The Dathan peninsula. There's a lot of history in so ancient a place as this, but unfortunately not much of a future. Well, not unless you count religious fundamentalists, resurgent slavery, and a quality of life that somehow manages to be poorer than that of the Klironomoi to be the future. You want to know about Dathan? Here's the most important thing you need to know: It's fucked. Completely and utterly fucked. Constant border wars and unending civil strife, enough bureaucracy to make even the most accomplished Tildan paper-pusher blush, and a growing tide of sectarian violence. I can't exactly claim innocence on that front, nor shall I.
See, as you're no doubt aware, we in Aegos have just finished up with our own little civil war. I say finished, what I really mean is it's been put on hold for the foreseeable future, since Imperator Thrax needs to lick his wounds after I beat him back alongside my master but we in the Church lack the strength to cross the river and take the fight to him, not without crippling our own military capabilities anyway. Anyway, the semantics are beside the point. We were at war, now we're not. See, that seems like an improvement on paper, right? Wrong! Even putting aside how fucking disgusting the regime I've managed to become a major player in is, tensions on the peninsula have never been higher! There's a complex web of alliances and rivalries stretching more than a dozen nations, and all it's gonna take is one small incident to bring everyone to loggerheads. The trouble is that it's impossible to keep track of who's in league with who at any given time, and you're likely more than aware of the sort of issues that can cause. One wrong letter to someone you thought was your ally can turn a sure victory into a crushing defeat, and you'd do well to remember that.
I trained as a part of the clergy under Archcardinal Adikos, with a specialisation in all things martial and violent. Nowadays I wish I'd tried my hand at something else and remained an unremarkable little runt, but what's done is done. I trained to be a holy soldier, and I was very good at it. When Cardinal Trios floundered and his flank was broken at the fields of Pylamum I was the one who won the day, recovering our position on the field and turning aside the foe. When the city of Thermanthus rose in support of the Imperator it was me who stormed its walls, slaying the dissidents and avenging the garrison within that had been slaughtered by the locals. It was me who won the civil war for Adikos, and no-one else. If only I'd seen what I was really doing back then, but it's too late to change things now. It's only been a few months since the end of the conflict, and already I've grown to hate what I've served this whole time. I always hated certain aspects of the faith as a kid, but I was an actor; hiding my thoughts on the matter was easy. The hard parts came about when Adikos was able to convince me that the thoughts I was hiding were wrong, that I wasn't supposed to think like that and that if Adikos thought something then it was right. That's how you indoctrinate people.
And of course, that's what it was. Indoctrination. If he could make me think my own mind was betraying me, if he could convince me to reject what my own senses were telling me in favour of the words he spun, then I wouldn't even be able to hide in my own mind from him. He succeeded for a long, long while. I think in some ways the war was good for me, as much as I hated the strife it caused; by taking me away from Adikos for so long I started to realise how much of a hold he had over me. That was when I took my first steps away from the church, in secret of course. I practiced my acting skills to keep myself safe for the first time since I was a child, I allowed myself to think anti-Church thoughts, and most dangerously I reconverted to my old faith. I'd been indoctrinated out of my old beliefs, but with some prompting from a dear friend and almost a year of separation from my master I was able to find the courage to go back to what, in truth, had always been the faith to which my heart and soul belonged.
You wanna know how to make a man think whatever you want him to think? Train him when he's a boy.
That was a dark period in my life. Even now I find myself in its shadow on occasion. But you're not here to listen to me talk about me; you're here to learn about Aegos and Dathan!
The city of Aegos is one of the oldest, and certainly the holiest, city on the continent. Founded in an age long since passed, more than a millennia before the coming of the Silence, Aegos served as the capital of the appropriately named 'Aegan Empire'. Despite what some may say this was not a golden age, no matter how pretty the borders looked on a map of the continent. It was an age of slavery, long before the Church of the First Saint made its way north to Kliskorios, where the suffering of the lowborns outstripped even what they endure today. This land was dominated by pagan faiths and pantheons, all coexisting in a strange and begrudging manner since no temple wanted to risk losing its influence to another, and was a hotbed of religious activity. See, the city of Aegos itself has been regarded as a holy city by a great many religions; most famously the Church of the First Saint regards it as holy for it being the place where the First Saint was hanged and subsequently ascended, but other faiths hold it in high regards as well.
