“I made up an answer to believe in; myths are our beliefs.”
Around the time of Anret’s birth, a stunning development had occurred within the Peri. Though the exact date and year, which have been lost in the midst of Time’s mist, are unknown, everything that led up to this moment has not. The species, which was created when Cosme formed the first humans, Prita and Pretu, out of boulders, had evolved and expanded greatly in ninety years or so. As their descendants scattered themselves across the isle, the general nature of a human began to be set and defined.
As a people, they were clever and inquisitive, and loved to drink from the breast of knowledge. They wanted all knowledge within their grasp, as they knew that it and power were synonymous with each other. When they didn’t know the reason behind something that occurred in nature, they would either just make up an answer (hence mythology) or devote all their spare time to finding one through science. Their devotion to and zest for learning was admirable, and learning enriched their lives and minds.
Knowledge opened their eyes, and by doing so, inflated their egos and corrupted their souls. Thanks to it, they knew that the life they led wasn’t the only one that they could lead. They realised that they could do bigger and better things than the animals they hunted, and accomplish feats that even Time’s fatal mist could never destroy, leaving their names embedded in history forever. The possibilities for them were endless! Why, they could even claim this country, this land, as their own and rule it! No one else had thought of this idea, and nothing is a match for man, so it ought to be easy!
However, it wasn‘t. In fact, it was almost as though the entirety of the human race had thought the last three sentences of the paragraph above at the exact same time. The children of Prita and Pretu had splintered off of the Prihirs almost a century ago, and their descendants’ families all claimed the island of Ernalda as their own only to find that their cousins were challenging their claims. And as the race was too young and too animal for a diplomatic solution to cross their minds, knowledge begot greed, and greed begot a war that would rage on for almost a millennium.
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When this war began, there were ten or so human families in Ernalda, eight of which are mentioned just below. Those eight families were the oldest in all of Ernalda, and the members of each one were initially descended from at least two of Prita and Pretu’s eight children to survive infancy, save for one. All of them were main belligerents in the war. They are as of follows:
•The Derls, in the north-northwest of Ernalda;
descended from Ærea and Arvit Prihir,
•The Serals, in the north-northeast of Ernalda;
descended† from Arvit, Ærea and Lynea Prihir,
•The Hernals, in the northeast of Ernalda;
descended‡ from Habèr, Arvit and Lynea Prihir,
•The Aralls, in the east-northeast of Ernalda;
descended from Habèr, Lynea and Mantea Prihir,
•The Prihirs, in the southeast of Ernalda;
descended from Irant and Mantea Prihir,
•The Irtas, in the centre of Ernalda;
also descended from Mantea and Irant Prihir,
•The Marens, in the southwest of Ernalda;
descended from Mantea, Irant and Feru Prihir and
•The Tursarìs, in the south-southwest of Ernalda;
descended from Vesata Prihir.
Murn had slept with Vesata Prihir (254-288) in the year 271, resulting in the birth of the first demigod, Irsat Tursarì (tursarì being Ætani for "divine blood.") However, Murn never had many affairs after this (the few he had included one with Erea Maren; this will be discussed later) until shortly after Anret was born. Eventually, every Erneldan would be at least distantly descended from Murn.
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As Lythe grew more and more populated throughout the years, many people left their families to strike out on their own due to miscellaneous reasons. For some of those people, it was because of a disagreement with the rest of their family over something. For others, it was because they were disowned and exiled by their family’s Ira Hirnu or Ira Merna (patriarch or matriarch.) Still others were torn by the war and wanted to escape from all the insanity. This act was called “splintering,” as these people were splinters that broke apart from the main block of wood, the Prihir family.
Splintering was the most common in the first two centuries of human existence, when the human race was still expanding, even though the practice continued for several centuries afterwards. In every single generation for 200 or so years, there was at least one child that splintered off. Many people who splintered often had children with other people that had splintered, raising them under a different surname. This created something called a “splinter clan.” Below, there’s a list that shows some, but not all, of such families. It is noted that technically, the Prihir family is the only non-splinter clan.
Splintered from Prihir: Derl, Seral, Hernal, Irta, Tursarì
Splintered from Derl: Ædla, Kavra, Æru,
Dedra, Ilan, Inten, Sarlyn, Verl, Ìursa, Edrent, Tèvet, Avnìl
Splintered from Seral: Siri, Ætru, Lir, Mælyn, Leran, Arvita, Sern,
Nedra, Eral, Nera, Derul, Armen, Arlun, Hern, Bèrìur, Rivet, Vilder
Splintered from Hernal: Asarì, Ataria, Ethelda, Arell, Altelda,
Teryn, Arall, Irlyn, Verlyn, Faret, Asten, Teren, Bèrta, Lyda, Alver, Sìn
Splintered from Rena††: Hira, Malyn, Malet, Vel, Renth, Veleut,
Kylet, Kerdi, Herell, Hitren, Meler, Serel, Melyn, Kante, Herea, Daret, Nidante, Idel
Splintered from Irta: Dera, Bèret, Etra, Irvîa, Sanvi,
Irante, Inaret, Lida, Maren, Santeta, Eldet, Ferlyn, Feren, Ferler, Amel
Splintered from Tursarì: Nirenta, Santra, Kiret, Filyn, Kelar,
Ilnid, Eline, Stefer, Irsarì, Eldme, Nilyn, Lansar, Hiset, Prisar, Alet, Safera
†Arvit’s sons with Ærea took the surname of Seral, while their daughters became Derls. A similar thing happened with Mantea and Irant Prihir: Irant’s sons kept the surname of Prihir, while his daughters with Mantea took the surname of Irta. Both the Irta and Derl families (the ruling families of Irta and Lantene respectively) have a matriarchy in place, though the former’s is noticeably more oppressive.
‡Habèr Prihir (246-284) had children with both his sister Lynea and the daughter that she had with Arvit, Lyne Seral. One of his children with Lynea was Bèreu Hernal I, who, with his aunt Mantea, brought the Aralls into being. However, the descendants of his son with Lyne, Habèr Hernal I, are the rulers of Arene.
††More than six centuries after Irant Prihir I’s death in the year 318, the most direct descendants of the first humans--Irant's direct descendants--renamed themselves “Rena,” the Ætani word for “heiress.” The act of renaming themselves was meant to honour Jurette Prihir II, an Irena whose efforts in bringing peace between the realms of Dervi and Aralyn culminated in her murder.
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