CHIEFDOM OF BA-JA
(Ba-Ja = Star Lord)
Also called Joih in Bayi language, Yoima is the ancient capital of the fallen Shepperd Kingdoms. It was fatally razed and looted in the Ba-Ja uprising and few of its former riches are remaining. Today, Yoima is tightly controlled by the Ba-Ja though-police (the Jaiy), whose sit has been stablished in the monumental Slave Market Palace. Recently, the city prosperity is beign restored as the goverment has been restablish under the Ba-Ja Chiefdom.
Located on the Southwest of the Goj Lake, it was the main port in the mining and slave trade routes.
Population - 700.000 (?)
Races – Goj subhumans
Goj culture has dramatically changed since the instauration of the Ba-Ja Chiefdom. The heterogeneous mithologies, religions, languages and ethnies of the goj people have been assimilated into the Chiefdom. The philosofical ideas of the Ba-Ja have not banned slavery, but have changed the way society is constructed. In this fashion, all the previous cultural references are no longer the identity of the Goj people. In adittion, the Jaiy has performed a thoroughful work on eliminating any traces of tribal culture or Shepperd Kingdom's culture. Religion has been officially abolished and history has been rewritten. Now, all the people are supposed to be involved in the Gajadair (thirst and hunger) The masses effords are directed towards he imperialistic plan of the Ba-Ja, and under his person a new nation identity has been formed. Former slaves have now became "Self-Slaves", and still account for the most part of the population. Self-Slaves can attain another status if they prove brave and worthy enough.
However, remarcable traits of the ancient culture remain. For instance, the War Songs, musical pieces performed before formal warfare or danced in cermonial occasions remain the core of Goj culture. These dances, frenzily acompannied by percusion, flutes, loud screams and other instruments. Dances are part of the society and are important in social order. Also, writting and sculpture art is very often done in pottery.
The Ba-Ja ideology implied a change from the traditional views to a brutely materialist understanding of the world. In this fashion, the rational thought is highly appreciated, and the only surviving written elements are the old treaties in engineering in Yoima language (Yoimanabe), which has become the state's language. Scholars and scientists are sponsored and "monitored" by the Jaiy, the thought police.
[hider=Crimes] - Under Ba-Ja's rulership, moral is no longer the criteria used for justice. Instead, actions beneficial to whole nations are judged fair, and crimes which disturb social peace and the goverment influence are punished. Law, although formally erased, is kept by fear and by means of severe repression of the Jaiy.
The government of the Ba-Ja Chiefdom is a slavist socialist dictatorship ruled by the Ba-Ja Tojaro Moza. His as much fear as respected among the former tribal chiefs of the Goj region, and thus he unanimously holllds power oer them. Leaders of the Chiefdom are very often choosen among the most brilliant strategists, scholars and soldiers. As individual skill is trmendously appreciated, individuals who overcome Self-Slavery social status are ascended into the governing elite, commonly called "Heads", even though the life style of these indivuduals is still nearly as austhere as the Self-Slaves. However, the great majority of the population is organized in their Tribal Comunes. Each comune is normally composed of Slef-Slaves, or normal citiziens, who practice a communalist lifestyle and where everybody is subject to state indoctrination and militar service.
Few is known about the identity of the Ba-Ja Tojaro Moza. As religion is banned in the Chiefdom, the spiritual necesities of the people have been reorganized around the figure of the Ba-Ja, whose mithical origin imbues him with nearly divine character. As the myth tells, the Ba-Ja came from the Stars to emancipate the Goj tribes from their slavery..
Tojaro philosophical ideas imply for the emancipation of the human of his misthical part, which he considered to be the source of all suffering in humanity.Religion has been forbidden and the only reality is the tangible world; and its true form, hunger, fury, passion, war, life, death, money or in one word, power. As moral, Gods, or transcendence disappear, men can reach the status of emancipated and be free from their Self-Slavery. However, those who are not strogn enough for bearing their own existence with foundation on them, remain Self-Slaves. Rejection of the religious nature of the human also comes from the ideal of renovation. Tojaro has often expressed his will on of his people "bringing a new flame to this word and consume the old symbols, so as human hunger continues through the eternal birth of forms".
The truth about Tojaro Moza is well hidden by both the mythical explanation and the ideological control that the Chiefdom exerts. He was a scholar of the Shepperd Kingdoms sent to the Bayí Lands to overlook the region's administration. However, he had far more ambitious plans. He is known to be instructed on astronomy and engineering, perhaps learned through contanct with the Mountain Kingdoms.
One thing is evident, Tojaro is leading the Chiefdom in an autodestructive quest for power and glory, and after his death, probably the Chiefdom will fall into barbarianism. Perhaps that is what he seeks. His ruthless and demagogic rulership have proved so far to be an effective means to lead the Chiefdom to its final glorious destiny.
