Wahat Almarjan

Wahat Almarjan (Arcadian: Axatu Marǧejá [ɐxaˑtu mɐrd͡ʒɛˈja]) is the capital city of the Sublime Arcadian Altanate, located on the northern shores of Koganon. It was founded by Pitru Punstraia (IAmTheSenate13) on April 12th, 2021 as a home for the faith of Mufijo. The town grew very slowly over its first 2 months and even was disbanded at one point, partly due to Senate wishing to welcome more people into the town before expanding it further. However, the town was reestablished on June 29th, 2021 and experienced a rapid expansion after more people joined in the following weeks. The city would later grow to be one of the largest by area in the entire Altanate, even as its population was comparatively small to towns such as Kais Termina and Kais Kogong. Today, the city continues to build out into the sea, to remedy the small area on the thin peninsula of its founding.

Wahat is host to the great Council Chamber of the Altanate (in the past known as the Senate Building), which has been the sight of several international meetings and Arcadian political machinations, along with the Grand Mosque of Jiba the Wise, the to be finished center of the Mufijo Faith. The city also hosts great stores of resources for construction, baths for civilians to relax, as well as several marketplaces and shops open to Arcadians and foreigners alike. Notable residents include the now disappeared founder and first Altan of Arcadia, Pitru Punstraia, the retired Mumba (founder of Arcadia) Pmak, and the great builder SquishyPinks.

Etymology
The name "Wahat Almarjan" is fact only an anglicization (converted to English) of the city's Arcadian name. Axatu Marǧejá, as it known to its Arcadian residents, directly translates to "Coral Oasis." This name was chosen by the city's founder, Pitru, to reflect the coral reef that adjacent to the peninsula, and its contrast as an oasis of color in a sea of blue.

Before the Punstraia
In the immediate years before the arrival of Pitru Punstraia (also known as Senate), the Arcadian Peninsula on which Wahat now sits was devoid of any permanent settlement. The area was mainly a place of rest for local Kogongi fishermen, with some saying the best fish of Morgana Bay could be found upon the peninsula's shores. These Kogongi gave the name to the peninsula, as the place of the rising and setting sun. When the anarchist federation of Kogongu was founded in Kais Kogong, the nearby Arcadian Peninsula was claimed as territory of the federation, with not much thought given to its resources or strategic position on the bay.

Founding and Early Years
After his captivity in Lothridge and the attempt of his jailers at reeducation, the weary and god-fearing Pitru Punstraia searched for the Kogongi people he had heard of during his imprisonment. Pitru eventually crossed the sea from Prospit, landing on Koganon travelling west to the nascent city of Kais Kogong. In the city, he would have a fateful meeting with the druid Vasya and co-founder Glider Fraemani. Senate wished for a home, a farm, and a place to centralize his faith in Alathra, while the two Kogongi wished to establish a more firm grip on the peninsula to their north.

Pitru agreed to stay loyal to the Kogongi and their federation, and travelled north to establish the town of Wahat Almarjan on April 12, 2021 (7 Alathran Zodiac). The weary man constructed a home, and a farm, just as intended, and began planning the construction of a mosque to be center of the Mufijo Faith in Alathra. A mine was also established south of the town, in modern-day Gint, where one day the Butter Knife would be found. Further, Pitru began to coax the various Mufijo clans nearby, most of which descended from the legendary Itrian Empire of the fallen deity Arop, to come to his burgeoning settlement and consolidate their faith. Most ignored Pitru's call, but the few clan envoys that came did not find much of a town for which to make their new home, so they returned to their lives of relative stability on the other side of the Atolia Channel. Never a fantastic builder, Senate soon began to feel overly burdened by working on such a project as large as what was supposed to be the great center of his faith, and over time simply ceased construction of the structure entirely. For two long years (two months OOC), Pitru would farm carrots and breed horses, content with a simple life of poverty. The rudimentary government of the town collapsed, as Senate cared not for politics at the time, resulting in the disbanding of the town for some time. In these two long years of poverty, the great city of Lothridge fell from grace, the zealous Kingdom of God was felled, and Kogongu marched onwards, nearly forgetting about their little hut of a town north of Kais.

