Ancient Vekaiyu

Ancient Vekaiyu is loosely classified as the enormous amount of time from first vulpine hunter-and-gathering farming to the beginning of of The Time of Troubles in 255 A.D. In total, this classification spans over twenty five thousand years, and is dominated by the emergence of a series of powerful states, lasting in varied amounts. These states would go on to shape what would become ancient Vekaiyun culture, something that would almost be lost in the next era, but would undergo a complete facelift.

The Great Journey

Archaeologists and scholars from Vulshain have identified potential routes many vulpines took in traveling what is called the Great Journey across a potential ancient land bridge in prehistoric times that connected Vekaiyu and Vulshain. The bridge apparently only lasted for roughly ten thousand years and connected the states of Vekaiyu, Bai Lung, Raedion-Lucari, and Vulshain from an outcropping of the Ta'lavero Mountains. Scholars believe that the vulpines who settled in what would become Vulshain were forced to adapt to the much cooler climate conditions, resulting in Vulshainian vulpine fur being silkier and thicker.

The First Vekaiyuns

Documentation of vulpine tribes date back to as early as twenty-seven thousand years ago. It is understood that such tribes were loosely joined and were skilled farmers. Very little is known about these people. A limited pictorial language was used for accounting purposes: near Eldura, carved pictures of various wares have been found with what appears to be numerical representations next to each good. Such a tablet is however rare - it is believed most writing was done on wood and hence the most accounts of their writings have been found in swamps where the wood would become protected from the harmful affects of oxygen. While it is believed there may be more preserved carvings in swampland scattered around Vekaiyu, the task of actually finding any significant artifacts from this time period are next to impossible.

Vulpines in this culture were simple people - living off the land and settling in areas for a few generations, then moving on to another favorable settlement. It is believed these people were polygamists, but this is based on scribed historical accounts found in Kelsaria. It is also believed these people were religious, and it is inferred that perhaps they were responsible for establishing a religion that would flourish for over seven thousand years - vulpine paganism.

Permanent Settlements

Selena, a village from this time period. The roof has been recreated.

Around seven thousand B.C., permanent communities were beginning to take form. Such communities were often built of limestone and brick, it is believed. While these communities apparently traded with other vulpine settlements in the region, they appeared to be unique in many cultural aspects. Truly, only their race and their religion seemed to be the unifying points of communal Vekaiyu - even a unified language was still not totally all-encompassing.

This period saw the creation of an intricate class system within these communities. It is not totally understood as to how these class systems fit with other permanent settlements, but documentation suggests these communities were separate enough to allow for a plethora of different class systems, perhaps unique to each settlement.

One settlement, named Selena, exists from this time period. While it lays in ruins, enough of the city remains where much can be learned from how these vulpines lived during this time period. The buildings are circular in shape, and appear to be interconnected at times. Thatched roofs were most likely used, possibly constructed from jaku branches and mud. The closeness with which the buildings are built suggests a strong community bond. Writings found buried in one of the houses shed light on how mindful they were of their goods - keeping a running count for each lunar cycle. Outside of the city is an intricate burial ground, possibly belonging to the city, but most of the remains and artifacts within the site have been disturbed, robbed, or simply crushed and broken over a period of time. Vulpine remains have also been found in the dwellings themselves, suggesting as sudden wave of death in the community. It is believed the people of Selena died suddenly, most likely as a result of Yellow Plague, which would explain why the community was apparently not disturbed for thousands of years.

Kelsaria

Around five thousand B.C., these permanent communities, now flourishing as city-states within the region, began to war against each other. It is believed the cause for such wars was a combination of competitiveness, desire for more land, and a need to control more resources. Documentation of famines have also been found, dating back from 4,600 B.C. Consequently, power shifted and changed over the centuries, making life difficult for the Vekaiyuns of this time period.

It wasn't until Behsariv, the chieftain of the city-state of Kel, began to unite the other cities around his. This was not done through benevolence and justice. It is written that seven thousand vulpine men and women were part of this army, an army which had roughly two years of training according to lunar calendar dates. This army brought other chieftains' armies to their knees. Tactics were overwhelming, as one tablet explains Behsariv's army was "as fast as birds and screeched like thousands of owls". This is also the first documentation of vulpine people using wooden masks to intimidate their opponents, a practice which lasted well into the 16th century A.D. Kel gained enormous strength from conquering other city-states, both in resources and in men. His practice of publicly executing rival chieftains earned him a gruesome reputation, but his practice of annexing their territories and granting the conquered full rights within his state prevented friction. He is also known for abolishing slavery in his region. Many vulpine men and women from other regions were attracted to the prospect of working for benefit rather than survival. At the end of his reign, the state, renamed Kelsaria, was the dominant force among the other tribes. The golden age of Kelsaria was in full-swing by the time of the third son's reign. Unparalleled art and technology inundated the region, much to the dismay of the struggling other city-states in the region.

Early art.

Civil wars, brought on by other city-states allying together and a series of weak chieftains in Kelsaria eventually led to its demise roughly one thousand years later. The capital, Kel, was razed to the ground, the governor buried alive under the bodies of his people, left as an example to other cities within Kelsaria. With the collapse of the strongest empire in the region, neighboring societies made quick work of squabbling city-states, but would eventually lose control of them due to other wars. The next four thousand years saw various city-states come to power, flourish, then collapse once strong rulers died and their system's cracked, exposing weaknesses exploited by their enemies. The flourishing city-states would go on to define ancient Vekaiyun culture, constructing a creole of different beliefs, customs, and traditions. This enriched the Vekaiyun people and ensured high competition among those who wished to affect them.

In 565 BC, three powerful city-states, Vesaria, Ivu, and Lesa, formed a loose personal union with each other. A state was established in 487 BC once the city-state of Yurik was swallowed by the three. The new nation's name became Vekaiyu, with the capital located in Ivu, the most central city-state in the region. By AD 186, every single vulpine city-state was swallowed into the large empire, now large enough to subdue its neighbors and subsist, securing its borders with treaties and trade. This state would thrive for centuries before the Time of Troubles would take root.