The State of Zelso

History of Zelso
The land mass that is now known as the State of Zelso was populated with the native Mountain Sangheili. The early villages that arose along the Kama Mountain range were self governed and had sparse contact with each other. Early historical records point to D`oana 'Zelmoa as the one who united the region into the massive Zelmoa Empire around 12,000bce(all dates are in human form). The original keep of the Zelmoa Empire was located on the northern end of the land mass and was known as Veral, after D`oana's father. As years passed and generations of D`oana's line ruled the Empire, Zelmoa fell apart, between 10,000bce and 9000bce and became hundreds of small city states.

Relations remained peaceful in this time of transition. Many of the cities were required to trade with each other to sustain themselves over the centuries. The Zelmoa line remained a powerful and wealthy influence in the region but the name of the Sangheili that held it changed, eventually becoming what it is know as today, Zelso.

Come 1401bce, Ranme 'Zelsome'na (me'an meaning strong) built up a large force of warriors and marched across the region, uniting them under the new name the State of Zelso. The ancient line of Kaidons once again ruled over the region. Ranme was also responsible for capturing the S`kra plains on the other side of the mountains from the State it is named for*   and the Trigo Valley to the south west. After Ranme's honorable death in battle versus The State of Moram in 1345bce. His son Jesena 'Zelsona brought an age of peace to the region and was able to create an open trade agreement with the State of Moram and ended the war his father had started. Jesena's, his sons and their sons actions made Zelso into the respected state for it was known.

The city of Varo is now the most populated city in Zelso, but it was started as a small factory town created during the Sangheili-San 'Shyuum war to supply the Sangheili fleets with materials to build ships. Eventually after the creation of the Covenant in 852bce, the factories and worker camps were torn down and a city built atop the old foundations. The only remaining structures from the old factories are the massive piers and breakwaters constructed to revive raw materials over the wide mouth of the Vina river.

The year of 1820 was an important year for female rights and families in the state. The last act of Kaidon Zaka 'Zelsora`Ram on his death bed, gave females eaqual rights as males, thus abolishing Aristocratic laws, and erased the law that required each family to hold the same name as the local keep, allowing them to pick their own names or return to the ones of their heritage. That same year, a large wall was constructed along the boarder of Zelso and neighboring state which was completed in 1860.

Kaidon Kar 'Zelsoma made an important decision in 1936 to appoint an elected council with him as the highest member. Every ten years the people of Zelso would elect a new council to office. However, members of the previous council could run of another term. The Kaidon continued to exist with the highest veto power and that position was still passed down in the bloodline. Following the creation of the council, a meeting chamber was constructed in the ancient keep city of Veral.

In 2011, Arica Armories moved out of the State of Tessar and constructed their new factories and headquarters in Varo, just across Ceva Bay from the old Varo Armories that had closed many centuries prior. Once again, Varo became the most productive city in the state by turning raw materials into weaponry and crucial ship materials for the early Covenant. As the years passed, life became more peaceful in Zelso as jobs other than military service became more widely accepted and many prided themselves with the fact that they were not dependent on the Covenant for survival. Relations with other states also improved as they too wanted to retain some independence from the Covenant military machine. A large undersea tunnel was constructed along the Kalo Straight between long time allies, Zelso and Moram, to reduce shipping items via water or space. Also in 2101, the Moram-Zelso Joint Task Force was created to participate in defense during the occasional planet side war for territory.

Ever since the equal rights movement, Zelso received many refugees fleeing sexist or oppressive states, contributing to Zelso's growing population. It soared to an all time high of 50 million citizens in 2445 However in 2525, Zelso's population of non military citizens dropped significantly as the Great War began and many drafted to join the effort. During the war, factories in Varo were working overtime providing the Covenant Juggernaut with plenty of supplies. Meanwhile, in the high levels of the Covenant there was growing distrust of Zelso because it was commonly referred as too 'Human', even though its laws were established hundreds of years before first contact. But gradually, under order from the Prophet of Truth, the Covenant High Council sent war contracts to other facilities far from Sanghelios. Production slowed as the war went on and production had almost ceased when the Great Schism occurred.

With the betrayal of the High Prophets and the Covenant, the factories lit up and raced to supply the Separatists with ships, weapons and ammunition. Once the Loyalists were crushed and a somewhat stable alliance with the Humans was established in 2554, the states in the Southern half of Sanghelios realized that they were not equipped to handle food requirement of their population. Eyes turned to the green belt that made up the north of Sanghelios nicknamed the "Green Helmet." Zelso's surplus food was quickly exported as relief supplies and the reconstruction of global, ground side, trade routes began.

Currently Zelso's estimated total population is 38 million. And Venro 'Zelsorem is the Kaidon.

1: The State of S`kra was later absorbed by Zelso around 2100ce