Languages and Geography of Gwij 

LANGUAGES/DIALECTS

The official Language is Gitot-ij. It is the most widely spoken language and taught in schools and spoken in government. The following variations of Gitot-ij have evolved throughout Gwij.

Hebit-Gitot (Southern Gitot) – predominately spoken in Isar

Hudi-Gitot (Eastern Gitot) – predominately spoken in South Western Defom

Fakat – predominately spoken in the Fakat hills on the borders between Fidaisa and Synn. Similar to Prea but with more Gitot-ij.

Galor – predominately spoken in Eastern Galoreya and the Krashi Islands.

Yeln-ji-Galor – (Galor of the Yeln River) – predominately spoken in Western Galoreya and Southwestern Shidou

Prea – predominately spoken in Peadraj, Synn and parts of Qairyu and Karkasum-Nesula. This is the most distinct “dialect” to come from Gitot-ij. It is the least understood by Gitot-ij speakers. Some scholars argue it is a totally separate language.

Saefot-Prea (Lower Prea) – predominately spoken in Peadraj and Northern Shidou. Similar to Prea but with more Gitot-ij mixed in.

Gitot-moShafir (Gitot of the Central Shafir River) – predominately spoken along the central borders of Yohannus and Defom

Huun-Gitot (Marsh Gitot) – predominately spoken in Central Bik and Eastern Isar.

These dialects are divided into three groups in accordance with their similarity to standard Gitot-ij

Gitot Fam (First Gitot)

Hudi-Gitot

Nusuli-Gitot

Huun-Gitot

Gitot-moShafir

Gitot Garm (Second Gitot)

Galor

Yeln – ji-Galor

Ranek Gitot (Far Gitot)

Fakat

Saefot-Prea

Prea

Prea and Saefot-Prea speakers are currently fighting to have their “dialects” recognized as separate and distinct languages.

 GEOGRAPHY

The geography of Gwij is mostly low-lying. The most predominant geographic feature is the unbroken Border Cliff (often used in the plural) surrounding the city-state. These sheer cliffs surround the city on three sides (North, East, and West). The Border Cliff limits the growth of the metropolis and forces Gwij to become the incredibly densely populated city it is.  The highest point of these cliffs is 2,658 metres on the north-western border of Defom Prefecture. The lowest point is at Kenapur Falls on the Geffin River on the South-eastern border of Isar prefecture at 1,324 metres. Exploration of the top plateau above the cliff has been very limited because of the sheerness and height of the cliff, and more importantly, the religious taboo against exploration. The plateau is known to be rugged and used to be covered with giant conifer rain forests called the Edge Forests. Most of these forests have disappeared with the advent of intense mining and crop growing in the region. The farther one goes on the plateau the drier it becomes.  Just how dry no one knows. The former forested areas along the edge are the most explored and known. There has been no contact with other peoples in or beyond the forests of the plateau. Not very much of the land past the Edge Forests is known. There has been “exploration by necessity” by sea and small colonies established along known sea routes (see below).

As a result of the Border Cliff there are spectacular waterfalls at the cliff’s edge and where the three great rivers of Gwij fall from above. Kenapur Falls, mentioned above, is the smallest at the south-eastern corner of the city. The falls are the most accessible because the city continues to almost at the base of the falls and is one of the most sought after addresses in the city state. Durepar Falls is the highest of the three waterfalls at 2,084 metres. Durepar Falls are created by the mightiest of the three rivers of Gwij, the Shirfa. The falls are located at the north central border cliffs near Fidaisa Prefecture. The third waterfall is Timpopo Falls (1,705 meters) in the northwest corner where the Yeln River enters Gwij near Peadraj Prefecture.

There are hilly regions in the city. The largest of these areas is located in central Bik and along its border with Isar. These hills, called the Hibbiki Elury (Hibbiki Hills), are another elite address of the city. Another hilly region is the Bugar Alury (Bugar Hills) located in north-eastern Defom, north-western Yohanus, and western Fidaisa. The last of the large hilly regions is Fakat Irumi (Fakat Hills) in eastern Fidaisa and western Synn. This region is relatively sparsely populated and the most densely forested region within the borders of Gwij.

Gwij has a very large annual rainfall caused by the sheer Border Cliff keeping the moisture from the sea trapped below in the Gwijian lowlands. The city has many days of thick fog and mist. The climate is relatively warm with the average temperature being 140 Reky (about 23 degrees Celsius). The driest time (though still rains and mist) is during the coolest months of the year.

