Itoshins

**State:**

The Ito Empire

**Form of** government:

Absolute monarchy, military autocracy

**Rulers:**

The immortal emperor Tosho reigns after the founding of the people

**Language**:

Itoshinian. Udoğans (the emperors’ inner circle, the head of the settlements, the commanders of the detachments) must know the Common Language. For other subjects of the empire, the knowledge of the Common Language is
welcomed by udoğans, but ignorance is not forbidden.

**Largest city:**

Shohan.

**Capital:**

Shohan. In Shohan there is the Imperial Palace, the residence of the ruler, the most grandiose construction of the Ito Empire.

Other major cities are Yohnuk, Olugan, and Lauhan. All the
settlements of the Itoshins are fortified cities surrounded by a high wall, with the citadel of udoğan, the governor of the city, who is also the commander
of a specific garrison.

**Geography and climate**:

The Ito Empire occupies the entire Northern and North-Eastern part of the continent. The main climatic
feature of the Empire is the impenetrable fogs, from where the demons come. Until now, it has not been possible to establish the habitats of demons, where
their den can be located. Elinor is called the mainland, although no one has
yet been able to circumnavigate the Northern coastline, nor by water or by
land. However Djunitian astronomers, basing their opinion on the course of the
stars and direction of the sea current, are sure, that the coastline exists and
the continent does not extend to the North. The climate is damp and wet. In the
Northern part of the Empire, there is permafrost. The snow never melts there.
Mists doesn’t disappear even in a very cold weather. The Southern borders of
the Empire are much warmer. In the summer, snow melts, but every winter they
fall again. There are rare places, like deserted oases, where fogs never
happen. Demons almost do not appear in such oases. The largest is near the Moon
Lake, and the capital of the Empire is also located there. Other settlements
are also situated only in places where there is no fog or its density is much
lower than usual.

**Borders with:**

the Valley of the Ancestors in the South, the Celestial Plateau in
the West, the prairies of the Chekatta and the Reyro kingdom in the East.

**History:**

The Itoshinian people originated at the time of the Great Exodus. Their
story began with the fact that a fairly young, but wise and just ruler of the
city of Eavette, named Tosho, was visited by a stranger from the distant lands.
Everything was happening in those days when the inhabitants of the Valley of
the Ancestors thought that they were the only inhabitants of Elinor. It is not
known what the wanderer was talking about with the city's burgomaster, but
after this meeting Tosho announced that he was beginning the expedition to the
North. His main goal was some certain source of knowledge and wealth. All this
took place several dozen years before the Marawies’ exodus to the South. The
Great Exodus began eighteen years earlier, when a group of pioneers disappeared

without a trace in the forests west of the Valley of the Ancestors.

   Six families went to the North together with Tosho -

Unu, Wari, Saku, Taki, Maca and Yugie. They are called families in the Itoshinian
chronicles. However, there is no mention of the populations of these families.
Most likely, they were groups of relatives from ten to six dozen people, since
from the stories of a trip to the North one can conclude that a large number of
people left with Tosho. However, the seventh family, Tosho's family, most likely
consisted only of himself and his pregnant wife, whose name had not been
preserved by history.

One of the best translations into the Common Language of
the Itoshinian legends and chronicles is the book "Travel to the Skies" by Djunitian scholar Azir Amunjadee. The author describes the origin
of the people of the Itoshins as follows:

*The way to the North did not initially cause trouble, as evidenced by*
the ancient legends of the Itoshins. On the road, Tosho had a daughter, Tsvetsho.
She was subsequently destined to play an important role in the emergence of the
Ulutau people. When Tosho and six families reached the Life Border Plateau,
then their first problems started. The Plateau met them with dank dampness and
thick fogs. For about five years, the ancestors of the Itoshins wandered in
this labyrinth of hills and bare rocks. And then they first encountered the
creation of the Dead Land - creepy creatures, unlike any animal of Elinor.

*Many songs and legends are composed about the first meetings of the Itoshins*
with the demons. It all started when people began to see some shadows in the
fog. Eerie visions haunted the travelers for months. They talked about
nightmarish creatures, darting in the fog, but no one could see them. Then people
began to disappear. At first they were either those who fell behind or hunters.
But later the disappearances continued among the main detachment too. And where
people went, no one knew. This led to the fact that the pioneers began to be
afraid to go hunting, they stayed only in a dense crowd, and the expedition was
on the verge of failure.

*Then there was a*
split. Two families, the Maca and the Yuga, decided to stop searching and leave
Tosho. No persuasion could withhold them. And then the ruler cursed these
families. Their representatives left Tosho, taking away his curse. The further
fate of the Maca and Yuga is quite tragic. None of them came down from the Plateau.
They got lost in eternal fogs, and one can only guess what their death was
like. Itoshians say that sometimes they meet their waywarding souls, tacitly
wandering in the darkness in their eternal search. This vision is called the
curse of the Maca-Yuga, and to see it is considered an unlucky sign.

