Fishmen

The Fishmen were the original inhabitants of the island of Natan. They are humanoid and usually have bluish-green scaly skin, along with orangish/ yellow eyes. They speak a language not related to any known human language, and were mostly located on the island of Natan from prehistory all the way until the year 1650.

## Prehistory and beginnings

The fishmen have inhabited the island of Natan for thousands of years, with the earliest archeological records of their presence being around 4500 BC. They were a mostly hunter gatherer culture for many centuries, until about 1400 BC, when the first permanent settlement was most likely built. Records from those times are sparse, with most being either very vague or being passed down orally by the chiefs of the tribes. Many of the traditions held during prehistory were seen when the founder arrived on the island including traditional clothes, houses and beliefs.

## Beliefs and customs

The fishmen have many beliefs unique to their culture. They are known to worship the god of rain through things such as annual pilgrimages to the top of Mt. Grasía, the tallest mountain on Natan. They also base many of there customs around rain, such as having large holes in the center of their homes in which rain comes through and lands in a basin in the middle of their home. They use these basins for prayer and for things such as cooking. There have also been numerous murals of a so called "God of rain" who is depicted to be an all blue, fishmen with a light illuminating around their head. There are whispers that the god of the fishmen can be met after completing a ritual in a hitherto unknown location, very special to the natives.

### Shamans

The fishmen shamans are some of the most revered members of their society. They hold power above all in the tribe, except the chief. They are said to have mystical powers such as healing powers and being able to speak to the dead. Most of the shamans were massacred by the founder and his settlers during Foros' war, and then during the colonization of the northern island. The ones who remained mostly fled to the remote islands of the archipelago until about the mid 1800s, when the wave of native return brought native culture and native people back to the northern region of the island. The shamans importance and influence among the native people had diminished though by this point, and much like the chiefs, were now mostly ceremonial.

### Chiefs

The chiefs of the tribes are the most important members of native fishmen society. They are viewed as the physical leaders, as opposed to the spiritual leaders that the Shaman are. Chiefs are selected by a meeting of every male in a village, and are only chosen after the death of the current chief. The chiefs main job was to lead the tribes in times of war, to represent the tribe to others and to be the general leader for the tribe. As with the Shamans, most of the chiefs were massacred during Foros' war, and the ones who survived fared the same fate as the Shamans during the colonization of the northern island. Only around 9 chiefs survived after the colonization, and after the 1800's and the wave of native return, the chiefs role became that of a mostly ceremonial head of the tribe.

### Tribal hierarchy

The fishmen hierarchy varied tribe to tribe, but went mostly as follows:

* Chiefs
* Shamans
* Soldiers and warriors
* Hunters
* Farmers
* Normal tribe members

Sometimes farmers and hunters would be in the same category, and sometimes farmers and normal tribe members would be in the same category, as stated it varied by tribe.

#### Punishments and banished members

Punishments varied from tribe to tribe, with most using things such as torture to discourage crime. On more extreme circumstances, members of the tribe would be banished from the tribe, or exiled to far off lands. On one occasion, almost 45 fishmen were banished from a tribe for treason during an inter-tribal conflict. As time advanced, banishment became less and less prevalent, with the last one on Natan occurring in 1649, and the last recorded one ever occurring in 1672.

Banished members of the tribe would usually die due to their vulnerability without their tribemates. Some would meet up with other exiled fishmen and create small settlements, but once the exiled men would pass on, these settlements would be abandoned. The last fishmen to be exiled attempted to flee the island he lived on, and sailed north to an unknown fate.

## The time of darkness

This time period is known by the fishmen as the "time of darkness". This was due to their expulsion from the island of Natan in mid 1650, by the founder and his settlers. Their central figure, Foros, had been killed in battle, and the natives were almost all wiped out after almost 2 years of constant conflict. They began their voyage to the north island in the winter of 1650, and arrived in the mid spring of that same year. From there, most ascended deep into the forests and established small villages dotted around the plateaus and forests. These tribes would decentralize over the coming decades until the arrival of a small expedition from Natan landed on the south shore of the island in 1693. This expedition had been sent by the Yīngwo family in an attempt of settling the island and establishing a trading post. 47 men in total landed on the island after a journey of 2 weeks, and began establishing a small camp on the coast of the sea. The following day, the men would begin to explore north, and after a week of walking would discover the north shore of the island. On the coast, they discovered an abandoned settlement, with pieces of clothing and food left behind that indicate that this was a relatively recently abandoned settlement. The men began marching back that night, but at some time between 11pm- 3am they were attacked by a group of natives who to many people, including those who were on the expedition were unknown and thought to be wiped off the earth. One soldier stated:

"They seemed to show no regard for human life, and did not seem phased by any of our repulses towards them. These men ran off with 3 of my fellow men, and much of our supplies. Our journey has been cut short, and we are to set sail to civilization as soon as we can. I do not know of their fates, nor do I truly wish to know."

