-XLVII-
"Forging the Wings"
Wayam, 831 [1174]
The man dressed in the humble cedar bark cloak wandered through the streets of Wayam on the cold and grey autumn day. A blustery wind chilled him, yet he focused on his powerful guardian spirit to warm him. Merchants sold all sorts of wares in this market, from essentials foods like dried camas and biscuitroot and omodaka to exotic spices and nuts from lands far to the south. A few sold livestock ready to slaughter, from ducks and geese and squirrels shoved in their cages while others had endless piles of bones laden with uncooked meat. At every merchant's table, shells chained together piled high. He smiled--it was prosperity, a sign all was well in Wayam, even after the death of so many men in the war with Imolakte the other year.
The smell of people, animals, and fish permeated the air, and the noticed with approval at the counters piled high with fish, especially salmon. The salmon run at Wayam was rich this year, a welcome sign in a year marred by the death of the Pillar King Witkw'aawi. Dried fish of other types hung on racks along with counters full of many other common fish like trout, whitefish, sucker, and lamprey as well as the smaller fish raised in fishponds and irrigation channels the peasants ate [1]. He noted a few types of fish unfamiliar to him brought in from the ocean such as halibut and even whale meat. One merchant even had an entire sturgeon, a most untasteful fish [2], and surprisingly to him, a few people seemed interesting in buying meat from it, although by the strange robes and stranger language, they were clearly outsiders.
One look around the crowd showed few noticed him, despite him being the most powerful man in all the known world, Tsanahuutimna, the Pillar King of Wayam. Most people at the market were women or slaves buying things for their families or masters, wearing simple robes and cloaks of tehi and other common fabrics and with only the most bare of adornments. He blended in well, exactly as he wished to, so he might overhear conversations of people. And overhear conversations he did. Aside from daily concerns, he learned interesting information on his walk through the marketplace.
"I am worried about the harvest this year, I have heard of too many ill omens. My master's shaman spoke of bad
taakh in the fields around here."
"My husband seems so on edge these days, I am happy for his success and especially his survival in the fighting but I'm worried he won't come home, or worse."
"Well I served under our new Pillar King back when he was a mere prince and his skill in battle seems miraculous. Imagine if he applies that skill not just to soldiers, but all of us!"
He smiled at the last one, noticing it came from a salmon merchant with a missing eye covered by a copper eyepatch discussing with a merchant selling mussels and clams in a tank of water. He wished to continue onward in his walk through the city, yet decided on staying around to hear the men talk.
Witkw'aawi associated with the nobles and learned their concerns, yet I will associate with the common people and learn theirs. After all, if he truly wished to tame the Imaru River, many of these men could easily end up his soldiers after all, the women mothers and wives to soldiers, and the slaves serving soldiers.
"Oh he'll apply that skill all right, skill in taking your money!" the other merchant said, holding up a leather thong with five long shells on it. He ripped off four of the shells and held up the last one. "This is what you'll be keeping if he's really that successful! The nobles are too greedy! Especially the damned senwitla!"
"Certainly Plaashyaka is greedy but there are tricks to making a profit off these nobles," the man said with a smile. "Buy salmon and trout, not mussels and clams, the nobles love those fish! Or leave Wayam and sell to soldiers in Ayayash or Tlanakhwakh or wherever the West King is holding his feasts these days."
"Nonsense," the shellfish merchant said. "I have made much profit in the past, no other reason besides the nobles and the senwitla I am not making more now!"
"Maybe you should consider the taakh for why your business is no good." The salmon merchant noticed him. "Ask that man over there in the cedar bark robes, he seems devout."
"Ah, maybe I should ask him," the shellfish merchant growled. "How might I make my business work? How might I make spiritual forces work so I might be wealthy despite the greed of the nobles, Plaashyaka, and our Pillar King Tsanahuutimna?"
Tsanahuutimna winced at the man saying his name with such venom directly to him, yet calmed himself and smirked.
"Perhaps you should be more careful with your tongue. The guardian spirits of our leaders are powerful and in regular communion with other spirits. Slandering a good noble, let alone the Pillar King, often brings misfortune on you and your clan."
"Th-the hell does that mean?" The shellfish merchant demanded. Tsanahuutimna merely gazed at the man with a light smile, and the merchant's face slowly turned pale. Perhaps the man didn't know who he was, yet at that moment he began to understand a spiritual truth.
"As for you, my good fishmonger," Tsanahuutimna spoke, "the same advice applies as well. Speak truth and harmony with every sentence and praise those who are just while rebuking those who are injust and the fortune of balance will come to you and your clan."
