Upon the defeat of the demons and their subsequent retreat into hell thousands of years ago, it was Imwuin alone who championed the races born in servitude to Zaldin. She alone defended them and, through her mercy, these races were given a chance to continue and thrive. Touched by her generosity, the meldore formed a pact with Imwuin: She would allow all meldore a place in her heaven upon death and, in return, the meldore would dedicate their lives to her name.
Of course, Imwuin recognized the folly in demanding every meldore dedicate every moment to her worship. Instead, she took the most dedicated and marked them with red skin, a trait which would indicate those destined to spend their days in reverence. As long as the red-skinned, those who would eventually come to be known as the Sudenites, continued regular prayer and adherence to a strict moral code, all other meldore would be guaranteed a place by Imwuin's side upon death. This promise having one exception, however. There is one commandment which every meldore must follow to ensure they will end up in Imwuin's Heaven: "You shall serve no master but Imwuin." This fundamental rule is the basis of Iigrantism, the most popular religion in Gedrovach, and a foundation in much of meldore culture.
The Mercy of Imwuin is a common story, told to children at bedtime and reinforced at temple congregations. The universality of this story does not, however, imply that all parties agree with the meaning behind these words. The words seem simple in nature, "no master but Imwuin" but the implications run deep. How is the word "master" to be understood? The general consensus of Iigrantism and the Suden clergy is that Imwuin must merely be placed at the top of society's hierarchy. Gedrovach, despite being heavily patriarchal, isknown as a Queendom in Imwuin's honour; there is neither a king nor emperor onthe Gedrovachi throne, merely a prince. There is not even a crown upon theprince's head. They denigrate themselvesin title and decorum to show reverence and subservience to Imwuin.(1)
There are others sects who follow the words in an even stricter nature though. The valley people of Orrocoros live in small communes which have no real structure of authority. They form councils to make decisions but no member is beholden to another. In this way, the Orrocoros attempt to live a life where there are truly no masters but for Imwuin herself. Yet, some beliefs are almost the opposite in their extremes. Some sects believe that the pact is solely spiritual in nature and should have no bearing on the physical world.
With these spiritual fundamentals in mind, it is here where we introduce the first of many key figures whose actions contributed to the War of the Black Princes. Ans'ros [e] Calvade was born in 1282, in Kenada, with bright red skin. At the age of 4, he was taken to Suden and indoctrinated into the priesthood. Knowledge is sparse on Calvade's childhood and upbringing but records regarding test scores suggest he was a bright, if unexceptional, student. Folk lore surrounding Calvade states that he was inquisitive, to the point of annoyance, and, as such, Calvade was often tasked with sorting the library's many chambers alone. It was in this solitude, allegedly, Calvade began to read about Iigrantism's many contradictions. He believed that the Temple had purposefully manipulated narratives to increase their power over nations, most notably Gedrovach and the Golden Solari Empire. The clergy dismissed the accusations but decided that Calvade's inquisitiveness could no longer be tolerated.
Whether true or not, we have definitive records that Calvade was sent on mission to Sweron, modern day Jorik, in 1304. The lands of Sweron were rugged and its people wild. Calvade was captured by a tribe, whom he referred to as the "Black-Paws," shortly after arriving. The Gnolls of Sweron did not keep records, so our only source during this time is from Calvade's own written words. According to his own account, he began his servitude under the tribe as a labourer but, through his knowledge of mathematics, science, and languages, he quickly endeared himself to the Black-Paw chief. Calvade kept himself useful and immersed himself into both the culture of the tribe and its religion.
While Calvade has few positive opinions of the Black-Paws spiritual beliefs, they had a clear influence on his eventual philosophies. The first being, for many of the Gnoll tribes in Sweron, the tribe's chief was both the spiritual and political leader. There was no secularity, and all spiritual questions were directed to the chief. This did not mean that the chief was infallible, though. In fact, the chief was merely recognized as wise and their status demanded respect for their decisions; but true spiritual salvation was up to the individual. Each person had their own struggles they needed to overcome and only through triumph over adversity could they prove themselves worthy. Another important detail he borrowed from the Black-Paws was a concept he translated as 'Furies.' To the Black-Paws, a person's weaknesses manifested when they allowed malicious spirits to control their actions. Cowardice, jealousy, and rage were all signs that furies had overtaken the individual and only through spiritual introspection could they cleanse themself. We will discuss it in more detail later, but Calvade would use this terminology when expressing his own philosophies.
