History of Milintica

Pre-Huenyan arrival

Before the arrival of the Huenyan refugees from the Xiomeran Empire, the native inhabitants of the islands, the Paora, called their large island Ropata and their smaller island Arepata. The Paora of the time were a hunter-gatherer people, whose society was divided into multiple iwi, or confederations of tribes. These tribes, or hapū, had long fought amongst themselves for access to food and resources, as well as to settle disputes and establish authority. As time went on, however, the constant fighting between the iwi and hapū threatened to wipe out the Paora and bring their society to collapse.

In 1206, the chiefs (ariki) of the Paora met at the village of Taimana, seeking to find a way to end the constant warfare amongst their people in order to ensure their survival. After several months of discussion, the Paora came to an accord which ended warfare among the tribes, allocated resources and land, and established a council of chiefs to ensure somewhat stable governance.

From 1206 to roughly 1300, the Paora tribes' population grew significantly, due to the peace and stability brought on by the Accord of Taimana. However, the surging population began to place a strain on resources, and also began to threaten to bring much of the wildlife on the islands to a state of extinction. By the time of the Huenyan refugees' arrival in 1390, the situation had grown precarious, with many Paora facing a state of starvation.

The Journey of Tlipan

After the defeat of the Necatli at the Battle of Milintica by the Xiomeran Empire, the last of the Huenyan tribes who refused to bow to Emperor Quiauhticue faced a dilemma. If they remained in Huenya, they faced certain death. However, the only other option was to take to the sea.

Huenyans had just begun making their own sailing ships around this time. Primitive designs similar to cogs or junks, the first Huenyan sailing ships borrowed heavily from ship designs from more advanced seafaring nations of the time, such as the nearby Shen. After the Battle of Milintica, at which the Necatli tlatoani Atltōtl was killed, the role fell to his 17-year-old son, Tlipan. Tlipan knew that the forces of Quiauhticue would hunt down and wipe out those Huenyans still fighting the Xiomeran Empire if they remained on their home island. While the Huenyans' best sailing ships were not exactly an armada, the risk of plunging into the unknown with them was still better than the fate they knew they faced if they remained. Gathering as many ships and as much provisions as they could, they began their journey.

The route chosen by Tlipan was based on maps that had been 'acquired' from the Shen, and was deliberately plotted to avoid the routes normally taken by the Shen navy during its patrols. At this time in history, the Shen Empire was still a potent naval power, and running into any Shen fleets would have meant the end of Tlipan's journey. The course to avoid that outcome meant tracing a path around Eiria, then westward along the southern coast of Catica. The maps didn't show very much of what "westward" was, after a certain point. Tlipan and his ships' captains and navigators knew that, sooner or later, they would be in completely uncharted waters.

For the next three months, in ships only capable of traveling 40-60 miles per day under the best of conditions - and sometimes far less distance - Tlipan and his small fleet of primitive sailing ships traveled westward, stopping only occasionally to land at various places to replenish supplies as much as possible. At several points in their journey, the Huenyans had to fight off hostile locals while trying to obtain supplies. Several ships were also lost during the trip. After the "edge" of the known charted area on the Huenyans' purloined Shen map was reached, the Huenyans had no idea where to go. Their only option was to keep sailing until they found a place where they might be able to settle, and be safe from the Xiomerans, before their ships completely failed or their supplies completely ran out.

On October 15th, 1387, an island appeared in the path of the remaining Huenyan ships. Facing a desperate situation at that point, Tlipan decided to land on this unknown island, in the hopes of being able to settle there.

When the ships landed, Tlipan ordered his followers to begin disembarking and setting up shelters, and to look for provisions. It was at this point that the Huenyans and the Paora first encountered each other, in the form of a Paora scout who saw the strange ships disembarking. The scout ran back to his village to warn the chiefs of these new arrivals.

While the Huenyans landing on Ropata were in a desperate state, the Paora, in fact, had troubles of their own. The problem of resource scarcity was becoming acute, and the possibility of starvation very real. The sudden arrival of hundreds of new people, speaking a different language and appearing quite different from the Paora, left the chiefs in a difficult situation. The Paora didn't have much to spare any newcomers, and some of the Paora argued that the newcomers should be forced to leave or fought if they refused. Over the years since the Accord of Taimana, however, the Paora had mostly renounced violence, and the chiefs decided to instead welcome the newcomers and see if perhaps there were any skills or resources the newcomers could provide which would help them with the scarcity problem.

When a delegation of Paora, led by one of the chiefs, went down to the shore to greet the newcomers, the Huenyans were themselves unsure how to react. Some of them felt that the Paora were a threat, and should be responded to aggressively. Tlipan, however, felt that the Huenyans were in no position to start a fight. They were exhausted from their journey, had little supplies left, and had not even established decent shelter. Faced with this reality, Tlipan decided to greet the Paora in a friendly manner and hope for the best.

The first meeting between Tlipan and the Paora chief, Tana Rakena, was one of slow progress. Both sides had, wisely, not brought weapons openly, which made the initial contact easier. In an attempt to transcend the language barrier, Tlipan began drawing pictures in the sand to try to explain to Tana Rakena who the Huenyans were and why they had come. Tana Rakena quickly grasped the attempt at communication, sending a scout back to his village to bring writing materials. The Paora used tree bark as paper, and an ink made from crushed beetles, with sticks sharpened to make crude pens. With a more suitable method of communication, the Huenyans and the Paora began discussions, as well as attempting to figure out each others' languages.

As time went on, and as the Huenyans' settlement on Ropata grew, the relationship between them and the Paora grew into a friendly one. The Huenyans taught the Paora methods of irrigation and farming which had previously been unknown on Ropata and Arepata. They also showed the Paora their ships, which the Huenyans were able to repair with wood from the two islands, and began developing more efficient fishing methods with the Paora. With these changes helping to eliminate the problem of food scarcity, the Paora began to trust the Huenyans, a trust which was reciprocated.

- work in progress