Sepcans

The Sepcans were a Roscanic-speaking people originating from the Roscan Plateau in modern Ravon that entered and conquered Lannonia in the 20th century BCE, and spread across much of the region in the process of establishing two empires bearing their name, the Ancient Sepcan Empire and the Neo-Sepcan Empire.

Etymology

The name 'Sepcan' is derived from Argilian sepikoi, used to refer to the civilization by early Argilian states and later the Meteoros Empire. This in turn has been established to be a derivative of the Sepcan term Sebuk, a term used to refer to the mythological White Sun the Sepcans claimed descent from, and can be traced to sa bok, literally meaning 'white sun', of which cognates can be found in modern Sepcan languages.

The Vitrians refer to the historical Sepcans as Vesdovians (for example, visdovska in Razarian}, derived from an entirely Vitrian term of *vysõkъ 'high' + *dvõrъ 'court, yard', meaning roughly 'high court' or 'high palace', likely referring to large cities and palaces built by the Sepcans. A derivative of Sebuk was also used by the Vitrians in the form of sedŭbyska, another designation for the Sepcans, and sometimes transcribed as Sedbians; this is the name for the descendant groups of the original Sepcans that inhabit Lannonia today.

History

Depiction of a Sepcan horse archer.

Based on archaeological and genetic evidence, the Sepcans most likely originated from cultures in the Roscan Plateau, specifically those in modern-day Ravon. It is proposed that Sepcans may be traced to the Grusu culture, which inhabited the banks of the Yarchan river from about 5,000 to 2,400 BCE; their sites have been found in western Ravon and northern Kadaria. The inhabitants of this culture were originally farmers who gradually transitioned to nomadic pastoralism. The Grusu people had domesticated the horse no later than 3,000 BCE, and worked bronze by 2,600 BCE.

In the second half of the 3rd millennium, temperatures declined rapidly around the world, accompanied by drastic climate change. This would have forced the agriculturalists of the Yarchan river basin to transition to alternative lifestyles, and search for new areas to inhabit. It is suggested that the Sepcan migration occurred due to this. Cultures with artifacts of a style similar to late Grusu products seem to have followed a trail that passed through the Nugara Gate, and kept south of the Kamurun Mountains in Yesetria. This trail arrived in eastern modern Zesmynia as early as 21st century BCE.

In the 20th century BCE, the Sepcans entered Lannonia, conquering the Zasem valley civilization and other primitive cultures. According to Sepcan chronicles, the Sepcans entered the Zasem river valley as 121 families organized under 11 main confederacies, and initially these confederacies established themselves as independent states. By this point, Sepcan writing had developed and came into usage, allowing for more reliable archaeological corroboration with later histories. In 1905 BCE Uwang I became the Sepcan Emperor, unifying the Sepcan conquests under his rule and establishing the Ancient Sepcan Empire. The Sepcans ruled as an aristocracy over the kuleti, the natives of Lannonia. The empire was initially decentralized but imperial power was dramatically expanded in the 16th century BCE by reforms under Khyual II, creating an expansive and comprehensive centralized bureaucracy, and the prototypical 'bureaucratic empire'.

The Ancient Sepcan Empire collapsed in the 13th century BCE. Sepcans either retained their dominance over smaller principalities in the Zasem valley and other areas, though as much less powerful and sophisticated polities, or reverted to simple, tribal pastoralism in areas such as western Yesetria. Their culture however had a remarkable influence on the new native states. In Yesetria, the Neo-Sepcan Empire was founded in 189 BCE; the Sepcans there technologically developed the lethal combination of ironworking and horseback riding, allowing them to sweep across northern Lannonia in decades and develop into a power that conquered the Meteoros Empire in the 1st to 2nd centuries CE. The Pantocracy that followed was a second flowering of Sepcan culture. However, Sepcan dominance was challenged by the rise of Vitrians in the imperial bureaucracy, and eventually displaced. Imperial culture steadily absorbed Argilian and Vitrian elements.

