Hesgarigani

The term Hesgarigani denotes shipborne pirates, raiders, invaders and eventually settlers from what is modern day Masalne, operating between the 1st and 5th centuries DN, who operated mostly on the coastal regions of Osonde, but in many cases also reached far inland via rivers.

The Hesgarigani were mostly Mirselani by ethnicity and in origin, though their ranks would eventually swell to include peoples from over ancient Kavena, Birasleti and Ruguzma such that the term would become merely a catch-all description for any pirate and raider by the 3rd century. Their travels and impact upon mainland cultures, as well as the devastation caused by the DN Event, precipitated the Hesgarigani Era in both Risevan and Kavenain history, albeit with dramatically different interpretations.

Name and Etymology

The term Hesgarigani is quite unambiguous in Mirselec; it means "Raider" (Hesgara "raid" + -gani), and was originally used to denote merely the first phase of what is now called the Hesgarigani Era, when the Mirselani visited Osonde mainly for the simple motivation of loot. This term, however, was coined by 19th century historians, based ironically on Kavenain sources about their tormentors in that period, and does not occur as an autonym in any writings that have survived from the Mirselani, which were not yet discovered in the 19th century.

Rather, the Hesgarigani mostly addressed themselves as simply being a member of a certain clan, tribe and eventually kingdom, as their own social structures evolved partly through direct contact with the advanced civilisations on Osonde. The closest things to a term that applies to the profession of raiding include Numarkhain (Modern Nimargani, "Navigator" or "Seafarer") and Ganudekhain (Modern Kanidegani, roughly meaning "Warrior").

In the Kavenain language even in modern days, the term Ezkar, which is based off the Mirselec verb Hesgara, is used to refer to a bandit or a particularly rapacious foe; up to the 20th century, and even after, it was often used as a derogatory term for the Risevani by the Kavenain.