Declaration of the Altanate
The town's desolation would be interrupted when a Kogongi man, Pmak, arrived poor and destitute, looking for a residence and a purpose. Pitru took him in, teaching the lowly traveler of the faith, to which Pmak soon converted. Pitru, now with a helping hand and a renewed sense of purpose from Pmak's conversion, finally felt ready to build his town. Just as these plans were being drawn up, frightening word arrived from Prospit. The Acquendavians appeared to threaten the Kogongi, stoking a widespread paranoia and fear throughout the federation. In response, Pitru constructed the town's first structure besides his own home: a low, yet functional wall. As an unintended consequence of their expansion towards Koganon, the Acquendavians had also scared away many of the same Mufijo clans that had ignored Pitru's call. The Vrestó, Dirmaxí, Etrec, Biqeš, and Iqari clans all fled to Wahat in this time, bringing a much needed workforce and population to the town. An optimism would spread through these new arrivals, who were finally in a place specifically made for their faith. Even as the Acquendavian threat died down, this happy spirit of the new residents convinced them to stay in Wahat permanently, and contributed heavily to the reestablishment of the town's government and a spree of new construction.

Not long after the arrival of the clans, yet another visitor came to Wahat. Glider Fraemani, Pitru's old friend from Kais Kogong, made the decision to leave the city and do what he could to help the hopelessly burdened Pitru with governance and construction. While visiting, Fraemani would convert to the Mufijo faith just as Pmak months before. Pitru, Glider, and Pmak would in time becomem the town's leading citizens, working to build the first shops and designing the Great Mosque. The destiny of the town as just another prosperous town in Kogongu would change drastically, however. On a calm summer's night, the aforementioned three leading citizens would be visited in their dreams by the three gods (Setrusi in Arcadian) of the Mufijo faith. Pitru by Afi - God of the Sun and patron of the town, Glider by Zamu - God of the Earth, and Pmak by Jorb - God of the Moon and Death. The Setrusi would bestow upon these three the title of Mumba, tasking their new servants to not just build the Great Mosque, but create a whole nation for the now united Mufijo faith in Alathra.

When they awoke, the now Mumbas called a meeting amongst the clans and citizens in the rudimentary town square, just as the sun began to set on the waters of Morgana Bay. Announcing their dreams to the populace, on July 21, 2021 (10 Alathran Zodiac), the Mumbas declared the creation of the Arcadian Altanate, named after the peninsula upon which it sat. Pmak and Glider then proclaimed Pitru of the Clan Punstraia as Altan, a religious and political title used to signify the leader of the faith. The Mumbas then asked the citizens whether they would follow them down this drastic new path. With cheers from the crowd, popular support was achieved. The Mumbas then turned to the Sifans (Leaders) of the Clans, asking if they would swear fealty to this new state, to which they knelt to their new Altan. All that remained was to inform the Kogongi of the change in governance. Glider, as a respected founder of Kogongu himself, made the short journey to Kais Kogong, to announce the declaration of the Altanate. The tacit approval of Kogongu's de facto leader, Vasya, rid the final hurdle to statehood from the Altanate's path, and the sun rose the next day on an independent Arcadia, with Wahat as its crown.

Reign of Altan Pitru
With the declaration of the Altanate, Wahat would undergo its first period of rapid growth. Shops began to spring up near the homes of the Mumbas, at the northern tip of the peninsula. The Great Mosque of Jiba the Wise also resumed construction, after a lengthy period of negligence by Pitru. The clans that had come to Wahat would have fiefs carved out of the developing city's land to govern local affairs, and to placate their desires for lordship that they had once had back on Prospit. As Arcadia began to slowly democratize, the need for a Senate Building became apparent. Glider Fraemani would undertake its construction, completing the large hall in a remarkably short timespan. Despite these positives, the city's population did not grow much in the early parts of Pitru's reign.

