The Only Truth That Matters

Selamat Datang/سلامت داتڠ

The Only Truth That Matters" is a WIP multimedia worldbuilding project by Hessian Hantu. Using a Nusantara fantasy velociraptor-inspired rainforest/peninsular society to explore his own musings and experiences growing up Muslim/Ex-Muslim and trans. This website is also a wip in itself.

The central focus is an arc about Dewa/Ketuhanan/ديوا. The resurrected corpse of Paderi/ڤدري left with no understanding of the role he was meant to play.

The setting takes place in the city of Belahapura, a mangrove brackwater coastline at the edge of a dense rainforest. Core leadership is concentrated around particularly large tree, Kenyataan/کاتاءن/, a tangle of mangrove-esque roots, and the draping vines of a banyan tree, with rippling mycelium crawling beneath its bark. It guards the Karam (velociraptor-inspired creatures) from elements and predators, but its rapid and unpredictable growth needs to be maintained. If left to grow, it may break down the housing, libraries, and infrastructure in their city. It is the role of the Paderi to prune, tame, and record the growth of this tree without killing it. The tree is treated as a microcosm of the world itself, each root is a different thread of time, each vine is a piece of history. Reading these takes lifetimes to hone.

The Karam society is based on Muslim Malay (Peninsular and Mainland) practices of Islam. Additionally, clothing takes a lot of inspiration from the Baju Kurung and Baju Melayu I grew up wearing. Bright, neon colours, bold accents, thin garments.

Author's note: Please be aware that I was not raised in Southeast Asia and that a lot of the information I'm working with is second-hand and researched. I'm doing my best, but please let me know if I get any language or social coding wrong! This project is an aching love letter to heritage, despite not having grown up in this environment.

I am accepting sensitivity feedback on:

PORTRAYAL OF RELIGIOUS THEMES
PORTRAYAL OF GRIEF
PORTAYAL OF TRANS-CODED AND LITERAL TRANS CHARACTERS
PORTRAYAL OF AUTISM
PORTRAYAL OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN-INSPIRED FANTASY
AVOIDING RACIST TROPES IN XENOFICTION IN GENERAL

TO DO:

Basic text on all pages
Resizing/reformatting artwork
Custom scans of Batik textures
Scanning and uploading brainstorm sketches
Mayhaps an autoplaying widget for playlist
Draw/Scan/Digitize Custom Assets and gifs

Art/Lukisan/لوکيسن

Some older art of Dewa

World

Geography:

Belahapura:

Outer Regions:

Species

Karam (Ka-ram), the primary sophonts of this setting:

The name of Karam is narratively derived from Karambit, a type of Malay knife that resembles a cat's curved claw. In-Universe, derived from the word itself that means "to break, destroy, bury". A name that is used to describe their strength.

In almost every respect, they are velociraptors. Though, as this is more of an exploration of religion + autism self expression, I've chosen not to fight the endless battle of perfectly keeping up with research on real velociraptors (Yes. This Hurts Me, Too. I think 17 year old me would assassinate current me for this. However, this is a matter of keeping scope, and further reasons that I'll elaborate on). This added with the geographical + ecological context change, it makes less and less sense to use fully accurate, desert dwelling velociraptors. It also adds a bit more artistic/speculative challenge. I'm also aware that there's a deep and rich history of rainforest-dwelling non-avian dinosaurs that would...probably be easier to adapt and require minimal change. But my Autism.

Transparency about their differences should be stressed. I like the shape/appearance of velociraptors, and that's all they will have concretely attatched to modern interpretations of velociraptors. Rounded pupils, nocturnal and crepscular lifestyle. Try to avoid the "velociraptor falcon" trope, these are ground/underbrush dwellers who simply nest above ground to cope with monsoon floods. Reference ground dwelling tropical birds primarily. Permanent housing style society, for this setting alone, not proven in real velociraptors.

Some modern avians to reference for feather coatings (Making sure not to copy them one-to-one, which is a paleoart pet-peeve for me)

Hoatzin
Malaysian Partirdge
Bush Stone-curlew
Orange-footed Scrubfowl
Plains-wanderer
Rufous-vented ground-cuckoo)

Kenyataan (Kun-yah-tann), the structural tree of the city and its religions:

Mata Pecah (Ma-tah per-cha), the alien stone buried deep within the Belahan (fissure) and Kenyataan itself. It is also used as the word for the otherworldly mycelium entwining it and Dewa.

Other Fauna

Other Flora

Society

Architecture:

Needs more research. A combination of Rumah Panggung (Stilt/Stage house) and avian nesting.

Infrastructure:

Social Systems:

Broader Politics

Smaller-scale family/community systems

Characters

Dewi/Dewa Ketuhanan

The current religious leader (Paderi Batang) of Belahapura. After Paderi Batang's death, the Paderi Cikgu were left with no choice but to perform a resurrection-preservation using the Mata Pecah. Though, in their erroneous use of it, they could only bring back her body. In her place was a different being entirely. This creature was the Mata Pecah itself, speaking and living in the body of a mortal. In losing their religious figure, the people of Kenyataan have finally accessed something like a god itself. Seen both as a powerful conduit and a major loss of their wisest leader, his existence has put strain in the politics of Belahapura.

Like other Paderi, he uses a Cotok Pekebun, the iridescent damascus-steel-esque item wrapping around his head. This is an in-world tool of religious practice and religious horticulture. It is used to inscribe and label the roots, branches, and vines of Kenyataan for reference by the Paderi. The words are written in common script, but their meanings are encrypted and encoded in practice that only the Paderi can decode.

Fragile and weak in a trembling body, Dewa is scraping the ground learning how to exist as an animal. He is often hand fed by the Paderi Cikgu, gently taught in whispers and prayer. The question of wether or not this incarnation of their leader should stay in this position is...a point of discussion among the Paderi Cikgu. The Cotok Pekebun is completely intact, and this is the same person, by common definition.

Paderi Batang:

Paderi Cikgu:

Elder and former Paderi, who have completed their term. Completion of a Paderi's term is indicated once their original Cotok Pekebun falls apart completely. As a Paderi Cikgu, the replacement is smaller and more removable.