Pikulia

Pikulia was a town founded by Pikulow (Pikulasty). It was located in north-eastern Adaen and was the oldest town of the state. The settlement was founded in the spring of 74 TE (17th July 2021) and destroyed in the fall of 221 TE (28th February 2023), however it was recreated in the summer of 352 TE (4th August 2024).
== History ==
The settlement of Pikulia has a very long history, with signs of inhabitants present centuries before its official founding. There are a number of distinct eras that each have their own characteristics. Due to the large amount of time passed and limited sources, some descriptions of the earlier eras are speculative.
=== Beginnings ===
Evidence of people residing in the region of Pikulia dates back to as early as the 1400s BSS. This population was likely made up of the Pikulik people, more precisely the Pikulijo tribe. During this period, the Pikuliks were under Talawan rule, a great majority of the clans were limited to a few minor settlements, the Pikulijo being no different.
This tribe mostly inhabited the savanna near the Tatisa river, dividing them into 2 groups. Those who lived south of the Tatisa resided on flat terrain, broken up with singular acacia trees and small lakes, separated from the desert by large, steep hills. Those people were primarily sheep herders, some of them also being in possession of chicken. Their abodes consisted of tents and small huts, later on developing defences in the form of bush rings around their settlement.
The group living north of the river needed to adapt to a somewhat different environment, as their land was far more hilly with fewer lakes and more trees. To most directions, the savanna was surrounded by the Tatisa, although to the north spanned a vast desert where nomadic Pikulik raiders lived. This community was in contact with the Talawans who forced them to pay a yearly quota of slaves and materials. The difficult situation forced them to take on a variety of jobs, some Pikuliks became stone tool craftsmen, many others cultivated wheat, spices, sugar cane and fruits. Lumber became a dominant source of income, with the southernmost hill reserved purely for oak and acacia plantations.
Due to this forceful progress, the northern Pikulijo tribe developed rapidly after the Talawan collapse in 193 BSS. Although most still lived in tents made out of coloured skins and wool, the most influential tribesmen resided in oak huts having made a tiny monopoly on spices, lumber, agriculture and craftsmanship. Their main outpost laid in a robust valley, hidden from view by the hills surrounding it. Skirmishes with the desert nomads and bandits weren’t uncommon, however the tribe prevailed up until the arrival of foreign settlers.
Pikulow, a 24 year old traveller from the continent of Nieden, arrived in the region in the spring of 74 TE. He settled on the northern savanna, quickly gaining the sympathy of the locals and assuming control over the entire tribe. From there, Pikulia was officially created as a settlement.
The self proclaimed mayor initially lived in a small shack located on the eastern hill. Just a few years following his arrival, in autumn of 78 TE, Pikulow gained recognition from Huitca, making his rule over northern Adaen official. Shortly after the creation of Pikulia, a meagre amount of travellers joined the community, starting in 75 TE. Thanks to the combined efforts of the local Pikuliks and the new settlers, a statue of a Chihuahua, the town's symbolic animal, was erected in the spring of 80 TE. Some time before that, Pikulow dismantled his original shack, flattened the hill and built a larger town hall in which he and some fellow pioneers lived.
This new town hall was built using very similar materials to his old shack. A base made out of polished andesite bricks and walls made out of oak planks, supported by logs from the same trees. It had wide windows and a terrace on one corner serving as an entrance. The roof as well as the floor were made out of cobblestone, although the roof was never finished. This building style soon became uniform across most Pikulian structures with minimal changes added over time.
In the 110s TE, following a lengthy process of flattening hills, filling in lakes and cutting down the vegetation, the entire savanna became an empty plain. Before any attempts at creating farms or further builds were started, the angered native population likely entered into a conflict with the settlers. What followed is unclear to this day, but by the end of this era, the mayor was likely the only person left in Pikulia. The town would suffer a bandit raid shortly after, all buildings except for Pikulow’s home were destroyed and his residence was completely sacked. By the time Roineur became Hoxi, the only thing that remained was a flat savanna with a new town hall being raised by one man, his town set back for decades because of the aforementioned conflicts.
=== Integration with Adaen ===
Pikulow got into contact with Roineur Kitsune in the summer of 112 TE, subsequently putting Pikulia under his rule as the new hoxi of Adaen due to the previous one disappearing. After the mysterious event that collapsed Pikulia’s population, Pikulow decided to build up the town on his own. This task proved to be very difficult, the settlement was constantly low on material resources and the small farm in between the town hall and the statue failed to sustain the mayor on its own.
