The History of Zekira

How we got this far

History and Major Events on Zekira

Here is a brief timeline of events. For more specific information about Area and City Zone foundings, look in the Lands portion of the book. This area contains events including population increase and certain births. Other events include famous backstabbings and race results, things which most Zekiran children are taught.

Since this culture has existed with higher technology for its entire history, very few things have gone unrecorded. There are still well-preserved images and motion pictures of early colonization processes, thoguh they have had to be cleaned and restored several times in the ten thousand year history.

Zekirans love recording things, and are fascinated by history - most of them would rather read about it than create their own, in fact. Those who do make history, those who create a shattering new invention or discover a wild new locale, are often looked upon as true heroes. They are forever memorialized in the history books of Zekiran schools - and often found in sculpture, tapestry, film and paint as well as musty old journals.

Prior to "Year Zero" the colony ships sent from their home world had been in transit for nearly 12 generations, never having mastered faster than light travel.

Year Zero Colony ship arrives on Zekira, spending the three months prior to landing studying and making detailed mapwork with satellite photos, and computing the best areas to populate. It is while they are still in orbit that the native Neres population notices the new star and makes quite a big deal of it.
First Four cities are created with the landing parties: Mada, Jokan, Nakani and Lisar. The populations of the cities are distributed proportionate to the size of the continent, however that doesn't last long.
Population of Mada and Nakani are 220K, while Lisar is 170K, and Jokan is 230K, each of these splits almost immediately into a dozen or more small populations, the Colonization begins!
1 The Colonization Age begins! A huge new world, with a slow-breeding, long lived population… Bred individuals are more rare, but the Breeding shows more dramatically due to the "normal" being as normal as it is.
12 Aecos born -- first of the New Zekirans, not Bred in the slightest, but everyone knows who he was.
30 The first actual Status Laws are passed, which set out the distinct differences between each. At this time, there are very few differences between FreeWorkers and FreeLand Holders, there is little to say about High Holders until they get into the actual swing of Holding (they cannot Own, yet, merely Bond!), and there is no Suzerain Status.
105 Most of the Areas of each Land are set up, however not all of them have actual cities in them, merely some small villages or farmsteads.
150 After thinking about it, and having so many people getting land Held in such large measures, High Holders are now entitled to Own stock as well as Bond people. This is shortly followed by a massive increase of Bred Slaves being sold out. Also while they were at it, the lawgivers examined the Worker vs Land Holder issue, but decided that the laws ought to stand.
200 Most of the Breeders' Laws are enacted, deciding rudamentary divisions of Degree, but they are mainly based on the secondary Status of the Breeder, and little else.
250 Population of Zekira reaches 1 million.
500 Breeder/Membayar Charsfa delivers a paper at the Breeders Convention which firmly establishes all Degrees of Breeding and Healing as separate Status from their birth. This paper is met with only small amounts of resistance from those who were used to Owning (3rd Degree) without having any further training in their field.
800 The end of the Colonization Age..
801 The Golden Age… Genetics begin to flex themselves after this point. Special mutations and powers are now beginning to show up, much more so than during the Colonization.
804 The now-yearly Championships of Steed racing start circling the globe, there being just barely enough courses to support such things, but many Steeds to race.
878 During one of those Steed Races, a certain High Mistress Zafram (a descendant of Charsfa) hosts a party, however she doesn't bother showing up to it, since she's just bet for the first time (and last) on a Worker and his beat-up old mare Toss the Bones. At 300 to 1 odds, and with perhaps only another two dozen individuals insane or foolish enough to have bet on him, Worker Kelkey and Toss the Bones manage to place 3rd in the race. Zafram helps Kelkey celebrate. Later, she dies in childbirth.
919 Zafram and Kelkey's daughter Zekrel becomes well known as a sculptor. Well enough that a greedy Owner named Bhez orchestrates a huge windfall in her works' value. By killing her in 928.
1019 The first Suzerain status laws are passed across the whole world, just for a certain Enohshai and his Membayar Company What Wants To Own. The status is adopted by hundreds of people suddenly, it was no surprise that many lawmakers sprang at the chance to Own as well as Bond so soon.
1115 The famous Bayaran Renta versus Lord Zrkee Zhkaahaa case in Eren causes a new set of laws regarding placement of qualified Bayaran in appropriate jobs rather than an arbitrary work load.
1300 Population of Zekira reaches 3 million.
1359 In the then-unZoned Wivir area, a renegade Slave community goes into an uproar when Master Toko threatened to bring them back to their Lords. However, one of Toko's contemporaries successfully argued for a new "squatters law" which makes it possible for renegades of any prior Status to establish their Freedom after 20 years. Before then, if their Owner or the law catches up to them, they're still guilty, but after that point they are considered "explorers and homesteaders".