Perhaps for this man it would come sooner than later. He committed to memory the salmon merchant's location--the quarter of Sk'in [3]--and made a note to send men to bring him to the palace in Wayam to see about his skills. As for the other man, he assumed the fear he placed in his heart would suffice as punishment.
It does not seem many like Plaashyaka, Tsanahuutimna thought as he returned to his palace. Perhaps that was a good thing.
In ancient times when Coyote taught man how to govern themselves, the prideful First Senwitla demanded all the power for his skilled voice. Coyote gave him wealth and power but said that for his pride he would never rule, only speak for the ruler and by doing so take on all the hatred the ruler garners. That old story always rang true in his mind.
He walked to the riverfront and approached the network of rope bridges that crossed the vast Imaru River. Sturdy cedar piles anchored them to rocks in the river at the lip of the roaring falls and rapids of Wayam where men stood fishing with nets and spears. The wide bridges swayed in the wind blowing out of the east and as custom Tsanahuutimna muttered a silent prayer to the East Wind and the Imaru River so the bridge might hold. His cedar bark cloak fluttered in the breeze as he inched his way around the other people crossing. After he descended from the last bridge at the southern bank of the river in Wayam proper, he returned to his palace.
Later that evening as he sat for dinner, one of his nobles presented the merchant from earlier.
"This is Niiptwashash," his noble introduced. "Inheritor of the name of his father and grandfather, a humble merchant who sells fish and once sold copper and lead. May he be of service to you, my Pillar King."
"I am pleased to meet him once again," Tsanahuutimna said. "I believe he knows who I am already." He looked over the man whose face seemed wide with both apprehension and awe. Perhaps he thought he was being arrested and due for execution only to find out the ruler of the civilised world wished to speak with him. Despite being a mere fishmonger, he wore fine woolen clothes with brilliant dyes.
His servants brought out a plate of thick salmon and camas stew spiced with the pungence and heat of imported pepper flakes and shavings of bay nut and spiceshrub bark. He noticed his guest trying hard to suppress his surprise at the strong spices.
"You were a warrior, I take it?" Tsanahuutimna said. "And then you became a merchant?" Niiptwashash nodded, seemingly too shy to speak.
"I--I fought for almost twenty years as a warrior, I nearly died in battle, and then I sold copper goods to soldiers before battles." He stood silent, worried about what to say next. "Th-then some corrupt bastards from the senwitla's office drove me out of business, took all my goods, and now I could only sell fish back in my birthplace at Sk'in! Taxes are so high now I can scarcely claw my way back up."
"Hmm, do you remember anything about these men?" Tsanahuutimna didn't expect to get anywhere with this line of questioning, although he always loved to discover corrupt officials.
"One of them was a short, fat Namal, the other was an arrogant young nobleman," Niiptwashash said, feeling more comfortable discussing the injustice that happened to him. "This was about 12 years ago. The other guy spoke with a Chemnese accent, claimed his father was a prince of some city and in charge of finances at Wayam and was friends with both the Pillar King and the senwitla." Tsanahuutimna cracked a smile, knowing exactly who the man referred to.
The son of Apapma-Tukhunani. It seemed natural, although tragic, that such a brilliant man like that Prince of Kw'sis had a son so corrupt.
"I will have to look into the fat Namal yet I do know of the arrogant young prince of which you speak. He fled into exile among the Whulchomish several years prior, no doubt with many stolen goods. I would like him to return everything he stole, and I am prepared to do whatever it takes to bring men like that to justice."
"H-how will you do that if he is so far away from here?" Niiptwashash asked. Tsanahuutimna smiled.
"Simple. The merchants of Wayam will find him and inform me of the land he resides. I will demand the ruler of that land bring him to Wayam in chains along with everything he stole. Should that ruler not comply, I will burn that ruler's town and my warriors will bring him back in chains. My duty as ruler is maintaining balance in this world and rooting out the wicked wherever they may be, and no place is beyond my reach."
Niiptwashash sat silent, wanting to believe in Tsanahuutimna's words as he sipped the stew from his silver spoon.
"Perhaps you do not believe I am capable of that," Tsanahuutimna said when he noticed the merchant's facial expression. "I wear nothing but cedar bark clothing until the Imaru and beyond falls under my shadow and protection. This will soon come to pass, for I saw Coyote grant me this land in a vision."
"I will trust in you," Niiptwashash said. "You are strong in spirit, I am sure you have seen a glimpse at what the spirits of the world hold in store for us all."