As the Altan's reign progressed, he began to almost-completely neglect Wahat in favor of the Altanate as a whole. As such, while Arcadia began to enter unprecedented prosperity, Wahat would gradually fall from its place as the largest and most important city in the country. In the absence of a firm city government, the Clans of Wahat began to acquire more powers, which the apathetic Pitru was more than welcome to delegate so he could focus ever more on his non-Wahati people. The Clans were allowed to set their own taxes, frequently exercised punishments without trial, and occasionally even stole from the city's admittedly small treasury. In one instance, the Zeta Iqari, the Sifan of the influential Iqari Clan, executed a man without trial who had been preaching the word of Haij Tumal, a senator who attempted to secede from Arcadia to form an anarchist state. Although Pitru and the clans despised the rhetoric of Tumal and his supporters, immediate execution was not how the Altan wished to deal with that issue. This incident would begin to convince Pitru of his own faults as Gižaraša, though at the time he still believed he could remain as the Altan and focus on both national and Wahati affairs.

However, another incident in the city would finally persuade Pitru to the contrary. On a cold winter's morning, the city guard did not take their posts around Wahat, on account of the near-zero pay they had received in the past months of work, caused by Pitru's negligence of the city's finances. Recognizing this, several bandits tried to swarm into the city to commit thievery. These bandits were routed only due to the frantic messengers sent by the city's populace at the last moment, which pleaded for nearby regiments of the Arcadian Royal Defense Force (ARDF) to come the Wahat's aid. Pitru received much criticism at the time for this blunder, but more importantly found himself finally understanding that it was time to focus on his own home city and pass the mantle of Altan to another.

Reign of Gižaraša Pitru
Pitru finally abdicated as Altan on December 31, 2021 (15 Alathran Zodiac), after which he began to focus all of energy on his responsibilities as the Gižaraša of Wahat. Despite his negligence of the city, Pitru was still admired figure amongst many Wahati. The common people viewed him with some skepticism, however, as they had bore the brunt of problems that came from Pitru's negligence. To remedy these issues, Pitru called a three day council to identify the greatest issues plaguing Wahat. Through a long two days of speeches, lords, merchants, and commoners alike voiced their grievances. Pitru then painstakingly went through these thousands of complaints before compiling a compromising and comprehensive list. The city gathered on the third and final day of the council to hear Pitru's choices. Pitru had come to recognize four consistent threads amongst most of the grievances. The first was an uncertainty for the future of the city, chiefly what would be built and where. To remedy this problem, Pitru promised to draft a full plan for the city's future, to give the people of Wahat a goal to strive for. The second issue was the city's small population, to which Pitru promised to make the city more inviting to new arrivals. The third issue stemmed from the city's apathy towards its culture, and lack of a unifying ideal to bring the city together. To solve this, Pitru proclaimed he would continue to aid the Altan in finishing the Mufijo holy texts, and would work to promote festivities and Arcadian traditions in the city, along with focusing on its education in the Arcadian language. The fourth and final issue was identified by Pitru as the overpowering influence of the Great Clans, which he hoped to cut down on during his reign as Gižaraša.

The city's populace seemed satisfied by these goals, and celebrated what they hoped would be a new era of growth for the city. At first, it seemed that these solutions were being implemented without issue. Pitru began the drafting of the city's final design, constructed a school to educate the populace and help promote Arcadian culture, and dutifully codified more of the Mufijo faith's sacred myths and teachings. However, this progress would come to a sudden halt with Pitru's disappearance. According to his final letter to the city, Pitru had received a revelation from the Setrusi, the gods of the Mufijo faith. They warned him of an impending threat to Arcadia and Wahat, which could only be prevented if he was to leave for another realm. Fueled by duty to protect his former subject around Arcadia and his current subjects in the capital, Pitru had taken what little he needed and let the Setrusi whisk him away to another realm.

Growth Under the "Good Doctor" Hugosombi
Also in Pitru's final letter to the city was the matter of the succession to the Gižaraša's throne. To the surprise of many, Pitru named his former servant, Hugosombi "the Good Doctor" Imparva, as his successor. Some of the clans expressed indignation or outright rejection of Pitru's choice, arguing that no law on succession had ever been decreed, and that Hugosombi was a camelopard (giraffe-person), not an Arcadian. However, Hugosombi was known to most in Pitru's inner circle, with most vouching for his skills as an administrator and his sense of compassion. Ultimately, Hugosombi's opposition relented, and he was crowned as the second Gižaraša of Wahat on Wolf 12, Brisk, 16 AZ (January 23, 2021).

