Earplanne

The Earplanne is a vast flat region in eastern Crona extending over several ecological biomes. It includes most of Arcerion, large portions of Paulastra, and the westernmost parts of the Cape.

Since the 17th and 18th centuries, the Earplanne has largely been dominated by agricultural and urban activities and settlements, primarily from Occidental colonists and their descendants. Prior to that, however, the Earplanne was home to several nomadic empires and many large tribal confederations of indigenous Cronan peoples, most famously the Matokté Tashnacate.

Etymology

The term Earplanne is a Ardmori-language word used by early settlers and explorers of Arcerion which means "eastern plain". The area did not have a single term in the several indigenous languages spoken in the area or adjacent to it, though a term with basically the same etymology was employed by the North Songun civilization.

Human activities

Trade habits

The major centers of population and high culture in Crona are modern Tierrador, Varshan, and the ancient North Songun civilization. All these regions are connected directly or indirectly to the Earplanne area, across which trade was conducted to reach peoples living in modern Cape. When faced with a rich caravan the nomads could either rob it, or tax it, or hire themselves out as guards. Economically, these three forms of taxation or parasitism amounted to the same thing. Trade was usually most vigorous when a strong empire controlled the steppe and reduced the number of petty chieftains preying on trade.

Agriculture

The nomads would occasionally tolerate colonies of peasants on the Earplanne in the few areas where farming was possible. These were often captives who grew grain for their nomadic masters. Along the fringes there were areas that could be used for either plowland or grassland. These alternated between one and the other depending on the relative strength of the nomadic and agrarian heartlands. Over the last few hundred years with the arrival of Occidental settlers, most of the Earplanne has been cultivated and irrigated as needed.

Hunting

The nomads of the Earplanne would hunt bison as the primary source of nutrition, and consequently great bison hunts were the primary social and economic activity of the Earplanne for much of the nomadic era.

The Man of the Plains (1849) depicts the centrality of bison hunts to nomadic life.

Language

Over the course of the nomadic period, hundreds of related languages would emerge across the Earplanne, most certainly emerging from a common ancestral language of the first arrivals on the Earplanne. Over time, the language of the nomads would be greatly influenced by that of the North Songun civilization by regular trade, diplomatic, and military contacts. A modern survey of the remaining indigenous peoples of the region indicate a plurality of all vocabulary words now spoken originate in the North Songun region, indicating the degree of interaction and influence between the two regions.

History

Nomadic empires arise

The last major horse empire of the Earplanne, the Matokté Tashnacate, was also the largest and most powerful, subduing significant parts of the North Songun civilization and defeating, though not subduing, the Qabóri Woqalate.

Colonization and decline

By the 18th century, the fractured tribes and horsemen-realms of the Earplanne began a minor resurgence with the mass introduction of firearms. In conflict with both Occidental settlers and eachother, firearms-armed horsemen allowed tribes to begin consolidating vast ranges once again, and by 1800 significant parts of the eastern extremity of the Earplanne were under the rule of a handful of powerful nomadic groups. Colonial reports documented common expectations among indigenous people that a new Tashnacate could be established with the Occidental colonists being expelled. However, significant new fortified settlements and dramatic colonial armament (particularly by Arcerion) proved too difficult for the nomadic peoples to overcome, given that their raids only emboldened the Occidental settlers.