A thin young boy huddled in the corner of a large stone house, near his straw bed. He shuddered both from the unnatural cold of this month and from fear, for he had seen and heard many bad things, and thought of the worse to come. From the first flour below, loud voices came. The adults were talking about him. He just knew it. His fate was being decided. And, though this has not yet occurred to him back then, the fate of the entire realm.
A new voice joined the argument, and there was an unique sound of a sword being unsheathed. The new voice alone spoke after that, the others quietened and attentive. The arguments ceased, and the old voices murmured their assent. The boy stood up, startled. He was shaking even more intensely now. He felt weak, as though he was about to faint, or closer still, die. Something dark seemed to appear before his eyes.
Then there was something not unlike a flash of light. A tall, bronze-skinned man with a single golden eye climbed up the stairs and appeared before the boy.
"Do not fear, Akurogos[1], Egrois[2] of the Ksiliotai. You are among your allies. You are no longer a fugitive; I swear by my name that you shall be king."
"Y-your name?"
"I am Mesogisepos[3], son of Reptoreos[4]. I and my retainers shall see to it that you are saved."
---
I awaken from a dream, with the help of my wife and a dozen other attendants. I am bathed, clothed and fed. Through it all, I feel as if in a haze, and even as it recedes a feeling of vague unease remains. Over the luxuriant meal[5], I try and remember the dream. I have seen you there, old one. Mesogisepos. Soteros, saviour, for that is what the priests call you now.
I agree with that, Mesogisepos. I have agreed with it in public, nine years ago, when they interred your ashes in the core of the rising Meganaos Are-Ahermis[6]. It was a fitting move, because you too have always supported the temples of Are-Ahermis. I wonder if you remember when it was thought that Are and Ahermis were different gods[7]? Have you ever thought so? Have you thought about gods at all, or have you advocated them merely as suggested in that blasphemous poem I have read to you when I visited the incomplete temple three days ago? The poet (his name escapes me)[8] that wrote it was flogged publically after he admitted to it. He praised the priests, but gave no acknowledgment to gods; perhaps his punishment is the surest sign that the priests do indeed care about the gods more than about their own vanity, as he himself had claimed. In any case, as you recall, he suggested that the priests of a great temple can influence the minds of the people for the best, grant them solace and grant them encouragement. Does not Are-Ahermis, in his immense and immeasurable greatness, suit this goal better than any other one god - or than Are and Ahermis individually? Though the rustics and the traditionalists do not think so, he is truly all-encompassing - what better god to unite the realm around when it is vulnerable? So perhaps this was your idea? If so, I will not blame you, for you truly are Soteros. Saviour of the realm.
But I have distracted both you and myself. Have you acted out of pragmatism, whether that meant suggesting a greater religion of your own devising or agreeing with the priests when they themselves came up with it? Or did you simply always know the great and sacred truths of Are-Ahermis, both those within our mortal reach and those seen only by priests and great heroes[9] such as yourself? Or better still, perhaps you were the only one who saw it all? Or... I have recently spoken with your lieutenant, Tosopatos. He has been elected by the Gasiria[10] as Poleketos[11], thanks to you, because he has the support of all the Gasiriai in his own cult, which worships you as the avatar of Are-Ahermis, sent to save the Ksiliotai from darkness and chaos[12]. Is that so? Are you Are-Ahermis? I am willing to believe that as well.
If you are a god - if you are the God - then have you sent me the dream? Or do all dead heroes possess the power to send dreams to their followers? It was a strange dream, uncommonly clear. I often remember dreams, but rarely in such great detail. And what does it mean? I cannot see any deep or symbolic meanings. Did you just want to remind me that I am in your debt? Know that I shall repay it in any way I can find.
Mesogisepos, be you man or god, tell me: what have you thought of me back then? Why did you save me when you could have sold me or killed me? Already then, you were admired by many. After the battle in which you lost your eye, none in the west dared stand against you. For yourself, you could have become king of the Gasiriai; for the land, you could have pledged an alliance with the Nakatai[13], who, for all their treachery, have now shown that they too possess martial courage, as you yourself have said. Did you regret not allying with them when you were slain in that skirmish? Ofcourse, I doubt that I shall ever know. I do know that you slew one of their largest elephants before being piled upon and killed, and that Tosopatos and his men then massacred all prisoners and all the Nakatai they could find in a drunken, divinely-inspired rage[14]. Would you have disapproved such breach of your own orders? Probably not, for you have always supported brave commanders. "The winds of war change quickly, and the finest plans could not survive them".
I dismiss my attendants and descend into the garden. It has exceeded the one in Egroiokos[15]; then again, I remember little of that city's former splendour, and when I visited it after your victory it was much reduced, as was the garden. Still, to think that this rugged mountain fort[16] has turned into such a bustling, wealthy city! It is difficult to doubt that Are-Ahermis himself has blessed it with luck and wealth. The trader, artisan and miner settlements have extended far beyond the old walls, while within them, small old houses have been torn down, and new, greater buildings have arisen. My palace, I am told, is in the northeast. I live there with my wife, my concubines, my attendants and my royal advisors. Near it stands the great longhouse where the Gasiria assembles. The lesser palace of the Poleketos is nearby, as are chanceries of scribes that have sprung up after your reforms. But the greatest of all buildings is the Meganaos. It is not yet completed, but it shall exceed all, as befits the resting-place of the gods when they come down to Earth.