Well, they once did. The pagan faiths of southern Kliskorios have been gone for a very long time, and these days the only real religious violence comes from the various branches of the Church butting heads with each other. The more things change the more they stay the same, I guess. I'm not really well educated in the matter of the ancient faiths of this land; I know they were many, and I know they generally coexisted pretty well together, but apart from that there's not much else I can tell you. I spent a good portion of my life illiterate and the man who took me in and taught me my letters is quite possibly the most rabid zealot currently alive, so he's not exactly the sort of man you ask to learn about these sorts of things. A pity really, since they do seem interesting and I would like to learn more about them, but I'm going to be far too busy for that in the coming years. Besides, most of the books talking about such subjects have probably been burned already. Dangerous things, book burnings. Even if most of the populous can't read, it's still a dark portent of things to come. I'd say they'll start burning people next, but we already have. Well, I haven't, but the nation has. I won't be following my fellow Cardinals down that path, no matter what I have to make the outside world think. I've got a few plans of my own, but you don't need to hear about them yet.
Knights? You wanna start to learn about your new brothers then, I take it? That's fair enough; if I weren't going into the clergy I would have tried my hand at knightly endeavours. There's not much difference between the knights of Klironomea and Dathan, save only that our knights don't go for knightly orders like they do, nor do they tend to join together in bands. No, our knights prefer to wander the land along, questing like the heroes of old. Now, what exactly such quests entail vary wildly from man to man, but if nothing else a great many of them do genuinely believe that they're sticking to their chivalric codes with their actions, so there's at least some measure of self-accountability for what they do. The ones that don't bother sticking to that, the ones too brainwashed by their masters, their faith... those ones can be very dangerous indeed. You can tell them apart from the madness in their voice, the complete lack of autonomy in their actions. They're far more dangerous, because they have no need to keep themselves to a code; all they do is look for their master's signal, then they act. After all, their master could never be wrong, could they?
Yeah, I've got a pessimistic view of the world. Can you blame me given the shit I've seen? The shit I've been involved in? I might be pessimistic, Dathan might be a shithole and Aegos in particular a disgustingly zealous sewage-heap, but that doesn't mean I'm content to roll over and let the bad things happen. If we all did that then nothing would ever change in the world, would it? Well, not for the better anyways.
Yeah, I've been involved in the military affairs of Dathan for a fair few years now. Aegos mostly of course, but I've travelled around a fair bit and seen the fighting styles of most of the Dathanian states. For the most part they follow the same philosophies, that being a combination of heavy infantry in phalanxes flanked by light horse formations with crossbowmen forming a supporting element. Whilst no two Dathanian cultures fight quite the same, they all follow that basic structure with one or two little changes made.
First things first are the armies of Aegos. A simple enough thing, taking the tried and tested phalanxes of old with new crossbows in support, but instead of light horse these formations tend to be backed by flanks of heavily armoured knights. These days there's an added element of zealotry that has overrun the civic pride that used to be found in Aegan formations, but that's more a matter of aesthetics and morale than strategy and logistics.
The Kannagrians in the north, true to their mixed Klironomean-Dathanian ancestry, rely on phalanxes of armoured knights fighting on foot with heavy steel spears. It might not seem far removed from the heavy infantry of the rest of the peninsula, but believe me when I say they're a force to be reckoned with.
Of course there's also the Khyprians to our south as well. They keep their formations the same as our own, but their infantry tend to be armed with long khopeshes instead of spears, with formations of chariots in support as opposed to crossbowmen. Oh, and slaves. Lots and lots of slaves. Granted, most Dathanian states still allowing slavery on their lands tend to make use of their chattel on campaign, but most armies relegate the lowest of their societies to backline roles, maintaining camps and baggage trains and the like. This, in their minds, allows them to claim that they deserve to keep the slaves, for at least they have removed them from the dangers of the battlefield. A flimsy and pathetic excuse, as all excuses in favour of slavery are, but Khypria does away with even these weak pretences. To the Khyprians a slave is still a warm body with a pair of thumbs, and as such they can grasp the haft of a makeshift spear or, if they're lucky, a rusted khopesh just as well as any free man. Of course the forced conscription of so many men not only leads to poor morale amongst such forces, for who amongst the enslaved is happy with being forced to fight their master's wars, but also dissent amongst the nobles at home. After all, if their slaves are being sent to the frontlines at the behest of the Imperatrix then that's a potential loss for them in terms of both profit and their own personal manpower.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
I fucking hate slavers.
