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 Belahan/بلهن, 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.

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