Jenolites

  

Scriptural narrative

Matriarchal Era

An archetypal seeing stone associated with the Jenolite culture of c. 2800–1000 AA.

In the scriptural narrative, the Jenolites trace their origins to a series of cultural heroes, the first of which being the matriarch Mothúdul. After proving herself by solving a puzzle (presented either on a seeing stone or from a shadag), Mothúdul established a sacred well in the Pass of Hands and debated the Lord of Clouds, traditionally held to be an Oratian magistrate. Because of her intervention, there broke out a Battle of Twelve Kings, resulting in Mothúdul’s first cousin, Goul, leading a tribe from Orat into the mountains. Having completed this task, he turned into a rock pillar after meditating in the sea for 22 days. Mothúdul became miraculously pregnant, and gave birth to the patriarch Zurduli after twelve months of gestation. The narrative associates each of the descendants of Zurduli as becoming progenitors of the tribes of the continent, who gradually replaced the indigenous inhabitants of the land, and defeated their divine patrons the Ijorunn. The sons of Zurduli competed to earn his blessing, by collectively conquering 13 cities and performing miraculous feats. However, his daughter Qordul performed the greatest feat by flying to heaven, causing Zurduli to bless her line as being eternal priests. The story of Zurduli ends with a vision on his deathbed of a future great revealing.

Qordul leads a great multitude of tribes into the Land of Stargalon where she meets the god Jana’ah and receives several prophecies. The tribes construct a temple in Jana’s Grove, after which two Heaveners appear, who guard its entrance with flaming swords. The tribes disperse, losing knowledge of the location of the Grove (or alternatively the Grove leaves the human realm). Qordul anoints a young warrior named Panonpalo, and tasks him with uniting the land in the name of Jana, before descending into a cave and disappearing. Under Panonpalo, the people do battle with the Oratians, who are stopped in battle by the sound of Mothúdul’s Horn. After forty years, Panonpalo conquers a kingdom stretching across all of Stargalon and conquers the holy city of Zor, which is called Zorqojanyahol (“the mound of the most high god”). An election selects Joreh as the first Regent of god, after which Panonpalo dies of his wounds after wrestling an orca named Shaviouth.

Book of Bargains

The Book of Levitations ends with the death of Panonpalo, but the Janist scriptural narrative picks up with the Book of Bargains, also known as the "Jenolite Book of Kings". Arjalah inherited the lands of Panonpalo, establishing a centralized government across the entire Stargalon Valley. He created a magnificent court in the city of Kara, which consisted of dozens of distinguished princes and warriors from across all "thirteen cities of the Jenolites". Arjalah's "Court of Kara" is the focus of many epic traditions, several of which are recorded in the Book of Bargains, but also supplemented by local folklore. Among their adventures includes the slaying of many fire giants (Ijorunn), and in one case the hunting of a mountain-sized boar, the Gennasha. The main focus of the Janist scriptures is to establish a continuity from Panonpalo to Arjalah, and from there the rest of the Zurjuli dynasty down to the Oratian conquest. The most prominent member of this court is Ambinian, the legendary military leader and progenitor of the patrons of the prophet Gúlijalah, who's life and exploits are further detailed in the Book of Gúlijalah.

Arjalah was succeeded as king by his son Carvo "the Wise", who relocated the capital from Kara to his own city of Zarpatulr. Carvo had a vast imagination and insatiable curiosity, and he desired to expand his knowledge and wisdom by testing every physical and magical phenomenon on Earth. So he constructed a vast network of underground chambers, extending for thirty fathoms beneath the city of Zarpatulr. These chambers would contain hundreds of unique objects or experiments, ranging from the mundane to otherworldly in nature. For example, one chamber was designed to measure the maximum length a cricket can jump, while another contained a Seeing Stone linked to a world of evil spirits. Still other chambers had various monsters imprisoned, such as men with the heads of dogs or bulls. Carvo is often depicted as rather callous if not irresponsible for the lives of those in charge of conducting these experiments, some of whom would never see the light of the Sun ever again. But he believed that the revelation of new knowledge and wisdom was worth the risk, which the Janist scriptures depicts as an admirable virtue.

