Reference:DRC research notebooks/King Me'emen
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| Location | Tokotah Rooftop, Ae'gura |
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Took the throne in 5240 DE at the age of 83.
One of the biggest announcements of Me'emen's reign came rather quickly and was offered by the Guild of Miners and Stone Masons (who had worked together). In 5307 they revealed Nara[a], as it had been created in a laboratory weeks earlier. Nara offered tremendous opportunities for mining and construction and ended up having a massive impact on future opportunities for D'ni. Even at the time of its release, there was apparently much excitement about its potential.
In 5312 DE, disease broke out in the industrial district of D'ni most likely originating in the Age of Yasefe[b]. The outbreak caused widespread panic as many predicted another plague similar to what had occurred during the 2100's. Fortunately, the illness was not nearly as lethal as the aforementioned, and the Guild of Healers reacted extraordinarily fast in finding a cure. Regardless, there was again a new push to at least separate the Nehw'eril District[c] far away from the city proper.
Me'emen apparently liked the idea quite a bit and encouraged the Surveyors to begin looking into such an expansion.
In 5359 DE, the D'ni received another great reason to begin major expansion and it came in the form of Stone Tooth. It was the second of the Great Diggers and quite a bit more powerful and technologically advanced than the older Stone Eater. Me'emen immediately ordered the Guild of Miners to begin "clearing" an area (along with Stone Eater) for a new industrial district replacing Nehw'eril. It was not until 5475 DE, that actual construction was begun on the new industrial section Uran.
Less than a hundred years after Stone Tooth, in 5473 DE, the Guild of Maintainers announced that the newly discovered Deretheni could be used to create much improved, and much more protective, Maintainer suits. Though such an announcement may not seem especially important, the new suits ended up having a great impact on D'ni culture. Since the Maintainers were able to take bigger risks with the types of Ages they could explore, the Guild of Writers were allowed to be a bit more liberal in their writing, and a new breed of Age was begun[d].
During Me'emen's reign "Words" became a common topic of discussion and attention was again given to the older temples. Evidence points to numerous remodels and renovations of many of the secular temples that had been built years earlier on the "new" line of the Great Zero.
It seems that Me'emen himself paid little attention to the religious pulse of his people being much more interested in technological advancements and city expansion to care.
Once Me'emen felt that Stone Eater and Stone Tooth were no longer needed, he recommended using them to build an underground tunnel connecting The Island to the city proper, and minimizing the need for boat travel. His proposition was not embraced by any means, especially by the upper classes who were living on The Island. Apparently there were a number of protests, for fear of the affect the tunnel could have on The Island. The proposal was also rejected by most of the Guilds, causing Me'emen to not force it.
In 5500 DE, the first imports from other Ages were linked to the new Uran District, much further from the city. Uran was said to be "a tremendous improvement over the older Nehw'eril…much more advanced…much safer," and there was tremendous celebration on the day of its "opening"[e]. Security was tight in the new district, as it was revealed later that the Relyimah had uncovered a variety of plots intended to display some of the faction's disagreement with the district.
In 5540 DE, Me'emen's only son became extremely ill and ended up passing away six months later. As a member of the Guild of Healers, Ashem was often among the first to investigate new Ages to make sure of their safety in relation to disease. As a result of his death, the Age was not approved until a cure could be found. Me'emen considered the actions of his son heroic and changed the name of the Uran district to Ashem'en a year after his death.
It was said, that the death left Me'emen "deeply saddened…devoid of the excitement he had shown throughout his reign"[f]. Many said it forced him to the Prophetess Trisari[g]. Me'emen apparently spent much time with Trisari in his last days and was able to die a content man "because of her"[h].
Me'emen died in 5549 DE at the very ripe age of 392 and choose [sic] his nephew, probably on recommendation of Trisari, to succeed him.
Footnotes
- ↑ A metallic gray stone thirty times the density of steel and the hardest of all D'ni stones
- ↑ Yasefe was mostly forest and provided D'ni with a good portion of its wood supply including the expensive, and rare, Yema.
- ↑ The industrial district was formed during the reign of Needrah and served as an importation center for most outside goods.
- ↑ The newer Ages allowed for much more experimentation with atmospheres, animal life, and energy sources.
- ↑ From the journal of Grand Master Veshar of the Guild of Stone Miners
- ↑ From the journals of the Prophetess Trisari, assigned to King Me'emen
- ↑ It should be noted that prophetesses had been assigned to all of the Kings but, for the most part, had become nothing more than figureheads, rarely consulted
- ↑ From "Ashem" written by Ramena in 5589