"Indeed," Tsanahuutimna said. "Until that time comes, remain steadfast in your morality. Now then, on a lighter note, how would you like to work for my household buying and selling copper?" Niiptwashash's eye widened in shock, and Tsanahuutimna smiled with approval.
Few skills are more valuable than knowing a skilled man when you meet him.
---
From Overview of Fusanian Historiography
In the year 1172, Tsanahuutimna, the most consequential ruler of the Wayamese Empire, ascended to the position of Pillar King following the untimely death of his cousin and senior ruler Witkw'aawi. Under Tsanahuutimna, the Wayamese Empire was to win a string of grand victories, collect tribute from much of the known world, and bring about the origins of classical Fusanian culture through the reconstruction of society that was to occur under his rule.
At the start of his rule, the Wayamese Empire already was by far the most powerful state in Fusania, with the only feasible challengers being strong confederations such as the Coastmen of Tinhimha and those associated states or the Amim city-states who looked toward Imolakte of Chateshtan for protection. Wayam itself used a codified system of hierarchies and personal relationships to extract and redistribute large amounts of tribute through the office of the senwitla as well as a similar system to train warriors for battle and organise them into armies. Other states only did this on a much smaller scope, or even not at all. While nominally a confederation between the four Directional Kings and the Center King and Pillar King at Wayam, in practice Wayam held both political and spiritual authority over its entire realm.
Economically and demographically, the Wayamese ruled over 110,000 square kilometers of land. Although much of it was semi-arid shrubland, the constant improvements to the irrigation networks and rivers and creeks of the area permitted an ever-increasing amount of land to be farmed providing for the rapidly expanding population who relied on the Wayamese and their subject nobles to provide them with livestock and tools. Around 520,000 people--nearly one-fifth the population of the Imaru Basin and Furuge--lived under Wayamese rule, supported by the networks of nobles redistributing food and supplies for the maintenance of irrigation networks.
Archaeologically, the agrarian strength of the Wayamese and evidence of the social structure remains well-preserved yet evidence of its rulers do not. All rulers before Tsanahuutimna are poorly attested, if attested at all, before the 13th century. Yet under Tsanahuutimna, new art styles and means of conveying imperial power develop allowing him to become one of the best attested rulers of Fusania. His name glyph--a thunderbird clutching a heart [4]--has been found on several preserved totem sticks and likewise occurs on pictoglyphs, jewelry, and other artifacts and inscriptions that date to around the time he supposedly ruled.
The grandest attestation of Tsanahuutimna's rule comes from the Ktlatla Tapestry, a woven Whulchomish tapestry dating to around 1200 AD discovered in 1872 after an earthquake revealed previously hidden chambers in a cave nearby. Although fragmentary, the tapestry tells a story of Tsanahuutimna arriving in the city and conferring a great honour on the ruler of that city, the West King Ahawaptas, following Ahawaptas's campaigns in the north and west in defending the Whulchomish people from the Coastmen. This tapestry's depiction of Tsanahuutimna dressed in humble wooden armour and cedarbark clothing (despite the abundance of feathers and gems elsewhere on his clothing confirming his elite status) confirms Gaiyuchul's description of him.
Although practically all historians accept Tsanahuutimna's existence, the accomplishments during his rule are much disputed and form the nucleus of the Imperial Wayam Debate that has raged since the late 19th century. According to the maximalist, or "Neo-Katlamat School" for its perceived reliance on Gaiyuchul and his Katlamat School as a source, the Wayamese Empire indeed conquered most or all of "civilised" Fusania during the rule of Tsanahuutimna. Great gains in technology, logistics, and agriculture occurred that opened a generation of unprecendeted prosperity. If such claims are true, then Gaiyuchul would be very right in deeming Tsanahuutimna "second only to Q'mitlwaakutl in the splendor and achievements of his rule."
The minimalist, or "Easternist" school (for its associations with archaeologists from countries east of Fusania as well as viewing Wayam as only dominant east of the Grey Mountains) contradicts this version of Tsanahuutimna's rule. The Easternists believe Tsanahuutimna's achievements lay in engineering, stability, and prosperity on the Imaru Plateau. He conquered and directly ruled little but the Lower Imaru and the great campaigns of conquest during his rule are instead best seen as one-off raids and enforcement of a temporary submission on foreign rulers. The archaeological evidence for Wayamese conquests is best explained as trade from the powerful Wayamese economy.