The shortage of food was dealt with by imports from Konton, the capital of Adaen at that time. The scarcity of metals and stones, however, led to the creation of one of the biggest mines in all of Adaen. The network created mainly by Pikulow spanned from the Domeri sea in the north to Othinia and beyond in the south, likely covering the entire area of historical Pikulik regions.
Due to this rapid growth, Pikulian mines were eventually stopped just north of Fort Goliath, a claim made on the ruins of Othinia, the birthplace of Sumo. Pikulow would enter a self proclaimed conflict with said town throughout the 110s TE, ending in the fort becoming abandoned once more and resource exploitation continuing, though the role that Pikulow played in this was likely minimal.
During the 110s and 120s TE, Pikulia would heavily contribute to the canal project in northern Adaen, creating a waterway between Othinia and Port Kaloore as well as in its southern savanna to connect the Tatisa and Sola rivers. During this time, Pikulow established basic relations with Huitca government members and the hoxi of Kharakesestan, which would prove to be very useful in the future.
Pikulia would also have significant political power in Adaen at the time, with Pikulow serving as the most important adviser of Roineur during the first two decades of his rule. They would, however, frequently clash over ideas and policies, with Pikulow threatening to take control over the state several times. The most notable examples are the disagreements over Roineurs inability to write a constitution as well as him sending monetary gifts to the central government which Pikulow heavily disagreed with, attempting to either complete or stop these activities himself and thus launching at least 2 unofficial coups.
Following the construction of the two canals, Pikulow focused on developing his town once more. Pikulia would be expanded to the now flattened north-west with plans to create 5 homes and a farm to sustain a new population. His plans would, however, become very complicated with the arrival of a certain group from up north.
=== Chalonese Border Crisis & Roineurs Resignation ===
In autumn of 128 TE, the Chalonese folk, fleeing from a failed attempt to create a stronghold in Aurlunor Velande, settled in the hilly savanna just north-west of Pikulia. Although the two towns were friendly in the beginning, New Chalon would soon grow from a small fort into a larger town much faster than Pikulia could. Due to these developments, Pikulow urged Roineur to make an official map of internal divisions in Adaen, which was published around autumn of 133 TE
Sometime around 133 TE, when Pikulow created his 3rd town hall on top of the remains of the 2nd one and began building a road to his town’s northern border, the Chalonese erected a wall. Initially just a line of andesite in the north-west, several more, larger cobble walls were erected by both sides on the border they deemed appropriate, each demolishing the previous one made by the rival. When a local Chalonese tavern began creating farms on Pikulian territory, Pikulow decided to seek help from outside parties due to Roineurs inability to mediate a solution at the time.
As the crisis began to unveil, Pikulow fathered a son and named him Pyjter. Already preoccupied with the task of holding New Chalon at bay and developing the town, he gave his son many freedoms. Once Pyjter was to become the next mayor, he would have a completely different vision of Pikulia’s progress than his father did. He was given the surname Pikulowsky, which many would call him instead of his name.
Pikulow first contacted the Khan of Kharakesestan, a man who he coordinated the construction of the Adaeni canals in the past. The Khan appeared in the summer of 135 TE to mediate the border dispute, however faced constant backlash from the Chalonese who accused him of being biassed, inexperienced and attempting to usurp power in the state. In order to aid Pikulia and bring some balance of power in Adaen, a citizen of Kharakesestan known as Kev created the town of Caligula on the southern coast in the spring of 137 TE.
Pikulia adopted Göktengrism, the state religion of Kharakesestan, as the official faith of the town with Pikulow converting to it in the city of Kharakesebaatar. This further soured relations with the Chalonese who believed in a denomination of Lux, a part of their populace were also members of a sect worshipping chickens. Due to Roineur’s incompetence and the aggressive attitude towards the Khan by the Chalonese, officials from Tlahatl were soon involved, most notably Gem.
The mounting pressure on the Hoxi to find a solution and several meetings between everyone involved resulted with Roineur siding with Pikulow around the summer of 136 TE. The town of New Chalon was thus forced to abandon their attempt at expansion and retreated their claims by next year. Shortly after Pikulow triumphantly announced the takeover of the Chalonese tavern’s farms which lay on his side of the border. In response, the other town blocked off Pikulian mines to the north and west, hurting the town's economy and causing another shortage of iron and gold. Despite these problems, Pikulow expanded the farm and created parts of the planned buildings by 137 TE.
Meanwhile in Adaen, Roineur was facing criticism over his incompetence in managing internal and external affairs. The increased backlash from the agitated populace of New Chalon, which has already grown to be larger than all the other towns combined, caused the Hoxi to announce his resignation.
