Sami

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Sami
In Other Languages
Simp. Chinese	萨米
Trad. Chinese	薩米
Japanese	サーミ
Korean	사미
General Information
Demonym	Samifjod (collective)
Type	Confederate chiefdom
Head of govt.	Chieftains of Sami tribes Snowpriests
Military	Stuoraveahka
Races	Predominantly Elafia
Currency	N/A Columbian dollar/gold certificate (southern part)
Status	Active

“	Located at the north of Terra, a "country" with a special system composed of many tribes, and a model of co-existence between man and nature that is one-of-a-kind on Terra.	”
	—Loading screen tip in Expeditioner's Joklumarkar

Sami (ᛊᚨᛗᛁ) is a Terran country bordering Ursus and Kazimierz which is located in the furthest north of the continent near the Infy Icefield. Being the homeland of Elafians and other rare races, it is a primitive, loosely-banded chiefdom thriving in the frigid tundra that retains its ancient ways of life in the age of modernization. The Samifjod live in tribes ruled by a kinship of tribal chiefs, notably the Snowpriests, who serve as both shamans and elders for their tribesmen.

Throughout history, Sami has remained isolated from the outside world which in turn preserves many of its ancient customs such as its belief in animism guided by shamans and medicine men. The modern history of Sami only begins from its first contact with Ursine explorers, but because of being the frontline against the Collapsals of the north as well as countless skirmishes against Ursine expansionism, Sami remains hostile against foreigners even in present days, with only some trading outposts in the south being open to them. Entering the mid-eleventh century, Sami established diplomacy with Columbia which in turn has come under political pressure upon its sovereignty as Columbia constantly stirs up conflicts against Ursus through local Sami tribes.

The Sami language is an amalgamation of Old Norse and its closest surviving relative, Icelandic, the Sámi languages, i.e., Northern and Lule Sámi, and other Arctic languages such as Inuktitut, having distinct grammars and accents yet mutually intelligible enough with each other, and the language is written in runic letters.

History

Founding myth

Since the prehistoric era, human activities could be found in the northern tundra, but the region's frigid climate causes the Samifjod's contact with the Terran political heartland being extremely rare, causing many superpowers to remain uninterested in the region. Nevertheless, the Samifjod narrates their creation myth as two popular oral stories shared among various Sami tribes: Strīth or Ó-Friðr, and Ammatalus.

Aside from these two stories, many Samifjod folktales depict devastating disasters that almost wiped out humanity, wars among giant monsters and gods, and the rebuilding of civilization from the ruins. While anthropologists still question the origins of these folklore and their symbolism to their culture, many have different interpretations. Some theorize these folklore originate from constant Catastrophes hitting the regions due to the region's proxy to the Kolossal Prime Vein with these battles and monsters being analogues with the disasters. Others propose that the Samifjod animism originates from these apocalyptic myths as they learnt a unique Divination-type Originium Arts that could inherit folk memories spanning for generations, hence allowing these tribes to migrate before the advent of disasters. Furthermore, the history of Sami is intertwined with the migration of the Cyclopes, a pure-blooded Sarkaz tribe from Kazdel, who introduced the culture of divination to the Samifjod which amalgamated with their folklores to form the Samifjod civilization.

Strīth/Ó-Friðr

The Strīth (ᛊᛏᚱᛁᚦ) or Ó-Friðr (ᛟᚠᚱᛁᛞᚱ) narrates a great battle between the patron god of the Samifjod, the Samivilinn/Samidáhttu and the "All-Father," protecting the newly-born humans from an evil giant "fowlbeast" named "Valrhvíta". Ten thousand years ago when mankind was born from the earth and wandered around the world, Valrhvíta sored in the sky while laying fiery eggs that cracked out with blazes and stunning light rays, which immediately awakened the All-Father Sami. Valrhvíta was blinded by the light from its egg but blamed the All-Father for crushing the eggs. So, Valrhvíta flapped its wings that created a frigid blizzard that rained feathers as tough as iron, killing many humans in the process. Seeing his "creations" being wronged by the rampaging "fowlbeast," the All-Father arose from the earth and stretched out His body to defend humans from the scorching blaze of the egg shells that were as hot as twenty suns, the blizzard, and feather rain.

Despite preserving humanity from the disaster, the All-Father was severely injured, forcing Him to dig into the ground and hibernate for recovery. In the meantime, Valrhvíta, after recovering from the blindness, regretted its action, so it flew away from the mortal world never to be returned, but the "egg shells" it remained attracted the northern demons, the Andskotarnir, that could corrupt humans and the land through their psychic traits. Although the All-Father was too weak to clean up the "shells," He made a deal with the humans to defend the Myrkwood, the heart of Sami's body, from demonic corruption so that when He recovered from His recovery, He will aid the humans to eradicate the threat of the Andskotarnir once and for all.

Ammatalus

Ammatalus (ᚨᛗᚨᛏᚨᛚᚢᛊ) narrates the origin of two patron ancestral spirits in Sami folklore, Mattrmon and Amma. Before Sami the All-Father hibernated, He breathed out a ray of light that shone for a thousand years, and the light gradually formed into a twin: a human being named Máttrmön and a sacred beast named Amma. Because Máttrmön resembled a human, he decided to travel around the world, whereas Amma, who inherited the mercy of Sami the All-Father, decided to stay back in the land of Sami to guide the plants and animals in helping humans build civilization.