Both schools have fallen in and out of favour, with the maximalist and minimalist viewpoints long discredited. At times they have been associated with local nationalism and foreign politics, with adherents of the Eastern School accused of diminishing accomplishments of past heroes while adherents of the Neo-Katlamat School were accused of ignoring true history in the interest of a romantic nationalism. New archaeological discoveries have caused significant paradigm shifts in this debate over the decades, many of which confirm a more maximalist interpretation of Tsanahuutimna's Wayam without a complete dismissal of the minimalist interpretation.
Regardless, each school agrees that Tsanahuutimna's rule proved significant in the political, economic, and cultural history of Fusania. Under Tsanahuutimna, all manner of artforms and cultural innovations spread around the Wayamese Empire and beyond to the rest of Fusania. The economy thrived and population rapidly expanded thanks to the unprecedented construction of irrigation works and political stability. And no matter the nature of Wayam's rule over the more far-flung areas of Fusania, the Wayamese engrained in the area a political legacy that was still being felt centuries later in the era of Gaiyuchul and the first contact with outsiders from Japan.
---
In the year 1172, the Pillar King of Wayam Witkw'aawi drowned in a sudden storm on the Imaru River. The senwitla Plaashyaka moved immediately to elect his co-ruler Tsanahuutimna as Pillar King with Witkw'aawi's eldest son Aanwaakutl appointed as Tsanahuutimna's co-ruler. With Aanwakutl lacking much in the experience or prestige, Tsanahuutimna effectively ruled unchallenged. New succession laws promulgated by elites from Wayam kept violence and bloodshed to a minimum, although Tsanahuutimna placed many princes under house arrest as a pre-emptive measure.
The Wayamese blamed Imolakte for Witkw'aawi's death, believing black magic conjured the storm that drowned their Pillar King. While some, including Tsanahuutimna himself, urged caution, the public mood in Wayam once again pushed them to war against the Amim ruler in no small part due to Plaashyaka's anger against the man. Although Tsanahuutimna wished to direct this anger at other worthy targets or if possible avoid fighting a war, he realized the golden opportunity to harnass the anger of his people.
Therefore, Tsanahuutimna planned a campaign against Imolakte for the year 1173. In the first year he planned numerous raids into the Irame Valley followed up by the main invading force. Unlike previous campaigns, Tsanahuutimna planned to lead forces over the mountain passes instead of the more direct route through the heavily fortified areas around Tlawiwala. There they would pillage the area, separate Imolakte from his allies, and destroy the enemies before they might link up. The mountain pass they found most useful would serve as their main invasion route for 1174.
Although weakened from his defeat in 1164 at Ayayash, Imolakte of Chateshtan still commanded a substantial amount of respect and power. He had destroyed several large raiding parties of Coastmen and Dena and the Amims continued looking to him as their foremost defender. Even princes of rival states of Chateshtan came to rely on Imolakte for aid. Conflicts among the Amims mostly halted, although the Coastmen, Dena, and Namals frequently challenged the stability Imolakte brought and kept the Irame Valley from knowing peace.
Tsanahuutimna's raid in 1173 garnered mixed results. He split his 8,000 men into five groups, two under the command of Stlich'qid which crossed over the Anbarachi Mountains [5] west of the Irame, two under Tsanahuutimna himself which crossed east of the Irame in the foothills near Mount Mishibato, and the final one under the South King Wiyatpakan Mekhishmi-Apapkhlakhla [6] which crossed the Grey Mountains far to the south near Mount Nichikkurima. These light and mobile forces intended to cause as much damage as possible and convince the Amims that Imolakte could not defend them.
Wiyatpakan Mekhishmi-Apapkhlakhla's small force gained the most success. They crushed a Grey Mountains Dena ambush and captured several leaders among them before sacking a nearby village and seizing the livestock. Displaying the loot and prisoners from this Dena tribe who plagued them, he convinced the princes of Changondwefti and Chawilfmefu [7] to ally with him for a raid against Chantatawa. With hundreds of additional warriors from these cities and their subject towns, the Wayamese burnt many villages in the central and southern Irame Valley.
Stlich'qid's force of 3,000 men won several victories as well, sacking several villages in the valleys of the Anbarachi and Ayamaru and allegedly coming within sight of Chateshtan itself as they captured slaves and livestock in the hills around the city before the Imolakte's ally the prince of Chatilkwei Qats'ehlkhak destroyed several raiding parties and forced a retreat. However, Stlich'qid abandoned his campaign thanks to the imminent arrival of a large force from Chateshtan.
