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nilxis · 6 years

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Day 4: History

2018 World Building June post about History

History of Uranesia

Very little is known about ancient times, when the first Uranesians used to populate the island. Today, all around Uranesia one can find remnants of their civilization, but there’s no trace of them. Who were they? Did their civilization collapse? Or they just left the island? But why leave everything behind? These are some of the questions that the current inhabitants of Uranesia ask themselves. But for now, it’s all still a mystery.

New Uranesians came originally from the Continent. They were an ethnoreligious group known for their industrious spirit and their artistry, and for a long time that made them earn the respect of other groups. However, their misfortune had always been the fact that they were stateless, a minority in other people’s lands. For long they had dreamt of having their own land, a place to call home, something that was reflected in a series of prophecies. Little did they know that one day they would find it in such a far away and remote place.

Over time, political and religious tensions in the Continent arose, and they started being persecuted. Violence against them soon intensified, something terrible was about to happen. Some were seeing it coming so they began preparing some ships to escape, but it happened sooner than expected: they were forced to flee overnight, thousands of people. They rushed to the ships but only a few were able to make it, the rest faced massacre. Those who were luckier set sail for the vast ocean, but they didn’t really have anywhere to go. All they could hope for was a miracle.

After many days on the sea they were running out of food, the ships had been damaged by storms and they had lost the way. They were just drifting in the middle of the ocean. But then they saw it: land in the distance, an island rising steeply from the sea: Uranesia. They ended up at the edge of the known world, in a very remote region that had never really been explored due to its isolation and the belief that it was cursed. To the people in the Continent, the place was almost mythical, only mentioned in some ancient legends. But at that time the soon-to-be New Uranesians didn’t really know where they were.

They landed on the island to rest and recover, people were ill and hungry and the ships were about to fall apart, so they sent small expeditions to get some food and to do some exploring. Soon they realized that the island was rich in natural resources, and it seemed like it was deserted, there was no sign of activity anywhere. It had the potential to become their new home, despite the isolation and the difficult terrain, but it was too soon to make such a decision. So they kept exploring the island, repairing the ships, and started building some dwellings on the coast.

Not long after that they made an important discovery: they found some ancient ruins hidden in the forest, and realized that the island had been previously inhabited. The more they explored the more they discovered, but at first it was only scattered buildings or mysterious structures. One day though, a group of hunters made an amazing discovery that would decide the fate of their people: a lost ruined city nestled between mountains and cliffs, overlooking the sea in various directions. They immediately recognised the strategic value of the place: it was not easy to reach, but it was easy to defend and it had access to fresh water. So they went back and informed the rest of the group about the discovery. It was becoming clearer that Uranesia was a great candidate to become their new home, but they were still prudent. They sent a mission with priests to check out the ruined city, and the veredict was clear. One of the prophecies talked about an eagle on top of a column, and that’s exactly what the priests observed. The prophecy was fulfilled. They decided they would build a new city on top of the ruined one, a place they would call home.

Most of the buildings in the city were too ruined to be reused, but there were many structures they could use as a base and a lot of stone to use for the new buildings. Besides that, there was a lot of stuff from the ancients, it wasn’t just stone and building materials. As they were building the new city the New Uranesians spent a long time studying everything the ancients left. They realized their civilization was quite advanced, and there was so much they could learn from their culture. However, the ruined state of everything and the fact that they couldn’t understand the ancient scripts made it difficult. Because of that, in the end the ancient’s influence reflected mostly in practical aspects they could learn from observation, such as building and art techniques. Yet, they did manage to decipher their writing system, which the New Uranesians ended up adopting, as well as a few words from the language of the Ancients which they incorporated into their vocabulary. However, essential questions about who they were and why they dissapeared are still a mystery. (In the picture below, some structures from the Ancients are still standing today in the city).

Slowly but steadily they were creating a new city and a new society, despite being such a small group. They introduced agriculture, metalwork, internal trade, power structures, basic services, etc. Everybody had a role and things were starting to work out. Uranesia’s natural resources, their industrious spirit, their unity and their very strong religiosity played a key role in their survival and development. Eventually, though, they reached a point where, if they wanted their civilization to really thrive and flourish, if they wanted to become stronger, what the island provided was not enough. They couldn’t remain isolated forever, there was a world out there bigger than their city in their remote island. They had been unnoticed for a very long time, there was stability, and they knew that the conflicts in the outside world could threaten them again. Moreover, they still remembered the tragedy that forced them to flee from the Continent very well, centuries after. But they also knew somebody else could land on the island any day at any time, and at that time they were not strong enough to defend themselves.

