Samca Profile

Marcas Brian MacStiofin Mhait Domhnill

25 August 2015

A Brief History of the Samca

Kingdom
And the origin of Ohare's people

The arrival and progression of the Samca civilisation

The Island Ohare was first settled by the Samca people in approximately 10,000BR.
The people originally came from what is now Modern Day Sadari where they lived by
hunting and gathering. It's hard to say when Ohare was first discovered as the ancestors of
the Samca would hunt and gather during the summer on the mainland sustaining themselves
mostly on the dtait, a large wild bovine, and travel by boat to Ohare for the winter where they
would hunt seabirds that nest on the high cliffs. Their trips to Ohare lasted a few weeks before
returning back home. This back and forth lifestyle continued for a long time until disease
struck on the mainland in 10,000BR. The disease never infected a single person but rather it
infected the dtait population and it devastated their numbers, this also meant that the people
that depended on them went hungry. In this time of desperation the people fled to a place
they knew and where they could find food...Ohare. This migration to Ohare was permanent
and the people were there to stay.
They originally lived in settlements by the Island's west coast and survived by hunting
the seabirds as they already knew how to do this. As the population slowly began to increase
the settlements started to push inland into new territory circa 9000BR and developed a basic
form of agriculture where they planted seeds and harvested the the fruits and grain in simple
plots of land. The weather wasn't the most predictable owing the coastal nature of the island,
as such it was difficult to predict when rain would fall. To answer this the Samca developed
irrigation agriculture. Simple troughs were dug which lead from nearby streams or rivers and
ran by plots of land. Each trough or smisuje had a fork where it turned into two smisuje, the

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fork was placed not far from the water source so that after the fork one smisuje would lead
back into the original water source while the other lead to the desired location. This was so
that if a plot of land had enough water the smisuje could be blocked at the fork where the
water would drain into the smisuje that lead back into the original source. This type of land
management allowed greater control over the environment and greater yield of food which in
turn lead to more people. Over the centuries the simple troughs became greater canals called
suo which allowed water to be directed far from the original source allowing settlements to
push into new areas. Each suo would run from one (or several) original water sources and
funnel it where desired where it would break up into smaller smisuje which would feed
individual plots of land. The use of canals also took the focus away from living by the coast
and larger settlements rose around the larger suo, usually near to where the original source
was. As the settlements grew larger they required more management to keep track of
harvests, water flow in the canals, trading with other settlements etc. and to manage this a
group of people were put in charge to oversee everything. The asuo (from a 'above' + suo
'canal') managed the canals. The abi (from a 'above' + bija 'to eat') managed the handling of
harvests, distribution of food and trade. The ason (from a 'above' + sonja 'to help') managed
with the struggles of the people, helped solve disputes, recomponstated thefts or losses etc.
then there was the ans (from a 'above' + nos 'all') who oversaw the rest of the group and
kept his eye on the bigger picture. In times of war the ans would lead an army while the
ason would manage in his absence.
Over the centuries as the settlements grew these positions became more than just
managing canals and crops...they became positions to rule. In fact the word ans in Modern
Samca means 'king' and the asuo, abi and ason began to act as counselors to the king with
less power over their original positions. Instead the ans managed the whole thing making all
the decisions while the counselors act out those decisions in their respective fields. By the year
8000BR several city states (mosta) had sprung up around the main water sources and each had
their own ruling ans. Along the lesser canals towns (sma) appeared and along the smisuje
villages (sea) remained. The mosta gained control over the surrounding areas whose water
drained from said mosta's water source by threatening to cut off the water supply as they had
control over the source and therefore ultimate control of the lesser canals which drained from
it. If a mosta cut off the water supply to a certain area it could harm the crops, prevent travel
to and from that area as by this time people had begun to travel on barges along the canals for