Elections were announced during the autumn of 141 TE, many within Adaen wanted to become Hoxi but ultimately there were 2 main contenders - Kev and Hunter. The vote was promised to take exactly 24 hours during which both sides attempted to muster every citizen they could - Hunter from New Chalon and Kev from other Adaeni towns, including Pikulia. Due to Hunter’s pleas, Roineur cut the vote short before many citizens could give their votes, leaving Hunter with a 59% lead.
This news disappointed Pikulow greatly, he was heavily involved with the elections and became worried about the integrity of Pikulia’s border. This would cause him to approach other mayors and the Khan in order to get rid of Hunter by alternative means.
=== Hunter’s Adaen & Restorationist Movements ===
Hunter was announced the Hoxi of Adaen during the winter of 142 TE, just 30 years after Roineur assumed the position. This left many within Adaen angered and distrustful of the new leadership, which was almost exclusively voted for by just 1 town. Some of the Adaeni mayors, including Pikulow, Cyber, Kev as well as the Khan had set up a secret organisation known as the “2nd Wing” in 142 TE, the goal of which was to share their ideas freely and eventually depose Hunter. This organisation would soon face several setbacks, not only due to a lack of plans but also due to a lack of leadership, which none of the members wanted to assume in fear of severe punishments if the 2nd Wing was to be exposed. The conspiracy decisively shut down after the passing of the Khan in the winter of 147 TE.
In Pikulia, progress was mostly unhindered by the political turmoil Adaen had found itself to be in. The town gained a new member around 142 TE, after which it finally secured its claims against New Chalon and renovated the apartment buildings by 152 TE. Pikulia abandoned Göktengrism during autumn of 153 TE as the town and Kharakesestan lost touch with Adaen after the passing of the Khan.
In 152 TE Pikulow passed away at the age of 102 and Pyjter Pikulowsky succeeded him as mayor.
Seeing the failure of the 2nd Wing and the hopeless political situation of Pikulia, Pikulowsky decided to change his approach and focus on building up the town to rival New Chalon instead of relying on foreign people to possibly depose Hunter. The following decades would see a spike in population and quick development to achieve this goal.
The settlement gained more members around 167,180 and 198 TE, but it is known that at least a dozen more had joined during this era, making Pikulia’s population reach 13 citizens, nearly equal with that of New Chalon.
In the 160s TE, the 5 old apartment buildings were razed and 6 new ones were built in their place. Furthermore, larger farms were established to begin producing spices for trade and Pikulowsky built a 4th town hall on the remains of the 3rd one, the hill which it once stood on completely flattened. Stables for animals were created and food shops were set up in the new town square. North of the square, 3 large apartments were built. 
Just as Pikulia began to grow, yet another crisis rocked the entire region in autumn of 160 TE due to the dissolution of the Huitca Federation. Following a short occupation by the Kingdom of Alda, the new State of Adaen gained independence via referendum in spring of 165 TE. The young country was underdeveloped, impoverished and depopulated, which, coupled with Hunter’s controversial diplomacy would soon see the state endangered.
Nearly instantly Adaen and by extension Pikulia were dragged into the political turmoil of the Federations collapse. As the factions in the fallen nation began to bicker, a real threat of war arose, one which Adaen was not exempt from. During the latter half of the 160s TE, Pikulowsky gained contact with a descendant of the Khan, who planned to invade Adaen, bring down Hunter and reestablish order. The thrilled mayor began planning for a possible attack on the Chalonese keep and dug a tunnel under the Tatisa river leading from the Pikulian town hall right into the middle of Hunter’s throne room. This, however, like many other conspiracies led nowhere and in the end the situation returned to a more peaceful state for some time.
The peaceful development of Pikulia and all of Adaen was once more suddenly interrupted during spring of 170 TE when the Moon Eye Assassins’ Guild demanded that the entire nation be handed to the Kingdom of Chance or face war. The group wished to recreate the Huitca Federation and overthrow Hunter, thus quickly gaining the support of Pikulowsky as opposed to the other mayors. During the summer, Pikulowsky and the restorationists would attempt to lure Hunter and Alan, the most important mayors in Adaen to the town hall in Pikulia to force them into giving up the country. This plan failed due to the restorationist forces getting intercepted in Alaar before they could make it to Adaen. Further attempts were planned however the restoration movement was disbanded in autumn of 172 TE and Pikulowsky ultimately stopped communicating with the rebels after they had seized and destroyed the ruins of Konton in 195 TE, an action he severely disagreed with.
During the spring of 173 TE, Pikulowsky and Cyber founded the Coriander Trading Corporation, abbreviated as the CTC, a trading company that was supposed to support Adaeni businesses, however it failed shortly after. Just a few years later in autumn of 175 TE, the town would create an iceway station, thus connecting itself with all of Ummarnu and beyond.
