Sarvara

Last updated Jan 10, 2025

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Sarvara (Sarvaran: ‘Sarvárą’ IPA: /sar.vá.rã/) was a Morellic city located on the river Sarav in southern Tseireph. It was founded in the late neolithic by the first Diiran farmers, before being conquered by the Mora.

The name of the city, ‘Sarvárą’ in Classical Sarvaran, derives itself from the substrate Nethic language of Diiran, in which its name was ‘Kaúla sa-Láwa,’ meaning ‘settlement on the river.’ This was partialled calqued into Sarvaran, with the added ‘-rą’ element meaning ‘city.’

Sarvara was located on the river Sarav, a river of the Sarvaran River Basin, which was named after the city. The river basin itself was located in southern Tseireph, a continent of the habitable planet of Kherell, within the ‘Cadra’ solar system of the 2nd realm.

Sarvara was founded in the late neolithic era by early Diiran proto-farmers who had settled in the area due to it’s fertile soil and reliable, seasonal floods of the river Sarav. The settlement was a quiet farming village up until the Late-Neolithic Morellic Migration, when the Mora entered the river basin and conquered the settlement under High Matriarch Coriandra I.

By the bronze age, Sarvara would expand in wealth, prominence, and territory. Under High Matriarch Oleandra II, the Sarvaran Empire would be established after the conquering of the Oyholiric city-states of Aqhor and Evelor. The empire would go on to see a golden age of prosperity, art, and religion that lasted 500 years.

Ultimately, Sarvaran and the Sarvaran Empire would fall near the end of the bronze age due to the spread of the Sarvaran plague. The empire’s population was decimated, some of its cities buried over time, and in its ashes would rise the Empire of the Petrified Child, which was founded by a Corothic militia under High Patriarch Elephant I.

The Sarvaran Golden Age was precipitated by the invention of the Sarvaran Logography. The logography was written from top-to-bottom, carved either into wood or stone with bladed styli or chisels.

The logography resembled that of etruscan or nordic runes of the 0th Realm, and was initially used on wooden tablets for record keeping in trade, production, etc. Eventually, the Sarvaran Golden age saw it begin to be carved into other, similar materials, such as treetrunks, and only be used by nobles and priests.

The political system of Sarvara was that of a feudal absolute monarchy, where the state is led by a High Matriarch, serving the role of a monarch or queen. Underneath the high matriarch was the nobles who were allowed fiefs, land held by the matriarch but given to be used by the nobles, which employed and taxed commoners to work the land.

The sarvaran caste system was divided into 5 hereditary castes, derived from the early Morellic cultural structure, which then became reinforced by taboos and the organisation that came with the advent of the Bronze Age.

The highest role in Sarvaran society was that of high-matriarchs, queen-like figures who ruled states. However, despite transcending the caste heirarchy, high matriarchs were not a caste in and of themselves, and were counted among the nobles.

The highest caste was the priests, who could be of any gender. This caste was derived from the spiritual leaders of the early Morellic tribes, and the duties of the priests were of celibacy, worship, and sacrifice. They led sermons in the temples, and were permitted to write oral tradition.

The second highest caste was the nobles; this caste was earned through honor and age; almost all matriarchs and their husbands were nobles. The nobles often owned land and employed vassals, mostly other nobles and commoners, to live and work there. They commonly conducted accounting work and were permitted to write for this purpose.

The third highest were the warriors. They descended from the early spiritual leaders as well as the priests, but rather focussed more on protection and sorcery rather than pastoral care and worship. They were often seen as dispensible and replaceable, and systemically mistreated, leading to their place in the heirarchy.

The second lowest caste was the commoners. They were the laypeople and workers, vassals of the nobles, and made up the majority of the population in Sarvaran society. They were farmers, builders, smiths, and artists. Commoners were not permitted to write, but were capable of reading to a small extent, for religious purposes.

The lowest caste was the wretched. These were the least in Sarvaran society, those with diseases such as leprosy, those who were dishonoured, and those who had commited social crimes such as treason. The wretched often lived outside of city walls, within primitive and basal communities.

The date of the city’s founding serves as year 0 of the Sarvaran calendar, which was one of the many innovations made by the Sarvaran Minikin. Other notable innovations included pottery, poetry, art, early mass-production, war, and cartography.

• Sarvaran Architecture
• Early Morellic Tribes