Rjanna's Research: Part 1
An exploration of a fictional world, one 'encyclopedic' entry at a time
[Editor’s Note: This historical work was found in an abandoned hut in the grasslands of Soviczia. We’ve ascertained that its writer, Rjanna, passed away some fifty years ago. Now her writings are being released for public use for the first time. Original capitalization and spelling preserved. We have not yet found a Bari translator: passages in Bari will be replaced by ///Untranslated Bari Text///. It is our hope that a future edition will include accurate translations.]
INTRODUCTION
I am unsure whether Anyone will ever read this.
I have remained in Isolation for almost a Hundred Years; the last Person to visit my Shanty is long dead. So the Pages I pen will most likely decay here once I am gone, never to be held in the Hands of another Person.
Why am I writing then, you ask? (I say ‘you’ even as I speculate that such a Reader will never exist. Ah, the Oxymoron of Hope.) In any case, I feel an Obligation to share what I have learned. I doubt that my Discoveries could be matched by any single Explorer. I’ve simply lived too long. Much longer than my fair Share.
But I digress.
I intend for this Work to be a Summary of everything I know about our World. I’ll begin with the most important Details, but if Ishe grants me the Time, I intend to record Information about even the smallest Plants, the most insignificant Insects. No Detail will be left out: any Piece of Knowledge might be the Key to freeing the Bari.
My People have been enslaved for over a Century now, and I am no closer to solving the Mystery of how to set them free. In all my Studies, though, I have come to a greater Understanding of the World we live in, and I consider it my final Duty to the Bari people to share what I have learned.
Perhaps, after I am gone, I can still be of Service.
ENTRY 1
RIBARIA (the Homeland, or the Dwelling Place)
[But first, a Brief Note: Nothing could be more important to a Bari than Information regarding our Illustrious Homeland. The last Person to visit my Hovel was a young Acolyte in search of Ribaria. I pointed her in what I hope was the right Direction, but I was so young when my People were forced out of Ribaria—I remember the Secret Pass, but not how to access it. I remember the desperate Feeling of fleeing by night, but I’ve forgotten the Sights that would allow me to identify my Home.
I will give what Directions I remember at the end of this Summary. They’ll be written in Bari, lest an Outsider attempt to access the Sacred Homeland.]
***
Ribaria is the original Growing Place of the Baribar Tree, the Mother of the Bari People. My People. Before they were brought into Captivity, the Bari lived in a country of lush green Vegetation, rolling Hills, and soaring Mountains. The Goddess Ishe planted the Baribar Trees in Ribaria’s Valleys, and the Fruit of the Trees birthed the Bari. She raised the First Generation, teaching them to live in Peace and Harmony, then left them to pass on what they had learned.
For centuries, the Bari people lived without Contention in the Valleys. They required little Food, and so they had little Purpose for War. Instead, the Land was shared, and much Focus was given to Creativity and Industry.
One hundred and sixty years ago, Sovic Sxplorers discovered the Secret Pass and entered the Homeland. They claimed to come in Peace, but soon began capturing Bari People and sending them to Soviczia as Slaves. My People attempted to flee, but were trapped against the Seashore. Gradually, the entire Nation was brought into Subjugation. A few Bari, including my own Parents, conspired to send their Children into the Forest to escape. Most of the Children I fled with were captured, but I and a few others made our way out.
I have since learned that Passage into Ribaria was blocked for a time. The Sovic People blame the dangerous Terrain and wild Animals, but I believe that Ishe was protecting our Homeland from being stripped for its Natural Resources. I still do not understand why She allowed our People to be taken; however, I trust that She has Her Reasons, Praise Be to the Goddess.
Ribaria, I assume, remains Fertile, Lush, and Green as ever, but Entrance is no longer permitted by the Goddess. So it is a Paradise in Isolation. The Bari cling to Hope that we will one day be Restored to our Homeland. If it is Ishe’s Will, I would like to see it again before I die.
///Untranslated Bari Text///