By the 8th century, the Sepcan aristocracy had practically vanished as an independent force, and Sepcans were largely assimilated into a larger Lannonian society. The social prestige of the Sepcans was now shared with the Vitrians and other races. There was much linguistic and cultural divergence among Sepcans in the years thereafter, as Lannonia's political situation tended towards the coexistence of a plurality of states. They have also mixed heavily with Vitrians and other races.

Culture

Ruins of the walls of Kubera, one of the largest Sepcan cities.

The Sepcans spoke a Roscanic language, which is most likely the common ancestor of the modern Sepcanic family. The Sepcan language was written in Sepcan hieroglyphs, one of the earliest writing systems of the world, which was initially used in divination and history before being simplified and expanded to wide administrative use. The Sepcan script was mainly engraved on stone. Prior to its use in general administration, tally tokens made of metal shaped in the form of numerous animals each representing a different order, named udeses, was given out by the King to command subjects and instruct governors. The udeses were first mainly in the shape of tigers and solely used for military purposes but later diversified as the empire consolidated.

The main literature of Sepcans were mythological epics inscribed upon clay tablets, bamboo and wooden slips, or pieces of bone. Paintings were mainly used to decorate tombs but later were displayed in palaces and admired solely for their artistic value too. There were numerous fine decorated pottery and also elaborate metalwork.

As nomads, Sepcan housing was mostly composed of yurts at first. Later, trees were harvested from forests in Razaria and Slovunia, and palaces as well as nobles' dwellings would be constructed from wood, and decorated with elaborate carpentry and also leather and wool that can still be seen in some Sepcanic peoples' dwellings today. Rammed earth and quarried stone became used for city walls and later even larger palaces. There is evidence of ceramic tiles and even glazed tiles being used. Gable roofs were common as were enclosures inside larger houses.

Religion

See also: Kurangper

A Sepcan carved tablet depicting the end of a Sanma as the Sun purges the world of life before dispersing.

The Sepcans worshiped a solar deity, Sebuk, or the White Sun. They philosophically observed and revered a doctrine known as Alari, a principle of universal order and justice. Compliance with Alari was maintained throughout one's life.

The Sepcans believed that the world experienced cyclical epochs known as the Sanma (literally 'big days'), identified by the color and shape of the Sun. At the end of each epoch, the sun that characterized the Sanma would disperse onto the world, wiping out life from its surface while the fallen sun seeded the planet anew and developed into new life, while a new sun forms for the cycle to repeat. The moon was also destroyed at the end of each epoch and replaced too by fragments of the sun. The Sepcans believe their race to be descended from the White Sun, which was central to the previous epoch.

Life also rose spontaneously from the earth, which according to the Sepcans created the Kuleti, or non-Sepcan races. The organisms of mud were inferior to organisms of the sun, and this hierarchy was used to justify the caste system that disadvantaged Lannonian natives, as well as the elite status of the Sepcans themselves.

Sepcans believed that the divine was in one's soul, which was to be cultivated and made as compliant with Alari as possible for one's health and happiness, as well as greater universal order.

Sepcan religion had a complex divination system. It also had rich and complex mythology, mostly in the form of epic poetry.

Sepcan religious traditions have gave rise to the belief system and culture of Kurangper (literally 'stories'), the native faith of various modern Sepcanic peoples. It also heavily influenced the religions of the peoples surrounding and subject to them, ultimately leading to Tastanism and later Costeny, as well as Heliolatry.

Sepcanic peoples

Donosians practicing horse archery at a festival.

Sepcan-descent peoples ('Sepcanics') still make up a sizeable part of the Lannonian population; most countries have at least 20% of the populace being a member of a group speaking a Sepcanic language. Sarantay has the most Sepcanics as a portion of its population, with 77% being Sepcanic. Some notable Sepcanic groups include the Donosians in Razaria, the Pari in Zesmynia, and the ???.

An even larger proportion of the population have Sepcan ancestry; mitochondrial and Y-chromosome haplogroups of Roscanic peoples are found in over 70% of Lannonian people and many Lannonians have Roscanic phenotypical features.