Are you there now? Sometimes I look at your urn, and see smashed bones that I know to be human, but which might as easily have been those of an animal. And sometimes I feel your presence there instead. Do you, too, wander the entire cosmos as Are-Ahermis does, staying only to converse with the most worthy of your followers in the great temple? Does the fact that I sometimes see you there make me worthy? Or do you simply take mercy on my ignorance and weakness from time to time, as you have done back then, when I have barely been stolen from my palace, separated from my servants and captured by opportunistic local warriors? I do not blame you. I truly am unworthy, both of your mercy and of my title. Far greater kings have reigned before me. I should hope that greater kings will rule after me, but my son shows no signs of greatness. He is an idiot. But my other sons are by my concubines, and the Gasiria does not want them to rule. I scarcely know them myself, and I suppose it is only good that the Gasiria has taken over all actual governance if the kings are so feeble. Have you deliberately arranged so? Or was that a pragmatic agreement to keep the Gasiriai loyal to our cause?
I wish to go to the temple, but the palace guards do not permit me to. I concede and go back into the garden. Perhaps I should not have ordered them to wake me up so early. I have but one ceremony to perform today, and but one visit after that; aside from that, all that I would have are the petititons that I will have to redirect to the Gasiria for consideration. I cannot do anything. I can only read them, which I will for the lack of anything better.
Mesogisepos, you know that I can do nothing and have no will to learn to do anything. But perhaps I shall try to compose religious hymns in your name[17], as it has come to me in my thoughts and my dreams oh so often. Perhaps that will pay off my debt? Please, I know that I may never walk on the same planes as you do; but at least let my life have some worth before I depart to the underworld, or whatever is it that comes after ordinary people and lousy kings die[18]. I shall have to ask Phereos[19].
Why have you told me to make him the high priest when you are the avatar, the prophet and the warrior of Are-Ahermis? Perhaps because he was merely a figurehead, just as myself, while the only true priests of Are-Ahermis are those who wander the world and fight in wars? You yourself have said that true clarity comes only in battles, and that none stand between the warrior and the god. You were perhaps the only real priest of Are-Ahermis; they all were merely your slaves and servants, left to mind the world in your absence. Tosopatos says that you shall one day return, and usher in the golden age. Is that true? If so, when? Will there be omens? Or shall you appear out of nothing in a blinding flash of light, as it has happened back then? And how will you go about ushering the golden age? Does the world have to be washed in blood, or in fire? Or will it save itself without bloodshed at your guidance? I truly cannot say, for you have both started and ended battles with equal grace.
Tell me, Soteros - what does the future hold? How shall my sons reign? Will the war in the east ever end? Shall the Gasiriai grow corrupt and wretched as the Phratrai[20] and the Nakatai before them? Will the temple be finished, and will its priests do good or ill? You have explained to me that the other gods are but reflections of Are-Ahermis - but might they not grow resentful, as the Nakatai had grown resentful against my father? And even then, their misguided followers are many, and even some of the frontier Gasiriai have demanded greater reverence for their gods. Perhaps peace will be kept, for that truth you have told me has not been told to others. But might this truth not be lost? Shall we sacrifice truth for peace, or peace for truth? The future, Mesogisepos. Tell me of the future. Send me omens. Send me dreams. Reassure me and console me. Or don't, if you think that I should face the truth instead. But pardon me, then, if I shudder, though not so much from the cold mountain air that has crept into the garden as from fear. I have seen and heard many bad things, and I think that even worse may come. The future is so uncertain, it is too great a burden for a worm such as myself to bear.
I am tired. I should not have woken up so soon. I should go back to sleep, for now.
---
The suddenly-unsheathed bronze sword frightened all of the ragtag men at the ramshackle wooden table on the first floor, and so they backed away, shocked, looking with apprehension at the newcomer and his retainers (but mostly at the newcomer, who was hard not to recognise for anyone with ears or eyes in those dark days). The tall, bronze-skinned man with a single golden eye smiled a rough smile and stepped up closer. He spoke in a booming, yet strangely melodious voice - it, just like his entire life, may be likened to an epic poem of war.
"Do I have your attention? Then listen. You have made many foolish mistakes, and now your enemies surround you everywhere. You stand on the brink of an abyss - a hole that you have dug for yourself. I see fear in your eyes; it is a sign of belated understanding. I can slaughter you all. Anyone with an army can, and many people have armies nearby on this day. But it is not too late. It is not too late if you yourselves are still alive, and the heir - the king - still lives. Follow my orders, and my orders alone, do not listen to your own folly or to the treacherous voices of your enemies. Then and only then shall you be saved. Shall you do as I ask, or shall you die? It is your choice. Know only that you have little time."
