Ah, Terranea. The greatest nation the world has ever seen, especially in the north of the world. The barbaric Klironomeans claim to have bested us, but it was only through daemonic trickery and the impurity of our own kings that such 'victories' were capable for their lowly armies. Our majesty knew no bounds, and our ambition blotted out the very moon itself! It was just before the raging fires of the Age of Silence that Terranea was forged, and through that selfsame era it prospered and grew. It was our faith that saw the unnameable hordes cast back into the abyss, no matter what the disgusting Klironomeans claim. The peninsulas of Tilda, Dathan, and Ibaenea may now lie shattered and isolated from one another, but once all three were united under the glorious banner of the kings of Terranea.
Terranea itself had its roots in the mighty city of Tilda, the greatest city in Kliskorios despite the claims of the vile northmen. Rooted in its ancient towers lies a culture grander than any before or since, and with far more powerful a force than any heathen god could muster. It was in Terranea that the world learned to kneel before the might of the First Saint and the hundreds who followed him, and as such it was only in the capital city of Terranea that the world became pure. When a horde of Skraeling barbarians took offense to the miracles he had wrought in the city of Aegos they stormed the city and hanged him for all to see, but in doing so they did little more than reveal his divine nature to us all.
To think that I'd ever thank the Klironomoi for something, but for once they did something right; their conquest of the Skraelings, though not motivated by a desire to see the First Saint avenged, achieved that goal nonetheless. But we aren't here to talk of the Return of the Klironomoi, nor even of the First Saint, hallowed be his name. We're here so that you, my inquisitive young students, might understand the world that could be. Oh, what a world I could make...
Hm? Ah, yes, a good question, young Acolyte. There were a myriad of empires occupying the space the Terraneans would one day rule over. There was the Empire of Aegos, the Haggran City-States, the- no, I won't get further off track. You are correct nonetheless, my Acolyte. There were a great many other empires here once, but they were sinful. Much like those that occupy the space where the Terranean Empire once was now. If nothing else, the Terraneans taught the world that the age of the Sotenari and the Nekhtoudum were over, for the age of the Kliskorians had begun.
The city of Tilda itself was founded by triplet sisters many centuries before the birth of the First Saint. It is known that the three of them were raised by a pack of wolves along the river Til, before managing to fend off a great pack of direwolves alone and without aid for three days and nights. When the smoke cleared they founded a city atop the corpses of their foes, which formed the seven hills that Tilda is built around, but then argued for three days and three nights over the name of the city before one of the triplets struck down her sisters in a blind rage. We know not which sister it was that was left alive at the end, but it was from her that the rulers of the city, and later the kingdom, did descend. Her line is all but ended now, which is a great pity. The world could use more divine blood in these trying times.
The city today is famed for a great many holy and sacred sights. Admeta, you will likely learn much from the politicians in the majestic senatorial quarter. Not within the halls of the senate itself, but in the backrooms and antechambers where the real deals are made and power exchanged. Spyridon, the libraries of Tilda are still some of, if not the, greatest in the world. There is so much you could divine on the nature of the Saints in such a place.
As for you, Sin, I know exactly what will interest you above all else. The Knight's Steadfast, a grand and majestic structure attached to the northern walls of the city, with the senate to the south and the sea to the west. It was within the three keeps of this structure that the greatest knights in all of old Terranea, and as such the world, were trained. Greater still than the three keeps within the Steadfast is the Grandmaster's Hall, where the likeness' of every holy and mighty Grandmaster to have graced the lands of Terranea reside to this day. The statues are exquisite, carved from the finest marble and so intricately detailed one could be forgiven for thinking they are real men stood there instead of stone carvings. The detail, every fold in a cape, every curve in a muscle, all are portrayed just as realistically and lifelike as you or I sat here. Yes, young Acolyte. I believe you will one day fit right in with the heroes of old that watch over the Steadfast, and indeed the heroes of tomorrow that yet train and duel within its walls. A knighthood will never be your calling, but you will be as good as any of them with time.
Now, that would certainly be an excellent little trip to make, wouldn't it? The festival of Agia Abiah will be upon us in fourteen moons, and should you prove yourselves well I may be able to take the three of you as a part of Aegos' entourage to join the procession alongside our brothers and sisters from across the continent. None of you have ever set foot outside the Dathanian peninsula, have you? Well, consider this a gift, if you perform your chores with sufficient diligence of course.