The last really notable Dathanian army would be that of the Citizen's Republic of Kallitrios. Kallitrios is one of the oldest still-standing Dathanian states, second only to Khypria as far as I'm aware, and they've always had a more martial culture than the rest of Dathan. Their society maintains a rigid caste system, with the Archons and Kalliates sat on the top of the pile and the Helots at the bottom. For our purposes the Archons are the citizens who've served in their military, the Kalliates free citizens who have not yet served or otherwise have yet to finish their service, and the Helots a slave caste treated as little more than a commodity and source of labour.
The armies of Kallitrios are made up almost entirely of Kalliates, who are not yet able to be called Archons for they have not yet finished their service. Elite units of the Kallitrian military are constantly maintained, formed from veteran Archons who have elected to make a career of military life rather than returning to their civilian lives at the top rung of society. Their phalanxes are legendary in battle, and damn-near unbreakable. We fought one in the passes south of Athio during the civil war, since the Kallitrians wanted to support the slave-holding Imperator Thrax rather than the rabid zealots that made up our side. We beat them there, but by the Saints did they put up a bloody good fight. They're raised from birth to fight, and it damn well shows. They're not unbeatable, far from it, for their formations are rigid and their doctrines of combat more likely to break before they bend, but they're still exceedingly capable soldiers. Would that they could turn out the slavers and join the right side of history, but the minds of those addled by greed and the power that comes from holding the whip are rarely sound enough to make such decisions.
Of course there's a nicer side to Dathan as well. Some of the greatest artists, poets, sculptors, and architects in all of history were from the myriad of brother-cultures that make up the Dathanian peninsula, giving much prestige even to what, in all honesty, has always been the backwater of Kliskorios. Dathan makes art and kills itself with endless petty wars, just as it always has and always will. Oh, for certain, there was a brief few centuries when the land was as one under Terranea and all was at relative peace, but both before it formed and as soon as it fell the folks here were back to slaughtering themselves once more. It's stupid, really. We're far enough away from the Skonisnomas that the horse-lords have never attempted to invade us, the Scelopyrene would need to sail around the entire continent to reach our shores, and no-one anywhere else on the continent cares enough for our lands to bother risking their power in an invasion. If we were so inclined we could form some sort of unified state peaceably, or at least create a broad coalition to work through our issues diplomatically and with compromise, without needing to fear any outsiders again. Instead we continue to war against each other in endless petty skirmishes and pitched battles, spiced up with the occasional siege, where nothing ever changes save the ever-decreasing number of boys who march back home.
Fuck, how did I manage to make a conversation about art more depressing than the topic of war? I don't know how I managed that leap, and quite frankly if I didn't manage to amuse myself with this then I'd apologise.
No, but in all seriousness, we're the ones that give the world its greatest monuments and beauteous palaces. If a Klironomean king wants a new wing on his palace, if some Tildan merchant-prince wants a swanky new statue or impractical vanity project, we're the ones they hail. We're not renowned soldiers or statesmen, we're middling at best when it comes to horsemanship and castle building, but places of beauty and fragile prestige? That we can do. That we can do damn well, so much so that Dathanian designed buildings can be seen across the continent, even reaching south into the old cities of the Sotenari Empire at its peak. We've been perfecting the arts for thousands of years, and the people of this peninsula show no signs of stopping in that particular avenue of development anytime soon.
I mean, just look at our very own Aegos for instance! Three sister-cathedrals, each with their own little architectural quirks and stylistic embellishments designed to make them the envy of the world! Not only that, but it allows the priesthood in Aegos to make more of a claim towards Aegos being the holiest city in all of the Saintdom. After all, no other city can claim three cathedrals within their bounds, still less a dozen churches alongside them to minister to smaller local congregations. Almost every denomination of the Church of the First Saint maintained a church here before Adikos' seizing of power, but now they're little more than barracks for inquisitors and the like. Even the Church of Saint Lycaon, which served the Ichorian Cult within Aegos and was named for one of the Boy-King's most trusted companions and generals who died in his Aegan campaign, fell to ruin under the auspices of the Most Devout. A pity; I've loved that church since childhood.