They returned to their ship after only 5 days of running, and returned to the island. When they returned to the island, they explained to the settlers what they had seen, but were labeled crazy, and liars. One member of the Yīngwo family, attempting to save face stated:

"These so called 'savages' they saw were nothing more than myths. I find it hard to believe that the men we defended our home from and expelled 40 years ago have been able to hide from us just to the north. I find it highly likely the men that were killed by these savages, were actually killed by the men who came back to our home."

The men would fall out of the public view over the coming years, being regarded as outcasts and liars by most of the population.

For the next 12 years, the natives would continue to live as they did since their arrival to the island. This was until in the year 1705, when the Yīngwo and Zèng family began funding and preparing a voyage to the northern island in order to curb the power of the Jingmei family, who at this point was the main family who did business and exploration in the north due to the Yīngwo family losing much influence after their disastrous first voyage. This expedition consisted of 10 ships and 8000 soldiers, who were given the task to fully subjugate and pacify the northern island. The ships set sail during the summer of 1705, and were at first on a rather fast time frame to reach the shore. This was until they entered the path of a monsoon, that caused their voyage to be taken off course, and one of their ships to sink. All soldiers would survive however, simply boarding the nearest ship to them, and in the winter of 1706 they reached the islands eastern shore.

On the island, they began to set up camp and began work on rudimentary walls around their settlement. A native scout would see this through the bushes, and returned to his village to inform them on what he had seen. The chief of the village, a man named Hestan the wise, would then gather 57 men to go to the shore with him in order to attempt to scare off the soldiers. They would stay in the tree line just west of the camp until night fall, when they ran out into the village, and killed 48 sleeping soldiers before they were chased back into the trees. 12 of Hestans men fell, and with their death, the rumors of the natives still being alive, hidden away in the northern islands was proven true. The next day, general Yuan Lu Zèng, the brother in law to the head of the Zèng family, Lan Zu Zèng began marching his soldiers west towards the plateaus that cascaded across the island. The army would march for 2 days straight, stopping periodically on the edges of plateaus to avoid ambushes from all sides. During these two days, they would not discover a single settlement or village. General Zèng would be on record stating the following of the fishmen:

"When I was given the task of subduing an island of "savages", I expected the island to have said savages. We have not stopped moving in 2 days, and through those 2 days, we have not seen a single settlement, old or new, nor any signs of civilization. I find it hard to believe these things simply have not made their presence known to us, and am inclined to think that we simply have warded them off."

At the end of the third day of marching, the army finally set up camp in a very inland valley surrounded by large dense forests on each side. As night fell soldiers, who at this point felt safe due to their lack of contact with the natives, began to rest until they were awoken by a barrage of arrows raining down upon them. In the first few minutes, 700 men were killed and tens of more wounded, most not even knowing what was occurring. After this initial barrage, the fishmen began running into the Natan's camp from all sides, massacring them in their own tents, and burning down much of the armies supplies. Chief Hestan would be leading the troops during this ambush, and would personally find the tent of general Zèng and decapitate him. When the battle ended, and the natives ran back into the forest 6894 soldiers were dead, with all remaining left wounded. The remaining soldiers fled the scene, with 300 more being killed during the retreat, and 40 being captured by the natives. When the remaining 718 men reached the ships, they needed to take only a singular ship to return to the island. It took them 4 weeks to return to the island, and when they did they began explaining what had occurred. The natives, upon seeing the retreat of the Natan's, convened under the leadership of chief Hestan, and promoted for the first time in their history, a chief to the title of "savior of the tribes", which is equal to the role of king or emperor. This decision led to the creation of the Közé confederacy, a coalition of all native tribes to combat any Natan invasion.

The third invasion would be launched during