It was amidst the fighting of three sisters that the mighty city of Tilda was founded. How fitting then, that it came to its end amidst the squabbling of the three regions that formed its territories. The Ibaenean peninsula was cruelly snatched from the loving embrace of Tilda in the Third Kliro-Terranean War, whilst Tilda and Dathan railed against each other over the issue of slavery, with Tilda and the Dathanian western coastline being broadly in favour of and the Dathanian heartlands being broadly against such a sinful policy. That is one of the only things I can admit to the kingdom of Terranea doing wrong; no man may keep another man in chains, this much is known by all. If any of you disagree, then that will prove nothing more than the fact that you require more group disciplinary sessions. So, anyone disagree? No? Spyridon, you seem rather pale. Any chance you may disagree with what has been said? No? Excellent. Good child, I told you you'd learn quickly.
Now, an important thing to note about Terranea in its early history is that it placed the Saints above all else, save only the First Saint of course. It was through this faith that the kingdom was able to grow and expand, eclipsing all else on the continent, and it was through this faith that the nation was carried through the Age of Silence. What's that Sin? How did they worship the First Saint if he had not been born yet?
Had you been gifted with an education in theology like these two I would have ordered a group disciplinary for that question, but you did not have such a privileged upbringing, and so I understand that your question has come from an innocent place, even if it makes you appear stupid in front of your peers.
The First Saint has been worshipped for thousands of years in small Kingdoms such as Ereverry, long before he was born. Whilst the earliest kings and queens of Terranea may not have worshipped him, large segments of the population were devoted to primitive forms of what we now understand to be the Alithini-Agiathos, or the New-Church, of the First Saint. These cults held such fervour and dedication to their as-of-yet unborn deity that, in the midst of the Age of Silence when all else seemed lost, they recognised his birth and supplanted the pagan gods that once reigned over the misguided kingdom. The populous of Terranea took to their new deity with much fervour, for in the Silence it was clear that their false gods had abandoned them whilst the First Saint would fight for them no matter what. No one can be surprised when men and women turn to that which will fight for them over those who demand worship before abandoning those who trusted them.
Anyway, where was I? Ah yes, Terranea. Terranea, the shining city on a hill! Whilst ostensibly a monarchy, it also maintained a body of all those influential enough in the running of the kingdom, who were able to overrule the monarch if they felt that the sovereign was overreaching or else making poor choices with his power. A queer and strange form of governance, and whilst it was not pure enough to last it was certainly better than anything the Saints damned Klironomoi could have hoped to live under. Some claim that the church has abandoned the lands of old Terranea, that it sees Klironomea as the future, but such dissidents are wrong. The church can never abandon these lands, for the northmen worship pagan gods whom they hide under the veil of 'Angels', clinging to the vestiges of their barbaric past and refusing to fully accept the First Saint into their hearts. I weep for their misguided flocks, but I feel nothing short of contempt for their kings, lords, and bishops who blindly usher them towards the many hells that exist beyond this world.
There were a great many ancient and noble cities that once vied for power over these lands, but for a glorious few centuries Terranea ended such squabbles. Tilda, Aegos, Khypridon, Tyranopolis, and even the daunted border cities of Kannagrios knelt before the majesty of the Terranean monarchs. The centuries that followed the unification of Terranea were a golden age of culture and art, broken only by the occasional squabble with some barbaric outside party, and since the collapse such a great and wonderful period has yet to come about again. Not even the much celebrated Klironomean Barracks-Kings could match the majesty of the Terraneans.
Yes Acolyte Sin, that includes the pathetic child-king Harald II. Though he may have aspired to much and been well loved at home he accomplished nothing overall, save the complete disintegration of both his own kingdom and Terranea. Fucking Klironomeans.
The Terraneans held a formidable fighting force indeed under their banner, and you are quite right to ask of it, Acolyte Admeta. Vast ranks of men trained with the shortsword and armoured in laminar, supported by the grandest cavalrymen the world has ever seen. It cannot be possible to overstate just how majestic a sight their grand charges were, and how many vile heathens were ground into less than nothing under their mighty steeds. The armies of Terranea slaughtered barbarian invaders and outsiders a great many times before they finally succumbed to the corruption of their masters, at times even marching north into the degenerate Klironomean lands in support of some claimant to their throne only slightly less degenerate than whichever king happened to be sitting it at the time. Unfortunately by this time the corruption at home had already began to take hold, and as such these expeditions tended towards failure more times than not. Still, look at where those claimants ended up without our support; a popular revolt that ended with a victory for neither side, and instead caused nearly a decade of chaos, anarchy, and war that Klironomea now knows as 'the Interregnum'.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
Yes, I do have plans to avenge such defeats, but those will not come to pass within my lifetime. My lifetime is devoted to ensuring that the candle of Terranea does not die out in its entirety, to ensuring that a stable and pure system can triumph over the ashes of the old, and when I achieve that I can rest assured that whomsoever takes over from me when I finally leave this mortal vessel behind will be well equipped and prepared to enact such vengeful plans for themselves. It is my hope that one, or indeed all three of you, are able to fill the hole in the church that I leave behind.