1787 New crops of native coffee-bean like plants called Zpara take hold in the flatlands of Bohata, from overhead the whole of the green Area becomes spotted with the brilliant red color of the plants.
1792 Genius architecht High Mistress Toshu is commissioned to create the new Osini Center, to celebrate the beautiful coastal city Zone festival. It still stands in modern times, and is used today just as it was then: as a Steed Race observation dome and party house for the extremely rich. (Or, lots and lots of Workers.)
2000 Two cities for Two Thousand. The twin cities of Hisai and Teklel are Zoned this year, each competing still for the title of "most beautiful Zerin city".
2120 Ruins in Curra/Polaen/Umtl are rediscovered, it is estimated that they had remained undisturbed since -4500 or before. At first they are used only as a tourist site, but then private Owners bought it and continue to Hold it (Mailala is a descendant of these people).
2242 Teklel's Steed course "River Rage" is one of the earliest very dangerous over-water races to be put permanently onto the Championship Circuit.
2400 The end of the Golden Age.
2401 The Age of Exploration… There is much land and lots of brave, hardy souls to explore it. More frequent mutations and powers are beginning to show up, and people with more than just one strong power each as well.
2500 Population of Zekira reaches 6 million.
2599 Astenoh, Animal Master, born
Born to Lord Ankite and BeastLady Stanoh, BeastMistress Astenoh is one of the first Zekirans who can manipulate the native animals successfully, rather than the ones which came with the colonists. This is a remarkable leap in splicing technology - who would know that she's part Ferilon?
2718 Rook becomes a surprisingly in-vogue area to breed Steeds with big scoop-shaped bat-like wings. These Steeds dominate high-altitude and pulling/lifting competitions for generations to come.
2880 The remains of the orbiting Colony ships are officially destroyed by pre-planned systems, long after they had been gutted and used up by the colonists. There was some amount of debate as to why they'd done so in this particular year, it was decided that the colony-ships time-pieces were set to the original world's, and left it at that. By this year, no one misses them.
3000 By this time, dozens of small communities are vying for Zoning. Just because they haven't got population over 2000 doesn't mean that major cities don't exist at least in name by this point.
3075 Chorr, Slave, dies
Born to Worker Eshamis and Slave Halat. Both were closely used by Breed Lord Lataen, who then used Chorr as the base stock for nearly eighty offspring. Exhausted, Chorr tried to escape several times during her long life (she was born in 2850) bu in the end died bringing one last child into the world.
3088 Several of Chorr's offspring who had been Raised or Freed during her life begin discussing things with their legal councilors. The first portions of the Slave Abuse Act is put into law within 10 years: that no female Slave may be Bred more than an arbitrary number of times in her expected lifetime - this number varies by Area and sometimes by Zone, but is usually no more than 30.
3200 Population of Zekira reaches 10 million.
3346 The first spliced offspring (Human and Animal) is made, to a rousing chorus of kill it! While mutations had run through Tuned individuals for centuries which emulate fur and animal-like features, this is the first time anyone had taken a native animal (in this case a Hern Rat of all things) and lumped in its useful size and hardiness. It would take another few generations of other more subtle splicing to effect the positive attitude reflected in the modern era.
3423 Land Master Sh'ndavay climbs Star Peak, the highest mountain in Ka. He hated it so much up there, so he said, that he didn't even bother claiming the Land as his own - it's much too cold! Instead, he grounded down at the somewhat more sedate Emer, and the city's population doubled in less than three decades, enough to Zone.
3647 Ri'iri is founded with a number of Breeders, High Holders and hundreds of Bayaran and Slaves. They work on the layout of the city, such as it is, and the place has become known still for its Breeding, Steeding and health benefits.
3839 What has become one of the largest cities in the world, Telva is founded. The locale seems to have been perfect for a wide variety of uses: Steeding is popular and easy with the good lands, winds and race courses, while farming and homesteading in the rolling hills to the south has been popular since long before this founding day. Telva's first City President spot was also the first shared by two people! High Mistress Pahvo and Lord Raiyahn both recieved exactly the same number of popular votes, and most of their higher status friends couldn't decide on who should take the spot. They married three decades later.
4000 Population 25 million. Most Areas have at least 2 or 3 Zoned cities in them, others more than that.
4193 This is the first time anyone looked up and noticed that there was a third moon. Apparently, like the other two, this one was a captured asteroid that wandered too close. If the Zekiran population had been paying attention to the Neres folks, they'd have noticed it a lot earlier. But this event provokes the next event...