Imolakte still claimed one dramatic victory in this series of raids as he decisively defeated Tsanahuutimna himself and his force of 3,500 men. Attempting to take an indirect path to link up with whatever force he pleased, Tsanahuutimna tried gaining the allegiance of the Namal city-state of Ap'sukhichalkham [8]. He believed Imolakte would focus on Stlich'qid first of all, yet Imolakte ignored that force and attacked Tsanahuutimna instead. Ap'sukhichalkham reluctantly requested aid from Imolakte who arrived with over 8,000 warriors.
Gravely outnumbered, Tsanahuutimna chose to conduct a fighting retreat yet poor communication led to the Wayamese nearly being encircled. Imolakte's army arrived much faster than Tsanahuutimna expected and his men were forced to fight for their lives in a great defeat. According to Nch'iyaka of Wapaikht, "only 400 did escape the terrible blows of the Amims and Namals." Tsanahuutimna was forced to retreat over the pass near Mount Mishibato during a spring blizzard, where the survivors won a costly victory against a Dena ambush. The only success in the campaign came when the Wayamese pillaged a Dena winter village they stumbled across on their way back to Wayam.
Half the Wayamese forces perished in this campaign, including many elite pananikinsh who fought alongside Tsanahuutimna and according to Nchi'yaka of Wapaikht, Tsanahuutimna mourned bitterly.
"The great Pillar King Tsanahuutimna gazed upon his weary men and mourned 'For what good is all the wealth I have gained when I have lost half of my men!' The great prince Tsanahuutimna gazed upon his weary men and mourned 'For what good is all the victories we have gained when I have lost half of my men!' At that moment he did resolve the destruction of Imolakte at the moment fate decreed, but no sooner."
Regardless of this loss, the Wayamese returned once more in 1174. Large war parties of Wayamese soldiers scoured the passes and valleys south of Mount Mishibato and captured five Dena chiefs along with destroying several villages. Following this, 8,000 Wayamese under Tsanahuutimna captured the villages and towns along the Nikkimashi River and its tributaries before laying siege to Ap'sukhichalkham. Believing Imolakte would fail against such a large Wayamese force, the Prince of Ap'sukhichalkham capitulated to the Wayamese who promptly removed him from power out of distrust for his loyalty. Tsanahuutimna then advanced to Tlawiwala, once again attempting to capture that strategic city.
Imolakte wasted no time in response and moved an army of equal size to the city. Tsanahuutimna planned for the immediate intervention of Imolakte, devising a plan to infiltrate the city during the height of the fighting. A confused melee ensued between the shieldwalls of the Amims and Wayamese and during the battle the gates to the city were opened and the Wayamese stormed the breach. However, sudden indiscipline among the Wayamese led to the Amims taking advantage of the situation and slaying many. Imolakte eventually retreated as the Wayamese entrenched themselves within Tlawiwala by nightfall and sacked the city.
Tsanahuutimna claimed victory over Imolakte and took a highly strategic city yet won a pyrrhic victory. Nch'iyaka of Wapaikht discusses the aftermath of the battle and effect it had on Tsanahuutimna.
"The great Pillar King Tsanahuutimna gazed upon the ashes of Tlaliwala and mourned 'I have lost half of my men and have only ashes to gain.' The great Pillar King Tsanahuutimna gazed upon his celebrating warriors and mourned 'I have lost half of my men and have only their joy to gain.' Tsanahuutimna spoke unto the high priest at Tlaliwala 'Be it though I win or be it though I lose I seek to never again lose half of my warriors.' The high priest replied unto him 'If your warriors achieve spiritual balance and harmony they are invincible.' Tsanahuutimna pondered the meaning of these words five days and five nights before he discovered the truth that victory lay not in battle but in peace."
With this victory the Wayamese conquered the strategic Irame Falls and Tlawiwala yet found their forces too exhausted to conquer Chateshtan. Their army exhausted itself of manpower compared to the seemingly limitless reserves of Imolakte. Tsanahuutimna found this victory hollow, having lost many of his men and failed to defeat his powerful opponent, despite the conquest of Irame Falls being a massive gain for Wayam. Wayam and Chateshtan once again concluded peace in 1174, although neither ruler believed the peace would last.
The conflict made Tsanahuutimna painfully aware of the deficits in the Wayamese military at every level, allegedly in part after an encounter with the sacred rock [9] at the Irame Falls and the shaman who guarded it. Tsanahuutimna now noticed that supporting the Wayamese military required reforms at every level of society. This meeting sparked the major theme of Tsanahuutimna's rule--the transformation of Wayamese society from an overgrown city-state into a true empire and the ramifications thereof.
