Angelos Odyssey Archives: The History of the Citadel: I

by J. B. M. Patrick

  GORIN’S VISION

  Gorin enlightened the Scribe with his Wisdom and awakened him from his path in the Way.

  The Scribe lamented and spake unto him:

  “Why hast thou torn me from my objective? What could possibly fill the void left by absence of the Sidogush?”

  Gorin Vati comforted him:

  “My servant and follower of Isolakandi, I am the son of your lost Shogun. I am of the Four Kings, and I will grant unto thee further Wisdom of the Way, for the world is not as it once was. The Great Disorder has changed the rule of all, and we are called to produce greater testimonies of a time to come. Write amongst the heavens, Scribe Burow, as we have gathered here in our resolve to lay down the foundation of a great nation. Many meters higher, I say, for we must grow above that which is lost to madness.”

  And so it was.

  Gorin led his Builders to foster a new generation as they fashioned simple homes for themselves. In his eyes, however, their new country was incomplete. Below them, the rest of the Four Kings were waiting to be discovered or were, perhaps, already dead. Gorin Vati ensured that his people would remain safe while high above the Earth and thus created an illusion around the tower having been constructed around both Trees. The image he’d created was of a building engulfed in what would seem to be an everlasting flame. To him, this was enough to hold back any who would become overly curious were the age of madness to ever end.

  3083

  (763 P. R.)

  The Kingdoms of the East were as thus:

  THE LIO KHANATE

  The Lio Khanate, led by Khan Rai. Khan Rai’s people inhabited the Southeast of the continent and lived mostly along the coastal area as well as among the lowlands of the region, which were fertile and provided the resources necessary to house a much larger population. Of all the Khanates, the Lio’s people were the largest and multiplied far in abundance in comparison to any other civilized human population. The area in which they abided was excellent for crop growth and possessed a temperate climate that was not harsh in the winter nor terribly scorching in the middle of summer. The Lio, having disdain for incredibly luxurious dwellings, resided in yurts: great tents made with infrastructure built using poles and covered in felt. The Lio were capable of collapsing their dwellings and moving within a moment’s notice, and they rode on the backs of Emsires, which were great beasts hailing from another world once connected with Earth in the First Rift. With their ease of movement, relaxed and productive society, and capable beasts, the Lio became the dominant force rivaling all who opposed them.

  THE SHERN KHANATE

  The Shern Khanate, led by Magistrates Leofeln, Veersheck, and Ginst. The three of them ruled over a people who existed in the northern area of the country and survived in a territory marked by rolling plateaus and tight massifs throughout. With their superior knowledge of strategy, passed down through generations of those who’d learned how to appropriately exploit the terrain, they fought back the endless hordes of the Lio and incurred in the Lio Khanate a great deal of casualties. The Shern domesticated the Unken, who were winged beasts capable of being piloted without halting for several days and could seat only one fully grown soldier of the Shern. Alongside the Unken, they rode a lesser relative of the Unaer’e species of demon: Kiks’t, doggish beasts thick in mass and slow but able to absorb blows that could fell both the Emsires as well as the Unken.

  THE REIK KHANATE

  Finally, there was the Reik Khanate, most of whom happened to be interbred between humans and a very humanoid species of demon known as the Klnst. The Klnst themselves often experienced lethal allergic reactions upon exposure to offspring of the Reik and died off shortly after the Khanate spread. The Reik were known for multiplying at a rapid rate, and they took to hiding amongst the majority of valleys and basins as well as the smaller mountainous areas belonging to the land. The Lio had pursued their extinction for a time, believing them a sin against Kao Dai, the reigning belief system that took root during the rule of Khan Rai. The Kao Dai was a way of life favoring human survival, and it fostered the belief that all outside entities were hostile to their existence. Opposing the Reik Khanate in total, the Kao Dai preached that its people should remain unattached to the pleasures of life and instead strive to become unaffected by the ravages of time.

  THE KAO DAI

  Through complete adherence to the Kao Dai, which was a combination of linguistics roots meaning “Shining Face,” one became known and honored as an Ascetic. The Ascetics stood in contrast to the “Ascetics” belonging to the religion of Gozad, for they believed not in sexual or otherwise earthly pleasures. They abstained from eating except at noon and in small portions, and they drank upon sight of the setting of the Sun. At all other times, the Kao Dai Ascetics fasted in their repeated attempts to become fully attuned to their beliefs. In becoming completely attuned, they became as mentors with supposed spiritual powers that granted them the ability to grow crops without further need of attendance. They were said to produce solar energy matching the strength of the Sun itself, for Kao Dai paid much reverence to the flaming orb in the heavens. Before Kao Dai became more modernized, Khan Rai ordered the execution of all who mingled with demons. Even those who had come into contact with one of such a nature or a member of the Reik were sentenced to a period of solitude and assessed by the Ascetics every year in order to determine if they’d been fully corrupted.