4200 The first and only Neres natives reach a populated area (Kiran/Emosah/Vin) but since it's also a desert area they are unlikely to have wanted to stay in the first place. They are driven out by a very brave contingent of FreeWorkers, who then become Free Land Holders shortly thereafter.
4473 For the first time in the colonist's history, there is an attempt to harness the giant storm system which traverses the Rainbow Sea and over the continents of Tana and Zerin, thus Vimit and other smaller plains towns begin using wind-farming.
4530 Some of the first "Show Wing" Steeds are bred with features found on native insects. Their wings are so delicate that several of them had to be put down - this is one of the only known times that euthanizing a Steed is encouraged because of the pain the animals were in after a while.
4712 Kyan Jernaeka, Membayar, Born
4750 Kyan Jernaeka masters the waters between Kirun and Qimira, establishing the first water-based traffic since the colonists landed.
4750-4825 Jernaeka sires at least 30 offspring, being the "in demand" Breeder of that century; also it is noted in many history books that nearly 1/10th of the births recorded were of children named Kyan, Kyani, or variants. The family name of Jernaeka is still in use, by his distant relatives.
5000 Last communication out from colony on Zekira is sent to stars. The satellite structure then turns on the planet and keeps track only of surface and major solar activity.
5001 The Age of Exploration ends, and the new Classical Age begins. Major population centers are peaking. Most of the habits and trends of this age are being revitalized in the so-called "modern" age later. All breeding is beginning to resemble modern era trends.
Population of Zekira reaches 34 million.
5414 Saxxon Born Yes, we have a winnah! Saxxon is most likely the first fully and naturally immortal Zekiran, cursed with toxic skin and extreme powers as well as frightening good looks. These are to say the least a bad combination when Breeding under non-clinical settings. He doesn't seem to care, siring at least half a dozen children with one particular self-healing young woman several hundred years later - at the same time inadvertently founding most of the major dark-skinned dangerous genetic lines of the modern era. He does that again several times for the rest of the known history of Zekira - including after everyone is also immortal.
5780 Saxxon begins taking over large plots of land in Dorel and Ertin, ever so slowly he begins to realize that he's not growing old. After 6000, historical documents regarding events on large scale and the random occurances around the world are most likely written by him either under a new name or without any kind of credit. A collector of odd knowledge, ironies and fantastic tales, Saxxon becomes quite the historian before politics and personal involvement require more attention.
6000 Population of Zekira reaches a stable 43 million, Lendau is the first individual city to reach 1 million.
6253 With the nearness to hop from the mountains of the east to the city of Pesht to the west, J'mao is ideal for those young upstarts and loud people of the world. J'mao is about the loudest place in the world, a nexus of communication and information technology. It always will be known as the center of Modern Communication.
6720 Diamonds, in the mountains behind Ist. That's really all that needs to be said, huh? They're still in there, people are still coming to find that out for themselves.
6990 The earliest known encounter between a Zekiran and the crystaline substance known as "Deadhead" which inhibits psionic ability. Land Master Ahan stumbled across what he had hoped would be a new minable ore. His sensing ability stops working while in the presence of this substance, and he attempted to keep this knowledge to himself - which worked pretty well until he fell to his death in a sinkhole that had formed, (without his ground sensing powers) holding an armload of the crystals.
7261 The largest racing upset in decades pays off for then-FreeLand Holder Tailengel. He had no inkling that his bet would pay off so much, and when the Steed "Turn That Noise Down" won at 350:1 no one was surprised tohear LandMaster Tailengel's response: "I've never bet in my life, how about that? I won?"
7332 The nicest marble in the world suddenly shows up in the form of Fi'ir's mines, whole sheets of the beautiful white and black stone (along with the vibrant green and blood red versions) are exposed when a bizarre earthquake exposes the vein.
7599 Torrential rains and gale force winds beat the Kiran coastline off Black Point, exposing a whole lot more "black" in the form of the ancient volcanic glass which the beach was named after. Shortly, the industry of obsidian sheets for panes of fashionable glassworks starts up, shipping them all over the world.
7804 Adden's great-ancestor Dieros wins the first Tenet-Kua cross country flight race by a lead of almost two days, on the Steed "Mighty", who becomes the winningest Steed of the century.
7829 Mad composer Dulath creates his symphony of Wind and Harmonies of the Wings, while in Ama, blowing a lot of money on his huge wind collecting musical devices, but then making a whole lot more when the recordings skyrocket in popularity. He called these half-mile long pieces of crystal and metal "wind chimes"... others called them monstrosities, noise machines, and other less than raving reviews.