In 180 TE, the Chihuahua statue was vandalised, a state of emergency was declared and it was restored shortly after. During the summer of 185 TE, an underground cactus farm was completed, generating great profits as XP trading became the main source of income. In spring of 190 TE, Pikulia converted to the faith of Soleviel but abandoned it in the summer of the next year as it converted to Lux instead.
In 191 TE, a squatter town walled itself off of the eastern Adaeni coast and effectively cut off the sea access of Pikulia. The mayor initially hoped for Hunter to kick out these people and allow Pikulia to commence its port creation project there, but instead he recognised it as a legitimate town and announced that Pikulia wouldn’t be allowed to grow any further. This greatly upset Pikulowsky and would result in him seeking a way to expand his town and end the reign of Hunter once and for all.
During the spring of 195 TE, Pikulia went through massive renovations, demolishing the old buildings and erecting new ones in their place. By the winter of 196 TE, 6 new homes were complete, and a new statue, town square and marketplace was finished by summer. By autumn 197 TE, the 3 large apartment buildings and the iceway were rebuilt. The renovation of buildings was completed in winter 198 TE with the reconstruction of the cactus farm entrance. From 199 to 200 TE, the roads were remade and a wall was created by the Tatisha river, replacing the natural shore.
During the winter of 198 TE, the first iteration of the new Pikiist faith was shared with the public, although it failed to gain new followers. In spring of 201 TE, a large raid hit Pikulia after several people were misinformed of Pikulowsky supposedly stealing their money.
=== First Pikulian War & Destruction ===
Although Pikulia saw significant development in the past decades, it was not enough to rival the hegemony of New Chalon over Adaen as Pikulowsky anticipated. This fact, coupled with the possibility of Adaen joining Caeli as a vassal made it clear to him that the time to bring down Hunter and free his country was running out fast.
In the summer of 206 TE, after much deliberation, Pikulowsky decided to strike a deal with Lemon, the mayor of Breakwaters Reach as well as the Alaaris to his east in order to organise his 7th coup. In exchange for some border territories, Alaar promised the rank of Hoxi to Pikulowsky.
For the rest of the year, the conspiracy gained many new members, both from Alaar and Adaen, which included Ginge and Cyber, two other mayors. They would turn out to be Hunter’s spies as they were promised little lands and disagreed with ceding territories in the east.
Unaware of this fact, Pikulowsky and Lemon launched their coup in spring of 207 TE, by this time Hunter was well aware of their plans and successfully stopped it. As the plan failed, Lemon abandoned his town which was subsequently occupied by the Chalonese, Alaar withdrew any support for a possible war and Pikulowsky was faced with an ultimatum to give up Pikulia.
At the last moment, the mayor received news of Hunter’s plan to raze Pikulia and incorporate it into New Chalon. This betrayal enraged him and he decided to move the town out of Adaen entirely. In the following months, he and members of Alaar worked to transport all of Pikulia into their nation, which took a very long amount of time. In 212 TE, Pikulowsky was promised lands near Konton to recreate his town there and perhaps launch an invasion of Adaen in the future. He initially agreed, but his stance would soon change.
In the summer of the same year, Hunter, tired of waiting for Pikulia to be fully transported, declared war on the settlement. Pikulowsky, already frustrated by the developments of the previous years, decided to hold his ground and fight, even if his loss was certain. Over the next months, however, a miracle took place. The Hands, a renowned mercenary group in all of Rathnir, offered their services free of charge, which Pikulowsky immediately accepted. At the same time, Adaen became a vassal of Caeli, however they never requested any help as Pikulia wasn’t seen as a real threat.
In the fall of 213 TE, the first battle of Pikulia took place. Hunter, expecting a quick victory, gathered very few forces, many of which deserted before the fight even began. To his surprise, Pikulowsky had the best fighters in the server at his disposal, overwhelming the Chalonese defenders in mere minutes. New Chalon was raided, the keep was severely damaged with TNT and Hunter was defeated.
By winter, Pikulowsky and Hunter entered peace negotiations. The mayor was promised to keep his town in return for giving up the lands he had taken from New Chalon. Before the deal was finalised, however, the mercenaries convinced Pikulowsky to keep fighting and possibly gain all of northern Adaen. Thus, all hopes for peace were dashed once more.
By the next year, the Chalonese have switched to the defensive, the Hands didn’t bother to finish off their intended target despite Pikulowsky’s pleas and instead decided to attack the island city of Novatress in Caeli. This attack became a stalemate as neither side was able to make advancements.
