After days of determining how to carry it out, heres my rough draft of a modern Pandoran empire! Everything is subject to change but I think this is really good starting point for now!
Tìfmi Aynawm (The Attempt of the Gathered)
Core Concept
A trade empire in early formation. Displaced Na'vi clans from various territories are converging in the savanna/grasslands with access to river deltas. Displacement is directly caused by human activity - mining, deforestation, hunting, resource extraction. The empire is a strategic response: safety in numbers and a united front against growing human infractions that individual clans cannot withstand alone.
The Setting
Geography: Vast savanna/grasslands with scattered trees, seasonal water sources, and major river systems flowing through the region creating fertile floodplains and deltas near the coast. Climate is seasonal - wet season brings flooding and lush growth, dry season shrinks water sources and concentrates game and people around remaining rivers and waterholes.
Pre-Empire Economy: Direhorses for mounts and transport. Zakru herds for food and materials. Yerik and hammerhead titanotheres for meat, hide, bone. River fish. Medicinal plants. Obsidian from mountain regions. Timber from gallery forests along waterways.
Pre-Empire Trade Routes: Multiple independent routes controlled by different clans. Direhorse patrols and caravans across open plains. River and delta canoe traffic. Clans taxed travelers passing through territory. Violence common - herd raids, caravan theft, control of waterholes.
The Problem: Routes fragmented by clan territories. Travelers at risk crossing between clan lands. Water sources contested - dry season waterholes are power. Herding lands disputed. River tolls arbitrary and multiple. Distant clans cannot reliably trade. Disputes over animals, water, and trade routes lead to constant low-level warfare.
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Human/RDA Threat
Human Activities Impacting Clans: Mining unobtanium destroys sacred sites, poisons water, strips land. Deforestation clears forests for operations and destroys Eywa connections. Hunting kills thanators, direhorses, zakru for sport or specimens. Resource extraction takes timber, medicinal plants, animal products. Military operations attack clans that resist and burn villages. Disease introduces human pathogens Na'vi have no immunity to. All of these force clans off ancestral lands.
The RDA have aircraft (scorpions, samson helicopters), firearms and explosives, body armor, satellite surveillance, superior logistics and numbers in conflict zones. Individual clans are isolated and can be picked off one by one. There is no central warning system or unified military response. Several clans have fought back - some won small victories destroying a mining operation or killing patrols - but all have ultimately been overwhelmed or forced to flee. Human reprisals are brutal: villages burned, adults killed, children taken.
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Origin
Catalyst: Human activity has displaced multiple clans over decades. Survivors have been fleeing toward the savanna/delta region because it is less targeted by humans (fewer mineral deposits), harder for aircraft to operate (open plains make them visible), easier to see threats approaching, has reliable water sources, and can support larger population.
The Displaced: Multiple clans from different regions - forest territories (deforestation), mountain regions (mining operations), coastal areas (human naval activity), grasslands (human hunting operations). All have lost ancestral homes to human activity, lost family members to human violence, and carry trauma, grief, and anger. They share one thing: they can't go home.
Resources Each Clan Brings: Different knowledge of human tactics. Different terrain experience. Different resources (some have captured human weapons and equipment). Different survival skills and trade connections. Direhorses, zakru, hunting skills, river knowledge.
The Opportunity: Displaced clans have nothing left to lose. They are desperate for security and open to new arrangements. Strength in numbers is their only hope. They can share intelligence about human movements, pool resources for defense, build warning networks, and present a united front that humans must take seriously.
The Bargain: Clans agree to central authority for defense purposes. Central authority coordinates patrols and watches for human activity, manages early warning systems, and organizes unified military response if attacked. Clans contribute warriors to a joint defense force, share intelligence about human movements, and pay taxes/tribute to fund defense operations. Clans keep internal governance for non-defense matters. Disputes between clans go to central authority to prevent infighting that humans could exploit.
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Government Structure
The Council (Pxeylan): Representatives from each member clan proportional to clan size. Meets periodically (seasonally). Decides defense strategy, major trade agreements, admission of new clans, dispute resolution, and allocation of dry season water/grazing rights. Selects a leader (Eyktan) specifically for defense coordination who can propose measures but cannot unilaterally declare war.
The Bureaucracy: Tax collectors (Tìngkxitxä Ion) collect tribute.
Route wardens (Fya'omaktoyu) patrol trade routes.
River wardens (Fya'oä Sute) patrol waterways. Scouts (Ayfya'omakto) monitor human movements.
Lookouts (Aytswayon) man watchtowers.
Judges (Tìfyawìntxuyu) hear disputes.
Scribes (Pamrel siyu) record trade, taxes, and human activity.
Water managers (Payoangä Eyktan) allocate dry season water.
Defense-Specific Roles: Human trackers follow patrols and map movements. Intelligence gatherers intercept communications and observe operations. Early warning riders rapidly spread word of human approach. Fort builders construct defensive positions. Weapon makers produce traditional weapons and adapt captured human weapons.