When Carvo died, he willed the kingdom to his only daughter, Cheljal. Cheljal was described as a fierce and brave warrior, a cut above her peers in terms of agility and proficiency with weapons. She was betrothed to marry Cybo the son of Ambinian, and by the time of Carvo's death they had grown steadily fond of each other. However, Carvo's sister Galodin immediately seized the throne in a coup, placing Cheljal under arrest. Galodin transformed the chambers of Zarpatulr from a house of learning into a prison, re-arranging the corridors to become a labyrinth of confusing passageways, and there she locked up Cheljal and all her political supporters in the deepest part of the maze. As for the handsome Prince Cybo, Cheljal planned to forcefully take his hand in marriage in Cheljal's absence. But Cheljal allied with an imprisoned sorcerer named Wetul, and together the two of them managed to escape the maze after overcoming many trials and tribulations.

In a rather colorful and dramatic passage, Cheljal managed to defeat Queen Galodin and rescue her true love. However, it was at this point that Wetul revealed his true intentions, and using a magic spell he banished both Cheljal and Galodin back into the labyrinth, taking control of the kingdom for himself. After putting aside their differences, the two women worked together to escape the maze once again, and confront the evil sorcerer in a final battle. Cheljal used a Seeing Stone to banish Wetul to the dark side of the Moon, finally putting the conflict to an end. Cheljal was then crowned as Queen of Stargalon, with Cybo as her faithful consort. She relocated the capital back to the city of Zor, and before long the city of Zarpatulr had become totally abandoned and forgotten. Later in her life, Cheljal erected a monument to Lady Biomi.

Book of Malisons

High priestess Lanonsyoni turning two "prophets of accursed Melash" into serpents, from a 16th century engraving.

The subsequent Book of Malisons abruptly transitions to a setting in which "the ancient laws and obligations were most often forgotten", and Stargalon is divided into multiple regencies and tribes, further disturbed by the arrival of "Travelers from the Sea". The story retells the previous election of Joreh, revealed as Jana's Regent after solving the "Mystery of the Eleven Birds". It is then recounted how a curse was placed on the line of Arjalah, because "he claimed the title of most high". The rest of the book is divided into six individual stories, each focusing on a different hero or leader.

In the first story, the high priestess Lanonsyoni is asked by Arjalah to cede the treasures of Zor to him, so that he might melt them down to create a spear capable of slaying the Gennasha. Instead, Lanonsyoni grants him a feather, stating that faith through Jana would make the feather as powerful as a spear. Arjalah kills the Gennasha (just as in the Book of Bargains), but feels emboldened with the power of the feather to seek out more fame and glory. He hunts down "the Gennasha's mother" on the "Island of Dagen" and attacks it as well, but is mortally wounded in the battle; Lanonsyoni remarks that the forces of Jana cannot be misused for evil intents. In the second story, a "chief of Kara" angered by the death of Arjalah named Tuunosha requests that Carvo the Wise (also known as Carvoquabosh) join an alliance against Lanonsyoni for "selling defective amulets". Carvo instead decrees that Lanonsyoni receive a chance to defend herself. An army descends on Zor, and a contingent of 700 priests and seers challenges the high priestess to a duel. Lanonsyoni performs a series of miracles, including walking on water while the 700 priests drown in their attempt. Convinced of the power of Jana, Tuunosha performs a sacrifice and declares he will repay Lanonsyoni for his insults. Angered by the killing of the 700 priests, a priestess of the Crooked Finger tribe, called the Juqonishi ("Ambivalent One"), shapeshifts into Tuunosha's form, but is discovered as she does not wear one of the defective amulets. The Kara chiefs slaughter the Crooked Finger army; Tuunosha is mortally wounded in the fighting but dies satisfied his life repays the debt for his family. Carvo gives praise to the amulets, which are called more useful than previously imagined, and donates Tuunosha's as an offering to the city of Zor.