7854 Zogan is the location of an incredibly gristly murder scene: the entire family and all the Slaves living in High Mistress Jeris' large estate are gassed to death when the "mood candles" normally used to enhance fertility began belching out toxic fumes. The candles had been made by the notoriously insane Breeder Maish Myuah, who had also been responsible for several other awful deaths before and after this. He was Exiled soon after his crimes were linked to him.
7978 Membayar have a hard time believing their ears when they are told by the courts in Coori that their Bonds must only be kept for a maximum of two years per term. This is almost unheard of to Memayar, most other cities have betting and natural disasters that keep people Bayaran for more than 10 years! Coori's Bond law is the shortest term in the world, for this reason. But, the law has never been challenged - mostly because it is always possible to assign more than one "term" to a Bayaran.
8000 Population of Zekira is 60 million.
Celebrating 8 thousand years of civilization, several small townships are granted Zoning: Nev in Bohata, Kelen in Ka, Voket in Laiarta, Nuris in Imaa, Tam in Mi'a, and Craus in Wo'ad. These all have populations in the 20 thousands, and most of them rarely get bigger than that, notably excepting Kelen!
8039 In Eftel, the first laws regarding Generation Bayaran are seeded when a third generation Bond begins to question her Grandfather's debt to the agency she's working for. Bayaran Veeveh must remain in her Status for another decade, but her intelligent discussions and patient self-teaching made her quite a name when such things were mostly unspoken. She becomes a very secure and able Membayar herself after paying off her 'damnable debt'.
8651 By mentioning a High Holder's distressingly long tail at his first Holder party, Rhajamko forever doomed himself to ridicule and low Status friends.
8660 L'vezh, Bayaran, Born
Speaking of tails, this one's got a real long one! Early in the 4-armed mutation range, about 4000 years before, the very first Naga-shaped mutant came around, well it hadn't happened again until this year. L'vezh was the offspring of a tailed male and a 4-armed female, and this sparked the whole controversy about inherited genetics and the arm/tail connection.
8830 Etan, Breeder, Born
Etan appeared out of nowhere, apparently, and became known for his smart mouth and eager business deals. Later on, of course, he's found his way through the Breeding cycles and is known much better for keeping the lid on his Cloning projects. His first exile is his last, apparently, because after experimenting on not only himself but his own offspring, he vanishes from public sight and psionic sight too.
9000 Population of Zekira is 70 million.
The end of the Classic Age, and the start of what is termed the Modern Era. This era is where most play should be focused, as all the charts and prices are made to reflect the time between 9k and 11k.
9000-9500 Many popular lines of Breeding stock start to show up. It is the first time in the history of Zekira other than Kyan Jernaeka's line in the 5 thousands when true family lineage begins to make a very big difference in how people are treated, their Status, and who Breeds with them. Also, technology which had been disused during the Classic Age is beginning to be fashionable again, and due to the huge number of Steed races, shows and other events which must be broadcast almost daily, the first World Broadcast Net starts on the vid. Formerly, until 9245, there had been large numbers of local stations, perhaps Area wide broadcasts. Now, using the satelite technology still at their disposal, the World at Large is able to view every race in the world whenever they wish! This is shortly followed, in 9303, by the use of the first World Betting Network. What a surprise. No surprise too that shortly after that, in 9305, Membayar are having a field day with all the new income!
9730 Population of Zekira is boosted by the fact that now Breeders are unafraid to actually work with nearly-defective cells, and for the first time in history a number of so-called infertile people have contributed to offspring.
Population is 85 million for this reason.
9956 Viridia, Breeder, Born
9970 Vinet, Membayar, Born
Viridia and Vinet are half-sisters, Vinet mothers a different half of the important Animal Masters, Slaves and Membayar of the world while her sister takes care of the Breeders and such.
9972 At 16 years old, Viridia gets her Breeding Degree, because she's arguably the most brilliant Breeder of the millennium.
9999 Viridia and Etan meet, and don't really get along. Viridia's clear opinion of the cloned man is that he ought to lay down and die. However, she begins searching for ways to avoid the psionic wear and tear he offers her, and her family line is devoted to this task. Etan does not know this, to the present day.
10050 Tresis Arregon, Rogue, Born
10060 Marad, Owner, Born
Marad is a pretty good stock for Breeding, and he knows it, so there are actually a good number of Marad-named children of this era, not all of them as good looking as those who become Mirage's ancestors.
10183 Tresis and Etan meet for the first time and discuss things, privately, about the world and what they're going to do with it after they've taken over...
