“[T]he Talossan people are inexplicably and inextricably connected somehow to Berbers,” reads Talossan law (RC37, “The You Are What You Talk About, and You Talk About Berbers Act”). And inexplicably and inextricably, it’s true. While it was once simply a blatant attempt at mythmaking by Robert I, in an attempt to distinguish Talossan history from that of the United States of America, it can’t be denied that most Talossans think the Berber people – a light-skinned North African group – are interesting and cool. And in Talossa, that’s how traditions become fact.
As the old Talossan proverb says, "It is highly possible, and therefore true."
Thus, in some mysterious sense, the ancient Berber tribes are the ancestors of the modern Talossan people, and every Talossan should study them in at least some small way to understand an ancient heritage.
The ancient Berber people occupied much of North Africa, and their direct descendents populate much of the countries of Morocco and Algeria. They spoke the Berber language, written with a variety of alphabets over the years. As a predominantly coastal people they absorbed much of the influences of seafarers such as the Phoenicians and Greeks. They were especially prominent in history at such times as the Second Punic War of the third century B.C., when their powerful cavalry performed outstandingly well when allied with Carthage against Rome, and during the Islamization and empire building in Africa the seventh to tenth centuries A.D. that set up powerful Berber caliphates.
Importantly for Talossa, the Berbers were also great travelers. It is widely believed by historians that they had cultural and genetic influence upon most of the peoples of Europe until well into the Renaissance. And because Talossa is located in an area settled predominantly by European peoples, this means that there is at least one verifiable link between Berbers and Talossa.
While this might be a solid connection, rather bolder and more tenuous was Robert I’s further claim in his 1996 The Berber Project (which you can read in its entirety here) that the Berber people later became the Beaker people of ancient Europe, and then navigated the Atlantic Ocean five thousand years ago, populating North America and transforming into the indigenous Mound-Builders of the Talossan area. He argued that “around 3000 B.C., North America was indeed treated to a large and substantial wave of Berber immigrants who brought their culture with them when they settled around the copper mines of Lake Superior and northern Wisconsin.”
Robert I also pointed out that “Talossa” resembles the word “talayot,” the ancient Beaker civilization’s name for their hutlike dwellings. Robert I claimed that this connection was evidence for a link between the ancient Beaker culture and Talossa. He also listed a whole host of indigenous North American words that sound similar to either “Talossa” or “talayot” (“tuy,” “talo,” “tell”) and indicated that this was also strong evidence for substantial Berber influence.
If you want to find out more about the Berber people, you can listen to the British Broadcasting Company's radio program, "The Berbers of North Africa," or visit your local library.
Mick Preston is an amazing man, and has been a great Secretary of State. I am proud to call him an exemplary statesperson, a fine Talossan, and my good friend.
Being Secretary of State is one of the most demanding jobs in our great nation. Rather than the periodic bursts of activity that so frequently flash in Talossa, burning fiercely before guttering out like a snuffed star, the job of Secretary of State requires continuous diligence and long devotion. While each house of the Ziu has its own ceremonial leader, it is the Secretary of State in many cases who runs both chambers, working to make the efforts of our legislators into a workable reality. He is given discretion to decide what is unworkable and inorganic, and carries through the voting on each bill, each month. He sorts through confusing or confused votes. And our national elections are one of the biggest burdens a statesperson can shoulder.
On behalf of a grateful nation, I would like to thank Mick Preston for his years of service to the crown and his country. S:reu Preston has been scrupulously just and cautious in fulfilling his duty. Always careful to examine a piece of legislation, ferreting out those items that he could not accept or that came to him unready to be considered, he nonetheless stinted no bill in his treatment, regardless of his personal opinion. And in collecting votes and tabulating them, he was swift and capable. S:reu Preston says truly that he has stood on the shoulders of giants, but I think it is no exaggeration to say that future Secretary of States will sigh to themselves and say, "That Preston leaves some big shoes to fill."
Alexander Davis
Seneschal del Regipäts Talossan