After spending nearly ten years with the Black-Paws, the chief passed from old age. Leaving behind three sons from three different mothers, the succession was a messy subject; being the first-born did not ensure one's position as chief and, soon enough, the warriors of the tribe would vote upon a successor. So, the sons struggled against one another to prove who was worthy of leadership. In an effort to prove himself, one of the sons (Calvade never specified which) attacked a wealthy caravan to bring home great wealth. The caravan was slaughtered but the Black-Paws, sloppy in their actions, left definite signs of their attack. Unfortunately for the Black-Paws, the caravan had been ensured protection under the Kingdom of Telnos, who retaliated by finding and destroying the tribe. Calvade, even in his tribal attire, was recognized as a red-skinned priest of Suden and spared. After his rescue, he was even offered a chance to join a caravan heading to Gedrovach, an offer he declined. Calvade never gave insight into this decision. Perhaps he felt unsure about his future; perhaps he still resented the Temple for sending him away; or, perhaps he just wanted to spread his wings after spending so long in captivity. Regardless the reason, he set sail from Telnos on a ship heading to Nitra.
According to Calvade, he spent some time wondering in Nitra. Despite being a red-skinned meldore in an Alfen land, Calvade went relatively unnoticed. This was until, one day in his wandering, he came across a public speech by Queen Ceriphala. While the rhetoric and details of the following meeting vary between sources, there are enough contemporary writings to confirm that Calvade began heckling Ceriphala during her speech, scoffing at her sentiments. Instead of having Calvade removed, Ceriphala invited him unto the platform so she could truly refute his points. This famous meeting, taking place in 1315, became known as the "Red-Blue Debate," aptly named for the blue-haired queen and the red-skinned vagabond.
The full debate is relatively unimportant to our topic but I will give some context to those unfamiliar: Ceriphala, daughter of the Dawn Dragon Ceridian, was, famously, a proponent of democracy. Through her dragonsblood and long life, she used her extended leadership over Nitra to create one of the first truly democratic states. At the time of the debate, however, she was still the sole ruler and had only recently begun to champion this cause. It was during one of her public speeches on democracy where she would encounter Calvade. Calvade, witnessing the destruction of his adopted tribe due to a lack of leadership, was extremely skeptical of any system which split leadership and power in any way. Furthermore, he argued that struggles for votes would lead to constant appeasement of the masses. In Calvade's mind it was strong individuals who made, broke and shaped history; individuals such as Ceriphala herself. Flattered by his words and impressed by his rhetoric, Ceriphala invited him to her court in an advisory role. The extent of the power and influence behind this position varies depending on the source, with Ceriphala's own personal biographer being quite generous to Calvade's influence. In contrast, many other Niter sources imply Calvade was kept as little more than an oddity – a strange little man to be gawked at. Regardless, the influence was not one sided, and Ceriphala had clear effects on Calvade's beliefs. Ceriphala argued that democracy would create better citizens; citizens who took personal responsibility for their country and the decisions being made. While she never convinced Calvade of the merits of democracy, this idea of 'personal responsibility' reminded him of the spiritual beliefs of the Black-Paws. With this notion circulating in his mind, he began work on his magnum opus – although it would not be completed until several years later.
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It is perhaps important, before progressing further, to interject with some the quirks of Calvade. Calvade, marked upon unanimously among his contemporaries, was an unkempt individual. His hair was long and matted, he wore the same clothes everyday without much washing, and his stench made him unpleasant to be around. On top of this, he was often under the influence of Euomide, a psychedelic made from the nectar of the Kingsblood Flower. The Black-Paws often used psychedelics within their spiritual practices and it is likely Calvade started using Euomide since it was easier to acquire in Nitra. People found him difficult to talk to when he was coherent, but in his Euomodic fits he was an incomprehensible, mumbling mess. He was also a disgraced priest who, at this point, had been disavowed from the religion he preached, on account of consorting with an enemy of Suden; Nitra's . He was also obstinate against the democratic sensibilities which were being shared at court and often just crude in conversation. As such, he was very unpopular at Ceriphala's court – a fact she could only brush aside for so long. Things finally boiled over when Calvade was accused of soliciting a young scribe, a young male scribe. Homosexuality was not tolerated in Nitra and, were the accusations to be confirmed, the other court members would most certainly have pushed for his execution. There is not enough information to confirm whether Calvade was, in actuality, a homosexual. Calvade remarked on the situation in his own writings and did not deny the claim, but neither did he confirm it. Regardless, rumour alone was probably enough to put him in danger.
Luckily for Calvade and Ceriphala, an opportunity arose shortly after the incident when the ruler of the Golden Solari Empire arrived during peace negotiations. In 1319, Emperor Leonhart, a meldore as well, met Calvade at the Queen's court and quickly became fascinated by Calvade's philosophies. However, it was not Leonhart who caught Calvade's attention but a different
member of Leonhart's entourage, a 16-year-old black-skinned meldore: R'hahes Kiwhetin (2), Duke of Wahtanonda and heir to the Gedrovachi throne. R'hahes is the second of our central characters, of whom we will go into further detail later. The matter of importance, at this time, is that R'hahes was the cousin and ward of the emperor. An extremely bright young man who impressed many of his contemporaries. Emperor Leonhart had no children of his own, and took great pride in raising and teaching R'hahes. Leonhart recognized Calvade's talents and offered him a place as R'hahes tutor.