The third story describes the Return of Joreh. A highly poetic section, the Return of Joreh is often read as a metaphor for the turning of seasons, the cycle of life, or as an etiology for the phenomenon of nostalgia. Joreh's exit for which he is returning is never explained – although he is praised for traveling to "a state of contemplation" – and now an old man he comments on the things he no longer recognizes. After a grand parade, Joreh learns that he has predeceased his son, Neporquel. He visits his grandson, Herongisda and delivers a prophecy:

Hark! Thine own hour will beset the next sons, yet
I saw a speck of life outside such griefs,
whence hands hardly find a tear, inasmuch pain passes,
fathers don't grow old, fires never turn to ashes,
suns don't set, tire not for the day not relent,
passionate peace awaits, I dreamt

— Malisons 4:16

Qenangida going into the custody of Ambinian in the presence of two shadags, in a carving from the 3rd century AA.

The story concludes with Joreh falling asleep under a willow tree, becoming one with the roots. In the fourth story, the widow of Arjalah, Dagihasi remains bitter at the priests of Zor for the death of her husband. Stealing items from the Chambers of Zarpatulr, she creates stilts that make her as large as a giant. She gains a following of widows, wounded soldiers, orphans, and urban poor in Zarpatulr and takes this army to a hill outside the city. Founding her own throne, the Dagihasites collect the wounded and the dead from the battlefields of Stargalon for many years and create a powerful fortress. The city of Kara languishes without its common people, so Carvo dispatches Ambinian to make peace. Ambinian travels to the court of Dagihasi, who declares she will relent if Ambinian enacts vengeance on Lanonsyoni. However, when Ambinian travels to Zor he learns that Lanonsyoni is no where to be seen; her daughter Qenangida relays that she has turned into a great lake, and asks, "must you take vengeance on the water despite the plight of the fish?" Ambinian takes Qenangida captive instead. Dagihasi allows people back to the cities and the field but keeps her fortress intact, and soon after there is famine and plague in the lands around Kara. Qenangida while in captivity meditates and enters Carvo's dreams, during which she duels the prophets of Kara and defeats them. Moved by this dream, Carvo travels to the court of Dagihasi and tearfully reconnects with his mother. Thus is made the Dagihasi Promise that charity shall always be extended to the poor, and Qenangida is released with a promise that Stargalon will always keep and respect the priestesses in Zor.

The fifth story begins after the death of Cybo, and a description of how the court of Kara languished and fought amongst itself due to the influence of the foreign attendants of Biomi. Several sons of the late ruler do battle with each other, including Skeniraqa, Ononduaga, and Yotungilah, who each go their separate ways and lead separate tribes. During this time arises the Great Prophet (later identified as Gúlijalah), who sings songs of the future adventures of the Cyboites and prophesizes the fall of Kara. The youngest son, Yotungilah, deciphers a Seeing Stone's riddle using the words of Gúlijalah, learning that the artifacts of Jana have not been properly venerated based on the deciphered instructions. He undertakes several labors and recovers these artifacts, laying them to rest in a Sarcophagus of Ancients. Carrying the Sarcophagus into battle, Yotungilah defeats his brothers and seizes the remnants of the kingdom, although several chiefs rebuke him. Ordered to repay his victories by depositing the Sarcophagus at Zor, Yotungilah does so, but steals a ring from the Sarcophagus before doing so. He builds a new palace in the city, then begins a series of conquests lasting forty years. The tribes of Stargalon meanwhile pay upkeep to the temple at Zor.