In the summer of 215 TE, Pikulia declared independence from Adaen and announced claims over the northern parts of the nation, roughly corresponding with the extent of the Pikulik peoples in the past. The new state failed to gain any diplomatic ties or military support despite sending missions to several nations.
At the same time, Pyjter had a son who he named Hanys. The young boy would spend most of his childhood wandering Pikulia, which was slowly crumbling in the tense atmosphere of the war.
In autumn of 220 TE, Hunter once again offered peace to Pikulowsky with the same terms as before and the mayor agreed. This vain hope for the survival of Pikulia was, however, quickly dashed, as during spring of 221 TE, just as a Chalonese attack was being planned on Pikulia, the Hands were paid half a million by the Caelites to exit the war. This took Pikulowsky by surprise and left him with few options. Although plans with other fighters were made, there was not enough time to prepare a strong defence. Pikulia was doomed.
In the fall of 221 TE, the 2nd battle of Pikulia took place, the outcome of which was clear from the start. The Chalonese and the Caelites have amassed large forces to combat the Hands mercenaries who were gone by the time of the battle. The weak and disorganised Pikulian defence crumbled with the first assault and what remained of the city was demolished shortly after, with most of the remaining defenders being slaughtered mercilessly. The once great town lay in ruin, the grass, trees and bushes burnt, the roads decimated, what remained of the buildings were piles of rubble and incinerated wood, the entire settlement was littered with bodies of both civilians and combatants, somewhat hidden by the rising smoke, presenting a gruesome view hard to forget. As a way of celebrating their brutal victory, the Chalonese officially gave up their independence to join Caeli as a state, changing their name to Berkan.
Pikulowsky and his son miraculously escaped this scene with their lives, making their way through the Domeri Sea towards the lands of Hiarlliia. As Pyjter arrived in the neo-Huitcan state, he promised revenge on Hunter and the Chalonese, no matter how costly, time consuming and exhausting it would become.
In the autumn of 227 TE, he created the Pikulian Black League together with Zealot, Saad and Sisar, an organisation which set the reclamation of Pikulia and the destruction of New Chalon as its main goal. In the 220s TE, Pikulowsky and other Pikulik partisans would conduct regular raids in Berkan to disrupt, harass and taunt the Chalonese. Most of these took place around the ancient Huitcan town of Othinia, now known as Fort Goliath, which was being demolished by Hunter’s men in order to make a fort in its place, which they named Teshel.
During autumn of 229 TE, one of those raids would meet a tragic end. Pyjter Pikulowsky, now a 94 year old man, was slowly losing his physical strength for years. Whilst attempting to flee to Alaar after a successful incursion, he lost his strength and laid to rest under a tree, where he was spotted by the Berkanese. Young Hanys had to witness his father being mauled by the Chalonese hounds and then executed mockingly by Hunter’s militia.
With this incident, any hope of retaking Pikulia quickly was dashed, and the town was mostly forgotten about as the reorganisation of the Black League proved to be a very difficult and demanding task for its new leader.
=== Second Pikulian War & Recreation ===
After the tragic death of his father, Hanys returned to Hiarlliia and adopted a code name to avoid detection by the Chalonese. He’d be referred to as “Dimitry” or “Pikulovsky” from then onwards. Over the following decades, he would work tirelessly to expand and strengthen the Black League, drafting many projects on how to rebuild Pikulia.
In the spring of 314 TE, nearly 93 years after the fall of Pikulia, Pikulowsky struck the Chalonese once again. After years of planning, the Black League seized the town of Breakwaters Reach in southern Adaen and declared war on all of Berkan, hoping to destroy New Chalon and save Pikulia before Rathnir froze. The enemy, however, successfully stalled the initial advance and no major battles took place until the world descended into a long winter in 320 TE. With Rathnir, Pikulia and the war, Hanys Pikulowsky took his last breath under the last creation in the lost town, a memorial he hoped would outlive all the evils that the Pikuliks endured.
This, however, was not the end of Pikulia. In the summer of 352 TE, the unthinkable happened. A group of Pikuliks from Abexilas made their way to Rathnir and re-established the town. Pikulia was back after 131 years, destroyed, depopulated, empty but alive.
== Projects ==
Over the 3 centuries of Pikulia existing and vanishing from the map, several projects for the town’s development and recreation were drafted. Some of those would see implementation, while the others would remain as simple ideas and drawings.
