Iuxum

## Origin

Founded roughly 760 years ago, Iuxum started out as a small village that was built on the banks of a lake called Tenquas. The village’s name rather literally means ‘besides the lake’, and the name Tenquas means ‘dark waters’, named for the depth that makes it impossible to see the bottom.

This lake is imbued with magical properties which helped the village to flourish and remain safe. As news slowly began to spread further from the town, people began to come to the village— some looking for help, some looking to try to take the magic. A man named Harpax was soon elected by the village to protect the lake, and spent his days helping those who needed it and fending off those with ill intent. For his efforts he was blessed by the lake, and gained small but helpful abilities which he continued to use for the benefit of the village’s people. About 10 years after he became the protector of the lake, Harpax became the village’s proper leader and continued to watch over the land as it grew and its people prospered. By most who study history, this point 760 years ago is considered to be the official start of Iuxum as a nation.

## Nation of Iuxum

### Build Styles

The buildings in Iuxum follow a fantasy-medieval build style, and primarily use a palette of lament wood, dark oak wood, quartz, and occasional other materials which are typically either related to the primary blocks or in shades of purple. There is some damage to various buildings as a result of wear over time or destruction as a result of other forces, but most buildings are still at least functional, even if not completely intact.

### Culture

The original culture of Iuxum has not survived, due to the nation being abandoned for somewhere around 100 years; however, the current people of Iuxum are relatively peaceful, and there is a heavy focus on the power of community and helping one another. There have been some tensions with other nations at various points in the modern history of Iuxum, but these issues have been resolved for the most part.

### Government and Leadership

Iuxum is a relatively democratic nation, with Echo Callisto serving as the current Palatine, aka the primary leader, but xe does xyr best to understand and respect the wishes of xyr people wherever possible. Iuxum is a colony of Astos, and is subject to the laws and leadership of Astos, but Emperor Mainard of the Astonian Empire has left most power of choice for Iuxum in the hands of Echo.

### Geography

Iuxum is located north-east of Okutoro, west of Xadia, and south-west of Astos. Its borders are almost entirely forested, though there is a large ocean past the southern border. The primary kind of tree in Iuxum is the lament tree, which appears to grow naturally within a certain radius of the lake Tenquas. Beyond the lament trees are a mix of oak, aspen, and the occasional birch. Tenquas is roughly the center point of Iuxum, and the banks of the lake have a variety of plant life growing, such as blue and purple pickleweed, seagrass, and some reeds.

## History

### Early Years

Roughly 20 years after Harpax was elected as the proper leader of Iuxum, he started to grow ill, and despite the best efforts of the healers in town, he passed away. His eldest son, Philto believed that it was his birthright to become the next leader of Iuxum and started to gather followers who agreed and thought he should be elected his father’s successor. Others of the village, however, believed that the magic of the lake had chosen someone else; a young farmer girl named Auria. This divide in the village quickly escalated into a conflict that lasted several years until Philto tried to take control of the lake, and instead was pulled into the depths and drowned. Within a few months, Auria was officially made the new leader of Iuxum, and remained in charge for nearly 40 years.

Unlike her predecessor, Auria chose to retire rather when she was beginning to grow older and weary of her duties, and her apprentice of several years became the next leader of Iuxum, a determined explorer named Duccia. Beginning as protector now 70 years after Harpax became the official leader, Duccia led Iuxum into an era of great expansion and growth that lasted for the 35 years they were protector, and through the leadership of the next two after them. Now 570 years prior to the current day, the sixth protector of Iuxum, a man named Petrus, faced a new challenge to the safety of both Tenquas and Iuxum; a great plague that swept through the nation.

### Spread of Disease

Being a relatively densely populated country, Iuxum was especially vulnerable when the plague came; beginning about 565 years ago, not long into the rule of Petrus, a plague started to spread throughout Iuxum. The healers of the land did their best to work to contain the illness, but even their best efforts to quarantine off sections of the main city did little to keep the disease contained. There was little that could be done to heal those who caught the sickness, and death tolls were believed to be in the range of 40-50%.

Often referred to as the Silent Death or the Starving Sickness, those who became ill first became abnormally adverse to food, and would go for long periods without eating. After about a week, they quickly began to lose energy and strength, leaving them bedridden and unable to perform most tasks. Those who tried to care for them would observe as patients became more and more tired over the next several days. Eventually they would pass away, often in their sleep with little fanfare or warning other than their worsening condition over time. The disease seemed to spread rapidly from person to person if they interacted closely, even for a short period of time. Petrus did his best to help the people however he could, but there was little that he could do in the face of such a powerful sickness. When Petrus fell ill several months after the Silent Death first started to spread, some of the people worked together to bring him to Tenquas and plead for the lake to use its magic to heal him. He and many of the people spent the next two days at the lake, hoping for some sort of salvation from the illness, and after those two days it came.