10185 Jonbyer, Breeder, Born
...And who Etan and Tresis have to make to achieve their goals. By the time Jonbyer has gotten his 6th Degree in Breeding he's already killed three young men, and is busy creating many more for his later enjoyment.
10211 Morgontain, Breeder, Born
10226 Tresis is gone to Neres now, bored and insane. You don't want to know what he's been doing before now, other than plotting with Etan. Actually, his closest relatives will always remember him fondly. As the guy who raped his mother and waited for her to give up her child to him...
10229 Viridia and Etan argue for a very long time about who is going to produce the next best thing since buttered toast... It is possible that the introduction of Rigesh to their chosen line was a compromise between the two camps, a weakness to the psionics that either side provide.
10230 Darkhanis Paveh, Breeder/High Holder, Born
Darkhanis was indeed Bred by Jonbyer, however all of his training and instruction was initiated by Viridia, of course.
10285 Vanya Sengihr, Breeder, Born
Vanya should have been Bred by his uncle Darkhanis. This fact has irked Darkhanisall his life, but he never once told his nephew the truth of the matter. Vanya's parents, Darkhanis' brother Sengihr and wife Inilla, were murdered by Jonbyer, along with a host of others along the next 30 years. Vanya is only one of the few survivors of Jonbyer's madness, and is certainly one of the most prime examples of being victimized by cruelty. However his genetics are, shall we say, far superior to most. By the time the Outsiders are reborn, he among them, his genes (along with Marad/Mirage, Kshau and a few others) comprise a huge percentage of the viable population!
10298 Mirage, High Holder, Born
It seems that her ancestress does protect those who are worthy, even in the afterlife, Mirage collects spirits when she is a child, and Latelenae is one of them. That's Tresis' mother, in case you're wondering. They're all related.
10323 Jonbyer found guilty of amazing badness and is exiled. The mere mention of this Breeder's name is forbidden in any of the higher-status groups who were Bred by him, and it is often seen as a great shame or task to overcome having been created by him. An exersize in group therapy would help.
Orn is the last of the "boys" and is offered FreeWorker status, he takes it, and steals an awful lot of stuff from Jonbyer's labs as well, setting himself up for Breeding and whatever else he can offer. Within a little over a hundred years he's a High Owner.
10346 Ten, Slave (at first) Born
Boredom and madness begin taking a toll on Vanya, and because he has easy access to both Engell and Aeroch samples he demands them as payment for an assortment of awful things done to prisoners (yes, Aeroch enlists his help in subduing certain people before they make it to their legal trials...) and Ten is the result. Ostensibly, Vanya complains constantly that Ten is so far from perfect as to be an embarrassment, but in reality it is a desperation tact that allows him to beg for sanity. He never abuses Ten the way that Jonbyer did him, but mentally it's another story. Ten never forgives his creator for the way he'd thought of him, but never quite stops adoring him either.
10406 Morgontain Dies -- a memorial service is attended by approximately 10000 people... many she'd Bred, or their offspring, Hunters, and Steed Racers. A small number of her projects, offspring and Slaves or Bonds received her Hunt Park, steed racing areas and breeding facilities. All the rest of Morgontain's stuff went to the many of her myriad children and friends, nothing more than 5LU to any of them, however. She did leave specific cell samples to specific Breeders.
10450 Engell tries bringing Tresis home, sending Vanya to Neres to do it. You did know that Tresis is his grandfather, didn't you? Now you do.
High Owner Status finally approved in Tana, at which point many Owners start retitling.
10451 With the help of Vionn and Juvon, Vanya brings Tresis to Fi'ir, quits Alabaster, and sells off all Fi'ir Holds.
10452 Vanya expands the Behat Homestead to a fully functional Breeding and Interrogation lab, working solo.
With them both on the same continent, Tresis has a little more contact with his old buddy Etan, who starts it up again with Archie and the race for domination... this time with some of the existing breeders and new blood.
10465-480 High Owner Status adopted in Zerin, Kiran and Curra, and from here on out people may be born into it.
10650 Breeders allowed to specialize without adding a Status, and may be born into their raw Breeder status after this point without the need for a secondary Status. Healer, Psyche Healers and Psionic Healers are all established as offshoots.
11000 Population of Zekira is estimated at 102 million, Neres native population is decreasing rapidly.
11001 Archeria begins activating the clones to start this process all over again.
11000-13000 The Age of Specialization has begun in earnest. The new Breeding category of B6a has been instituted, though many normal Breeders never hear of it. The amazing results of this Breeding allow for such special people to be created that many of them are never shown off in public. They often cannot breed with normal people due to… um, special physical needs. (You try breeding with a completely electric being!)