Stories for the miniactions of Thera

[Vlad Dracule]

Hmm, I liked the Ysmir mercenaries of the original version and the Mad Warlord, seems like a story I will like to make... Yes, keep that one for me, I will think about that and hopefully imagine it on this beautiful weekend.

[Vlad Dracule]

The Mad Warlord

"Under the rule of the former Warlord of Ysmirr, Fjolnir the fourth, his youngest lad, named Lotnir, who was the most adventurous of all his brothers, when he was at the northern sea with whalers, one night, a huge whale, passes by their longboat. Lotnir and his brave crew quickly follow in the footsteps of the whale. Seeing that in their pursuit, they are heading for a storm, the old hunters want to stop the pursuit and return to the shore, but Lotnir, relentless, longing to catch the huge whale to take it to his father and return with a story about how he caught the whale in the middle of a storm, refuses, continuing the hunt and entering in the midst of the storm. Lotnir and his men finally manage to get close to the whale but the whale is attacked by the giant Serpent Jormungand. Caught in a storm and hit hard several times by the battle between the giant whale and Jormungand, the hunting longboat is destroyed and the entire crew swallowed by the waters.
Three days later, on the shores of the cold sea, Lotnir wakes up alive and with only a few wounds, but the meeting with Jormungand changed him for good. He returns to Ysmirr and tells everyone about the meeting with Jormungand and the truths the giant monster told him, but also about the visions he has had since then every night, praying to his father and brothers to no longer take part in the Great Hunt that all the Warlords of Ysmirr lead every year against the race of Jotnarr giants, because they will all die. But everyone consider him crazy and his father orders all the shamans and all the witches of Norselund to gather at Ysmirr and whoever manages to help Lotnir sleep and escape alive, will be rewarded with his or her weight in gold.
After many days but especially after many sleepless nights, a young witch named Dalnira is the only one who manages to make Lotnir sleep. The Warlord Fjolnir orders the witch to always be by his son's side and wants to give her a lot of gold. Dalnira refuses the gold but agrees to stay with Lotnir all the time to help him. After a while, the Warlord, his sons and the most famous warriors of Ysmirr go to the land of the giants, Jotunlund, for the Great Hunt. Hearing this, Lotnir is very upset but Dalnira manages to calm him down with all her herbs but also with the beauty of her body. She tells him that their death was inevitable because he is destined to sit on the throne of Ysmirr, from where he will be able to lead his subjects according to the teachings of Jormungand. After a few days the bad news reached Ysmirr, the Jotnarr waited for the brave warriors of Ysmirr at a pass where they threw huge rocks at them and killed them all. Upon hearing the news, Lotnir was already on the throne with Dalnira naked in his lap, both of them laughing.
Under his rule, Lotnir laid the foundations of the cult of Jormungand throughout Ysmirr and intensified hunting raids against the giants, but their purpose was to capture them alive and use them in his armies, as the Serpent God taught him. With the visions from Jormungand, the whispers of Dalnira in his ear and the armies of hardy warriors of Ysmirr and the giant Jotnarr at his command, no one can stand against Lotnir, the Mad Warlord of Ysmirr."

[Panzer_Faust]