We will rule over these ancient Terranean lands in the years to come, sweet children, but know now that we will not fall to degeneracy as our forbearers did. We will stand tall for a thousand years, unbroken by the weight of all the sins of the world. For such a grand undertaking however, armies will be required.
Hosts as mighty and great as those of old will need to be replicated in the days to come, but I can ensure that no corruption will find purchase in the hearts of those who serve through the application of an inquisitorial class dedicated to ensuring that the officers and their men all follow the doctrines of the church, ensuring that purity and piety are all that exist in the hearts of the men whom fight under the banner of the church.
You seem quite taken by such prospects, young Acolyte Sin. To be a commander and soldier as loyal and capable as you shall surely be the standards that all who fight under our holy banner strive to achieve, but be sure to ensure that the daemon within your mind does not overtake your senses. Wroth is just as much a sin as any other, after all.
No, I will hear no more of this. I do not care that the voice is growing louder, you will control yourself.
Enough, Sin. I trust you will discipline yourself later to keep the daemon at bay. You will? Good. I see you have not given yourself over wholly to your namesake just yet. Never forget that, Sin. You were named as such for a reason when you came here, and the shadow of what you are will haunt you everyday. You must strive constantly to overcome the daemon, for if it torments you to your grave the First Saint will surely see you consigned to hell. Do not allow the daemon to win. I believe in you, Sin, but you must still prove yourself worthy of the station your education offers you. It is a large step upwards for one who has spent their lives on the streets as you have, so I trust you will not squander this opportunity.
Back to the topic of our lecture before that interaction, it was the forces of Terranea that brought the civilised world to heel. Oh, sure, the slavers of the south still reigned in their archaic empire and the kings to the north held onto their false idols with ever increasing fervour, but the lands of Terranea were all that mattered of civilisation. No slaver, no barbarian, no thrice-damned Klironomean could ever have hoped to best the majesty that the Terranean armies of old could bring to bear.
And yet, for all the strength of old Terranea, it to fell before the foe. Terranea, once poised to conquer the continent of Kliskorios, was defeated in a series of wars by the borderline-pagan Klironomeans and their godless kings, whom they affectionately refer to as 'the Barracks-Kings'. Disgusting. It was the fault of Terranea itself that it fell, however, and no-one else's. Not through poor military skills, nor inefficiency in the economic centre, but rather because the population was not pious enough. The kings of Terranea had grown fat from the wealth of their subjects, and from their 'generosity' the priesthood also grew fat and corrupt. They cared more for their worldly possessions than their spirituality, more for the laws of their kings than their deities. Is it any wonder that the magnanimous and loving Saints recognised their corruption, and turned aside? After all, a father can only excuse his son so many times before he must leave him behind. You're quite familiar with that concept, all three of you, aren't you?
Do not cry in my classroom, Spyridon. Sin, can you tell me what we, what Terranea, learned from the Battle of the Aauta Pass?
Yes, very good. We cannot trust the northmen, nor those from the south. To trust any outside Terranea itself is to invite death. Sin, you understand that, don't you? To trust anyone outside of this small circle is wrong, is sinful. I trust you will not live up to your name.
Indeed, Terranea was once the greatest and holiest of all the realms of man, but they fell far. The First Saint abandoned the corrupt merchants and moneylenders of the kingdom for cavorting with heathens and heretics both, and so when the northern barbarians struck the kingdom was crushed.
Terranea has fallen. The reality is sad, but it remains our reality nonetheless. We are a long way from the old capital of Tilda, but this place is just as holy. I fail to see why Terranea could not be reborn here. The old Kingdom of Terranea lasted for nearly four centuries before the corruption of its kings led it to ruin, but if it were to be united under a new type of leadership, a strong leadership that all the dark powers of the world could never hope to corrupt...
Yes, I could see that state lasting a very long time indeed.