*The remaining four*
families - Unu, Wari, Saku and Taki, and Tosho with his daughter, continued
their journey. On the road, they lost another family - all Wari were missing.
Tragically, Tosho's wife also died: she fell off a slippery path and fell into
a bottomless crevice.

*But the will of*
the ruler Tosho was mighty and the desire to find what he was looking for was
great. In order to inspire his people, he took his sword and went alone,
straight into the thickness of the smog. After a while he returned and dragged
the body of an unknown creature. The sight of the monster was terrible: the jaw
was covered with sharp, huge teeth, five ridiculous extremities ended in razor
sharp claws, the creature lacked eyes and ears. To the question of surprised
people about how Tosho could win over this beast, he replied that he felt no
fear, but only anger, and the creature itself rushed on his sword. This event
is depicted on the frescoes in the palace of the emperor Tosho, and the carcass of the first murdered demon was turned into a scarecrow and to this day adorns
the throne of the emperor. The Tosho feat became the first stone in the
foundation of the philosophy of the future Ito Empire.

*Encouraged by the*
example of their leader, the people moved on. Now that they knew that they were confronted by beings of flesh and blood, fear left them. The expedition continued its’ journey.

*Once the travelers came to a high hill, and on top of it they saw the*
sky for the first time in many years. It was the late evening, and the full moon was shining in the sky. It brightly reflected on the surface of a small
lake. Strongly impressed by such a beautiful view, the outlanders called it the Moon Lake. As it turned out later, the fog never rose to such a height, and the
sky above the Moon Lake was always clear. Weary by long wanderings, the
travelers decided to found the first settlement here. They erected a
city-fortress Shohan, which became the capital of the Empire. In the vicinity
of the Moon Lake, there lived amazing animals - the yauls, who eventually
became domesticated. And the Moon Lake itself was full of beautiful fish, and
the shore –of  living creatures. This
islet of light in the endless fogs turned out to be not the only one, and
gradually the Itoshins settled all over the Plateau. As it turned out, the
demons from the smog did not like the light, and in the daytime life in the
settlements was calm enough. And at night houses were locked with tight
shutters, and anyone who could hold a weapon led an endless defense against terrible
enemies.

The further history of the Itoshins is a constant struggle
against the demons of the North. To this day the Emperor remains the one and only
ruler of the Empire. The Empire itself is built on a clear military command.
The udoğans – the personal help of emperors – governed over either the garrison
settlements or military detachments.

The Emperor has not grown older since the founding of
the people. His immortality is confirmed by many travelers and explorers of
Elinor, although still unexplainable. The daughter of the emperor Tsvetsho, is
also immortal: she had grown up to the age of about eighteen or twenty years
old, and is retaining youth forever afterwards.

**Industry,agriculture and economy:**

The nature of the Ito Empire is very meager. Of plants, the most popular one is poisonous thorn; of animals -
yauls. Yaul is a tall, powerful buffalo, completely covered with long hair and
having huge horns. Favourite, and maybe the only, delicacy of yauls is  just the same - a poisonous thorn. Meat of yaul
is the most popular food of Itoshins, and yauls’ koumiss is the most popular
drink. Near the Moon Lake, fishing and even part-time farming is possible, but
almost all food goes to Shohan's imperial palace. The empire has a sufficient
number of iron ore deposits, but the steel produced is of extremely poor
quality. Inside the Ito Empire, there is no money. Necessary food is
distributed by the emperor among the udoğans, and already by them - among the
population, according to peoples’ needs. The salds are not forbidden in the
empire, but visiting merchants are a rarity, and it is only possible to meet them in Shohan. Now the viability of the empire depends entirely on the Valley
of the Ancestors. The Empire simply can not exist without food caravans, as
well as without the supply of quality steel. The costs are paid by the military
resource. First, they protect the Northern borders of the Valley of the Ancestors from demons, and second, they provide their detachments for the
protection of order in the Valley of the Ancestors.