Because Amma is a sacred beast who could not speak, she communicates with humans in the forms of fire and ice from which the earliest humans learnt how to divine, giving rise to the first Snowpriest in history. Later, when the Cyclopes – a pure-blooded Sarkaz tribe from Kazdel – migrated to Sami, Amma guided a woman, a Cyclops titled Roavvá Vísinda, or the Prophetess, to reach help from a Sami tribe through signs provided by the hornbeasts' antlers. Out of gratitude, the Cyclopes taught the Samifjod a unique divination method by reading tree barks which in turn led to the earliest Foldartals born from the first Sami runes. These Cyclopes later split into two groups, one entering the mountains to teach the masses, and the other heading further north to "heal the wound of the land" and never returned.

Amma continues to guide the Samifjod through various natural signs through Foldartals and other natural signs such as unmelting snow which many perceive to be a great blessing. In return, the Samifjod remain alert when observing natural phenomena which gives rise to their animism.

Dezhnev Expeditions

The Dezhnev Expeditions ushered in the modern history of Sami. Even though they shared the same border, Ursus remained uninterested in Sami for centuries but treated them as uncivilized barbarians. Between Terran year 838 and 851, the Ursine explorer Fedot Semyonovich Dezhnev initiated four expeditions into the Sami heartland, and his expedition team was the first modern exploration team who managed to survey the Infy Icefield and returned safely. Dezhnev also managed to record Sami culture verbally, translated the Sami runes to modern languages, and presented his first-hand account to the academic circle. Most importantly, Dezhnev discovered the Kolossal Prime Vein, the largest Originium vein upon Terra, on Sami soil which revolutionized the Terrans' knowledge on geography in regards to the source of Originium.

The expeditions, on the other hand, further fueled up Ursine expansionism. The discovery of the Kolossal Prime Vein prompted Ursus's desire to extract Originium ore from this huge, abundant mineral vein to support its war machine. Furthermore, the Ursus-Kazimierz Wars nourished Ursus' demand for Originium. To fulfill the demand, Ursus used violent means to occupy Samifjod land such as military campaigns and land purchases, resulting in the displacement and forced migrations of Samifjod tribes once inhabiting western Ursus. Dezhnev protested the Ursine invasion onto Sami by voluntarily resigning from his academic position in 852 at the age of forty-nine and rejecting his service to the Emperor of Ursus.

Ursine-Sami conflicts

Since the Dezhnev Expeditions, both Ursus and Sami have an undeclared skirmish that still persists for two centuries until the modern days. But on the other hand, both sides never perceive it as a war as the conflict does not affect the political inner circle of both nations. Ursus will either use corps and foreign goods to tempt the Samifjod tribe in migration or use violent military campaigns to repeal rebellious Samifjod. In turn, the Sami tribes of the heartland do not care much about the border skirmishes, and the Snowpriests never perceive Ursus as an immediate threat that requires tribal unification.

The major reason behind Ursus' reluctance to declare a formal invasion upon Sami was, however, Ursus' need for a buffer zone. Both nations are right adjacent to the Infy Icefield where they constantly face the threat of the Andskotarnir, and Ursus does not want to risk itself to be the direct frontline. Hence, under the order of the Yurodstvo, Ursus remains a borderline in their skirmishes by limiting the conflict and de-escalating the situation whenever possible. When necessary, Ursus would even need the Samifjod's aid in repealing their common enemy.

Diplomacy with Columbia

Entering the 1060s, Sami opened up its borders to the outside world for the first time in history after establishing diplomacy with Columbia. Immediately, Columbia became a new political power that exerted its influence onto Sami. Waves of Columbians entering the country are on a rise, many of whom are expedition teams led by science communities rather than the traditional frontier pioneers. These expeditioners not only surveyed Sami geography, but also established a passage to the frigid Fjal Vetrtonn of the north. They even managed to rediscover the Cyclopes tribe in the north and reestablish communication between them.

Along with the expedition teams come various Columbian conglomerates that bring modern economy to the country. Columbian trading outposts and tourist resorts such as Čappat-Guðfriðr are established in the south, bringing modernization and prosperity to the southern tribes. In turn, many Samifjod are exposed to new culture and philosophy from the settling Southerners.

On the other hand, Columbia's presence in Sami is not always beneficial to the Samifjod. There are increasing ambushes against border settlements on the Ursine side that were done in the name of Samifjod. In response, the Ursine government blames the Columbians for inciting these ambushes, but Columbia constantly denies it, resulting in a constraining relationship between the two superpowers in the region. In the meantime, the Columbian scientists conduct deep studies upon the northern demons whom they named the "Collapsals" which further increase the threat of the Andskotarnir.

Present days

In the year 1095, a notable Snowpriest prophesied that an "Apocalypse" is about to bring an end to the current Terran civilizations. However, his warning only received intense mockeries and many superpowers such as Victoria and Columbia are turning a deaf ear to him. Back in the homeland, more and more Sami tribes are forced to migrate southward abnormally due to the increasing threat of Andskotarnir that slowly corrodes fertile lands, posing a potential refugee crisis. On the other hand, Columbian observers falsely presume that these fleeing tribes are the result of the tribes' interest to settle in a more modernized area.

Notable people

• Amma
• Maertha
• "Frost Skull Knight": A former Sami competition knight and second runner up of the Kazimierz Major. It is said that he always took advantage of the devices used to lower the temperatures of the arena. He was later hired as an instructor for the Warwhip Knightclub during the 24th season of the Major

Places

Settlement

• Čappat: Full name Čappat-Guðfriðr, it is one of the southernmost city of Sami built as the open outposts for Columbians, acting as both a research post and a tourist site.