Clan Autonomy: Each clan governs internal affairs and keeps its olo'eyktan/olo'eykte, tsahìk, customs, and language. Each clan contributes warriors and goods to common defense. Each clan can leave but leaving means losing protection. Defense decisions are binding on all clans.
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Economy
War Economy Elements: Tribute goes toward defense supplies. Warriors need food, weapons, mounts. Lookout towers require construction materials. Scouts require direhorses and supplies. Healing supplies for wounded. Stockpiling food for potential sieges.
Taxation: Clans pay percentage of production to common treasury. Some tribute is designated for defense only (separate from trade taxes). Human-captured goods are shared or held for intelligence.
Goods Flow: Interior to Delta - direhorses, zakru products, hides, meat, medicinal plants, obsidian. Delta to Interior - dried fish, salt, shells, imported goods. River traffic - grains, fish, salt, timber. Intelligence Flow - reports of human movements and observations of operations.
Standardization: Empire creates standard weights/measures, standard trade language (creole of major dialects), dispute resolution system, safe harbors and waterhole access points protected from raiders.
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Human Activity Tracking
Known Human Operations: Eastern forests have active deforestation and mining. Mountain regions have active unobtanium mining. Western coast has a growing naval base and operations. Northern savanna has intermittent hunting parties. Southern territories have increasing exploration.
Current Threat Level: Rising. Human operations expanding. New bases constructed. More clans being displaced. Human reconnaissance flights already spotted over savanna region.
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Na'vi Titles/Leadership Titles
Olo'eyktan Clan chief (male)
Olo'eykte Clan chief (female)
Tsahìk Spiritual leader (female)
Eyktan General leader
Eyktanä Pxeylan Leader of the Council
Taronyu Hunter/warrior
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Council & Officials
Pxeylan Council
Fya'omaktoyu Route warden
Fya'oä Sute River warden
Kxamtsengä Kameyu Market official
Tìngkxitxä Ion Tax collector
Tìfyawìntxuyu Judge/mediator
Pamrel siyu Scribe
Tìngayä Kong Oath keeper
Fpeioä Tìng Diplomat
Payoangä Eyktan Water manager
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Defense-Specific Titles
Na'vi Meaning
Tawtuteä Kameyu Human watcher
Tawtuteä Ion Human tracker
Tìftxeyä Sute Scout
Tìfnuä Sute Silent guard
Txepä Sute Lookout
Kxutuä Kong Defensive commander
Tìtstewä Eyktan Battle commander
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Clan Status
Olo' Clan
Aynawm The Gathered (empire clans)
Kxamtsengä Olo' Center Clan (hosts capital)
Fya'oyä Olo' Path Clan (controls major route)
Pxawpay Olo' Delta Clan (controls delta access)
Kelku txey Displaced (forced out by humans)
Tìsung Addition (new clan joining)
Tìfnu Silent (refusing to join)
Kekem Unproductive (failing tribute)
Tìkxey Wrong/Disputed (in conflict)
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Tensions & Problems
Internal: Disputes over which clan leads and council seats. Access to dry season waterholes and grazing rights. River access. How much tribute is fair. Threat of fragmentation. Conservative clans resist new system. Language barriers. Displaced vs. host clan resentment. Favoritism in trade positions. Corruption in enforcement. Fear of human attack creates urgency and panic. Some clans want to fight humans directly, others want to hide. Trauma from displacement leads to demands for revenge. Debates on using captured human weapons. Arguments over interaction with friendly or neutral humans.
External: Outside savanna clans may raid instead of joining. Human operations expanding toward the delta. Coastal human base growing - naval threat. Trade partners may prefer dealing with individual clans over empire. Some clans consider making deals with humans for survival.
Practical Challenges: Building defenses without draining resources. Training enough scouts and watchers. Managing water allocation fairly. Creating early warning system across vast territory. Rapid communication between distant clans. Training warriors in anti-human tactics. Stockpiling weapons. Preparing for potential human attack. Refugees arriving constantly needing housing, food, work.
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The Question of Resistance
Debates Within Council: Some argue they should attack human operations directly. Some argue they should avoid contact and hope humans pass them by. Some want to preserve Na'vi culture above all else. Some want to adapt human technology for defense. Some are unwilling to work with certain clans due to old enmities. Some believe Eywa will protect them if they remain faithful.
Key Issues: Response to human attack - fight back, flee, or negotiate. Use of human weapons - accept or reject captured technology. Prisoners - take human prisoners and what to do with them. Diplomatic contact - engage with human authorities or not. Refugee policy - accept all displaced clans despite limited resources. Unity or autonomy - is defense the only binding rule.
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Growth Path
Phase 1 - Gathering: Displaced clans arrive at delta. Tentative cooperation around water sources. Basic council formed. Simple tribute system. First route protections. First watchers posted.
Phase 2 - Stabilization: More clans join voluntarily. Council gains authority. Trade routes regularized. Capital established at delta. Standardization begins. Early warning system established. First defensive structures built.