When Pikulow first arrived in Adaen, he envisioned his town to be an isolated and peaceful haven for himself, the local Pikuliks, Huitcans and other settlers. The young mayor believed that Pikulia should have a strongly rural character, dominated by individual houses, farms and such. This plan would soon backfire on him, as the other towns in Adaen grew quickly and began to take up more space, while Pikulia remained stuck as a backwater settlement.
After Pikulow’s passing, Pyjter Pikulowsky changed the approach to the town's growth. Seeing quick development as the only viable way to combat Chalonese hegemony, he decided to sacrifice the natural terrain and loose housing of Pikulia in favour of artificially expanding and flattening the town to build larger apartments. Although the town did grow significantly, especially during the renovations in its last decades of existence, the project was never finished due to the First Pikulian War.
One of the most ambitious projects of Pikulowsky would be the creation of a fortified port island on the eastern coastline. Originally made by the squatter settlement of Polilimni, the region was artificially severed from the mainland, yet the invaders were chased out of it. Initial designs for the walls and towers were made, however planning halted as the next group of people who decided to occupy the island were recognised as a town by Hunter, starting the crisis which would lead to the First Pikulian War.
During the exile of the Pikuliks from Adaen, Pyjter and later Hanys began developing a plan on how to rebuild Pikulia once it was recaptured during the Second Pikulian War. By this time, ideology would play a big part in creating those plans, the ideals of naturalism in particular, which dictated that the natural features and terrain must remain unchanged during the development of a town. Many inspirations were taken from the original views of Pikulow, although the necessity of more urbanised districts was acknowledged.
The district of Old Pikulia, viewed as the “purest” part of the town, was to be the closest to Pikulow’s vision. It would feature sparse housing for the most important citizens, a tavern, park, town square and various government buildings. The dominating style would be that of the archaic architecture, with few inspirations from the newer architecture styles.
Southern Pikulia, encompassing the entire savanna on the southern bank of the Tatisa river, was meant to be dominated by somewhat urbanised and dense civilian buildings, most of which being 2 or 3 stories high. The district would integrate the original natural features into itself, incorporating the lakes as small parks and treating the more mountainous part as a sub-district. It would also feature inspirations from Tlahatl, mainly its renowned canals which would serve to connect the Tatisa and Sola rivers in Pikulia. This district would be dominated by the modern architectural style, with some archaic style parts.
Eastern Pikulia, which was meant to be a port island in the past, would see radical change to its idea. The artificially made island would be reconnected to the mainland with its terrain restored, and a small settlement with sparse buildings would be created near the shore. The hot springs between the sea and Pikulia would be repurposed into small oases and relaxation spots. A small port would be created on the northern and southern shores of this settlement, while the hill on the eastern shore would have a lighthouse built on top of it. This port district would have direct access to Old Pikulia and the recreated settlement of Ildarejo to the north.
Western Pikulia, or what would be considered New Chalon before its planned destruction, would encompass all of the western savanna, save for the northernmost parts next to the Domeri Sea. Much like the other districts, all of the terraforming there would be undone, a large desertification process would take place to bring the biomes to their original boundaries after the Chalonese massively expanded the savanna. Most of this district would be built using the modern architectural style and serve as a housing area. In the north, the Chalonese port would be rebuilt to some capacity and a marketplace would be built just south of it. In the south, the flatlands next to the Tatisa river would have sparse housing and become repurposed as farmlands to avoid famines that plagued Pikulia in the past.
The final district of the town, located on the large plateau in the western savanna, would arguably see the largest makeover. The Chalonese keep was to be nearly completely demolished, with small parts of the ruin made to remain to serve as a memorial to the final victory of the Pikulians. On top of this hill, which would also see the undoing of terraforming, a Pikiist temple was to stand, and the plateau was to be surrounded by a small strip of parks. On one of its inaccessible sides, an entrance to the mines would be created with some buildings next to it.
The more expansionist version of this project would call for the incorporation of the entirety of the formerly Pikulik territories into Pikulia as special, more autonomous districts. These would include several other settlements based on the desert architecture style and their original forms, some of them being:
* Slyder to the north-west, a small village on the northernmost part of the western savanna which would mostly consist of farmlands and sparse housing. The northern peninsula would see an old Pikiist shrine rebuilt there. On the western desert, the former pirate outpost as well as Pikulik tribal fortifications would be remade after the undoing of Chalonese terraforming.
* Wiyrchnizomek to the north would become a recreation of an old Pikulik fort on top of a Chalonese XP farm. The farm itself would be remodelled and the desert region expanded to the south-west to undo the terraforming of New Chalon
* Ildarejo to the north-east, a former Pikulik and later Huitcan stronghold and monastery, would be renovated and brought back to its original form after centuries of neglect and decay. Around the fort a few buildings would be created in order to establish a stable population.