Yes, you are all asking the right questions. I was right to give you all this chance. I know you will not disappoint me, not if you wish to remain in this position. Think on all I have given you: hot meals, clean water, a roof over your heads. You would not wish to disappoint me, I know it. Yes, the three of you will go far, I think. You'll all make for fine Cardinals one day. Especially you, Sin. Ensure you do not fall to the madness of the daemon inside your mind, and you will make for a fine Cardinal indeed. Spyridon, Admeta, listen well to what I say; how is it that this boy, tainted by a daemon and having lived for the last thirteen years amongst street-rats and vagabonds, is able to best you in almost every stage of your theological curriculum? I trust you will increase the effort you apply to your studies so as not to fall behind further.
Do not look so guilty on behalf of your classmates when I point out such a fact, Sin. It is their own fault that they fall behind, and if I must shame them into action with by comparing their achievements to your own then that is what I will do.
The old kingdom that once reigned over the south of Kliskorios was not, to the shame of all, completely unified in terms of its religious makeup. Pagan religions often clung on in the periphery, but throughout the land there were other cults that wished for recognition. The most shameful were the Dragon-Church and the Slave-Cult, for one worshiped abominations of fire made flesh and the other worshipped the sin of keeping men and women in chattel, believing themselves to be holier than all others and thus immune to sin.
Make no mistake, children. Whilst the Terraneans and their descendants, us, are holier than any other peoples on the planet, we are not immune from sin. Our resident street-rat proves that well to us. It is how we deal with those sins that defines us, and as such when he flagellates himself later in penance for allowing a daemon to continue to have such a grip over his soul I would like you to assist him in atoning for his sins. No, you may not both join him in penance for your own sins; you must both learn to administer punishment if you are to succeed in this life, for how else will you be able to teach the sinners the error of their ways? Besides, it will also serve as a lesson that while one must not be dissuaded from administering discipline, one must not take enjoyment in it either. By whipping him you will feel the same pain I feel when I must discipline the three of you. You have each seen thirteen winters, and as such it is high time your duties were extended beyond that of mere Acolytes. Have the three of you picked your special educational courses yet? You have? Excellent, allow me to know of your plans. Admeta, you first.
Inquisitorial work? Yes, inquisitors will be much needed in the years to come. If that is the case then it is for the best that you administer punishment to your classmate here, after all, a great deal of inquisitorial work involves dealing with the sacrilegious and recalcitrant until they break. Spyridon, yourself?
Administrative duties? Whilst I can see why you may feel a little ashamed to admit that out loud, do not fret. Administrative staff too will be sorely needed in a decades time. Just because you lack the stomach for more physical labours does not mean you are useless to our cause. Last but not least, Sin?
Yes, I suspected as much. Tell me, did this choice come of your own volition or was it the voice that pressured you into it? Your own volition? Are you lying to me, Sin?
No, you are not, are you? Excellent! Military matters may not seem liturgical, but in a world such as this an organisation without arms and armour is an organisation doomed to a swift and unremarkable demise. I trust in your boundless diligence and unending endurance to see our forces raised to new heights before the day of reckoning shines upon us all.
No, you do not yet need to worry about what the 'day of reckoning' refers to. Yes, Archbishop Trios does know, and is supportive of any such prospective plan that may or may not involve the faith taking a far more prominent position within the politics of Aegos and indeed Dathan as a whole. No, Sin, the majority of the church outside of Aegos does not know of any such plan, and such a state of affairs will continue. How do I know this?
Because if any of you so much as breath a word of the existence of such plans to anyone when we are not within the walls of this very classroom then you will find that what you have believed to be cruelty, namely the disciplinary corrections, are nothing compared to what is to come. You think being locked in an austere cell with one meal a day to share between the three of you is bad when you have had to endure such conditions for a week? I promise you that should any of you decide to mention this to anyone outside of these four walls that the punishment you endured will seem as a fond memory compared to the hells you shall burn in for betraying the devout servants of the First Saint. Wipe that fearful look off of your faces, for all it tells me is that you all harbour doubts and desires outside the bounds of what the generous upbringing I have provided you would permit.
Five lashes after class, all of you. Then the two of you can see to assisting Sin with his own penance.
I am so very proud of all of you, children. I know the paths you all walk are tough, but they are only tough because they need to be. You will be a new generation of the faithful, free from the sins of those who came before you through your penance. A new generation to usher in a new age of glory, a new Terranean state. Yes... yes... a new Terranean state. One not headed by corruptible kings or greedy merchants, but by the honest and the pure, the faithful and the diligent. Headed by the three of you.
Now doesn't that sound like a wonderful future?