The final story begins in the reign of Herongisda's son Morqulayah, who slowly unites the tribes of Stargalon in a new alliance. In one instance, he destroys a tribe worshipping Biomi'ah with Mothúdul’s Horn. He seeks to sail to the Island of Dagen, but finds the island is gone and the seas too fierce to continue; his ship wrecks and he loses the horn in the process. Nonetheless he slays a Stoneman named Asneviramnah on the coast, causing the Great Prophet to summon him to Zor. There it is again prophesized the end of Kara, most especially after they are cursed for the theft of Jana's Ring. Morqulayah attempts to relay this information to Yotungilah, but the old king finds the weight of the ring weighs him down from fleeing. The Smiting of Kara occurs, when a great blast ascends from the sky and levels the city; Morqulayah flees with the last of Arjalah's house. The Great Prophet gathers the many tribes, who swear the Peace Oath. They promise to follow the ancient laws, to support and protect the independent priests of Zor, to rule kindly by one another, and to "never relent to a king". The "Mothers of Stargalon" come together in a council, and 11,870 men volunteer to serve the priests of Zor (later nicknamed "Jana's Elect").

Historical Jenolites

Based on archaeological evidence, the majority of modern scholars consider the story of the matriarchs to be national myth narratives constructed centuries later. The story of Mothúdul, traditionally dated to 1300 AA, may speak to a cultural memory of migration out of the Oratian region into Stargalon, with the story of the Twelve Kings being related to the civil wars that transpired during the fall of the Middle Kingdom. The oldest historically-confirmed monarchs in the Jenolite scriptures are several generations removed from Mothúdul, although the earlier matriarchs may preserve some historical reality. It has also been proposed that the Jenolite narrative drew inspiration from the Kalleanite Exodus. However, most historians reject a migratory conquest model as there is no widespread evidence of a separate people group migrating into Stargalon from Orat in settlement remains. Instead it is proposed that the Jenolites began as a branch of the indigenous Stargalonians who gradually differentiated themselves through their religion centered around the worship of Jana. The Jenolites may have also been the descendants of peoples settled in the region after the establishment of the New Kingdom in Orat, based on inscriptions of Miktal the Restorer, which allude to pushing back “the Split Mountain Host” and subjugating several tribes of the east. The historical matriarchs are believed to have likely worshiped the Stargalonian god Dul’uh, which is preserved in the names of the matriarchs and key locations containing linguistic reference to “dul”, such as in Mothúdul and Qordul. In Jenolite scripture, the word “dul” is also used as a generic term meaning “lord” in several passages, before the use of the name Jana after Levitations 11:3. Scholars have proposed that this text is likely a composite of two separate sources, one preserving the story of Dul worship, which incorporates more spiritual traditions associated with his cult, and a story of the Janist tradition, in which Jana is anthropomorphized as speaking to Qordul.

Many historians have attempted to connect the events of the Jenolite scriptures with the destructive civil conflict that occurred in the Middle Kingdom of Orat, called the War of Five Kings (1282-1265 AA). This is slightly later than the traditional date from the Jenolite Calendar, but according to Poth's revised chronology this can be reconciled by reinterpreting a few chronological references in the Book of Bargains. While there isn't any contemporary evidence for Goul's exodus, there are many examples of mass emigrations of foreign tribes in the last years of the Middle Kingdom, and at least one source implies that a similar event happened at some point in the past. While this theory has a strong following, especially adherents of Poth's revised chronology, it is not the leading view of most academics.

For a long time, it was theorized that the Stargalonian religion was directly inspired by the Pre-Douist polytheistic religion of Ancient Orat, due to many similarities between the two. For example, the Ijorunn bear similarities to the Predynastic demigods that are also referenced in the Kallean scriptures, and Jana himself may be a counterpart of the Ona Cult. Jana's Grove may be connected to the "Tree of Life" motif found in Predynastic Oratian tombs. This theory has lost much of its support in recent years, however. It is now believed that these connections are actually remnants of a hypothetical Proto-Methonan religion which existed sometime before 3000 AA, from which both the Oratians and Stargalonians descend.