  The Reik Khanate became experts at disguising themselves and hiding away from both the madness of the Eastern Demons as well as the people of the Lio Khanate. However, their oppression forced them to move further east, and the Reik later became infatuated with the cosmogony of the Darkened Gods. As they progressively migrated and kept away from the vindictive eyes of Khan Rai, the Lio Khanate itself steadily changed their interpretation of the Kao Dai.

  3084

  (764 P. R.)

  In year 3084, the Kao Dai split into two sects: the Kaoists and those who followed Daism.

  KAOISM/DAISM

  The Kaoists desired “spiritual purity” among the Lio Khanate and paid great reverence to their past rulers. They sought for a Great Conquering, one that would see the Lio Khanate rule all of Earth and purge it of external forces. Khan Rai approved of this sect, and their ways pleased him. The Kaoists were extremely conservative in their views, expressing the need to regulate the dress codes of their people, the nature of the food consumed (which consisted mostly of vegetarian products), days of worship, days of rest, and a call for youth to participate in military functions. Those of the age of twelve were separated from their families and made to become part of the Lio’s “Prestigious Kao,” those who wore the blessed armor sanctioned by Khan Rai and crafted to resemble what they believed was the true “Face of the Sun.”

  Conversely, the Daists were much humbler in their views and accepting of all other interpretations of religious life. They were considered “mystics” by the Kaoists and persecuted for professing any view in disagreement with them. The Daists were interested in closing off their lands to outsiders and creating isolationists policies. Through these policies, they believed that their nation would grow and flourish enough to bring all others to them. In creating an environment of peace and following the way of the Ascetic, outside forces would bow to their superior numbers as well as modest mannerisms.

  PERSECUTION

  Khan Rai eventually ordered all followers of the way of Daism be executed by being thrown to starved Emsires. To the Kaoists, this became a form of entertainment that further caused them to stray from the origins of that in which they believed. Khan Rai’s sons were much more liberal and despised this method of punishment. Though they also believed in the path of the Kaoist, they wished for the end of the persecution of Daism and, rather, a culture reflecting a more accepting stance on the nature of religion.

  THE DARKENED GODS

  To the west, the Reik summoned an audience with a Mulungu, ones who are above demons and lesser deities in their birthing of the Dusk. The Mu
lungus are elusive in presence as well as understanding, though their appearance is usually signaled by an increased presence of demons congregated in a certain area. They are anomalous Gods, forms created from the Darkened, and they oversee realms corroded from influences not intended for the plane evoked by those of Earth.

  THE REIK AND THE MULUNGU

  After the Reik made contact with one of the Mulungus, it shielded them for a time as they paid reverence to the Other. It covered them, indeed, and thus their part of the world became cast in the Dusk. The Eastern Demons, fractured in their former alliances, made the Dusk their home while avoiding those of the Reik Khanate, who were favored by the Mulungu.

  And therefore, when the Lio Khanate rode against the Reik themselves, they were bewitched and made to suffer horrific fates at the hands of the Darkened God. Khan Rai, feeling emboldened, marched into the lands of the former Reik Khanate and had his mind destroyed. Once he’d returned and no longer displayed full possession of his living body, the broken mind of Rai spake to his people, and he uttered:

  “May the demons wash over the Path of the Kaoist. May they carry favor in my eyes, for my admiration brims. My adoration of them is in full, and may the people of the Lio Khanate bow to their superiority. We shall surrender to the Reik Khanate.”

  Rai’s sons were in disagreement with this call to action and conspired against him while understanding that Khan Rai was no longer of sound mind. Despite their full resolution to imprison Rai until his sanity returned, the Prestigious Kaoist General, Fut’zi Mun, turned several battalions against the Khanate itself.

  THE GENERAL KING

  General Fut’zi had felt himself swayed by the compassion demonstrated by those who followed Daism. Because of his hatred of their treatment at the hands of the Kaoists and Khan Rai’s instability, Fut’zi divided the Lio Khanate between himself and Rai’s sons. He led an assault on the Master Yurt which housed five of the sons, and they were slain in combat.

  The last son, who would come to be known as Khan Sudate, escaped from the clutches of his enemies and led an uprising among those who would still stand with the sons of Khan Rai. This uprising was successfully staged for a year before eventually being put down by General Fut’zi himself.

  General Fut’zi marched upon the last of Sudate’s forces and dueled the son of Rai in combat. As the two managed to bring swift weariness on each other, they would fight during the day and rest at night. At night, their supporters did everything in their power to comfort them. And when General Fut’zi prepared to lay himself to rest on the fifth night, one of his advisors spake unto him:

  “Oh, how thy leadership has guided the people of the Lio to experience true order in these lands. Leader, may I suggest a course of action that might lead to further success in your next trial?”

  Fut’zi, in his exhaustion, lectured his advisor:

  “What advice, say ye, could be better than the unification of the Lio Khanate under the Path of Kao Dai once more. For when our people are brought together under a way of acceptance, I shall be made the Khan of Khans, will I not? The heavens speak to me that my victory is only a matter of time.”