It can be difficult to understand how can life be posible in the Goj region. The great lake looks too salty to permit proper agriculture, and the land has few sources but the lake). However, nature has produced vegetables that are miraculously adequate for this conditions. Therefore, the lake holds crops of chickpeas, lentils, fava beans, barley and semolina mostly. Fishing is also a common source of food, and dried fish is a common meal. In the Charanayad Plateau, goat and sheep are the primary food source. All food exploitation is done in comunal farming comunes of Self-Slaves. rarely, some nomadic tribes remain transhumant or some hunters can be found in some rare regions.
However, the true riches of the Chiefdom come from the salt mines and the abunding iron depostits in the southeastern mountains. Metallurgical industry is now being developed, as the Ba-ja. Weaponsmithry and metalwork pieces production has been rasing during the last decade.
The Sepperd Kingdoms were known for their fine gold works, but along with most art pieces, they were melted during the Uprising. Brute gold used to be more common in the southern mountains, yet now mines are nearly depleted. Since clay is abundant, pottery is also a very developed manufacture, and clay-working it is considered the highest form of hand-crafted art along with metalworks. The northern and northeastern region have few oil sources that are used to make incendiary projectiles.
There only few of the Sijiird ("The one-thousand tribes") who have not plegded loyalty, as they have been anhiquilated by Ba-Ja loyalists. Self-slaves acount for most of the army. The former tribal chiefs and the self-raised Head leaders direct differently-sized groups of the Self-Slaves.
Typical militar composition consists on javelin or bow light skirmishers opening up in the front lines, followed by light infantry armed with Bimam swords or spears. Cavalry is rare, but Ba-Ja cavalry is lightly armed, and makes uses of hit-and-run tactics. Heavier infantry is often groups of pikemen or spear wielding troops. Fire is a comon weapon, mostly used to demoralize enemies (along with War Songs). Some of the light infantry is specially feared for their reckless and frenzied behaviour. Heavy crossbowman are pressent in a great deal, as well as ballistas and other war machines.
War-beasts and Sandships accompany the army for logistic purposes, although the Giant Lizards of West Charanayad are dangerous indeed in battle.
Most of the chiefdom are vast desert extensions. the Goj Lake(Goj = ember) is the only oasis of life in many leagues around, and the true center of the Kingdom. Towards the north, there is the Wind Sea, where winds are strong enough to push the Sandships. Towards the southeast there are the Iba Mountains, where vast mineral deposits can be found, and the homeland for tribes such as the Bayi.
In the western side of the Goj Lake, between the foothills of Charanayad Plateau(Charanayad = Pastures of Chara) and the lake shore, the city of Yoima stands, mostly ruined after the masacres of the Uprising, but still the most important spot in the Chiefdom. the Charanayad Plateu is a hilly highland landscape. At some valleys, humidity is enough to allow pastures to grow.
The written records of the Goj civilizations were burnt after Ba-Ja's orders. The only historical memory remains are the songs of the different tribes,which account for their oral tradition, myths and sagas. The Goj region has been inhabitte for nearly a millenia by nomad trading tribes that eventually stablished themselves in the scarce fertile shores of the Goj Lake. Few centuries later, the Shepperd Kings, coming from the north most likely, settled and seized control over the region, eventually stablishing slavism and subduing the local tribes.
The Ba-ja Uprising started in Iba Mountains, the Kingdoms metal mines. Tojaro Moza, the Ba-Ja, became the advisor of the opressed Bayi tribe, and through skillfull diplomacy and manipulation, he united the tribes against there overlords. During that dark, bloody decade, the Shepperd Kingdom was eventually crushed caused both by intelligent strategy and militar management form the Ba-Ja and by inner struggles. The war symbollically ended when the Ba-Ja troops marched over Yoima and proceeded to slaughter and destroy the identity of the Shepperd people, as the Ba-Ja chiefdom begun. New calendar mesurements set this date as the year 0. Now,in the year 5 GA , the Ba-Ja ambitious plans continue unfurling.
Name -Goj subhumans
Appearance – Goj region inhabitants have characteristically very dark tanned skins, and avobe average height compared to other humans. The tribes that dwell the Goj are very heterogeneus in appereance. The Bayi individuals very often posess wide noses and very wrinkled skins, while the Charanayad inhabitants often posess thiner and longer noses, and more fine facial features than their southern nieghbours.
Natural abilities – The Goj is doubtlessly a highly inhospit area for life, but the Bayi mountain region is perhaps the most hostile populated area around the lake. Thus, natural selection ensured that only the most enduring induviduals could thrive there. The Goj people have a very developed pheromonal comunication. They "smell" fear, and they have an intimidating presence to anybody not used to these tribesmen.
Lifespan – As normal humans, however, few survive past 50 years.
Homeland – Goj region
Grammar and typo editing is still needed.
