Gyeongseong
Gyeongseong is the largest of the Seom Islands and the administrative center of the Empire of Wamatos Tammura Prefecture. Before the empires conquest of the Seom Islands in 3515, the island belonged to the Chilseongsin Kingdom of Seomna. It was the first region with a majority nonhuman population to fall under imperial control, which sparked an intense debate within the empire about the place of nonhuman sentients in the Yanjin worldview and the imperial order.
This debate produced the Teikoku Nintei-sho, a document prepared by Emperor Ashikaga Tomoyuki that defined the standing of every category of people within the empire. Under this doctrine, the nonhuman Chilseongsin were assigned the status of Jūjin, or half-humans, the lowest rank described and one that scarcely distinguished them from animals. Once this status was set, Yanjin authorities classified the Chilseongsin as livestock and slave labor with no legal rights.
The imperial government then chose to resettle the island with the Human Rengo people from the smaller island of Jiyul and enforced a harsh regime on the native Chilseongsin. Those who escaped enslavement or massacre went on to form the Imugi, a piratical movement dedicated to expelling the empire from Gyeongseong and restoring Seomna.
Today, the population of Gyeongseong is evenly divided between the Human Rengo and the Kikipua Chilseongsin, with a small Yanjin minority holding most positions of authority in the prefecture, particularly in the capital city of Higashiyama. Although the empire does not grant full citizenship to the Rengo, their treatment is far better than that of the Chilseongsin, which has driven a lasting wedge between the two groups, who had been allies before the invasion. In the centuries following the conquest, the empire has repeatedly exploited this division to weaken rebel movements and has often deployed Rengo troops to suppress Chilseongsin uprisings.
Geography
Gyeongseong is an oval-shaped island dominated by Yeongjusan, an ancient volcano that created the landmass eons ago. Most of the island slopes gently toward the mountain, with increasingly steep cliffs near the center. Several smaller volcanoes, mostly extinct, add to the island's rugged terrain. Much of the interior is forested, and timber is one of the primary local industries. The coastal regions are more gentle and have been largely cleared for agriculture.
There is an extensive network of lava tubes beneath the surface. Some are very large, reaching up to forty feet in width, and the Rengo make use of the larger ones for various purposes, including food storage. The deeper tubes remain cool even in summer, allowing many staple goods to keep longer.
Geographic Details
Location: Southwestern RegionLatitude: 37.38 degrees North
Longitude: 61.42 degrees West
Average Elevation: 322 ft
Highest Point: 6,309 ft (Yeongjusan)
Lowest Point: -3 ft
Area: 1,705.89 sq mi
Naming Confusion
When the Nakaal first drew humans out of their home worlds and into this one, the island now known as Gyeongseong was densely populated by the Chilseongsin. A misunderstanding led the ancestors of the Rengo to believe the island bore the name Gyeongseong. Several of the early arrivals had come from a city with that name, and during their first encounters they became convinced that the island shared it. The idea persisted among the Rengo and was later adopted by the Yanjin, who disregarded the Chilseongsin name for the island, Seomna.
This article was originally written for Spooktober 2024. You can find all of my Spooktober Articles at Spooktober Central.
This article was originally written for Spooktober 2023. You can find all of my Spooktober Articles at Spooktober Central.
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