**Life and culture:**

Life in eternal struggle dictates its rules, which affect the whole
culture and life of the Itoshins. But this struggle is not chaotic: all
inhabitants of the Ito Empire live according to the Dotsu Code, written by
Emperor Tosho himself. This is not just a body of laws or regulations. This is
the philosophy of existence. In the Code, each person can read not only about
how he should live, but also about what he should feel. For many peoples, this
way of life seems simply unacceptable, but the Itoshins are getting used to
living like this from birth. Dotsu Code is in fact, the only book that is
regularly read and rewritten by the Itoshins. Fiction in the empire is not
popular. Although educated udoğans often read the books of other peoples. Among
the Itoshins there are no writers and poets, but there are chroniclers.
Chronicles of the Itoshins - a description of the regular struggle of the
people with demons. They are considered useful literature along with the Dotsu Code,
especially when the children re-read stories about the exploits of their
ancestors, fathers, grandfathers, great-grandparents and so on. The women of
the Itoshins are also obliged to be warriors, just like men. However, after the
birth of children, the woman is responsible for rearing the offspring. Since
the attacks of demons occur constantly, the Itoshins are often killed young.
Including women. Children-orphans are brought up by udoğans. To live to old age
is considered a sign of cowardice. An exception is made in respect of those who
have suffered an injury while being young or in adulthood. Cripples become
chroniclers, scientists, healers. Master other crafts related to military
affairs. Oral traditions are popular among the Itoshins. Basically, these are
terrible legends about demons and mysteries of smog. They are written in order
that children from early childhood learn to overcome their fear. Clothing and
household items are as simple as possible, and don’t have any patterns and
ornaments. It is not customary even to decorate one's own weapons, although in
some cases special exceptions may be made.

The main holiday for the Itoshins is the birth of illa,
albino children with white hair, who are able to navigate even in the most
impenetrable fog. The illas leads caravans and fighting detachments on short
roads. The appearance of illa is something of a small miracle. The territory of
the Empire is inhabited by Snow Chekatta, tribes of savages. Most likely, they
inhabited the land before the arrival of Tosho and his detachment. Snow Chekatta don’t know nor the Common or the Itoshian language. In addition, they
themselves try to avoid the Itoshins. There are several cases recorded in the
annals, when Snow Chekatta fought along with the Itoshins against the demons,
but still it is a great rarity. Itoshins are not forbidden to have contact with
the savages, but the Itoshin will never enter into such contact without the
permission of the udoğan. Therefore, the Itoshins and Snow Chekatta live side
by side, but they barely contact each other.

**Ideology:**

The whole life of the Itoshin is a striving for fearlessness,
which, in turn, is identified with immortality. That is, the attainment of the
immortality of the soul is possible only through the victory over one's own
fears. There should not be any fear in the heart of the Itoshin to start with,
but it is implied that prerequisites for fear may arise. And if these
premonitions of fear are not replaced by a real sense of fear, then in the soul
of the Itoshin an internal victory is gained. The Code forbids Itoshins to
philosophize and generally talk about anything other than military craft. Their
whole life is the execution of orders. Therefore, even if the ideological goal
of the individual Itoshin somehow expanded and stepped beyond the goal of
defeating one's own fear, he would hardly tell anyone about it. Itoshins are
inclined to feelings between the genders, but they would never put it above the
battle and submission to the Code.

   **Itoshinian language.**

It originated from the old language of the inhabitants
of the Valley of the Ancestors, which is the most similar to the modern
language of the Chekatta. Shortness of the words was saved from that language.
The most popular are one syllable. There are some compounds, complexes of two,
and sometimes of three syllables, while these syllables are separate words to
start with. However, if the language of the Chekatta is more lyrical and
lively, then all the syllables in the Itoshian language are pronounced clearly,
quickly and sharply. This is due to the military system of consciences and a
constant war with the demons. First, the language ensures the ease of orders, and secondly, short sounds make it easier to give alarms, while describing the
problem. In the language of the Itoshins there are no cases. Nouns, verbs and adjectives are written and pronounced identically.

A few words from
the Itoshinian language with transcription:

E / I - a child (son, daughter)

O - plural of everything

Ei - denial

Eo - children

Eei - means no longer a child

To - father

In - people

Lir - future

Nai-horn

Nuk - black, dark

U - wall, inner strength

Chu - the highest unexplained force (for
example, the immortality of the emperor is Chu)

Aitsu - coward

Ulu - a hermit

Khan - city

Ish - the ancestor

Tsu - courage / courageous (brave)

Bun - bad

Shaz - huge / great

Sa - anger, anger / evil

Gu - wisdom / wise

Ha - strong / strong

Eicho - weak

Sho - universal, association

Rho - Heart

Mo - the sky

Kaa (Ka) - snake

Dor - cave

Re - flesh

Yoh - pride

Ve - life

Euwe - death

Vet - mother

Do - sword

Dotsu - generally the name of the Code,
but also a warrior

Lla -fog

Illa
- son of a fog

Lai -a demon

Olai - demons

Iolai - are children of demons, but
actually as a horde of demons, or in general all the demons that live in the Empire

Ğan - iron

Lu - water

Olu - water, a lot of water, a pond

Lya - barrier

Ne - big enough

O’ne - eternal, boundless

Alphabet:

As symbols of spelling, they use the simplest hieroglyphs. One
hieroglyph - in any case already a word, but also a composite syllable. If a
word consists of several words-syllables, the symbols are superimposed on each
other.

For example; | - Do (sword), ^ - E (child),  -
E'Do (the son of a sword)

= - lu (water), / - o (plural), ≠ - Olu (body of
water)