The Money States

The common people hate them for their enormous wealth. Noble families secretly despise them, wanting to seize power, but are afraid to oppose the ruling elite because of their spy network, which has eyes and ears throughout the state. They call themselves The Money States - a confederation of the wealthy city-states of Bellica, whose political regime is plutocracy. The confederation is governed by The Golden Bank, whose headquarters are in the capital of the confederation, Vezzarra, the wealthiest city of Thera.
The Golden Bank was founded by a man named Biagio Philippe Aldo Azzari, a man with very different plans for life. Biagio was born into a non-noble, but quite wealthy family of a merchant and artist. The father taught his son mathematics and arithmetic, and his mother instilled a love of art. Biagio himself was an idealist, he wanted to change the world in a religious way, believing that people should open their hearts and souls to the Demiurge, for we are the children of the One Creator. Biaggio studied the scriptures diligently, preaching passionately in churches, and then in the main cathedral of Vezzarra, where people listened to everything he told them. The Inquisition drew attention to the young pastor, they were surprised by Biagio's dedication and piety, after which he was invited to the residence of the Inquisition to be ordained a cardinal. Biaggio was delighted with this opportunity, since in his heart he wanted to become the Inquisitor himself, because everyone knows about his holiness, seeing in him a source of righteousness and influence on rulers, nobles and common people. A few months later, Biaggio was ordained a cardinal, after which he began his activities at the court of the Inquisitor, fruitfully working for the glory of the Demiurge. Biagio despised wine, debauchery, greed and lust for power, because he believed that it was in them that the root of all the evils of the human soul was located, but the more Biaggio worked in the Inquisition, the more he noticed that cardinals and inquisitors themselves were mired in these vices, violating the laws prescribed in "Codice di giustizia". Biagio reported all violations of the laws to the Grand Inquisitor Ariega Marici Diravello, for which he was convicted. The shocked Biagio asked why Ariega was unhappy, and received this answer:
“The laws we have written must be executed by everyone who is below us. We are the Inquisition, and we represent God on this mortal earth, we are equal before him, which means we deserve more and obey only God personally, regardless of anyone’s laws. "
The young cardinal's dreams turned to dust scattered in the wind, anger and disappointment overwhelmed his soul, he wanted to leave this place of arrogant tyrants, but he knew too many secrets of the Inquisition and therefore he could easily be killed. But Biaggio didn't care. He hated himself for wasting his life time and allowing himself to live long in ignorance. He was able to escape and returned back to his native Vezzarra, where he learned that his father had died of an illness and left him an inheritance. His mother ruined her health due to grief, but Biagio's return eased her suffering. Biaggio inherited an inheritance from his father, took over the leadership of his merchant guild and began to take care of his sick mother. At first, Biagio worked uncertainly in the guild, then, gaining experience, he entered into contracts with many of Bellica's trade guilds and the colonies on Mesokala. The guild grew significantly under Biaggio's leadership, and the number of workers and contracts grew as well. At the same time, the number of competitors who wanted to get rid of Biagio also increased. For this, mercenaries were hired to guard the guild and its branches in different cities. Inquisitor Diravello has learned that Biagio lives and flourishes in Vezzarra. Then a terrible thing happened: the era of the Great Torment began. Monstrous cataclysms devastated Thera, roads and farms were destroyed, plague destroyed entire cities, and believers engaged in endless prayer and self-flagellation in the hope of earning God's forgiveness for their sins. Vezzarra was engulfed in political chaos, the city was left without government, Biagio seized the moment and seized power in the city.
Biagio, with the help of loyal people and mercenaries, put things in order in the city: his assistants took up administrative posts and restored the city's infrastructure, the mercenaries played the role of city guards and police, suppressed riots and destroyed bandit groups attacking the peasants. Other neighboring cities suffered the fate of Vezzarra: left without control, the cities drowned in robberies and riots. Biaggio also conquered these cities with the help of an army of mercenaries, where renovations and administrative reforms also began. Over time, the cities were ruled by the people of Biagio, order and stability replaced chaos and brutality, and the people finally entered a new era of prosperity under the leadership of the Golden Bank. A trade confederation was created with a large turnover of many types of goods: agricultural products and industrial raw materials, tools and weapons, luxury goods. Some cities turned into famous shopping centers, many of them specialized in certain types of trade.
The prosperous confederation became known as The Money States, the richest state born after the Great Torment. The Money States never had a clear structure of armies: from the very beginning, the confederation actively used mercenaries as regular troops and city police, the mercenaries themselves gladly served the Golden Bank, which paid them a lot of money for their service. The Golden Bank soon decided to increase its wealth through usury, prostitution and trade with the Zuabii tribes living on the distant Sari coast. These actions greatly increased the income of the already wealthy Golden Bank for many years, providing its heirs with a better life.