Hugosombi would continue what Pitru had begun. He finished a final plan for the city's construction, began work on the Port of Wahat, and halted the construction of the still unfinished Great Mosque in favor of a new design that better suited the recent construction plan for the city. Hugosombi would further invigorate Arcadian culture, although he did not continue Pitru's task of codifying Mufijo into the holy scripture, the Mufijoreon. All these successes aside, Hugosombi was unable to control the Great Clans, with their power only increasing as his reign continued. While Wahat did feel slightly revived by his efforts as Gižaraša, Hugosombi was not Pitru, and his more timid nature than Pitru caused occasional problems at court.

Near the end of his reign, in 17 AZ, the Eldians of southern Gaushan seceded from Arcadia, causing widespread pandemonium throughout the nation. The announcement of this secession had been made in Wahat itself, in the halls of the Senate Building near the center of the city. Gižaraša Hugosombi himself was attending the Senate meeting when this occurred, and immediately recognized the crisis that would come from this announcement. Upon hearing of the secession, Altan Glider was incapacitated, and could not effectively address the coming crisis. Hugosombi made the hard decision to forcefully take control of the Arcadian government. Some wished to use ARDF's power to crush the secessionists, but Hugosombi knew that Arcadia would face widespread condemnation if it was to exercise military force on the Eldians, and that it was more of a hassle than it was worth to fight the Eldians. With support from the Prime Minister, Noodle Confractus, the Gižaraša lead swift negotiations with the Eldians that were supposed to prevent any conflict from erupting. A treaty was eventually signed, and Hugosombi returned the Altan's powers back to Glider Fraemani.

While this treaty would ultimately collapse after Altan Glider regained his senses, and Arcadia would be plunged into a year long (month-long OOC) crisis as a result, Hugosombi's actions would come to be appreciated by the Altan. Unfortunately, Hugosombi would have little time to rest after his short stint as emergency leader of Arcadia. The Gižaraša fell ill not long after the discarding of the first treaty with Eldia. Within a day, the second Gižaraša would be dead, unable to even provide a last will, and, more importantly, unable to name a successor.

Tyranny of the Iqari
With no successor established by the late-Gižaraša, the Great Clans called a council to elect an Acting Gižaraša to lead the city in an interim period where a true successor could be decided upon. The clans bickered for days on a position that was not even intended to be permanent, until several generous bribes by the Iqari Clan swayed the vote in their favor. The Zeta Iqari, Sifan of the Iqari Clan thus became the Acting-Gižaraša of Wahat. At first, the Zeta Iqari appeared to abide by the limitations set for his office during the council. He appeared to help in organizing the next, grander council that would decide Hugosombi's true successor. The years had seemingly mellowed the now frail and old Zeta, who just a few years before had murdered one of Haij Tumal's supporters without trial.

Unfortunately for the city, these displays of innocence were nothing more than an act. As the date for the true succession council approached, Iqari began to sabotage its organizing, eventually cancelling the entire council until a supposed further notice. Iqari then began to enact unchallenged control over the city's people and affairs. His own guards became a sort of secret police, rooting out any perceived threat to Iqari's power. He ignored the limitations he had for a short time followed, instead overruling the clans and his own councilors with impunity. Iqari went as far to kidnap members of the ancient Dirmaxí Clan, holding its heirs hostage until they agreed to cede some of their fief to his control. After this cession of land, he killed the heirs anyway, suppressing any outrage with spears and swords.