COLONIES

Gwij has three colonies established around the Nar Shikaruum (Shikaruum Sea). The oldest of these colonies is Hokulur 1,256 Kiry (about 275 km) from the southern tip of Ki-Krashi Island, Galoreya Prefecture. Hokulur was discovered by Galoreyan Entrepreneurial sailors and shippers who wanted to explore for and exploit additional resources for the overcrowded metropolis upon the extremely rare permission from the High Court (the highest religious authority of the metropolis). Over the century since its discovery and its settlement, Hokulur has become a thriving city of its own. The population has grown to just under a million inhabitants, mostly labourers and company management from several fishing, lumber, and mining corporations. Hokulur is administered by Galoreya Prefecture and most of the profits go directly to Galoreya with a considerable amount of additional taxes going toward the Confederation Government. The area around the city is of thick evergreen forests flanked by the snow-capped Bishtan Mountains on the western border. The climate is a little bit cooler than in the metropolis with the average temperature at 136 Reky (about 19 degrees Celsius). Hokulur is still considered an outpost “town” by many Gwijeans and still has that rough and tough character to it even though it is now the closest of the current three colonies of Gwij. It still does not have the sophistication and niceties of its mother metropolis. The Hokuluri are proud of this distinction and work hard to keep their outpost reputation. Most of the population comes from Galoreya with a fierce loyalty to the prefecture. This in turn makes Galoreya a rather powerful prefecture within Gwijian politics. The Confederation Government knows that if Galoreya threatens to leave the confederation (secession is a constant threat to the government), then the very profitable colony of Hokulur will go with it (more about this in Politics section).

Because of the economically successful venture of Hokulur and the resulting prestige of the founding prefecture, several other prefectures started to explore for the purpose of setting up colonies of their own. As a result, the second colony of Arfi came into being.  Most of the coast west of the Western Border Cliff has been explored with little sign of other peoples and little hope of establishing a settlement for Gwij. This exploration went up as far as the south-eastern entrance to what is now Arfi Fen (Arfi Bay). The exploration of what is now the Lakortane Coast was explored by competing teams from various prefectures and even the central government (hoping to establish a colony independent of any prefectural loyalties). Eighty-five years ago, an oceanic expedition was financed by the then government of Mijor-Car prefecture to explore the uncharted Arfi Fen. A naturally deep and sheltered bay was found on the upper eastern coast of the bay with gentle sloping land and a thinning of the dense temperate rainforests that possessively cling to the Lakortane Coast. Mijor-Car claimed the bay, now called Faisorn Fen (Faisorn Bay), after the ship that first sailed into its waters, and the land surrounding it.

The colony of Arfi, administered by Mijor-Car prefecture, is now a bustling lumber and fishing town providing the metropolis with highly sought-after lumber for the building of houses and furniture for the wealthy. Arfi has a sophisticated feel about it because of its elite status of the “lumber yard of the Gwijian rich”. It has become a playground of the elite with its beautiful bay and lush hillocks and gullies. About 700,500 people now call Arfi home with the population almost doubling with the wealthy vacationers coming during the warmer months.

The last of the established colonies is Traikar Colony. Traikar is almost      directly south of Homkelur on the opposite side of the expansive Prebaiyan Dem (Prebaiyan Gulf). It is the southernmost colony to date. Traikar was founded by a commissioned exploration team of Bik prefecture 53 years ago. After finding it a hospitable place to settle, the colonial prospectors had an interesting discovery.  They found a plant that can be made into a very sweet and flowery drink when heated with water. The resulting drink was called Shan Na Traikar (Water of Traikar) and quickly became the most popular drink amongst the Gwijian elite. Shan Na Traikar is now becoming affordable and popular with the middle and lower classes of the confederation. The drink also causes a slight euphoric sensation when drunk steaming hot. So far, the plant (called Ka Na Traikor or God of Traikor) can only be found on the high plateaux surrounding the city. The geography of Traikar Colony is very different from the forested Homkelur and Arfi colonies. Traikar is dominated by grasslands with very few plants taller than bushes. There are harsh winds that often blow in from the outer Shikaruum Sea that give the land a windswept and chilly feel. Despite the chilly climate, Traikar is sunnier than its parental metropolis making it a cool destination to escape the steamy and soaking rainy season in Gwij. Because of the vast distance from the confederation, it is a very expensive and time-consuming voyage (a five-day journey from the main leisure ports of Qairyu prefecture) reserved for only the richest of the rich.  Traikar City rivals Homkelur in size with just under a million inhabitants thanks to the incredible profits obtained from the manufacture of Shan Na Traikor.

There are currently several other expeditions from several competing prefectures exploring the land and oceans for their own colonies to increase their wealth and prestige within the confederation. Thus far, there has been no contact with other societies.

Gwij and its colonies are the only known world to the Gwijians. This is a perplexing question considering the size and diversity of Gwij itself. There are people of all shades of skin, any form of dress, and a mind-boggling array of sub-cultures within sub-cultures inside the borders of the Confederated Metropolis. Obviously, many subcultures arose within Gwij over the centuries of its amoebic growth. Though many sociologists and historians believe that many of Gwij’s countless subcultures and peoples came from other lands still unknown to the whole of Gwij. If this is so, where is all the information about these lands and the stories from the very people who came here? This is the great question concerning Gwij’s prominent social scientists and historians (see “Dr. Orl and the Fijaik Gorrel” for more information about this controversy).