* Strzybrnydrach in the south-eastern plateaus, a former Pikulik fort, would be recreated and serve as the barracks and military storage for Pikulia.
* Golyjat, formerly Fort Goliath and Othinia, would be recreated to the south of Pikulia. After the planned destruction of the Chalonese fortress of Teshel, it would be based off of the Huitcan form in which it was originally built with some modifications. Othinia would become a settlement just west of the fort, whilst the stronghold itself would become the main storage area for the Pikulian armies.
* Kalur and Karlston to the south-west would be merged into a single settlement. After the destruction of Armaros, the surrounding area would be heavily remade in order to restore its natural form and terrain. Kalur would be located on the islands in the Sola river delta, the river banks would have sparse civilian buildings located on them with port facilities on the mouths of the river and the coasts. Karlston would have its small stronghold recreated and a civilian area built around it, serving as the main population centre of the dual town. Kalur-Karlston would mainly live off of the sea and likely become the 2nd largest settlement after Pikulia.
== Architecture ==
Over the years, many citizens of Pikulia would come up with various styles in which to build the town. Starting with simple and mediocre ones in the beginning, they slowly became better builders as more materials and experience reached them.
=== Archaic Architecture ===
The old style of Pikulian buildings was created during the rule of Pikulow and prevailed in the town until its destruction in 221 TE. This style would be made for smaller constructions, using resources that are easy to obtain in the savanna and desert. It takes some inspiration from the Huitcan buildings in Tlahatl for material use.
The bases of buildings are made using deepslate bricks, the frame is made out of oak logs and the walls with smooth sandstone. The windows are tall with white glass panes and have window sills on the outside, most of them having lanterns or flower pots. The entrance to the buildings is raised with andesite or cobblestone stairs leading up to it. The roof is usually triangular, sometimes it is flattened. It’s made out of cobble slabs or stairs with deepslate bricks replacing them on the edges and the top, often creating a wavy pattern while the lowest part is flattened.
The walls are detailed using cobblestone walls in points where the vertical and horizontal oak log pillars meet as well as on the ground where the vertical pillar meets the ground. These cobble walls are connected with spruce fences vertically and using spruce gates horizontally on their tops. Furthermore, much greenery is added to the buildings, small bushes are planted under the windows while both tall and regular grass and flowers are kept on the ground, some buildings are also surrounded with small trees.
=== Modern Architecture ===
The modern style of Pikulia was created during the exile of many Pikulians following the First Pikulian war. It took inspiration from the heavily urbanised architecture present in Hiarlliia, where many Pikuliks escaped from the conflict. This style uses more diverse materials than the archaic architecture, as the population was no longer confined to a small and isolated savanna but could now travel to several nations.
The general form of buildings doesn’t have significant differences from its predecessor, however it was adapted to be used in taller and larger structures. The base and roof may be made from various kinds of polished stones, while the walls and decorations are built with wooden planks instead of sandstone. The oak log pillars were deemed too large and removed, instead relying on grouping buildings next to each other for stability.
=== Desert Architecture ===
The desert style, much like the modern style, was created during the exile of Pikulians from Adaen. It was rarely used as it was intended to be the main style of eastern Pikulian port as well as the other settlements in northern Adaen, both of which remained in the phase of development and planning.
Used primarily for smaller builds and strongholds, most structures have a square or rectangular shape with flat roofs. The main building materials are various kinds of sandstone, stones and rarely wooden elements. The base and corners are made out of cut sandstone, whilst the walls are made with smooth sandstone and have tall windows. Some of the more grandiose buildings may have colourful terracotta added in various parts. The walls may be decorated using slabs and stairs but can also have cobble and wooden decorations similar to the previous styles. Small amounts of greenery are often added, primarily bushes and pots with plants.
== People & Culture ==
Throughout its history, Pikulia was dominated by the Pikulik people, and although it worshipped many faiths, Pikiism always remained the dominant religion among the citizenry. This caused the town to be very unified in ideas and identities, which have remained mostly unchanged over the centuries.
=== Warfare & Conflict ===
From the earliest days of the Pikulik tribes to the Second Pikulian War, conflict and fighting remained a near constant occurrence in the Pikulian society, with the town and its people often involved in them.
In the early days of the settlement, Pikulow did all he could to keep Pikulia away from foreign conflicts and build up an isolated and peaceful town. However, with the arrival of the Chalonese and the border crisis, the nature of the Pikulik population took priority over the mayor’s wishes.	
