable to curb these disasters in any major sense, a group of individuals called the Žötó-Žimiara would rise up from all 12 families and implement sweeping changes to the tribal landscape. The first wave of Žötó-Žimiara coincided roughly with the first wave of disasters, representing the primary force protecting the tribe at that time, while the second wave populated the period in between the first and second waves of disasters. This second wave, in the aftermath of the intellectual flourishing of the first wave, concentrated their efforts towards the cultural reshaping of the tribe, often times challenging the tenets of the Kavamïŋ-Ïlýrhonid itself. This would come to a head with the last of the Žötó-Žimiara, Rzüýŋ, whose controversial Kavamïŋ-Züýŋ directly defied the Kavamïŋ-Ïlýrhonid. More than anything, their influence directly showed that the government itself was powerless to protect the people both from physical danger and ideological shifts, and as a result, public sentiment shifted dramatically away from the Ïlýrhonid government and towards the notion of family-specific rule, that is, the Hyvamto-Žö-Ýšïb being the chief authority.

Early Life

With this public shift came the rise of the Ýmïlýrhonid Movement, the desire of the populace to leave the tribe and settle elsewhere. Although slow to start, it would reach its main stride in the Wýðúric and Khýnýšic Expeditions of 25026-25 AYM, and the communities of the Hýyó-Hayïd and Hýyo-Wýðúr would be created in the Amoŋot Desert. As a direct result, the Kavamïŋ-Ïlýrhonid would be abolished in 25025 AYM, depriving the Ïlamatril Family of a key source of identity within the tribe. Although the family itself would adhere fervently to it for the next few years, the rest of the tribe would almost entirely cast it by the wayside in a matter of days or weeks. The Head of the Ïlamatril Family would die unexpectedly in 25022 AYM, and his second son Zümiža, as per the traditions of succession, would take his place.

From the Khýnýšic Expedition onwards, the tribe would transition to a more trade-oriented outlook; its next set of expeditions, the Šókhekic and Alëhadic Expeditions of 25021-19 AYM, aimed to chart out the geopolitical situation in the Blýfónic Valley for the puposes of establishing alliances and trade agreements in the future. The sending off of these Expeditions would be the last major act in the life of the aged Anirhož, Zümiža's predecessor, before dying later that year. As such, within two years, Zümiža would go from being the Ïlamatril Family's heir to being the supreme ruler of the tribe as a whole, a role he was not at all prepared for.

Reign

First Varhoŋïan War

Zümiža's reign would begin on a tumultuous note. The tribe was thrust almost immediately into chaos when the Ýlëntuk Family chose to depart en masse in mid-25020 AYM. This event, unprecedented in its scope, was the result of a buildup of tension between the Ïlýrhonid government and Anirhož's inability to help them, but as his successor, Zümiža was very much seen as responsible for these past events as well as future ones. To maintain the tribe's reputation in the eyes of the other families, he would quickly disown and cast aside the Ýlëntuk Family's name, dividing up their territory among the adjacent Farïnýð and Bašurhúd Families.

However, things would take a turn once more when the Ýlëntuk Family split into the tribes of Varhoŋïð-Khalúš and Kairn, the former of which held deep resentment towards the Ïlýrhonid Tribe, and the latter of which allying itself with the Tribe in the Pact of Kairn. The news of this growing threat once again caused panic in the Ïlýrhonid Tribe itself, and Zümiža would call back the Šókhekic and Alëhadic Expeditions to bolster the Tribe's armed forces. In addition, he would send forth the Úrïsic Expedition, the last of the five Expeditions, in an attempt to gather allies to fight against the Khalúšians. This would result in the creation of the Maðúšýï, a raiding-oriented tribe that exert dominance over the Amoŋot Desert for the next 100 years.

In addition, Zümiža would draw upon the Kavamïŋ-Ïlýrhonid, specifically the common ritual of Aparaŋ-Ïlýrhonid, or the burning of flowers. Although initially used to ward off the mythical Zar-Isyer-Akwor, it would be used as a dual-purpose communications and defense system; the blue-tinted Žawrülhë smoke would float into the mountains to the north, providing a clear signal to their allied Kairnian neighbors, while the more pellet-like sediments of the Vëtam-Wëðašïŋ would be carried westward along the southern passage to pelt any invading forces approaching from the west.

In practice, however, the tribe was extremely well-guarded during Zümiža's reign, and neither the armies nor the burning rituals were used for the duration of the war. The Maðúšýïans' near-constant raids on the southern Khalúšian cities so preoccupied the enemy that they did not even reach the crucial Maðúšýïan guard city of Šül-Hötëv, which stood at the far western edge of the Southern Passage. The Kairnian defensive system of the Avï-Arfarot permeated the Volain Forest so completely that any and all attempts to break into their territory was immediately halted. Finally, the Lrhúuŋðarr Tribe, a direct consequence of the Alëhadic Expedition, defeated the Khalúšians over a 13-year war of attrition called the Northern Campaigns. The end of these Campaigns in 25003 AYM is typically cited as the end of the War overall, but the Ïlýrhonid Tribe was kept on high alert for the entire duration of Zümiža's reign.

However, despite the lack of military action, Zümiža's near-fanatical speed at which he organized these defenses brought him praise from all of the families, and throughout the process, he made it a central point to establish a feeling of mutual dependence across all members of the tribe. Not only was this arguably necessary to ensure a united front against the Khalúšians (and also to rule out the possibility of espionage and sabotage operations), it was also a callback to the relatively-unified state of the tribe during the Ýmor-Šïwëðo. In many respects, Zümiža was as much recreating the glory days of this earlier period as he was looking towards the future.

By the year 25002-01, the defensive systems were as incorporated into tribal life as could be. Although the stress and fear of the situation would die down by then, the tribe was by no means less prepared for a potential invasion.