Such reforms could not have come at a more opportune time. The civil wars and warfare in general left regional opposition to Wayam gravely weakened. The hundreds of thousands of new subjects and new land added to Wayam in the past 15 years gave Wayam a new tax base free from entrenched bureaucrats and new populations to recruit labour from. Such populations also looked to gain status within Wayam and formed a natural powerbase. Finally, Tsanahuutimna held personal friendships with all four of the Directional Kings thanks to having fought alongside them, sharing similar values, and his personal charisma. All of this ensured Tsanahuutimna gained lots of political capital.
In 1175, Tsanahuutimna formalised the division of Wayam into five provinces called
tutiyaunalipama ("land that is stood watch over", usually translated as province), each ruled by one of the Directional Kings and including a sizable province directly under Tsanahuutimna's rule as Center King. Within these provinces, Tsanahuutimna ordered the Directional Kings to empower "those miyawakhs and their lineages both worthy and capable" with permission to collect tribute from other miyawakhs and miyuukhs, a position that came be known as the
pawititamatla ("Numberer"). The pawititamatla co-ruled alongside another noble titled
patwanatla who supervised military affairs and local defense. Each Directional King as well as Tsanahuutimna appointed four of these princes who ruled over a sub-province later called a
pawititamalipama ("land under the census", usually translated as "prefecture").
The
pawititamatla acted as a key lieutenant of the Directional King. Unlike the Directional King who nominally only controlled military and spiritual affairs in their realm, the
pawititamatla functioned purely in the economic realm in order to centralise the collecting and distribution of tribute and labour in their region for the benefit of Wayam. It eliminated the challenging task of coordination between nominally equal princes and meant the Wayamese government need only deal with one of these lesser princes to whom this duty fell upon. They coordinated the census within Wayam (hence their name, literally meaning "Numberer") which in early times communicated the number of men, women, and children using string records--allegedly Tsanahuutimna took the first census including the entire Wayamese Empire in 1177.
The
patwanatla ("he who others follow") played a similar role in the military sphere. Responsible for arming, training, and organising warriors, the government required the
patwanatla to always be able to provide the number of experienced warriors demanded, typically 1,600 to 2,000 warriors. He also led these forces in battle, commanding one wing of an army in a unit called a
pakhanmi ("fifth"). The patwanatla also commanded the garrison villages and forts (except for the largest fortresses) within a province and was responsible for policing the area. The patwanatla drew these funds and resources from the
pawititamatla yet also the central government as he was intended to act as a check on the pawititamatla's power and be able to arrest anyone in the prefecture for corruption or treason. To prevent corruption from the patwanatla, they served only five years in a single prefecture and retired after no more than 20 years.
This system of territorial arrangement appears to evolve directly from Q'mitlwaakutl's use of loyal officials from Wayam alongside his garrison villages of loyal soldiers. The archaeological record notes that garrison villages become remarkably uniform and centralised by the end of the 12th century. The Wayamese built new constructions to particular patterns while providing them with similar equipment and tools. No doubt this comes from the shifting personnel at these villages who ensured a semblance of uniformity throughout the entirety of Wayam's territory. Smaller garrison villages under this system shrink or are mostly excluded from these changes, demonstrating the redistribution of resources toward the subprovincial centers.
Villages at the border of Wayamese society in the mountains or fringe of the desert proved an exception to these changes. At the end of the 12th century, these become larger as they served an increasing population of assimilated Hillmen pastoralists as well as ethnic Aipakhpam and other pastoralists. These were intended as the first line of defense and were built with taller walls and more watchtowers in addition to an increase in houses and other buildings within the village. These changes appear not provided by the central government so much as provided by local authorities as construction here wildly differs throughout the Wayamese Empire. The amount of animal remains found in these villages suggest the size of animal herds and poultry flocks increased due to general prosperity.
These changes brought great social changes within Wayam. Previously, many larger villages of between 500 and 1,000 people existed and served as local seats for a miyawakh. Under Tsanahuutimna's reforms, the villages not selected as provincial seats shrank to the typical village size of between 60 to 150 residents. Economies shifted as lesser nobles and officials migrated to these new centers and merchants and hanger-ons followed them. Those who stayed behind in the old villages claimed land rights (and often houses) of those who left, increasing the wealth of these landlords. To maintain the same amount of irrigation improvements and economic wealth, these landlords demanded proportionately more slaves and corvee (attl'awitpama) than before, "goods" the pawititamatla procured.