The town's leader was quickly dragged into many conspiracies and attempted power grabs to secure his rank. These would go unpunished for a long time due to the incompetence of Adaeni leaders, however the New Years Coup conspiracy with the Alaaris proved to be the final straw.
The First Pikulian War proved to be disastrous, annihilating the entire town and decimating its population. The desperate attempt at a last stand would forever be remembered in the survivors memory, particularly for Hanys “Dimitry” Pikulowsky. During his exile, the tragic and horrific scenes he went through slowly pushed the Pikulian idea of warfare and conflict to become more and more radical.
By the time of the Second Pikulian War, the idea of how it would look was completely altered. The only thing that mattered to the fighters now was vengeance. The regaining of freedom, rebuilding the nation and even the success of the operation were secondary to this goal. All resources available were poured into the conflict, as the decades spent on creating schemes, plans and connections began to pay off for the rebels.
This was, however, still not enough to bring a conclusive end to the war before the freezing of Rathnir. The Pikulians who survived and were transported to the world of Abexillas would adopt a very similar goal, despite being much farther away from the Chalonese state then they were previously.
=== Community ===
The sense of community within Pikulia, contrary to the ideas of warfare, did not see much change. From the very beginning, the homogenous citizenry would rally behind their mayor in all of his causes. The Pikulians, as much as they were loyal to their local community leader, would remain distrustful of larger nations and empires.
The Pikulians value their freedom and honour above all else, many of them were members of mercenary groups and served as partisans or warriors before and during the Second Pikulian War. In the nations they inhabit, they are always a distinct group that stuck together while others would bicker and turn on themselves during difficult times. The Pikulians are also often involved in politics to keep their rights and expand their freedoms and autonomy, rallying behind their local community leader to achieve those goals.
=== Nature & Claims ===
The Pikulian stance towards the natural terrain and nature in general saw major changes after the loss of the town. Initially, during the reign of Pikulow and his successors, the terrain was flattened, the coastlines straightened and many other features in the region were disregarded and destroyed. This mindset changed dramatically following the First Pikulian War
In the future rebuilding projects for Pikulia, the preservation and restoration of the natural terrain, its features and biomes was seen as a top priority. Major terraforming projects were frowned upon, while proposals for the creation of mega structures like many in the northern Huitcan states were also discarded.
Pikulians are usually opposed to the creation and expansion of major cities, viewing them as excessively large and destructive towards their region and its nature. A similar opinion is shared towards major efforts of terraforming terrain, this includes changing biomes, creating artificial islands and flattening terrain.
=== Commerce & Economy ===
The Pikulians were known to live very modestly throughout the town’s existence, some could even be deemed to have lived in poverty. In the early days of the settlement, famines, material and tool shortages as well as lack of finances were recurring issues that plagued both the mayor and his citizens for decades.
For a long time, the primary source of income for the Pikulians was either mining in their extensive tunnel networks or searching through ruins of old and abandoned settlements in search of valuables. As the town began to build up, more opportunities to make money appeared. XP farming, fishing for loot and harvesting spices began to become profitable, and before the Second Pikulian War, mercenary work became a large part of the income sources, though mining remained prevalent throughout all this time.
The wealth disparities in the population were large, while some citizens only owned basic iron tools and a state issued home, others made hundreds of thousands, walking in polished armour and enchanted gear. During the Second Pikulian War, all property and funds, both private and public, were funnelled towards the war and the employment of various mercenary groups. The ultimate goal of vengeance and regaining their homeland remained more important than upkeeping personal wealth and status despite the benefits.
=== Religious Beliefs ===
Although the town's official religion switched from Göktengrism to Lux to Soleviel and other faiths in between those periods, the dominant and final pick would remain their own native faith - Pikiism. Just as during the reign of Pikulow, Pikiism was the main religion during the end of Rathnir as well.
Besides Pikiism, the Pikulians would also take inspiration from Cardinalism, sometimes worshipping its Gods and celebrating the Cardinalist holidays. This would be a part of a wider appreciation for the Huitca culture and society, under which many considered Pikulia to undergo its golden age.
Due to this many philosophies of this faith would be adopted by the population of Pikulia. Those included respect of nature, a strong sense of allegiance to the local community, a high value of freedom and an infatuation with past times. Holidays, although rarely celebrated, were sometimes announced to the populace.
For a long time, the beliefs of the Pikulians directly corresponded with those of the religion they were worshipping, and those correlations only weakened after the First Pikulian War. With the creation of the Black League, religion was given less thought as preparations for the upcoming conflict were the priority.
After the failure of the Second Pikulian War, the surviving Pikulians who made their way into the world of Abexillas would slowly begin recreating the Pikulian spirituality.
Category:Traveler's Era