Phase 3 - Expansion: Clans join by choice or pressure. Empire controls key waterholes and grazing lands. Taxation becomes systematic. Outsiders recognize authority. Complex bureaucracy develops. Human tracking network expands.
Phase 4 - Consolidation: Internal disputes resolved. Trade networks fixed. Military power established. Identity as "empire" emerges. Human threat response coordinated. First major confrontation with humans.
This is an old world building concept I had never managed to finish so I’m chucking it here. I’ve always loved the idea of alternate dimensions, and in this piece I was trying to map out my idea of the multiverse
Nothing beats the feeling of giggling to myself after having figured out the best Hierarchy system in World building, even though the players will never dive deep enough to know it 😌😌 I build for myself.
PART 2 of Frederick’s POV historical accurate average 1402 sasau morning routine as a monk’s apprentice 🥹
STEP 11: greet horse
STEP 12: have breakfast in front of the wounded
STEP 13: try to help brother nicodemus with alchemy
STEP 14: fail so he sends you gather herbs instead
STEP 15: gaze at scenery again
STEP 16: take horse and almost kill a priest with it
STEP 17: ride horse to sasau to buy meat
STEP 18: buy meat and go back but ride your horse slowly to overhear more gossip
STEP 19: after you’ve done your duties as the monk’s apprentice you have free time so you go back to witness an ambiguous fight between 3 men that lasts 2 hours
The Van den Wenen system and its effects on Queen Alma
Excerpt from the book “The Young Queen, the life and tragedies of Queen Alma of Simovia” by Professor Jolijn Ruiter, published in 2058
The van den Wenen system is what we historians have begun to call the strict measures employed to educate and guide the young crown princess of Simovia. It gets its name from its mastermind, the infamous Vorst Gregorius van den Wenen, Alma’s paternal grandfather.
To understand the full context, we must first look back to the early years of Alma’s life. The daughter of the Crown Princess Zoe (while her grandmother was still the reigning queen), Princess Alma was born 23 November 2000. The family, at the time, was enjoying a relatively free and relaxed life. They lived outside Zonneminster in a spacious cottage (if a vast 12 bedroom estate can be called a cottage), surrounded by nature. Her mother was a diligent representative of the royal family both at home and abroad and, therefore, young Alma and her brother, the Prince Anders, were primarily cared for by nannies, and occasionally by their paternal grandmother, the Vorstin van den Wenen.
This all changed abruptly in 2004 when Zoe succeeded her mother and Alma became the sole heir to the Simovian throne. Though still fairly young, Zoe had failed to produce more children, and after more than 20 miscarriages and several rounds of fertility treatments, it became evident that there would not be any more royal children born to the family. Zoe herself was an only child, and any other female lines in the Simovian royal tree had wilted away decades earlier. Thus the four year old Alma became the focus of everyone’s attention.
Initially, the Queen and Prince Consort had intended for their children to attend the public school system, in an effort to make the monarchy seem more approachable to the people of Simovia. However, this suggestion was so unanimously rejected by the House of Lords that it never even made it to the parliament debates. This is where Vorst van den Wenen, the Queen’s father-in-law, stepped in. He would oversee the young crown princess’s upbringing and education. Certainly a grandfather would be the perfect person for the role.
Sadly, this assumption proved to be horribly wrong. Van den Wenen did set out to work and, only from the methods he used, we can draw our own conclusions as to his motivations. A loving grandparent would likely have ensured that a young child be surrounded by peers, with plenty of room for social interaction. Though while the Simovian nobility is notoriously restrained in familial affection, they would not have subjected a child to the various methods of punishment for anything that the man deemed to be misbehaviour.
Physical and verbal abuse, as well as solitary confinement in a dark closet, sources confirm that Alma remained claustrophobic for the entirety of her life. While Van den Wenen dealt out much of the punishments himself, he was a busy man, and thus he also employed several tutors for Alma, each of whom was instructed to deal with her in this cruelly sadistic manner. All in order to make her behave, or perhaps more accurately, to break her spirit and make her easier to control both as a child and the future monarch.
Perhaps the most significant description of the conditions Alma was subjected to comes from her own brother, the Prince Anders: “My sister was a happy child until the tutors came. We did not share tutors. I was told it was because Alma would be queen and I would not need to have the same lessons. So we were separated. I still remember how I once walked in on one of Alma’s tutor beating her. I tried to stop him, and got into horrible trouble for it myself afterwards. Alma stopped smiling and laughing around that time. She used to always sing, without even realising she was doing it, but all that stopped. She grew thin and pale. Our parents listened to the tutors, and of course to Grandfather. They did not know what was really happening.”
The van den Wenen system finally came to its end when in 2019, at the age of 19, Alma pleaded with her mother to allow her to attend university. One does not need to have studied psychology to understand that much of Alma’s issues with her health, both physical and mental, can be attributed to growing up under such tyranny.