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trade so cutting off the water supply will also cut off trade for the area which means less food
to buy and sell. Due to this many smas and seas made sure to keep the dominant mosta
happy by providing tributes and taxes, with the added benefit of protection...the mosta had to
protect its investments after all. This method of agriculture was efficient enough and
produced enough food that not everyone had to be a farmer to sustain themselves, people
could now be artisans, smiths, merchants or full time soldiers. Every mosta worth its cause
had its own army. Through this method several small kingdoms arose across Ohare and from
this full wars erupted over the island. Most wars were about control over the canals and trade
etc but some wars were centred around royal family disputes and such. This marked the
beginning of the Age of Coalescence which saw political alliances and unions rise and fall
and rise again. After a period of tumult one royal family gained control over all the kingdoms
and merged them to form the Kingdom of Ohare in 7,200BR. With the whole island under
the rule of one Kingdom times of peace followed, save for the few changes in dynasties and
such the kingdom itself remained firm and strong and also very advanced for their time.
While the Samca were writing poetry and epics in their cities protected by a standing army,
the future capital of the most powerful modern empire, Antagan, was little more than a
shepherd's pasture. While peacefully amongst itself the Ohare Kingdom still had to face the
issue of defending itself from mainland raiders who were little more than barbarians in the
eyes of the Samca. To combat the raiders from the mainland the Samca would often send
elite troops known as the tonaje to confront the enemy in their own turf.
The few and elite tonaje would follow the enemy back to the mainland and track them
down with impeccable skill. The tonaje were only seen when they wanted to be seen so even
when hot on an enemies heels the target would have no clue of the terror awaiting him. The
tonaje often work in small groups or alone which enabled them to go places a whole army
couldn't. The weapons of choice were a small sword held in a sheath on the waist and two
metal ojet or 'bear's hands' which were metal gloves with incredibly sharp retractable claws.
A blow from a ojet could swipe a man's face off if needed. The tonaje wore a black robe
with a hood which had its edges tucked under a mask of hardened wood and typically with a
smiling expression with large wooden fangs and slightly angered eyes. The eye holes
themselves were covered with a finely carved black rock called se with thin yellow irises
painted on them, the thin but strong rock allowed the wearer to see through the mask but any

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other observer would meet ink black eyes with a yellow ring staring back at them, needless to
say these elite warriors made an impressive sight.

A Tonaje warrior

An extreme example of Samca's justice is when a collection of tribes known as the

Masgodi continually harassed the Kingdom by travelling to the island's rural and less defended
areas, often at nighttime and raided along the coast and took slaves along the way. The people
of the Kingdom were so enraged that fierce action was taken. The tonaje were sent after
raiders but the Royal army soon followed it. First the elite soldiers snuck into the raider's

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settlements and during the night slaughtered as many men of power as they could. The next
morning the Masgodi rose to find their leaders lying outside on the ground arm to arm in a
line with their chest cavities totally hollowed out...except for their heads which were cut off
from their shoulders and put inside the open and empty chests. Soon after morning the royal
army charged on the raiders in their homeland and slaughtered all the men...the Samca had
strict rules against slaying woman and children, the women were left to flee with their
daughters while the sons were taken prisoner and brought back to Ohare where they worked
as slaves until they reached maturity when they were all executed. The slaughter of the
Masgodi was so absolute that there is no more Masgodi left at all (The surviving women fled
west or south and either died in the wilderness or married into other tribes).

Family structure
Food
Beliefs
The Samca are a fairly religious people and practice On Soam and worship a pantheon
of gods. Unlike many other religions of Toriel the gods of On Soam don't represent tangible
qualities such as the Jaawn goddess of rivers Kaura or the Wasgar Badan ma euranes who is the
god of a single bay. Instead On Soam has gods being the manifestations of mental states as
the religion promotes inward mental observation and balance (the name On Soam itself
means 'the reflection'). Some of the On Soam gods are:
Folnar: God of Survival, Duty and Responsibility
Stobur: God of Enjoyment, Laughter and fulfilment
Sonjar: Goddess of Generosity and selflessness
Remjar: God of Drunkenness
Burojar: God of Curiosity, Eagerness and Knowledge
Meijar: God of Wisdom, Observation and Kindness.
These name just a few, for the set of gods is open class (meaning that there is no limit to
how many there can be). It is not widely believed that these gods actually exist as separate
entities which rule over their designated character. Rather it is believed that the emotions or

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mental states reflect a balance of energy in the world and that these manifestations of them
are mere representations.
The Samca are a fairly easy going people as far as working is concerned, they condone
pure laziness but also look down upon working too hard at the expense of living life. They
represent this belief in the perception of Folnar and Stobur. These gods are depicted as each
having their arms chained to two posts. The two gods are also standing on a giant log known
as Ismi which is balanced on a giant boulder named Mjatuz. Folnar stands chained at one end
of the log in a light grey tunic with long sleeves and has grey hair and beard with a slight grin.
On the other side of the log Stobur stands chained wearing a heavy black tunic with sleeves
reaching halfway down the upper arm and long black hair while laughing. In the middle of
Ismi is balanced a black pot which has four grey tentacles reaching out of it, this pot is named
Cadens and symbolises the end of things, be it end of a rope or the end of a life. This scene is
often used as a metaphor for balance in life. As if Stobur were to wander free unchained the
log would become unbalanced and Cadens will fall over to Folnar and consume him (meaning
that enjoyment must not overcome responsibility or duty, also interpreted that enjoyment or
quality of life is essential for survival). If Folnar were to walk free unchained then Cadens will
fall over to Stobur and consume him (meaning that life must not be taken too seriously, and
that if one is too serious they will lose fulfilment). And if both spirits walk unchained then
Cadens will fall off the log and down to the land where it will consume the world,
emphasising the importance of balance between responsibility/duty and enjoyment and
fulfilment.