Truly, an age of urbanism and "civilisation"--"those who live in cities"--occurred in North Fusania in this era. This system increased the amount of food delivered to regional centers. Archaeologists note a spate of granary and storehouse construction in the late 12th century under Wayamese-ruled areas. In 1180, at least 10,000 people lived in Wayam and 25,000 more lived in the outskirts of the Upper City on the plateau above the cliffs of Wayam, making Wayam larger than even the grand Misebian center Mihithega as the largest city north of Mesoamerica. The seats of the Directional Kings in 1180--Ktlatla, Imatelam, Siminekem, and T'kuyatum--all held around 5,000 people, with the latter the second largest city at about 7,500 people. Three other cities, Chemna, Winacha, and Timani, also held around 5,000 people. Prefectural centers typically held between 1,000 and 3,000 people.
Tsanahuutimna also instituted military reforms based on his political reforms and his personal experiences in battle that changed the very nature of Fusanian warfare. Previously, military formations organised around soldiers from the same village and clan fighting together under captains appointed by the commanding general or ruler. Only a few professional formations like Q'mitlwaakutl's pananikinsh or Chelkhalt's White Robes existed, although nearly all men periodically drilled. Nearly all professional soldiers in Fusania worked as mercenaries or bodyguards, often living with families in specific autonomous fortified villages. Under Tsanahuutimna, a professionalisation and organisation of warfare occurred.
Tsanahuutimna based his military organisation on both the base-20 number system used in Fusania and organisation of clans and phratries. The building block of these forces was the
pashiktawsh ("those selected"), a group of eighty men led by the
shikhtawtla ("selector"). Long responsible for selecting men of a village to send to battle, under Tsanahuutimna the position of
shikhtawtla became institutionalised and professionalised and a key part of Wayamese military organisation. These eighty men came from nearby villages and were chosen and sorted based on skills, clan affiliation, and phratry--the Wayamese preferred to place men of the same phratry in the same sub-unit. The shikhtawtla's key lieutenant was the
chawiluukshmi ("of the flag") who carried the unit's banner and was responsible for signalling and inspiring soldiers.
Five of these
pashiktawsh formed a
papttl'kawaas ("fist") which consisted of 400 warriors. They were led by the patwanatla's chief lieutenants, the
shaptiwitla ("he who causes warriors to fight"), who normally supervised the training and supplying of weapons and defense within a prefecture. These experienced men functioned as the equivalent of staff officers and played a crucial role in Wayamese military organisation as they were held responsible for logistics and communication between the patwanatla and lower ranks. The
papttl'kawaas formed a common detachment for larger forces and often acted as a large raiding party, hence its common name meaning "fist" which appears to derive from poetic references where
miyawakhmi papttl'kawaas ("miyawakh's fist") meant a unit of several hundred executing the will of the miyawakh.
Armies were organised on a regional level. Each
patwanatla commanded one wing of an army and between 1,600 and 2,000 men depending on forces available, forming a
pakhanmi. The patwanatla served the
pachututatla ("head of the center"), the commander of the center with the most experienced troops and chief lieutenant of the Directional King who led an additional 2,000 men. This formed an army of at least 8,000 men led by the Directional King himself. Under Tsanahuutimna, Wayam had five of these armies under the leadership of the Pillar King for a total of 40,000 soldiers.
The strongest forces of Wayam lay in the elite pananikinsh units. In 1178, Tsanahuutimna created five papttl'kawaas (totalling 2,000 men) using the most elite and trustworthy warriors he and his men could find in Wayam and beyond and paid them to permanently fight for Wayam. This consisted of Wayam's standing army rather than levied forces and formed the nucleus of Wayam's professional soldier class. Soldiers from this unit included the Pillar King's personal guard as well as those men he'd fight alongside in battle. By Tsanahuutimna's decree, no more than 400 of these men ever traveled more than a day from him so as to prevent plots and keep his personal forces strong. These men swore to never retreat and hold the line at all costs, even
When this organisation emerged is uncertain, although epigraphy, pictoglyphs, and tapestries point to at least the early 13th century. It clearly evolved out of previous systems of procuring soldiers and organising them for battle as the names of ranks and units seem to have existed for some time beforehand. While traditionally cited as occurring in 1175, it likely would've taken many years to put the organisation in place and thus evolved over the course of his rule. Lack of evidence decisively dating it to the era of Tsanahuutimna means it may have fully emerged under one of his successors.
It seems probable that Wayam did not strictly follow this system under Tsanahuutimna as it did in later eras. Although the population was rapidly increasing and the Wayamese often recruited soldiers from allies, vassals, and even the Hillmen, the number appears extraordinarily high as 40,000 soldiers consisted of nearly 10% of the Wayamese population and over 25% of the population of men of fighting age. More likely this number in the early days consisted of numbers theoretically available to the Wayamese government as well as men who at some point conducted some military operation, even one as simple as fighting bandits or raiding the Hillmen.