In the year 62, after the Great Torment, Biagio dies surrounded by his relatives. Biagio's sons continued his work and succeeded greatly, with them colonization began in Mesocala. The Rio de Oro colony became the gateway between Bellica and Mesocala, through which ships with rare resources constantly sailed.
For more than 100 years, The Money States traded with almost all countries and states, huge money was circulating in the Golden Bank, shopping districts were overflowing with buyers and outlandish goods, mercenaries were armed with the best weapons and dressed in the most expensive armor. However, the golden era came to an end and the trade confederation fell into decay: pirates plundered most of the sea trade routes, an excess of goods led to a serious decrease in income, and ideas about gaining independence from the Golden Bank were brewing in the cities of the confederation. More than half of the cities rebelled against the rule of the Azzari family, leading to a war called "patrician massacre". The Patricians fought their own mercenary armies against The Golden Bank, which, nevertheless, was able to bribe most of the enemy troops to their side. And yet the war dealt a severe blow to the Azzari family: the confederation was greatly reduced, and now it includes only Vezzarra, Feligno, Povia and the Rio de Oro colony.
In the year 206, after the Great Torment, Gosto Azzari, a direct descendant of Biagio, came to the leadership position of the Golden Bank. Gosto promised to return his family to its former greatness and recapture the rebellious city-states. The Inquisition has long watched the actions of the Azzari family, but did not take punitive actions while the Azzari were at the height of their power, for their army of mercenaries and spies posed a great danger to anyone who dared to encroach on their property. Although the Azzari family was weakened, luck favored Gosto, because his childhood friend Rodrigue Santorio took over as Grand Inquisitor. Rodrigue was a kind, but dissolute man who did not disdain to experience dubious pleasures. Rodrigue often received "gifts" from Gosto and his son Deago to turn away the eyes of the Inquisition and their watchdogs, the Otterbachs, from the affairs of the Golden Bank. Moreover, Rodrigue was a frequent visitor to Feligno, the city of courtesans, where the dissolute priest endlessly entertained himself with prostitutes and drank dozens of liters of the best wines. Based on this circumstance, Gosto made efforts to once again raise the authority of the Gold Bank and was quite successful. However, fate changed plans. Rodrigue's body was seriously weakened as a result of constant drunkenness and sexual practices, he soon fell ill and began to rapidly lose vitality. The deceased Rodrigue was replaced by Zappa, a monk from the Holy Sword Order. Zappa is a dangerous fanatic, ready to destroy all those who violate the laws of the Inquisition, but he has a special hatred for the Azzari family and their Golden Bank, in his opinion they earned their money in a sinful way, since trade with the Zuabii tribes is prohibited because their goods recognized as sinful and everyone who at least somehow touched them should be severely punished.
The Golden Bank was not Zappa's only problem: Karl Faust, Supreme Commander of the Black Army, inflicted crushing defeat on the Otterbach army thanks to the technological superiority of his troops, rifles and cannons shattered the steel and faith of the Grand Inquisitor's slaves. This event shocked northern Bellica in matters of faith, politics and technology. The Boravians and trantosians rejected the path of the Demiurge and broke away from the Otterbachs, and Gosto Azzari at that moment made a deal with Karl Faust for the supply of new weapons and artillery cannons. Zappa, despite the strong weakening of the power of the Inquisition in northern Bellica, did not intend to retreat from his goals. Knowing this, Deago offered his father Gosto a dangerous plan to capture Inquisitor Zappa dead or alive. To do this, Gosto made an appointment with the Vashta corsairs, at which he offered them for a large reward for kidnapping Zappa, he secretly financed an expedition to plunder Torquesia, but this operation was completely ruined due to a powerful storm that sank half of the corsair ships. The Vashta corsairs did not reach their destination and landed in Translavia, where they will have to face the Sovereign Order of the Dragon. Gosto was furious and ordered Deago to gather representatives from the highest circle of the confederation for an assembly. At the meeting, Gosto rolled out a speech: "Gentlemen, the corsairs failed to meet the challenge, Zappa was not captured. Although his power has weakened, he is still a threat to our operations. There are many people who remain loyal to him, but this does not mean that we should lay down our heads in front of this fanatic. We are the power on this earth, we control our destiny, we must think with our own head, and not give our souls at the disposal of these godless bastard inquisitors. We will return the former glory to the Golden Bank! Comrebo Labienzza, the most severe Commander of mercenaries whom I know, you and your condottieri will receive the weapon that Karl Faust has carefully provided to us, I want you to conquer the neighboring cities that have denied the power of my family. Nero! You will also receive weapons and artillery. If the Otterbachs dare to attack Feligno, let them die by our swords, bullets and cannonballs! Fido Spodi, your family has always served the Golden Bank, I wish you to join Comrebo on a military campaign Ergo Vielli, you are an experienced explorer, I am appointing you to govern the colony of the Rio de Oro. Deago, you take control of Vezzarra, you will defend the city and work at the Bank. I also go to war, if the Inquisition wants war, they will get it! God will help us, gentlemen!"