---
DISCLAIMER: This story represents the private heresies and scrambled memories of the figurehead monarch and does not reflect the doctrine of the anointed priests of the great god Are-Ahermis, blessed be his name on all the roads.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Akurogos III, one of most long-reigning and least important monarchs in the history of the Ksiliotai. But back then he was just a little boy whose status as heir was very much in question after his mother killed his father and his uncle killed his mother, at which point bad people came and killed a lot of other relatives. The boy was saved by some loyal servants, though. And then they probably died too. Tough.
[2] "Egrois" used to be the main title of the Ksiliotai monarch (translation unknown); in Gasiriakora, though, it has largely been replaced by "Gasirioketos" (leader of the Gasiriai[2a]).
[2a] The Gasiriai are basically the nobility of the western Ksiliotai valley, or more precisely the warrior-nobles that descend from the lieutenants of Egrois Erutogeros (but lately, also those who descend from warriors that earned that distinction by personal merit and valour in present day). The present dynasty - and the last dynasty of the united Ksiliotai - came from those social circles.
[3] Mesogisepos, major Gasiriai warlord soon after the death of Egrois Aurigiros VI, distant relative of Akurogos III and the true power in the country in the first part of Akurogos III's reign. In 302 he was elected as the first Poleketos after suggesting the introduction of this position, and was reelected to said position every year until his glorious death.
[4] Reptoreos is a pretty common name, but it's most famous bearer is only known under a different one.
[5] What would a luxuriant meal in Gasiriakora (or, indeed, anywhere else in 4th century Animas Valley) consist of? Pork and rice, I presume. But I'm seriously out of my depth here. Birdjaguar?
[6] Meganaos Are-Ahermis - the Great Temple of Are-Ahermis - is the greatest architectural undertaking in the history of the Ksiliotai, and the physical center of the new cult of Are-Ahermis.
[7] The process of the merging of Are (the god of war) and Ahermis (the god of trade) into Are-Ahermis (the god of war, trade, travel, royal power and many things besides) was a very long one, but some still worshiped them as distinct deities in the times of Akurogos III, even after the institution of the state cult, though this old faith has receded with time.
[8] I do not remember it either. I also keep forgetting the name of the OTL Egyptian scribe that wrote something similar. There was also a Roman named Titus Lucretius Carus, whose name I do remember, though that's a bit more complex. It's not quite the same, ofcourse, but that unknown poet had some similar ideas.
[9] "The Cult of Are-Ahermis" is a rather deceptive name, especially when used by imprecise historians in reference to the early 4th century religion; this supreme deity did indeed have a primary role in the new state pantheon, but the other gods were worshiped as well, and there were also prominent hero-cults. Heroes, defined as great people favoured by the gods (later just Are-Ahermis), had a special destiny after death, becoming in some ways as the gods themselves. The most popular heroes in early Gasiriakora (and really, later in its history as well) were Egrois Erutogeros, who gave the Gasiriai their lands and titles, and Mesogisepos Soteros, who gave them power and freedom. Not wholly unpredictable, though they deserved it.
[10] The Gasiria is the council of all the Gasiriai. Mesogisepos came up with that idea.
[11] The Poleketos is the annually-(re)elected supreme military leader, and the ceremonial president of the Gasiria. Sometimes not so ceremonial - it all depends on the person, though his formal powers are always the same.
[12] That cult's fortunes waxed and waned through history, but it never was declared a heresy as such and it has remained something of an elite club amongst the Gasiriai later on.
[13] The Nakatai are the anti-Gasiriai. They are the nobility of the east, and they descend from the warlords that opposed Egrois Erutogeros before signing a treaty with them. They always enjoyed greater autonomy and privileges, were more arrogant and elitist, received greater Kanese and Erevan cultural influence and quarreled with central power. Aurigiros VI tried to reconcile with them and married a noblewoman from one of the most prominent Nakatai lineages. She slit his throat a few months later, and the brutal revenge that followed served as a casus belli.
Note that the term Nakatai is also used for their subjects in general after the collapse of the unified Ksiliotai realm.
[14] Those are practically synonymous in the tradition of certain frontier Gasiriai families (which are known for fierce independence and weird religious customs). Tosopatos came from one such family, by the way.
[15] The older one of the two old capitals, but Akurogos III was raised there as Aurigiros VI moved his court back there from Marigaseriokos.
[16] Oretatero, "Mountain Home", the new capital.
[17] And so he did. They aren't anything extraordinary, but the archaeologists still loved them.
[18] They rot in hell, duh. Though they call it "the underworld" and it's not a sign of any particular failings or vices; it just means lack of any memorable achievements.
[19] Phereos, the first High Priest of Are-Ahermis, and the brother of Akurogos III.
[20] Meaning in this case the old tribal nobility, especially from those tribes that had settled down in the vicinity of Egroiokos. They still lingered on to the times of Aurigiros VI, but were later smashed between the Gasiriai and the Nakatai.
Though I'm rather surprised that you're the first to bring that up...
Ignore that little colored state.