These types of abuses against the city and its people continued on for over a year, yet the Altan of Arcadia did not seem take notice. Altan Glider conducted much of his work as Arcadia's sovereign in his nearby home city of Kais Kogong, a fact which many Wahati found insulting considering the city serves as the seat of the Altan. With seemingly no help from above, the Great Clans of the city, excluding the Iqari, began plotting to overthrow their tyrannical liege. For months, all the pieces of their plan were meticulously put into place. However, these rebellious clans lacked a new candidate to take over as Gižaraša after Iqari's deposition. To compromise, they chose the pious priest Arrim Miraz, a bastard of the honorable and influential Vrestó Clan. With a plan, a successor, and growing popular discontent, the Great Clans had all they needed to overthrow Iqari. All that was left was to set a trap they knew he could never resist.

Coup of the Four Clans
In the early hours of Vex 7, Thaw, 21 AZ, Ddano Ištam, the heir to the Vrestó Clan, was apprehended by the city guard of Wahat. They levelled the shocking accusation that the venerable young heir had committed murder, sedition against Arcadia, and embezzlement of the city's treasury. Despite the dubious evidence that surrounded these accusations, the Zeta Iqari still had Ddano arrested, relishing at the opportunity to deprive yet another one of his rivals of their heir. Without even consulting the Altan, who normally oversees the trials of nobles like Ddano, Iqari convoked a great council to determine the young heir's guilt. Unfortunately for Iqari, he had just set the final plan of the four rebellious clans into motion.

Geography
Placeholder

Climate
Despite its desert aesthetic and sandy construction, Wahat does not actually experience a desert climate. The city instead is subject to a temperate climate more typical of the plains of Prospit and Arith than any Alathran desert. There are four, well defined seasons, with temperatures and weather changing accordingly.

Most Wahati hold that Spring is the true start of the year, characterized by the blooming of cactus flowers and vibrant pink leaves on the city's dark oak and acacia trees. The spring season generally brings very comfortable temperatures, with abundant yet not excessive rainfall.

The Summer brings excessive sun and oppressively hot temperatures to the city, as well as a noticeable drop in rainfall. The arid nature of the summer season inspired the founders of Wahat to emulate the building style of the nearby Prospitian desert and mesa peoples. The intense sun during this season is viewed by the pious Mufijo of Wahat as the sun god Afi's blessing and approval.

The fall season is marked by the gradual return of rainfall, the harvest of crops outside the city, and the browning of tree leaves. Fall's first half brings temperatures nearly as unforgiving as the summer, with temperatures only cooling down in its second half. Many crops on the Arcadian Peninsula have adapted to the swings in rainfall amounts and temperature throughout the year, providing bountiful harvests through the years despite Wahat's weather patterns.

Finally, the winter season comes, bringing with it cool-cold temperatures, precipitation similar to spring, and leaves either graying or falling off of the temperate trees in the city. The cooler temperatures often mean snow, a fact which for some time was deeply harmful due to the city's open, desert designed buildings, though this eventually lead to Wahat's buildings becoming more focused on controlling heat flow rather than conforming to the "desert style".

Ecology
Placeholder

Gižaraša
Wahat's government is structured as a feudal lordship, led by a Gižaraša [ˈɡiʒɐ.rɐʃa]. The office of Gižaraša comes with many obligations, specifically running the day to day affairs of the city, holding court, and receiving petitions from the clans and residents of the city. The Gižaraša is given command a personal guard of 20, the Akhimarres, or Aximarreš [ɐçiˈmarɛʃ] in Arcadian, all of whom were nominated and selected for their unique fighting skill by the once 5, now 4 greatest clans. Each clan nominates 5 of these warriors to swear sacred oaths to the Gižaraša, and to serve them and their household, rather than their own clans. Traditionally, the Gižaraša holds court in the Senate Building, although occasionally pre-arranged meetings take place in the Gižaraša's own residence, the Primal Abode. The office of Gižaraša has no official law of succession, with each past holder of the title leaving office in different ways. In the event of a Gižaraša leaving office, the most accepted method of succession, perhaps for its adherence to laws of the Mufijo Faith, is for the outgoing Gižaraša to specify a chosen heir in their will, although this has only been the mode of succession once. The current Gižaraša is Arrim of Clan Miraz-Vrestó, who ascended to the throne on Vex 8, 21 AZ (May 8, 2022).