[Boyar of Translavia]

Awesome stories Vlad Dracule and Panzer Faust! They fit perfectly to the greater lore. Thanks a lot!!

[Boyar of Translavia]

The Masquerade


"For the last century, the Money States and Trantos have fought for the control of the mines and mineral resources of an area located in central Bellika. The Golden Bank financed many warriors from the anarchic mountainous region of Dardia to descend upon the lucrative route between Trantos and Auronia, the most important mining center, and disrupt the Trantosians. These rivalries often came under the arbitration of the Inquisition, but the Golden Bank made sure that enough gold was paid to Torquesia to keep the Grand Inquisitor to their side. The influence of the Golden Bank over some members of the Inquisition was so great that the corrupt Grand Inquisitor Rodrige was convinced to sent the Otterbach knights to investigate the Trantosian tradition of holding masked carnivals, stating that they were derived from ancient, pagan practices. Many important patricians of Trantos were arrested and the popular carnivals and masks forbidden.

The Inquisition and the Money States made a treaty of participation to a Great Purge, called for the purpose of conquering of Otjuk Peninsula, in order to ease the pressure of the infidels upon the Pale Knights in Bae Eden. The Golden Bank financed the building of a great fleet that was to transport the knights to Syrianna. Once the knights gathered, the fleet transported them but not to Syrianna. The fleet arrived in a place that was a trap, because the Golden Bank had double-crossed the Inquisition also, and have secretly negotiated the sabotage of the Purge with the Vashta Corsairs. The Golden Bank and the Vashta agreed that in exchange of gold from their vast slave trade, that was to compensate the expenses with fleet building; the fleet transporting the knights was to be ambushed on the sea by the corsairs and destroyed.

From the controlled slaughter, only the most corrupt of the knights were left to escape. This was done because the Golden Bank had plans with these knights. They were brought to the coast of eastern Bellika where mercenary bands in the service of Trantos, but also paid by the Golden Bank, came and started to disarm, rob and humiliate the surviving knights, and then the Golden Bank agents approached the knights, armed them and convinced them to attack Trantos. When the rearmed knights approached the city, the traitor mercenaries began to flee and helpless Trantos was left seemingly defenseless.

But then what followed was totally unexpected. Trantos opened its gates to the knights and two hundred courtesans suddenly went outside and invited them to the city, where a great masquerade ball was ongoing. The stunned and amazed knights easily accepted and entered the city, joining the party and indulging themselves in heavy drinking.

After their humiliation by the hands of the Inquisition and the Otterbach due to the machinations of the Golden Bank, the Trantosians swore to take revenge. Later in the night, many masked Trantosians revealed their hidden weapons and descended upon the drunken knights, capturing them all. The knights were taken to the Gnostic Cathedral of Trantos, and, after it was filled with all of them, it was set on fire.

Such an act would bring the full wrath of the Inquisition and Otterbach upon Trantos, but, to their great luck, at the same time, half of the Otterbach forces where gone south to Ibellika Desert on another Great Purge, and, to the north of Trantos, the Black Army of Karl Faust had just defeated the other half of the Otterbach knights and captured the Grand Inquisitor Rodrige. He was later released and died on his way home being replaced with Zappa, a Grand Inquisitor with no love for the Golden Bank either.

But the deed was done, and the path was irreversible for Trantos. The citizens gathered in front of the great palace of the Rector of Trantos, the highest official of the city, and swore to never abandon their independence, their carnivals and their masks. Their ancient traditions became their religion, replacing the foreign Demiurge with the Laughing God, and they also bought modern weapons from Karl Faust and the League of Privateers present in Port Fradam, bringing the gunpowder technology to Trantos and raising a professional army.

With these revolutionary changes, the future of Trantos is still uncertain. Sooner or later, the knights of the Inquisition and the Orders will come again, the contest for Auronia with the Money States is still going on, and the troublesome Dardia is not yet pacified. But they proved many times their resilience and they can prove it again if they have to. Until those times will come, they can enjoy for now the splendid masquerade ball."

[Panzer_Faust]