Diplomatic and spiritual outreaches occurred as well. In these years, Wayam increased their outreach toward neighbouring states, relying on their propaganda as the spiritual center of the world and defense against barbarians. This produced some success--in 1175, the Namal city-state of Tlakalama [10] submitted to Wayam. In 1177, a coup in the city-state Tatkhinma by followers of the prophet Qiilekhnikh resulted in that strong Tenepelu city-state also submitting to Wayam [11]. Most importantly, in 1178 the Aipakhpam city-state of Pashkhash and nearby towns in its wealthy river valley submitted to Wayam following the death of its elderly miyawakh. This final holdout against Wayamese rule over the Aipakhpam people submitted, bringing its wealth and manpower to the Wayamese Empire.
Despite the centralisation occurring within Wayam in this era, the central government permitted Directional Kings much control over their own realms and their own affairs. In 1179, the West King Ahawaptas whose province contained much of the Lower Imaru invaded the Irame Valley using the forces available to him. Even though the reforms were barely in place by the end of the 1170s, in 1179, Ahawaptas mobilised nearly 10,000 men using the manpower of his realm and allegedly several Dena tribes. This grand force marked the fifth Wayamese invasion of the Irame Valley, and with control over the fortress of Tlawiwala it held a good chance of success. Tsanahuutimna lent few warriors to it out of personal caution and his focus elsewhere, although he wished the best.
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Author's notes
The historiography section at the start of this certainly spoils some of the events of Tsanahuutimna's life, but it's only a small loss since the topic is something I wanted to explore. Although I do include many details in my chapters which historians TTL would consider exaggerations or legendary accounts, I will try and sum up the size and scope of Tsanahuutimna's Wayam as a modern historian TTL might understand it. I would consider Q'mitlwaakutl an equivalent to Menes or Narmer with Tsanahuutimna someone like Djoser, Sneferu, or Khufu. Sargon and ancient Mesopotamian conquerers were also an influence on Tsanahuutimna, especially in the "universal empire" ideology held in Mesopotamian belief.
There are more developments and reforms accomplished or attributed to Tsanahuutimna, but these are better discussed in later chapters. Overall, it's important to note that Tsanahuutimna is simply codifying, centralising, and putting together the pieces of ideas devised by previous rulers in Fusania, some of which date back centuries before this time.
The Sahaptin/Aipakhpam terminology is my own construction based on my limited knowledge of the language and I'll use ATL language development and semantic drift as an excuse for why it might not match OTL Sahaptin. Changes in meaning are inevitable given how different TTL's Aipakhpam are from OTL's Sahaptins. There is a lot of Aipakhpam terminology in this update, but I like it because it gives a feel to this entry like you'd see when discussing other ancient/medieval civilisations and how they functioned. I'll try and alternate between using that and a reasonable translation like I switch between "prince" and "miyawakh" (or other local forms).
I will make charts displaying Wayamese military and political organisation and eventually a map of the provinces and prefectures of Wayam (although their borders are somewhat fluid). It is a topic I could (and might) do a full entry on at some point later down the road.
Next entry I'll discuss Imolakte and his final years as well as more of the Wayamese.
[1] - Mostly Cyprinidae (the family containing carps and minnows)--I'm uncertain which would be optimal for the sort of low-oxygen, stagnant waters common in aquaculture but odds are several species are raised. They are not prized among the Fusanian elite.
[2] - Sturgeon are not traditionally eaten by the Aipakhpam for they are believed to be man-eaters and thus are taboo. However, other civilised Fusanian peoples such as the Whulchomish eat them
[3] - One of the four quarters of Wayam, located on the northern bank of the Imaru River in OTL Washington
[4] - "Tsanahuu" is the Sahaptin word for condor which is associated with the mythological thunderbird, "timna" means "heart".
[5] - The Anbarachi Mountains are the Tualatin Mountains west of Portland, OR
[6] - A descendent of Q'mitlwaakutl's friend and ally Wiyatpakan who inherited his name--one of his other names "Mekhishmi-Apapkhlakhla" ("golden fingers") distinguishes him
[7] - Changondwefti is Sweet Home, OR and Chawilfmefu is Lebanon, OR
[8] - Ap'sukhichalkham is Estacada, OR
[9] - This is the Willamette Meteor, although it won't be known as a meteor for many centuries.
[10] - Tlakalama is Kalama, WA and Tatkhinma is Moscow, ID