The Panonpalo Cycle is linguistically and conceptually linked to the later Book of Gúlijalah, which likely represents a national myth of the Gúlijalist school meant to retroactively justify the unification of Stargalon, as it proposes the tribes had a common origin centuries prior despite a lack of evidence for such a unified state. In the process of compiling the Janist scriptures, it is possible that the Panonpalo Cycle formed as a hybrid of multiple local legends throughout the Stargalon Valley, where the local heroes of each city were synthesized into one person. Ambinian and Arjalah of Kara are two possible prototypes for this epic. While the Book of Bargains distinguishes Arjalah and Panonpalo as two separate individuals, other sources such as the Songs of Jatom seem to use their names interchangeably, leading some scholars to refer to Arjalah as "Panonpalo II Arjalah".

Archaeology confirms the thirteen principal cities of the Stargalon Valley date back to at least the 13th century AA, and were built on top of older settlements that are Neolithic in origin. The leaders in Zor commanded the greatest respect among the Jenolites, on account of the holy sites in that city that are sacred to the Janist faith. However, as previously mentioned the archaeology suggests that these cities operated as completely independent polities, and at no time were part of a unified kingdom. It is often suggested that the "Court of Kara" and similar conferences in the Book of Bargains alludes to a loose confederacy of states, of which Zor may have been hegemon. The supposed "Labyrinth of Zarpatulr" has captured the imagination of many historical enthusiasts and amateur archaeologists down through the centuries, leading to dozens of expeditions trying to find some trace of the city or its wonderous chambers. For now, however, the city's existence remains shrouded in myth.

The traditions associated with the city of Zor and its religious order within the Jenolite scripture is commonly attributed to an independent "Hieratic Source", estimated to have arisen after the 8th century AA. According to the Multitextual Theory, earlier sources for the books of Bargains and Levitations were compiled by a priestly class established in or centered around the city. Levitations would have been edited and augmented with the addition of about a third of its modern content by these priests, mostly to retroactively justify the existence of the subsequent priestly order by rooting it in ancient foundational myths. While several textual clues persist pointing to an original form of the story, which may potentially speak to authentic religious beliefs of the 13th century AA, the text has been shaped to reflect later practice. Notably, the later half of Levitations features Qordul establishing a priestly line that's given supreme sovereignty. There is also several doublets regarding Mothúdul, such as alternate versions of the carrying of the altars. Likewise, the Book of Bargains contains several framing devices meant to imply a great curse upon the House or Arjalah for claiming the title of king, leading scholars to believe the text is an editing of a foreign dynastic mythology to conform to a pro-Zorist religious understanding.

There is a jarring contradiction between the setting of Bargains and Malisons: the former implies the land was unified under a monarch, in which several rival cities and peoples have been annihilated (e.g. Jasur, Paquldoron, Musgistli, Nour) while the latter picks up with these peoples coexisting with Jenolites and no unified monarchy to speak of. Similarly, archeological excavations of early iron age settlements indicate no evidence of a violent conquest around the time of a historical Arjalah; Paquldoron notably was uninhabited from about 1,800 to 1,000 AA (the exception is Musgustli, for which there is definitive evidence of a great fire around the year 1,250 AA, the city's foundations being built over). The Book of Malisons is mostly attributed to the Hieratic School, especially concerning its anti-monarchical, pro-Zorist themes, which seek to establish the supremacy of a transregional priestly city state centered at Zor. Although all the stories of the text follow this narrative goal, it is likely that the six stories featured in the text were originally different regional traditions and heroic narratives, which were later adapted into a shared mythology. This is most evidenced by the apparently parallel dynasties of Joreh and Arjalah, which are affectively two separate monarchies that have become coexistent and intertwined.