Calvade was not ignorant to the disdain he garnered at court and understood this was an opportunity he could not turn down. His hand was forced even further when Ceriphala agreed to Calvade's departure as part of the peace concessions. Regardless, Calvade writes that this was the "strongest thrust from destiney [sic]" he had ever experienced and instantly knew its purpose. This boy, R'hahes, was to become the manifestation of his ideals. He would strive to teach the future king to become the greatest monarch in Gedrovachi history. Calvade would spend the next six years in Solari tutoring R'hahes, during which time he would publish his most influential work: Niistenna.
It would be a disservice to readers to not explain, even just in minimal detail, Calvade's magnum opus. Deriving from an old Wahtanondi word for 'Mother,' Niistenna describes the culmination of Calvade's experiences and dissatisfaction with Iigrantism and the Sudenites. He went into great detail how the Temple had become a victim of its own success: the only thing people with power fear is losing said power. Instead of acting as spiritual conduits, they had allowed themselves to become consumed by worldly politics. In his discussion he used a term borrowed from the Black-Paws: Furies. He used this term to describe people's weaknesses and the stranglehold that desire, anger and various other emotions have over individuals. He explained that it was originally the purpose of the Temple to be "Furiless" in order to carry the Furies of Imwuin's followers; a concept which Iigrantism essentially agrees with, just with different wording. However, he argued that over time, the Sudenites had become enraptured in Furies themselves and, most importantly, they had allowed the Furies of Pride, Power and Apathy to become their new masters. In so much that he claimed the Sudenites had broken the most important covenant: "You shall serve no master but Imwuin." Now, they only served themselves. The very group meant to save people's souls were instead leading the people to damnation. So how did Calvade address this problem? He stated that if those in charge are not going to save your soul, then you must do so yourself. He pleads with his readers to take it upon themselves to champion Imwuin's ideals. Only through our own actions can we ensure our place in heaven.
In the last third of Niistenna, Calvade becomes much more political. After witnessing the destruction of the Black-Paws, the strength of Ceriphala's leadership, and the factionalism which was slowly destroying the Solari Empire, Calvade concluded that a strong central command was the best way to ensure peace and stability. The importance and relevance of which he explains in a short allegory - Calvade describes two households, each with a single mother and three children. In the first household, the mother is strictly in charge; she feeds the children, gives them clothes and food but demands good behaviour from them as well. Not only does she reinforce good behaviour through her rules, her providing stability and safety for the children gives them no reason to act out. In the second household, the mother feels unable to properly take care of the children on her own and delegates some of the responsibility to the eldest sibling. When the mother is present, she ensures that each child is clothed, fed and taken care for equitably; she tries in no way to act the part of a bad mother. When the eldest sibling is in charge, however, they feel justified in giving themselves larger servings or better cuts of meat. They feel the rules do not apply to them as strongly as it does to their siblings, and so they bend and shift them to their whim. Under such an oppressive and unfair system, the other children have no alternative but to act out – to be consumed by their Furies. Whether an accurate statement or not, Calvade argued twofold: first, that a monarch must have absolute control; and two, that the monarch's efforts must be towards the betterment of their kingdom and its people. The moral character of the monarch was insignificant in Calvade's mind, as long as their motives and actions were in the furthering of the two previous goals. Two goals which were ordered by significance; meaning the struggle for absolute control superseded the betterment of the kingdom – Calvade believed one naturally led to the other. This new teaching became known as Nistenism and the followers became known as Nistai.
His work spread like wildfire throughout Suden-influenced lands. Many laymen were already feeling exploited by the Sudenese priests. Local collection was often siphoned to Suden in larger and larger portions. The further towns were, the less money and resources their local temple got to keep for repairs and charity. It was becoming such a problem that upon reading Niistenna, many of these populations urged their local priest to convert to Nistenism. They did not trust a group possibly hundreds of miles away, but already felt they could trust their local priest. Some priests attempted to push back but were either swayed in the end, or forced to return to Suden. Suden was quickly losing ground across Gedrovach, and were more than aware of the catalyst: Calvade had become their prime enemy.
Nistenism was also extremely appealing to a large part of the ruling class. Niistenna had essentially justified their rule and given them more validity than the Sudenites. Those who had strong ties to Suden continued to support the Temple but as priests in fringe territories of Gedrovach began converting, so too did the local rulers.
Of course, this all pales in comparison to the crushing grasp Nistenism would have in Gedrovach once R'hahes converted and took his place on the Gedrovachi throne. It is here that we shall delve into the second figure whose actions would lay the ground work for the conflict of the two princes; indeed, it would be R'hahes' own sons who would become the titular combatants.