As in all the lands that once made up old Terranea, Dathan holds on to a strange collection of thousands of saints and holy men that are regarded as akin to minor gods and local deities, with the New Church taking on the aspect of little more than a folk religion in some places. The Archcardinal wishes to stamp out such 'misinterpretations of the faith', but so long as people live life in regions untouched by the Most Devout Church such worship will continue. Such beliefs are more prevalent in Tildan than in Dathan, and it shows. In the city of Tilda itself there's a temple to Agia Eliazar, the Consecrated, patron of scholars and religious artists. That's in the very heart of Tilda, for centuries the centre of the Agiathos no matter how much the other holy cities chafed under its rule. There are still some pockets that continue to worship Saints as minor deities in Dathan; in the northeast of Dathan one can find worship of Agia Priore, the Slight-Handed, who still is kept in the prayers of the craftsman and the thief, both of whom might find themselves cursing their clumsy hands by the end of a job. Perhaps the most influential of the rural cults in the old Terranean lands is that of Agia Abiah the Unforgotten, the Flagellating Child-Emperor beloved by the pure-minded and holy soldiers of the principalities and republics of Tildan and Dathan alike.
Oh yeah, there are somewhere around half a dozen cities that all vie for the position of centre of the faith. As of now it's Tilda, and it has been for a great many centuries with no indication of such a state of affairs changing. Aegos is important to the faith as well, since it was here that the First Saint ascended to take his throne in the heavens, but the fact is that it's a smaller city than Tilda and less centrally located. Adikos wants to change that, I think. He wants an empire he can rule from the site of the First Saint's ascension, but even if he somehow manages to take not just Dathan but all the lands of old Terranea then it'll be a tough sell for many. Political and economic importance on the scale of Tilda don't happen by accident, nor do they appear overnight. There's generations of wealth and favours that have been used to build up the status of the church in that city, and few Cardinals would up sticks and move to Aegos on the whim of one man, no matter how influential he is. All he's got are the Cardinals he made himself, but sometimes I think he yearns for greater things even still.
Anaria and Sygomidopolis have both vied for the position of centre of the faith before now as well, Anaria for the political importance of the city being the birthplace of the Old-Church and Sygomidopolis for being the first great city founded by the Klironomoi when they returned to Klironomea from their eastern exile. Lest we forget, of course, that the Klironomeans spent a great many centuries living in the hills of northern Dathan and Aegos itself. They're not as removed from Dathan as they'd like to pretend, but then I think that's why they try and keep away; they were forced to live here for hundreds of years after being removed from their homes, and even a thousand years hence the kings of the Klironomeans are hesitant to return to their place of exile. They're not big fans of our Saints over their either, since they seem to think they tread on the toes of the Angels. Whichever one is right I won't say, not least because of my own internal conflicts. Mostly however such things aren't any of my business, Cardinal or not.
Of course there are a great many other saints, ranging from the internationally influential to local family figures, and in many ways this makes the New-Church even more fractured than the Old. The purest form of the faith, the 'original' branch that sprung up during the Age of Silence, is all but gone from the world these days. The Old-Church keeps a few of its tenets alive, albeit merged with pagan teachings when the old Klironomeans merged with the Skraelings, and the New-Church which came about afterwards when the original branch was codified and standardised of course contains more than a few references to what once was, but there are few who keep to such archaic philosophies these days. There was no 'Divine Right' in the oldest sects of the faith, no concept of Angels nor other Saints. I think that's what Adikos wants an eventual return to, if he can garner enough strength and take enough of the continent. He wants to eradicate slavery from the world, but only so he can levy his own chains upon the free and the pure: the chains of piety. Those who will not conform will die if he gets his way, no matter how high their status might be. We'll all kneel to him, or we'll all burn.
I've heard a few of his other plans as well. Heard, and read of them. I think the most striking one is his desire to completely seize Dathan, turning it into his perfect little church-state, with all the apparatus it entails. He wants to force every church to answer to his own, every monastery under one centralised organisation, and of course, he wants to massively expand and increase the power of his little pet inquisitors.
Vile people, too much power and not enough brains to tell piety from bloodlust. There's a joke in their somewhere about how they're cut from the same cloth as the rest of us men of the Saint, but I'm not particularly someone who likes to look inwards and reflect on what I've done. Drives me up the wall, you see. I do it enough as is, and I'd really rather not start spiralling right now if it's all the same to you.
Well, there you have it. A rambling, eclectic spew of words that I'm going to charitably claim has been an informative look at Aegos and the Dathan Peninsula as a whole. Have a nice day and please, for the love of the First Saint, leave me alone to get on with my work. Big things are coming you see, and I need to prepare. Big, big things. One way or the other this will all come crashing down, friend, and whether I live to see it or not the death-throes of our state will be bloody. I'll either live to see its end, or my shade will laugh up at Adikos from whichever one of the hells my soul is bound to rest in if my journey comes to its conclusion before I see this through to the end. Either way, the blood will run thick and warm, and the subcontinent of Dathan will consume itself in war once again.
Oh, how I can hardly wait...