Writing System

Stargalon script is a pictographic writing system which first appears in the 14th century AA. While it is the oldest known writing system in northeast Methona, it was rarely used prior to the tenth century AA. The earliest samples of this writing system are inscribed on Seeing Stones, which are religious monuments meant to intercede with the gods or other mystical beings. Janist scriptures imply there to be over a hundred such monuments at one time or another, but so far only 38 have been uncovered. Outside of these divinatory inscriptions, much of the history and laws of the Jenolites were kept strictly by oral tradition.

Starting in the tenth century AA, there was a dramatic shift towards literacy among the elites, which is when some of the earliest books of Janist scriptures date from. Many non-religious forms of literature have also been identified from this time, such as a cache of letters found in the city of Kara. This shift is most often attributed to the influence of Orat, after part of the region was annexed by Reman the Great in 970 AA.

Notes

1.^In Jenolite literature, seeing stones are described as large pillars erected in wilderness regions, usually containing a cryptic inscription. The Book of Bargains as well as several Songs of Jatom preserve the view of the seeing stones as being portals to other dimensions or locations, allowing supernatural figures to look through the stone on those in the human realm. Their inscriptions were said to be riddles, codes, and incantations meant to open the portal and reveal divine knowledge. Bargains describes the Mothúdul Stone as being erected by divine powers, while the Epistle of Jasjurdo implies it was raised by giants.

2.^The nature of the shadags are unclear, although later depictions imply they were heavenly beings with mixed humanoid and canine features. Alternatively, it has been proposed that the shadag myth preserves an ancient belief in other divine beings, which were later revised to a role as supernatural messengers.

3.^Usually translated as “fire giants”, from the Gezic root words “ij” meaning “fire” and “oror” meaning “impressive”. Based on the Book of Levitations, the Ijorunn are described as powerful beings with snake-like appendages and heads, and in popular culture have been depicted as being giant in height. However, based on literary reconstruction it has been proposed that the Ijorunn were initially viewed as an alternative set of deities associated with the city of Larchulam, whose worship involved the use of snake augury. The use of snake imagery in depictions of the Ijorunn is theorized to represent a priestly school of thought associated with distancing the Jenolites from the Larchulamian traditions.

4.^Lady Biomi is a divine figure of Janism, also known as the "daughter of Jana". She was initially worshipped as a deity in her own right, but in the Venerable Era her status was reduced to more of a divine helper or shadag. Those who connect the the Jenolites to the Kalleanite Exodus point out linguistic similarities between Biomi and Bomi, who was the wife of the Prophet Hobin.

5.^The poem of the Mystery of the Eleven Birds is widely considered by scholars of ancient Jenolite language to be among the oldest passages in the entire Jenolite scriptural tradition, with some scholars placing the text as early as the 14th century AA. It notably uses several linguistic constructions that would have been largely alien to Iron Age Jenolites, based on comparison with later texts, as well as mythological allusions not seen elsewhere in the Jenolite scripture. The abrupt shift in language has led historians to assume this text was inserted into an otherwise far more recent section.

6.^The Hieratic Source in the Jenolite scripture frequently claims that the sole king of the land is Jana, preferring the title of "regent" for secular rulers who serve Jana in the human realm. Lending credence to a multi-textual compilation, in the previous Book of Bargains as well as elsewhere in the scripture the title of "king" is applied to human rulers regardless, and evidently kingship would not be unheard of in the late Jenolite period.

7.^The Jenolite scriptural narrative gives almost no information about the Gennasha's mother and lacks a proper description. Based on only one other mention in passing, the Song of Vyasoni, it is implied that the Gennasha's mother was a normal sized boar, adding to the message of Arjalah's surprise defeat. In the apocryphal Tadunoshopi Letter (dated to the 4th century AA), the Gennasha reappears with no reference to boar characteristics whatsoever.

8.^The story of Dagihasi's vengeance is commonly read as a parable of "not punishing the daughter for the sins of the mother", which appears to be an innovation on the part of the Jenolite scripture, compared to other contemporary law codes of the region.