  The advisor, bold in his speech, returned thus:

  “Allow me to speed the succession of the Khan of Khans, my lord, for if thy send one to disguise himself amongst Sudate’s men and say otherwise of his own prowess, may the false Khan experience true doubt in his power and fall to thee much more easily.”

  A SEED OF DOUBT

  General Fut’zi was swayed by his advisor and sent forth an emissary to make himself family in the band of rebels. When the tempter arrived in the night to see Khan Sudate, he spake unto him:

  “Khan of Khans, will thou not recognize the history of General Fut’zi? For, although thou art made strong in the image of Khan Rai, thou art too young to contain the same measure of years. Forsooth, General Fut’zi has put many men to rest under the name of thy father, and thou shouldst focus more on a strategic plan rather than casual advances in the name of honor.”

  Khan Sudate was offended and spake:

  “Blasphemer! I will order thy execution with great speed and at the hands of someone made MUCH lesser—in this, I will show thee my measure of strength!”

  And thus, the advisor was decapitated before the eyes of the rebel leader.

  On the dawn of the next day, Khan Sudate and General Fut’zi met on the field of battle and readied themselves for what they had hoped would be their final duel. The two of them battled throughout the day once more, and when night fell, Sudate began to falter in his vision of victory. Sudate erred in his maneuvers and was fatally struck and without much ceremony.

  As Sudate fell to the earth amidst cries of jubilation from the General’s men, he cried unto the heavens and spake:

  “If there be a God who admireth the Path of Kao Dai, may they meet my wish: that my legacy shall not pass from this world without one final blessing and one seal under the approval of this god.”

  GUANZAI

  The sound of thunder screeched across the skies, and a new being appeared to address the sorrow expressed by the last Khan. A demigod, known as Guanzai, the Head of the Bull, soared through the heavens and down to Earth to prevent Sudate’s immediate death. He then inquired of the Khan:

  “Wilst thou follow me into further battle, so that thy legacy is in relation to mine a form of worship, of adoration?”

  Against the wishes of the General, Sudate agreed and was made to live for ten years more. Enough time for him to sire yet another son in the former lineage of the old Lio Khanate. His name was Sarnauth.

  When the General stood against the demigod, he was cursed with the loss of knowledge of his own language and thus was unable to communicate effectively among his own men. Guanzai renamed Sudate and gave him the title of Sive, meaning “The Bearer.”

  The two of them escaped with the rebels, who not only fostered new hope but also were able to recruit many to their cause under the guise of a true religion. Guanzai was a powerful entity and worshipped as a war god, a natural descendent of the Kaoist Path. He was an incarnation of one’s separation from the clutches of fate and, therefore, their devotion to the trails of combat.

  Guanzai led his men in a new interpretation of Kaoism, and he encouraged the acceptance of others in the same manner the Daists had. When General Fut’zi returned to his people, his loss of speech convinced them that his mind had turned as the Khan’s had before him, and so they locked him away to spend the remainder of his existence with Khan Rai.

  Or so, that is what they believed.

  Some time after he’d been locked away with the Khan, Fut’zi prayed to the Path of Daism and sought the assistance of another deity to take up his cause.

  WUSHUNI

  Once more from an outer realm appeared another demigod, the Head of the Emsire, Wushuni, a god who incarnated as destruction. He appeared as a great character formed from sheer steel and freed the General so that he might stand among his people again.

  In the realm to which the rival rulers had pleaded, another deity, greater than both Wushuni and Guanzai, turned his attention to the people who’d summoned his lessers. He became curious, and his interest in the lives of humans would soon turn dangerous.

  3085

  (765 P. R.)

  SHO

  The greater deity was Sho, and he was a giant who reigned over a dominion in one of the Outer Realms. He took notice of the two deities intentions while also understanding that a Mulungu had appeared outside their borders. In his eyes, he believed that a great war could follow should he allow both Fut’zi and Sive to prolong the conflict.

  Sho descended into the realm of humans, believing himself merciful, and established the Morarch Republic. He took his seat at Khan Rai’s former palace and declared himself the Peace Holder of the future. Sho rooted his form to the ground and created a shroud, much like the mystic nature of that of The Great Disorder, to cover all under the banners of Daism and Kaoism.

  The peop
le were touched and their deities temporarily imprisoned. Once covered, those forming the Morarch Republic would follow all delegation issued to their collective subconscious from Sho, who desired the complete abolition of private property as well as the allocation of all goods under the Morarch system of merit. Were a citizen to perform in a manner that pleased him, Sho would grant to them status as well as minimal control over the minds of others. Those who rose in his government became known as the Animarchy, and, as Sho grew weary of handling the wills of everyone under his control, he left all authority of lesser classes to the Animarchy.

  Those in the Animarchy came to see themselves as superior in all ways and progressively made the ones below them fill the role of mind slaves. Rather than perform any individual tasks of labor themselves, the animarchs forced all to focus on labor projects while they themselves ruled in luxury. As Wushuni and Guanzai were encased in limestone, they could only experience pain as they watched the misery of their followers increase by a tenfold.