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Reference - The Land of Sitnalta

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Sitnalta




WHO LIVES THERE:  SITNALTIANS



Aingeal's people, the Sitnaltians, are the ones who call this land home. They are some of the last of the tribal Irkens that remained undiscovered by the Irken empire, until the empire deforested the last of the natural areas of Irk. This tribe was as any undiscovered tribe - they had their own proprietary language, their own culture, their own deities. When the Irken empire arrived and found the Sitnaltians there, the Sitnaltians greeted them with gifts and love, but the Irken empire captured them and enslaved them, believing that their inability to communicate made them inferior, and therefore, only suited for mindless slave labor.

It turned out that their inability to communicate also made them really terrible slaves. Even the simplest commands were misunderstood, which caused the Irken overseers to be extremely cruel and angry in retaliation for the Sitnaltians' perceived disobedience, using all kinds of inhumane methods of punishment against them and even killing some of them.

An Irken guard took pity on these people and managed to sneak them out of the compound that they were serving at, leading them to a certain location that contained a cavern hidden in a place on Irk that, to this day, no one knows the location of. How the guard knew about this cavern in the first place is a mystery in itself that only he and the Sitnaltians know. This Irken guard, who they believe to have been gifted by the gods themselves, has been elected their leader and shrinemaster, chosen to keep the Sitnaltians safe and help them rebuild their community, in exchange for their eternal gratitude. He accepted and led them so well that their city became a utopia, in harmony with nature, knowing no pain or strife.

The Sitnaltians are a loving, kind, accepting people who care for one another and the land and animals around them. They are heavily religious and incorporate the values of that religion into every aspect of their lives. They do not develop technology, but instead use crude but effective tools to get things done. Some Sitnaltians also have certain practices that could be considered vaguely magical or mystical, but it is never done in harm or ill will.

They wear long white robes with golden thread trimmings or belts or collars. They all have golden eyes, save for a few with mild genetic mutations, which might have white or pale blue eyes. They have a healthy green glow to their skin from their all-natural lifestyle and vegetarian diet, and due to the way they metabolize the sugar in the fruits they eat, they all smell like fruits and honey, both body-wise and breath-wise. They all do their part to keep up the city, but they can be seen frequently gathering in religious shrines of various sizes, courtyards and gardens to talk, or in times of celebration, they will all gather in the town center and play music and games, dance, and hold a city-wide potluck.

Despite their peaceful ways, their new leader enacted a rule that all Sitnaltians will create weapons and incorporate martial arts into their lives, managing to find a way to mesh the discipline and flow of martial arts with the values of their religion. All Sitnaltians are trained in martial arts and multiple weapons from the age of 5. This is done in order to protect Sitnaltians in some small way, should the Irken empire manage to find their cavern.







WHAT IS SITNALTA:   A BLESSED CITY OF MYTH



At this point, Irkens speak of Sitnalta the way we speak of the lost city of Atlantis, and they speak of Sitnaltians the way we speak of elves or druids or forest sprites. Some believe that they exist, none have actually seen or proven their existence, save for some old artifacts that hint at their existence. Much like the Roanoke Island incident, they are known as the tribe that just simply vanished into thin air. The Irken empire wouldn't admit to enslaving a tribe of their own species, as such things were frowned upon by that point, and Irken citizens were none the wiser about it. Due to big projects like Operation Impending Doom, the Irken empire has bigger fish to fry anyway. They have more or less forgotten about the Sitnaltians as well, which is all that Sitnalta could have hoped for.

Despite the fact that Irkens have forgotten about Sitnalta, the city does seem to have a sort of blessing over it that keeps it safe. If for any reason any Irken thinks about passing by or going to the location near the entrance of the cavern, they are inexplicably moved to another train of thought or convinced to go somewhere else. If someone looks in the direction of the cavern, either on a map or from the air or on the ground, their eyes seem to just pass over it without giving it a second thought. If someone were to somehow bypass all of that and ENTER the cavern mouth, they will find themselves squeezing through a very narrow, very dark, very long pathway that leads to Sitnalta, and all through this pathway, they will feel an inexplicable dread that takes over their entire being until they can't handle it any more and scramble back out onto the surface again.

The cavern is filled by a large forest and lake, which millions of animals call home. In a large clearing in the very center of the cavern, sits a large city built in white stone and gold (both of which are common easy-to-find resources there). The city is half-surrounded by a large white wall with a golden gate. The wall faces, not at the forest, but at the entrance of the cave. The animals are not the threats - other Irkens are. The forest edge is only meters from the edge of the city. All kinds of wildlife can be seen all around the city, unbothered and friendly with the Sitnaltians that live there, as wildlife there is used to Sitnaltians being a source of comfort and food and play, rather than a danger or a threat.







WHEN DID SITNALTA COME INTO EXISTENCE: THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO



Sitnalta was one of the first civilizations of primitive Irkens. There are artifacts and tools and carvings dating back to the Irken version of caveman days, back when Irkens had buzzing bug-like wings and scuttled around on all limbs. They evolved in their own location with their own tribe, not ever interacting with other Irken tribes or communities, simply because they never knew any others existed. This gave them a sense of total innocence and togetherness, because in their minds, all Irkens were family and one of them.

Over time, Sitnaltians evolved a language, lost their wings and physically developed in the same way as all other Irkens on the planet. They developed a certain architectural style that involved tall stone structures. They also developed many musical instruments, focusing mainly on various types of wind instruments, string instruments, and tribal percussion instruments. Their scriptures claim that these musical instruments were originally gifted to them by a beautiful god-like being, who called himself Jerah the Angel, who visited them and gave them wisdom of how to live in peace and harmony.

The Sitnaltians remained there, undisturbed, until roughly 400 years ago, which was when the enslavement happened. 200 years ago, the escape of the Sitnaltians occurred. Now, all that remains are stories and unreliable eyewitness accounts. All video feeds and other ways to prove the existence of Sitnaltians to Irk-kind have mysteriously vanished along with the Sitnaltians themselves. At the present, Sitnaltians are a myth and nothing more...so Irkens believe.







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I intend to reveal more about Aingeal, his people, and his/their history in future deviations <3 I sure hope you'll follow along! There is a lot to him and his people that I have been kept out of the public eye until now, and I am so excited for you guys to get to know them better!

FYI, this was my first 'landscape speed-painting'. Gosh it ain't easy. How do you painters do it?!


Sitnaltians and Aingeal (C) swiblet

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MORE AINGEAL-RELATED STUFF:

Character Reference - Aingeal by swiblet   Greetings from Aingeal by swiblet   Ode to the People by swiblet   The End to Aingeal's Story by swiblet 
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FortheLoveofKei's avatar
This picture is really pretty c:

And yes, I sat my butt down (finally) and read through the information you have here. Good stuff! I can't wait for you to explain about their religion a little bit more. I really want to know about their deities, and the practices they have and stuff. So I can make an effective OC, ya know.