### Tenquas' Blessing

After two days spent by many of the people at the edge of the lake, Tenquas used its magic to heal Pentus and restore him to health. In addition to healing him, soft purple markings appeared along his arms in vine-like patterns, spiraling from his wrists up to his shoulders. The writings related to this time that have been found state that after this event Pentus was able to heal people who had the Starving Sickness; some accounts suggest that when he healed people, a small purple vine mark would be left where he had touched them, and the mark faded after a couple days. Others claim that for a moment spectral vines could be seen around the room Pentus was in when he healed someone. It’s unclear how this magic worked but most accounts seem to suggest that he held some sort of connection to Tenquas, and was able to heal people by drawing on its natural well of power.

A few short months later, the Silent Death had run its course, and though many had died both before and after Pentus‘ miraculous healing, many more likely would have died without the healing that was made possible through Tenquas. As the people of Iuxum began to recover from the plague, they entered a time of even greater magic in the land, with Pentus acting as a living conduit for the lake to bless the land and the people within. Many advancements were made during the span of the 50 years that followed while Pentus remained the leader, and despite the tragedy that had started the series of events, Iuxum flourished in a previously unimagined period of growth and innovation.

### Fade of Power

The exact date of what began the fade of Iuxum is unknown, but estimated to be roughly 200 years ago, only about 50 years before what is considered the official end of the nation. Unfortunately, records for this period of time are few and far between due to the nature of Iuxum’s fall from power. Most buildings beyond a certain distance from Tenquas are either destroyed to the point of having little to no useful information, or seem to have almost vanished from the land completely. Though there is little sign of any forms of destruction from outside sources, from roughly 200 years ago until about 130 years ago the population of Iuxum decreased due to a combination of people migrating away, loss of life due to erratic weather and animal attacks, sudden bouts of sickness that spread through the nation, and other such factors.

The primary catalyst of the fall of Iuxum is considered by most to be the corruption of Tenquas, though there is much debate about what exactly began the process that slowly changed the magic of the land. The earliest records of the change have been dated to about 180 years before present, a journal kept by someone who lived in Iuxum and moved away with the journal they had kept at the time. Their account describes the first signs of change as “new plants have started to grow, ones that keep coming back no matter how many times we pull them out. They seem to spread from Tenquas, and there’s something that feels different about the water now. I don’t know why it changed, but I think something’s really wrong.”

Other records describe plants in shades of blue, purple, and gray that began to spread, erratic and unpredictable weather fluctuations, and strange animal behavior- primarily heightened fear responses. Some accounts claim that the water would at times seem to appear darker, more sinister than its previous light and clear appearance, and that plants along the banks other than the newly appearing ones began to slowly become less and less common. There are occasional accounts of other changes, but the more uncommon claims cannot be as well validated as those mentioned above.

Recent examinations of the former land of Iuxum have validated many of the observations made by previous records, though the severity of these impacts seems to have decreased over time. For what reason this change has occurred is unknown, though some scholars believe it to be a sign that the magic of Tenquas has weakened from the strength it is recorded to have held previously. Others believe that some external force has influenced the corruption and is battling against it in some manner, while others still believe the natural magic of Tenquas is slowly overcoming the corruption that was once so potent. However, the cause for both the corruption beginning and now for the corruption starting to fade are unknown, at least to current research. Scholars remain hopeful that as more is discovered and recorded, a greater understanding of the magic of Tenquas can be reached, and with this knowledge we can determine what caused the drastic changes that Iuxum underwent.

## Current Times

### Rediscovery

Echo stumbled across the abandoned lands of Iuxum while traveling, and decided to stay there at least temporarily while trying to get xyr bearings. With time xe came to enjoy being in the area, and started to work to repair and restore what xe could of the buildings there. Not long after Echo's arrival, a being made of snow and ice who simply called himself Ice arrived, and Echo welcomed him to stay as well. Restoration efforts continued, with a few houses and the kitchen being the first buildings to become usable again.

### Tensions Rise

Echo met the cyclops named Circe and invited her to stay in Iuxum while on the run, mistakenly believing that she had been unjustly treated by people from Xadia. Not more than a few days later, Dannet of Astos and Azorc of Okutoro arrived in Iuxum and questioned Echo about the whereabouts of Circe, explaining that she was a wanted criminal who had attempted to assassinate King Mainard of Astos. While Echo hesitated as xe tried to figure out which party was lying, a guard who had come with Dannet started to look around the area and saw Circe nearby. The ensuing skirmish ended with Circe agreeing to go with Dannet and Azorc in exchange for them leaving Echo alone.

When Circe was meant to be executed, Echo secretly helped her escape and the two successfully made it out of Astos without being spotted. Circe went off into the wilderness and Echo returned to Iuxum in time to greet the people from Astos who came to question xem; though Dannet heavily suspected Echo, there was no proof that xe was involved in anyway, and the search party soon left. Plans were made by the leaders of Xadia, Astos, and Okutoro to pressure Iuxum for Echo's involvement in the situation with Circe, primarily via heavy taxation. These plans, however, did not come to fruition before an alternative arrangement was made.

### Colonization

Echo was approached by Mainard and Dannet, who proposed that Iuxum peacefully agree to become a colony of Astos in exchange for protection from Xadia and Okutoro, since their leaders would not want a conflict with Astos. Reluctantly and after assuring that no harm would come to xyr people, Echo agreed to the deal and signed an agreement that Dannet brought to xem shortly after the meeting.