Sýöwú-Iyöphl

The Syöwú-Iyöphl was the second great calamity that Zümiža had to endure during his reign. This was a deadly pandemic caused by an ancient strain of what was called the Úmýïža. It was first released in 25001 AYM by a crack in the earth near or inside the Ýlëntuk Family's territory, particularly in the stretch of land that was then repossessed by the Farïnýð Family. It is by far the deadliest recorded outbreak that was ever faced by the Ïlýrhonid Tribe, or by any tribe in the Heta-Alšewharžar.

The Úmýïža virus was particularly deadly due to its tendrily shape, which, when inside the vessels, latches onto the walls with incredible strength. The affected individual would then clog his vessel system whenever he ate, and as such, the nutrients would not reach their intended destination and the individual itself would feel no further incentive to intake more food (due to the clogging). This would then lead to rapid starvation, as the confusing signals of abundant food intake in the vessels and gravely unabundant nutrient levels in the organs themselves would cause the individual to stop eating. To overcome the disease, one had to overcome this lack of incentive, taking in around 300 - 500% the normal intake amount to overcome the strong hooks of the virus. From then on, the virus would be successively pushed onwards in the vessel system where a whole host of other possibilities could arise. If in the right place, it could be ejected out of the vessel system and harmlessly placed in the Üpal, but in other circumstances, it could become built into a vital body part itself like the skeletal system, external organs, or even the brain, where its hooks would cause greatly limited mobility, damage to the organ(s) itself, and long-term structural breakdown.

This would be further worsened by the Family's cultural history as centered on restraint and humility. Being unwilling to gorge oneself excessively, the Family effectively rendered themselves extremely susceptible to the virus. Around half a year after the first recorded infection, the vast majority of the five-thousand-strong population had fallen victim, leaving a measly 30-some individuals left.

Zümiža himself would be uncharacteristically cautious throughout this whole ordeal, mainly due to the fact that this was a brand-new disease not seen by the tribe in recent times. As such, he instructed the other families not to go near the Farïŋýð Family and used numerous witnesses within the Family itself to gather information on the disease. It would be halfway within the pandemic that the disease was first known to be due to the food. Following this revelation, Zümiža would send a multitude of rocks, likely those from the Ýlëntukian road-and-pit system by Žaðolý, to the Family. It is likely his quick thinking that prevented the Family from being totally wiped out. Nonetheless, given the dangers that lay in the ground, Šamh-Úrýo, the remaining Hyvamto-Žö-Ýšïb appealed to Zümiža on behalf of the Farïŋýð Family, wishing to leave the tribe. Despite the controversy that followed the departure of the earlier Ýlëntuk Family, Zümiža would accept his appeal and allow the Family to depart in mid-25000 AYM. Following their departure, he would amend his stance on Family-wide departures, now seeing them as a means of alleviating stress on the tribe and extending their reach beyond the walls of the Tribe.

Crisis of 24982 AYM

The third and by far the messiest of the calamities faced by Zümiža was the Crisis of 24982 AYM, which was a period of mass panic and conflict that erupted in the territory of the Khólteð Family. It was the end result of a long chain of events started by Öhr-Fëkahr, an individual who, during the Ýmor-Šïwëðo and Ýmor-Šapariž periods, secretly crossed familial lines and committed Ýyorhïsïb with other families. The resultant hybrid mix of families, called Fýr-Hŋýtor, was subsequently ostracized by the tribe as a whole and confined to designated places within the Khólteð Family's territory. There, they would grow massively in number, such that by Zümiža's own reign, the Fýr-Hŋýtor were overcrowding their territories and leading to horrid and unsanitary conditions there.

However, the main catalyst for the Crisis was most likely a new series of directives issued by the Family elders targeting the Fýr-Hŋýtor further. With respects to recent events, like the Sýöwú-Iyöphl and the rapid increase in population seen by the Family as a whole, fears would have likely arisen regarding overpopulation, and, unwilling to spread into the 'cursed' lands of the Farïŋýð Family, they opted instead to target the Fýr-Hŋýtor and take their lands instead.

Thus, in 12 Anta-Eimarae, 24982 AYM, taking advantage of the death of Týyšat two days ago, the Fýr-Hŋýtor, who had rallied under the new name of Arðor-Tal, would storm into the Family's Ëzó-Rhažóval and kidnap Taisat's successor Šïk-hórom. This would begin a series of bloody conflicts between the Arðor-Tal and the Arðor-Úŋï in the Khólteð Family's territory, and by 1 Ulta-Eimarae, he had sent his son Zïlëŋý to negotiate a ceasefire, splitting the two sides into separate groups each with half-representation in the politics of the tribe. However, the existence of the third group, the Arðor-Kýï, complicated this ceasefire, and upon the unsuccessful attempt at another ceasefire in 16 Ulta-Eimarae, the violence would start up again. This violence would cause the ravaging of the architecture in the Family's territory, and despite Zümiža's repeated attempts to regain control of the situation, this would last a full 2 months. From accounts of this time period, Zümiža himself seemed to be worsening in health as the toll of the situation grew.

Finally, in 20 Suta-Eimarae, in the aftermath of one of the largest and bloodiest battles in the Crisis, the government took advantage of the resultant lull to use the newly-created tribal army to establish martial law within the territory, keeping both sides apart. Upon the continuation of small-scale violence despite this barrier, Zümiža would issue the 24982 AYM Ultimatum in 15 Geta-Eimarae, which saw the formal eviction of the Family. They would sail in separate boats southwards into the Ëriðorn Ocean, eventually sailing west to the Tayzem Region where the larger Kaultedtian Wars would break out.

Later Reign

Following the eviction of the Family, the later years of Zümiža would be relatively uneventful.