That’s when they started fortifying the city and setting foreign trade expeditions, they had a lot of unique stuff to offer from the island but there was also so much they needed from the outside world. Eventually, they came upon a trading island in the middle of the ocean, a place owned by free merchants and used as an international commercial center. That offered them the possibility to take their products there, trade with merchants from many different lands, and go back to Uranesia keeping a relative secrecy. They couldn’t keep the island 100% a secret, but they made sure all the trade happened outside the island, even though they started allowing some visits from important merchants to Uranesia, normally to the port area only, and very rarely to the upper city.

Trade became very important for their society, and thanks to it they became richer and more developed. During that time they expanded the city down to the sea, they built a port, and they created a system of canals and locks to make the transportation of goods easier.

For years things were calm and stable, but a few years ago everything changed. Stories about a far away island with lots of riches spread, and one of their worst fears came true: a group of pirates reached the island. Their first contact was quite unfortunate and aggressive, the clash was inevitable, so that led to an attack of the Pirates to the Uranesians’ weakest site: a temple by the sea, where they first landed many centuries ago. The Uranesians couldn’t repel the attack and were forced to withdraw to the city. After that, they improved the fortifications of the city and the port, even blocking some of the ways into their domain, to prevent further potential attacks.

After their small but significant conquest, the Pirates decided to stay on the island and they built a settlement next to the raided temple. They created some sort of small colony, where they load their ships with goods from the island to sell around. That’s where they live and they have no plans to leave.

Apart from the attack on the temple, there have been no more hostilities, but tensions are still very strong. At this point no group has the power to attack the other and succeed, so there is a relative stability and a sense of fake peace. So the current panorama is an island divided in two communities who live parallel lives and seem like they ignore each other, but violence could erupt easily again if that changes.

But let’s not forget a third element in the island: the wild areas. Uranesians might have reached distant lands and explored beyond the island, but surprisingly, there are some parts of the island that are still unexplored. Either by a lack of interest or need, because of the belief that these areas are populated by evil spirits or are cursed, or because getting there seems impossible or too dangerous due to the difficult terrain. In any case, nobody really knows about the secrets that these areas might hide, and someone will have to be the first one to discover them.

And this is the current situation that I’m representing in CAW. If you’re still reading, thanks for bearing with me! That was a long text haha

You can read the first version of the history of Uranesia that I posted for World Building June two years ago HERE, but pretty much everything has changed. One year ago I posted a newer version of the history (HERE), which is more or less the same I explain here, but with small changes. So this one is the valid one.

I hope you found it interesting and enjoyed reading it :)

#worldbuildingjune #wbj #uranesia #caw #create a world #pics #unedited #sims 3 #ts3

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nilxis · 7 years

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History of Uranesia

First of all I want to say thank you so much for the latest notes and comments on the Uranesia pictures I uploaded, it makes me very happy to see that there’s still so much interest from you :)

Now, maybe you remember some time ago I posted about the history of Uranesia and its people. I often think about, and change some details. Some weeks ago I wrote down a new version of the history (very basic) so if anyone is interested in reading it here it is:

“The people in the city came from the Continent hundreds of years ago. They were escaping from something or being banished for some reason. After they fled they had nowhere to go, they were hurt and desperate for surviving. They needed a place where they could rest and recover. However, long-term wise, they were looking for some sort of promised land, according to an ancient prophecy about an eagle on top of a column…

…After many days on the sea, they reached the remote island of Uranesia, part of an archipelago located at the edge of the known world. Back then, the place was almost mythical. Some ancient explorers had sailed around it, but its difficult terrain, its remoteness and some ancient dark legends had kept them from exploring it further. To them it was just a group of empty islands (probably wicked) in the middle of nowhere, there were more important issues in the Continent. Because of that, almost nothing was known about the area. When the fugitives arrived, Uranesia was completely deserted: that made it a perfect safe stop away from the Continent. The ships were badly damaged because of storms, and the people were ill and hungry. They realised they would have to spend some time there, at least months, before setting sail again in search of the promised land. So they started building some some dwellings on the coast and repairing the damage. They quickly realised that the island was very rich in natural resources, and that perhaps it had the potential to become their home, despite the difficult terrain and the isolation. Soon they discovered that Uranesia hadn’t always been uninhabited: they found remnants and ruins of an ancient civilisation, something that went unnoticed by the first explorers because most of the ruins were not very visible from the sea. At first they only found some scattered buildings and mysterious structures but the more they explored the more they discovered. One day though, a group of hunters made an amazing discovery that would decide the fate of their people: a lost ruined city nestled between mountains and cliffs, overlooking the sea in various directions. The city was quite destroyed but there was a lot to explore and learn. The hunters immediately recognised the strategic value of the place: it was not easy to reach, but it was easy to defend and it had access to fresh water. They informed the rest of the group about the discovery and discussed the possibility of that being the promised land. A mission with priests was sent to the place in order to decide it. When they arrived they saw it: an eagle on top of a column, the prophecy was fulfilled. They decided they would build a new city on top of the ruined one, a place they would call home. It took some time though, they had very little experience in construction. They spent many years studying the ruined city and learning about the building techniques of the ancient peoples, forever gone. They also learned about their culture, art, lifestyle and religion, which ended up influencing their own. They never managed to fully decipher their ancient written texts though, only some worlds and the alphabet, which they ended up adopting. Many mysteries about the Ancients still remain from being discovered: Where did they come from? What happened to them? Where did they go? There are a few ancient structures in the city that are still standing today, because they were used as parts of new buildings, but the rest was mostly rebuilt from scratch, it was too ruined to be preserved. The islanders gradually moved from the first dwellings to their new homes in the city, as it was being built. When it was finished, the city contained almost all of the population of the island. They named it “The Nest” in the language of the ancients, because of the prophecy of the eagle, the elevation of the city, the views, the shape of the mountains around it and the fact that it was a safe home. It became a great city: with canals that take fresh water to every corner, terraced fields that make agriculture possible, stone paved streets, temples, and the majestic royal palace, built around the ancient column where the eagle was found.“

