You have been taken by the Mists

Author Topic: A Daughter of Nars and the Lu': Sela Kerr  (Read 893 times)

Euniana

  • Outlander
  • **
  • Posts: 78
A Daughter of Nars and the Lu': Sela Kerr
« on: December 13, 2018, 06:59:02 PM »
It was the fourth year in the reign of the Qrus-Ngars Emperor (193 CE). The Eastern Nars dynasty was laid low by internal turmoil and rebellion. The dreaded Yellow Turban rebellion had brought devastation to the empire of Nars, and though the rebellion was quelled in the end, the various warlords that rose to the challenge saw that the imperial court was in no position to reassert its authority. The peace that the Kwang-Ma' Emperor had wrought centuries earlier was now but a distant dream. The Son of Heaven was a mere puppet, and the warlords now carved out their own fiefdoms with blatant disregard for his nominal sovereignty and fought each other in an era of warring states. Over the millennia, this country had been known by many names -- Gra', Tiw, Dzin, and most recently, Nars. Despite the centuries of unity that had fomented a new national identity, conflict had broken the realm into many fragments.

The warlord Ntsu Tsaw', a nascent star in the war-torn land, marched his mighty army on the province of Selatu, seeking revenge for his father who had been slain while visiting there. In his rage, Tsaw' had his army lay waste to the countryside of Selatu. His soldiers massacred tens of thousands and drove hundreds of thousands from their homes. It was one of many waves of refugees that would flee south, seeking refuge in lands beyond the Krong, a mighty river that marked the boundary to the south of Nars.

Amidst the refugees fleeing south was a cadet branch of the Sela family. Originally a clan of Lu'ist priests from the northern province of Lon'tu, this branch of the Selas had faced persecution during the Yellow Turban rebellion and fled southeast to settle in Selatu. War would once again uproot them from their new home, forcing them to join the many refugees fleeing towards the Krong. Many of them did not survive the outbreak of war, and many still were lost in the flight from Selatu. Amongst the survivors were the patriarch, Sela Tlun, and his young daughter, Sela Kerr. Before they could reach the Krong, the tendrils of the Mist would reach into this realm, cruelly ensnaring the daughter and separating her forever from her family.

Something in the Mist stirred in reaction to Kerr's faith in the court of the Celestial Emperor. Though the gods in her world had been unmoved by mortal concerns and granted few if any otherworldly powers to their worshipers, some unknown power in the Mist saw fit to reveal a divine spark to Kerr when she pleaded desperately for aid. In her ignorance, she would come to identify this divine gift as originating from the creator goddess, Nra'krol, who created humankind from clay in her people's creation myth.

Stuck in an utterly foreign land with no knowledge of any of the local languages or customs, Kerr would face greater challenges than she'd ever seen back home.

((OOC Notes))

Names from this land typically follow the format of <family name> <given name> or <family name> <courtesy name>. A person may be referred to by their given name or courtesy name alone, but not their family name without a title. Syllables in a name may be joined together, hyphenated, or separated with spaces -- the difference is merely aesthetic.

All spellings are only rough phonetic approximations, in order to avoid difficult-to-type or unfamiliar symbols and with certain creative liberties taken. This is indeed Chinese, although a very ancient reconstructed variety. For the sake of consistency, I will avoid the usage of modern Chinese though am happy to cooperate with anyone using modern forms.

Sela Kerr is pronounced roughly like slacker.

Quick glossary

Sela Kerr == 徐欣 (Xú Xīn)
Sela Tlun == 徐川 (Xú Chuān)
Nars == 漢 (Hàn), the name of the country and the empire nominally still in power
Ntsu Tsaw' == 曹操 (Cáo Cāo)
Selatu == 徐州 (Xúzhōu)
Lu' == 道 (Dào)
Lon'tu == 兗州 (Yǎnzhōu), corresponding to southwestern Shandong and eastern Henan in modern times
Nra'krol == 女媧 (Nǚwā), the creator goddess who made humankind out of clay in Chinese mythology
Elinnong == 神農 (Shénnóng), a legendary sage-ruler who taught the Chinese agriculture and herbal medicine
Krong == 江 (Jiāng), i.e. the Yangtze or Chang river
Dzin == 秦 (Qín), alternate name for the country, from the previous dynasty in power
Qol == 倭 (Wō), Japan
Nars-gnan/Nars-gna' == 漢言 (Hànyán)/漢語 (Hànyǔ), Chinese language
« Last Edit: January 24, 2019, 02:06:23 AM by Euniana »

Euniana

  • Outlander
  • **
  • Posts: 78
Re: A Daughter of Nars and the Lu': Sela Kerr
« Reply #1 on: January 23, 2019, 08:46:01 PM »
*Despite Kerr's humble upbringing, she is also literate. Like others of her time, she prefers to pen her thoughts in laconic verse rather than extended prose as those from other cultures might prefer.*

良劍鍛三年
時飛亦如燕
嘆吾滅他邦
先祖不再見

raŋskrams toːns srum sniŋ
dəʔ pəj ɢak na ʔˤens
n̥ˤars ŋˤa met tʰaj pˤroŋ
sˤərtsˤaʔ pə tsˤəskˤens

A decent blade is forged and tempered for three years,
Yet time flies too as the swallow.
[ I ] sigh that I should die in another realm,
Never to see my ancestors again.
« Last Edit: January 24, 2019, 02:15:20 AM by Euniana »