Varshani historiography

The history of Varshan is largely based on records, stories, epics, and sagas retained in the cultural memory and archives of Varshan. Many problems exist with recounting the history of Varshan. It is consistently characterized by inconsistencies, especially chronological problems that often put dynasties existing at overlapping periods where none exist at a sequentially earlier part. Occidental historians and scholars, given access to all Varshani records and arhives after the Final War of the Deluge, have been actively working to construct concise, legible histories of Varshan for global use; this process has run into significant difficulties due to the many historiographical issues encountered.

Cultural factors

Legendweavery

Legendweavery was a cultural expectation of all Varshani leaders and most high caste men to produce a historical recounting of their life's work as well as those of their predecessors and ancestors. The term "legendweavery" or "legendweave" is usually used to refer to this tradition, being an imprecise translation of a Hieratic Varshani term. Initially oral, the legendweaves became written by ca. 1200 AD. Most legendweaves were crafted by the individual discussing events with notable elders, including their own recounting, consulting other legendweaves and other written sources, as well as the introduction of fantastical events or even deliberately altering the facts and placements of events in order to complete the story. Consequently, legendweaves were viewed to be less concerned with facts and more with the major moral or theme of the story. Unlike Occidental histories, most legendweaves are not concerned with necessarily presenting an impartial view; many 17th-century legendweaves, for example, include a statement by the author that the description of events has been deliberately altered because the author wished it to be so and, with their version being more satisfactory, that is the "true history" of events. Legendweaves were not "published" in the Occidental sense, but commonly more than one written copy was created and distributed to all living individuals who participated in the events described there in. Friends and supporters of the legendweaver would also distribute copies of their legendweave and destroy copies of their rivals' works.

In pre-Deluge Varshan, no legendweave was more valued or given higher cultural authority than that of Zurgs, whose overarching legal authority included even legally binding positions on chronologies and historical events. This force of law often meant that earlier legendweaves, if known, were deliberately altered or destroyed. This practice left many extant legendweaves having confused narratives which often run contrary to the original theme. The alteration of legendweaves, already having fantastical chronologies in their unaltered state, often left a completely garbled historical chronology. These altered legendweaves were continually used by later legendweavers as source material. A post-Deluge survey of available digitized legendweaves in 2028 indicated that only around 15% had a "chronology which was half correct or better". Despite these issues, these materials remained central to the history and cultural memory of Zurgite Varshan.

Dark time

"Dark time" is a period in Varshani historiography where no recorded events take place, not due to a lack of activity but due to chronological misplacement.