As you can see, I’ve changed some things from the original backstory. Also, because I’ve changed the story about how the city was built, now it needs a new name, it’s no longer called “Nea Divarapolis”. I’ll let you know it when I decide it (None of the ones I’ve come up with so far has convinced me lol) .

And I also wrote this (in my MTS thread):

“This is how I imagine things happened: 1. The ancient people of Uranesia mysteriously disappear and leave their buildings and culture behind. 2. The fugitives from the Continent reach the island and eventually make it their home. 3. They rebuild the city, later they build a port and start contacting other peoples and trading with them. The trade is almost secret: Uranesians take their products to some kind of micro-island-nation owned by free merchants and used as an international commercial center. They have a deal which doesn’t allow merchants to follow them back to Uranesia. That way the island is still practically unknown. 4. Until some pirates* discover it: A)They intercept the trading ships. or B)They reach it accidentally. *Pirates working for some country/kingdom in the Continent? 5. They find something valuable in the island and build a small settlement/colony on the coast, where they load their ships and send material to the Continent. 6. The people in the city fear an invasion. They improve the city’s fortification, especially in the port. And this is the present situation I’m representing in TS3 About the inaccessible island, I was thinking about making it a separate world: an island visible from Uranesia in the distance. It will make Uranesia lighter. Besides, it would be very difficult to lock an entire community within the same world. I have some ideas about the relation of Uranesians with the islanders in the inaccessible island, it will be one of the mysteries to discover :P You can see that I’m imagining lands beyond the island of Uranesia, and hopefully I will be able to finish Uranesia one day and create new worlds linked to it. Some sort of saga of Sims 3 worlds filled and connected with stories :)”

If you’ve read this far, I love you :P Let me know what you think, and whether you like it :)

#uranesia #caw #text post

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nilxis · 7 years

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Late replies

On my post History of Uranesia. Thanks to everyone who read it!

@thesims3hasstoppedworking said:

I love the backstory of Uranesia. Tbh I’ve never read any previous version of it but this is how I imagined it! Also are you going to actually populate Uranesia? I’d love to see citizens, if that’s a proper word to describe them! And I like the idea of separate worlds for other islands.

Thank you :) Yes, it’s going to be populated! I’m taking population quite seriously for this world, visiting and getting to know the inhabitants will be very important for playing the challenge I want to create :) We’re actually starting to discuss Uranesia’s population on my MTS thread, check it out HERE.

@andantezen said:

very interesting! to me, the mysterious disappearance of the former civilization represents a threaten to the current, as they could be heading the same ways (of extinction, exile?) without being aware of it…

Indeed! Who knows what caused the disappearance of the Ancients, and whether it can happen again... This will be one of the mysteries to be discovered :)

@desiree-uk said:

This is great, I love other players back stories for their towns :) I can definitely see this written as a book and saga! :)

I’m glad you like it :) If I had much more time I would probably try to write a novel or saga, I love the idea, but I doubt I could pull that off... Anyway I will include several short stories in inscription plaques around the world :)

@willky12 said:

You had my attention the whole way, I love this wonderful history you created, and it opens up a lot of possibilities for game play and stories. The imagination could run wild! ;D

and @sims3medieval said:

I really really like it!

I’m glad you both like it :) Thanks!

@simblu said:

I am so in love with this entire concept ! First of all, the world and buildings and sky…magical. The background story is SO PERFECT. Not only is this world an artistic and architectural achievement, but you also have the storyteller gift. You are an amazingly talented person. Love the idea of the other trading island . Somehow this reminds me a little of Murano .. and how Venetians for so long preserved the secrecy of their glassmaking techniques.

Thank you so much for your nice words!! I didn’t know that about Murano’s glass, interesting :)

#reply #sims3hasstoppedworking #andantezen #desiree-uk #willky12 #sims3medieval #simblu #uranesia

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