Hello! Welcome Back to the Archives of Fabella daily. The only podcast that takes you deep into an alternate world of magic and mayhem. Today is March 27th, equal to Aries 7th. Books are available on Amazon. Please rate and review the podcast on iTunes or wherever you listen to your podcasts and hit that subscribe button for more great stories right in your feed.
There are no recorded events on Earth in the year 2308 BC, but on Fabella, a unique merman became the leader a country needed.
I’m Dillon Foley, and this is Archives of Fabella.
Beyond our world, there is love
Beyond our world, there is war
Beyond our world, there is life
Beyond our world, there is Fabella.
Aries 7th, 1693 FY Fabella Year equal to March 27th, 2308 BC Earth Year
Members of the LGBT community always had roles in the military throughout Fabella’s history. Were they always respected? No, but they played significant roles in shaping the magical world. Due to social and official discrimination, though, many of their stories were untold, with the topic of their sexuality essentially being absent or glossed over. But in the case of one of the earliest military commanders, gender identity was at the forefront of their character.
In the year 1693, two warring tribes in the rainforest region of Aflar were pitted against each other in a desperate bid to control their homeland. The Age of Civilization was a period where war was just beginning. The Chaka Tribe was locked in a heavy confrontation with their rivals, the merfolk of Sasternak, over control of the northeastern Aflar coastline.
Neither of these tribes knew how to fight. Magic was in its infancy at the time, so there were no warlocks. An air force made up of flying mounts had yet to be put together as well. So the skirmishes between the Chakas and the Saternacks on the beaches of Aflar consisted mainly of jabbing spears at each other in a chaotic mess devoid of leadership until one side surrendered for the day. Many people were dying every day on both sides, and this early war was going nowhere pretty fast.
The Saternak merpeople heard tell that their cousins of the Tabbersora tribe up in Kathara had mobilized themselves into an aquatic infantry thanks mainly to their proximity to the kingdom of Ancient Punt, first to develop the art of warfare. So they sent a messenger to the Tabbersoras to request aid.
On Aries 7th, help arrived in Sasternak. The Tabbersora merfolk sent their best military strategist, General Fesserbar, to whip the Sasternak troops into shape. Merfolk in Fabella were not built with a human top half and fish bottom half like most depictions in literary fiction. Instead, they were two-legged, bipedal, amphibious folk with both fish and human DNA. They spent most of their time in the water because they could only survive on land for short periods. This caused merfolk to develop general insecurity when around people who dwelled on the surface. They always felt like visitors and never truly comfortable outside of the familiarity they associated with their home. Fesserbar was no different.
They fought tooth and nail against being sent to Sasternak, knowing that their gender-fluid identity would never be accepted. Fesserbar’s fears were justified. Within hours of meeting their cousin and hearing of Fesserbar’s preference for they/them pronouns arising from a resistance to be labeled a mermaid or merman, the Sasternaks were tremendously offended. They did not hide their disappointment and requested that Fesserbar swim back home to Tabbersora to request a quote “real hero” to lead them into battle.
Incensed and outraged at the discrimination from their people, Fesserbar decided to swim back alright, but not Tabbersora. Instead, they swim to the coast controlled by the rival Chaka tribe to offer their services.
The Chaka Tribe’s dwarf chieftain Doradus was also prejudiced toward Fesserbar. Still, his desire to win the war against the merfolk led him to welcome the foreign general on his shores anyway.
The Chaka Tribe lived in an area under the Redwinter Mountains rich in minerals. They built their homes and other structures out of the most ubiquitous naturally occurring material in their region. Gold.
Every hut, temple, and marketplace in the Chaka tribe glittered as the warm rays of the sun graced their gilded blocks. The Chakans were adept at mining, taking to the practice like they were born to do it. Most of their ranks were comprised of dwarves and goblins, but they also had a healthy population of other land-based people like minotaurs, humans, and elves.
Chief Doradus was a dwarf who wished to have control over the coast to trade with neighboring tribes, for the Chakans were rich in gold, but very poor when it came to anything else.
This alliance is excellent for Fesserbar as well, for trade was a crucial part of merfolk identity. They regularly exchanged aquatic goods with people on land. Aligning themself with the Chakans presented a rare win/win scenario. The only obstacle Fesserbar and Doradus had to get over was their prejudice and commit to working as a team.
Fesserbar’s tenure with the Chakans was not easy. The tribe was low on discipline, morale, and even food. With their strict military drills, showy presence, and intelligent eye for military strategy, Fesserbar slowly helped mold the Chakans into a military powerhouse.
Chief Doradus played up General Fesserbar’s qualifications. Fesserbar had been fighting since they were 17 and had become a personal aide to the King Oceanus of Tabbersora. There was no stronger military commander in all of Fabella.
When Fesserbar arrived at Chaka, they were appalled by the conditions the tribal warriors had been fighting under and immediately set to work drilling them with strict techniques. They were a strict drillmaster, but they also socialized with the troops, dining with the tribe at bonfires for as long as possible before having to slide back into the ocean.
Fesserbar formed intense relationships with the Chakans. As the days wore on, they taught the army more efficient fighting techniques and helped instill the discipline they so sorely needed. The merperson drillmaster quickly became one of Chief Doradus’ most trusted advisors.
Fesserbar remained in Chaka long enough to see them win the war against the Sasternaks. The victory was all the doing of their military schooling. Fesserbar returned to Tabbersora with a trade agreement between themselves and a renamed Chaka. For following their decisive win, the Chakans decided to name their budding nation after their Chief and “Dorado,” as it was called, passed into legend as El Dorado, the fabled city of gold.
That’s going to do it for us today. Tune in tomorrow for the birth and rules of a high contact sport. Subscribe now to get more new episodes right in your feed. Rate and review the podcast on iTunes or wherever you listen to podcasts. Send your questions to archivesoffabella@gmail.com.
Archives of Fabella is created, produced, and hosted by Dillon Foley with music by Garret Ferris and Audioblocks. Books are available on Amazon in ebook and paperback, as always, “Look outside of what is possible and think about what might be.”