This balancing log scene is also used to promote the religions other morals, for example
material greed is discouraged by saying that if Stobur seeked pleasure from material greed
and gaining objects then his side of the log or Ismi, would become heavier causing Cadens to
fall over to Stobur and consume him, just like how greed can consume a person.
The religion wasn't always like this and at one point in the past the gods did represent
tangible concepts (Stobur was a god of hunting, through this his domain stretched to
encompass challenges in general, and later the god of games). But early in the history when
the first mostas (circa 8000MA) rose, a man named Dazul changed all that. The story goes

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that one day when Dazul was walking along the banks of a canal in the centre of a busy
mosta, a large tentacle burst out of the water and grabbed Dazul and took him out
underwater. This sight and his Dazul's disappearance shocked many people, some believed he
was taken by Cadens, but they were even more surprised when he walked into the mosta
several months later seemingly unharmed. He claimed to have been taken away by a spirit
and whisked away with great speed under the water through the smaller smisujes where he
ended up in a remote place. There he said that he was taught by spirits about the true nature
of the world who claimed that the gods of men were exaggerated stories of a long gone past
and told him of the real spirits. Dazul said little more than that as he was told not to tell
everyone the whole truth, but rather to seek balance with his knowledge. Naturally there were
skeptics but this story of an individual being taken to a remote place and meeting spirits who
tell the person of the 'true nature of things' is mirrored among many cultures (the Somoi call
the person a shia esi and treat them with honour, the Shwne call the person a lage. These
people typically act as a bridge between the human and spirit worlds). But in this time in this
culture this spiritual individual wasn't given much thought. Dazul changed that as instead of
getting people to leave the gods they know, he focused on spreading the main message given
to him which was balance and did this by incorporating it into the pre-existing religion
(Dazul's high status as the son of a asuo no doubt helped people listen to him). He taught
people about mental observation and that the gods can be used to represent the various
mental states, and that by keeping balance in their lives they can keep balance with the gods.
Over time as this philosophy grew the religion placed more emphasis on mental observation
than it did on the gods themselves.
This inward looking would have an odd affect several generations later when the next
'spiritual bridge' was an individual named Ozhabel, a peasant from a rural area in the north
east. Due to his lowly status his supernatural quality went widely unnoticed. He lived a rough
life despite having a good heart and when he was a young man the woman he loved deserted
him and his family disowned him. This caused him a lot of mental pain which caused him to
look inward for balance...except due to his spiritual quality he found something greater. He
didn't quite understand what it was as he hadn't been taught by the spirits yet of what he was.
So in his self destructive pain, angst and inward looking he managed to break the bonds
between his body and soul and managed to walk in Asq or the spirit world. During his
wanderings there he learned to break his identity as a human and took on the spirit form of a

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large, scaly winged beast of ice. But in the human world he remained a man. Eventually his
pain and depression killed him...well his body rather, as by this time his soul was strong
enough to survive on its own, only after his death his beastly form took on a solid form in the
human world...Ozhabel had become an unhuman winged terror. Still angry at humans he
took to the sky an attacked several towns with his breath of ice he buried them in snow and
froze over a large amount of canals...and killed many people in the process. He blew so much
ice and snow that he plunged Ohare into a severe and long winter...crops withered (and with
it trade), canals froze which stopped trade and travel as people struggled to walk long
distances due to the heavy snow. Everyone in Ohare felt the cold but very few knew of
Ozhabel. Afterwards guilt took Ozhabel so he fled Ohare altogether and flew to a northern
snowy continent where he lived in the frozen mountains in his immortal form. As the
millennia passed the last remnants of humanity died in Ozhabel. But he still kept a role of
balance after his anger cooled. Whenever the native people of the northern land broke the
balance he punished them with his terror. In very few occasions he may help people when it
isn't their time to die. This is however a very extreme and rare case of the power of mental
observation mixed with a supernatural individual.

Taboos
Agriculture
Currency
Trade
Clothing
Warfare
Fall of the kingdom
Present day Politics

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Samca learning was encouraged by a king who sponsored alchemists, scientists, linguists
etc to learn more about their fields of interest and report their findings to him where he
published them and displayed the work in books in public libraries.
Some kings built great buildings to show extravagance. Such as great libraries, palaces,
statues (often depicting gods)

Tonaje drawing was created by reddit user /u/olirant

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