However a new Gižaraša is chosen, their coronation is completed not long after. The coronation of a Gižaraša begins with a march on horseback by the Gižaraša apparent, dressed in a blue robe, from the gates of the city towards the Great Mosque of Jiba the Wise. Along the way, bystanders throw a red-orange spice onto the Gižaraša apparent, which plays an important part later in the ritual. Upon reaching the Mosque, the Gižaraša apparent dismounts and is followed into a secluded room by the Sifans of the Great Clans, and priests of the faith. The spice-caked Gižaraša apparent is than bathed in three separate oils by three different priests, one for each major deity of the Mufijo Faith. The first oil, representing Jorb - God of the Moon and Death, discolors the originally golden spice to a faded orange. The second oil, representing Zamu - God of the Earth and Sea, loosens the spice. The third and final oil, representing Afi - God of the Sun and patron of the city, washes the Gižaraša apparent clean of all the spice, which is later collected and burnt atop the tallest tower in the city. This process represents the cleansing of the Gižaraša apparent's sins, and their return to the heavens to show the gods that the Gižaraša apparent has made progress on the Path of Mufijo. After shortly drying, the Gižaraša apparent is taken onto the steps of the Senate Building, dawning the armor and weapons of Pitru Punstraia. Dressed in this ceremonial regalia, the Gižaraša apparent recites a short prayer of his choosing, and is then officially named Gižaraša of Wahat Almarjan by a Sifan of one of the Great Clans. Traditionally, the crowd and Sifans will then kneel in submission to the newly declared Gižaraša, before rising and celebrating their ascension to the throne.

In the early days of the city, during the rule of Pitru Punstraia, the titles of Altan of Arcadia and Gižaraša of Wahat were synonymous. In these days, the power of the Gižaraša was nearly unquestioned, with no city official nor clan Sifan able to challenge his decisions. In practice though, Pitru listened to the residents of the city frequently, and left much of the governance of its different areas to the clans of Wahat, on account of his heavy obligations as Altan. After Pitru's abdication, however, the Gižaraša took a much larger role in the city's affairs, yet simultaneously gave more duties to the clans. After the disappearance of Pitru Punstraia, the office of Gižaraša was given to his former servant, Hugosombi Imparva, in accordance with Pitru's final letter to the city. Imparva focused heavily on the city's development, but could not put his plans in action before his sudden death from disease. With no heir specified, the Great Clans of the city held a special council, electing the Lord Zeta of Clan Iqari as Acting Gižaraša, as a compromise between the bickering clans. Another council to determine a new, official Gižaraša of the city was planned, but never carried out after the Lord Iqari's tyrannical concentration of power. After his overthrow and subsequent murder, however, the office of Gižaraša passed to a relatively unknown priest associated with Vrestó Clan, Arrim Miraz-Vrestó. Although another compromise candidate, Miraz underwent an official coronation (unlike Iqari), and was considered honorable enough to rule by each of the remaining Great Clans. As an antithesis to the Lord Iqari's reign as Gižaraša, Miraz has worked to rule with the Great Clans, rather than exercising the full, tyrannical potential of his office.

Clans
Mufijo clans are integral structures to the Mufijo Faith, acting as families even if not related by ancestral blood. A clan is led by a Sifan, who makes political, legal, and economical decisions on behalf of the entire clan. Traditionally, Sifans are elected by members of the clan, although if a clan is composed a single family, either the matriarch or patriarch of the family is usually Sifan by default. The city of Wahat has numerous lesser clans, most of which are blood-related families and moderately wealthy merchant dynasties. However, the true power of clans in the city comes from the Great Clans. The number of Great Clans in Wahat has fluctuated since the city's founding, however they are generally defined by their large influence, wealth, or historical status. The Great Clans meet in a council known as the Atredezdó [ɐtre.dɛzˈdo], literally meaning "many clans" in Arcadian. The Atredezdó does not have any official legislative purpose, and is mainly in place to check the powers of the Gižaraša. Listed below are all members of the Atredezdó, former and current.

Town Symbols
Placeholder

Culture
Placeholder

Economy
Placeholder