Hi folks! This will actually be the last week of history posts – next week we should have at the very least a teaser for the new main page banner image squared away, along with a possible chapter introductory page similar to the one of Quinlan at the onset of Chapter 1. Exciting times!

This week, I’ll delve a little bit into Tamian history and culture to tell you about Tesque. Not the Tamian martial art that we saw Quinlan and Crim demonstrating in Chapter 1, but Tesque the individual. Tesque was actually the name of the supposed “first Tamian” – a God King who serves as the crux of the Tamian creation myth, as well as the inspiration and namesake of the official Tamian martial art.

As Tamian legend goes, Tesque was one of many in a pantheon of immortal creatures living in the treetops high above the world. Tesque was a brash and boastful god, and his fellow deities felt it necessary to punish him for his arrogant ways.

TesqueMyth01

They conspired against him, and threw him out of the heavens. Tesque fell from the highest treetops and landed on the ground at the heart of the Western Deep, where the tallest trees continue to grow into the present. These special trees, oaks taller than any in the world, are said to be gateways leading directly to the heavens should one climb to the top.

Tesque falls to earth, on the spot where Terria stands today.

Alas, throwing Tesque out from the heavens wasn’t deemed enough of a punishment, so the jealous gods also sent down a dire enemy: The Walkers. These massive creatures were created to rule the forest floor and teach Tesque some humility. Instead, Tesque took to the trees of the Western Deep, learning to climb and travel the world without ever so much as touching the forest floor.

Tesque is forced into the trees by the horrible Walkers.

Still, Tesque was boastful and arrogant, and he mocked the Walkers from his safe haven in the treetops. When his fellow gods saw this behavior, they gave the Walkers the ability to climb trees and pursue Tesque anywhere in the world – turning them into the Treewalkers that currently inhabit the darkest forests of the world. Tesque, pursued to the point of exhaustion, was finally forced to fight back.

According to the myth, Tesque, backed into a proverbial corner and with no other recourse, challenged a Treewalker bare-handed. Using his natural agility and mastery of his environment, Tesque came away victorious and none the worse for wear. The Treewalkers were forced to retreat into the wilds, and Tesque established the Tamian civilization.

Tesque defeats a Treewalker in single combat, forcing its kind into the dark corners of the Deep.

The martial artform named after Tesque does not condone any attempts to fight Treewalkers bare-handed – after all, no Tamian is god-like in their power or ability. Still, there are occasional attempts by those who are perhaps just as boastful and arrogant as Tesque himself – though these unfortunately have not ended well for any of the participants.

Tesque is still revered by the Tamian people as a god and the patron founder of their entire civilization. Sermons extolling his many acts of bravery are still told from small stone daises that Tamian citizens gather around, the tall oak trees at the center of the Western Deep are still considered holy ground, and the oak leaf has remained a symbol of the Tamian kingdom for countless generations.

Wherever you look in Terria, the influence of Tesque’s fable isn’t hard to spot.