Celestial Dynasty

In the year 301, before the Great Torment, a young state was born on the territory of Huang-Chuan called the Great Hongwu Empire under the reign of Emperor Feng Huang Zhanji, who had the title of "Son of the Heavenly Dragon" for bringing Huang-Chuan into an era of prosperity and cultural superiority. over neighboring peoples of nomads and xenatans. Feng became famous as a successful reformer, a cold-blooded general and a brave man who would do anything for his people. Under him, not only Huang-Chuan was unified, but also the Sumari steppe and the island of the Xenathan people were conquered and annexed to the empire. During the war, the powerful army of the emperor destroyed enemy resistance and conquered new lands, nomad horsemen and xenathan samurai became an excellent addition to the Huang-Chuan army. Science, art, various crafts were encouraged in the empire, trade and slavery grew greatly. Hongwu scientists have made hundreds of scientific discoveries, among which is the creation of gunpowder, which will become a decisive factor in many wars and in the production of firearms. Poets and artists have created many masterpieces, whimsical and sophisticated, celebrating the culture of this unusual and proud people. The agrarian economy was undergoing reform, as a result of which farmers received benefits from the state, a variety of crops were grown, silk production and fishing flourished. The imperial army at that time possessed the largest technological advantage and numbering 1 million from the Huang-Chuan people and 300 thousand people from the Sumari nomads and Xenathan soldiers. The Hongwu Empire reached a large size, but Emperor Feng wanted more ... He secretly wanted to subjugate the entire southern continent, but his plans were not destined to come true, since Feng passed away at the age of 67. The deceased "Son of the Heavenly Dragon" was replaced by his son Lei Huang Zhanji. Lei's reign did not differ much from that of his father, with one exception: the Xenathans and Sumarians raised a series of major rebellions, as a result of which they gained independence for a short time, Lei suppressed revolts and carried out a series of brutal repressions, as a result of which the territorial integrity of the empires was restored. Emperor Lei was in poor health and was often sick, he spent a lot of money on doctors and medicines, but this could not change the situation, and the emperor died at 41 after 19 years of ruling the Hongwu empire. After the death of Lei, the decline of the state system began, many emperors of the Zhanji dynasty only formally had power, but in reality the emperors were little interested in politics, and all supreme power was concentrated in the hands of their numerous entourage (relatives, eunuchs and courtiers), imperial officials and the system rotted due to massive corruption. Science and art fell into decay, farmers began to suffer from a period of severe drought, famine hit first the lower strata of the population, then the nobility. Only with the accession of Emperor Cao Huang Zhanji Huang-Chuan acquired a certain semblance of a golden age compared to that of Emperor Feng. Xenata was no longer under the control of the empire, only the western part of the Sumari steppes remained loyal to the Hongwu regime. Cao introduced new laws affecting military service and taxes, reformed the army and the agrarian sphere, fought a series of wars against the Xenathans and Sumarians, all of which ended with the victory of Cao and the imposition of tribute on the tribes of nomads and princes of the Xenatans. Four years before Cao's death, Yunyan's son was born, and Cao asked his friend Shun Huang Lü, general of the imperial army, to look after Yunyan. Four years later, Cao died under unexplained circumstances: some say that it was a conspiracy, others say that Cao died in a dream, there were also rumors that Cao committed suicide, for he knew that soon the world would be covered in hellfire. The four-year-old Yongyan became emperor along with Shun as regent, the young emperor was making progress, his mentors predicted a great future for him, Shun was a two-faced man who played the role of Yongyan's caring educator, and in fact did not want to give the boy the throne. When Yunyan came of age and demanded full power over the empire, Shun drove the guy out of the capital and threatened him with death if he dared to return to the capital.
Yunyan was burning with revenge against the insolent usurper, he gathered all the troops loyal to him and sent ambassadors to the Sumari tribes and the Xenathan Shogun to conclude a military alliance against Shun and his armies. He managed to gain an alliance with the former enemies of his father, Shun found out about this and sent an army with General Huangshi Huang Dao, who was an excellent military leader with great authority and the right hand of the usurper. Huangshi was utterly defeated, was captured, and by order of Yunyan they cut off his ears and gouged out his eyes, after which he was taken to the imperial palace. The second man in the army after Shun turned into a helpless cripple, and Shun, in a fit of anger, went personally after the emperor on the run. Shun's army and Yunyan's army clashed at the city of Chang-Danfan, which is located in the southern part of Huang-Chuan near the border with the Sumarian steppe, in the Battle of the Dragon Rock. The battle lasted seven days, Shun's forces suffered losses, after a while the troops began to flee. During the battle, Yunyan saw the Heavenly Dragon himself in the sky, this instilled unprecedented courage in his heart, he ordered to pursue the retreating, killing all those who betrayed the Zhanji Dynasty, and Shun committed suicide from this shame. Yunyan returned to Huang Shan in triumph and took the throne of the Great Hongwu Empire. In honor of this event, there was a continuous holiday throughout the empire, people danced and rejoiced, drank the best wine and ate the best dishes. These were the last days when the people of Huang-Chuan smiled. A month after the accession of Yongyan, a meteorite fell on Thera, provoking earthquakes and floods that destroyed roads, cities, villages, farms, and temples. Many people died, those who were unlucky to survive, killed each other for food, and some despaired so much that they took up cannibalism. Yongyan tried to figure out how to save the people, but suddenly an earthquake began, destroying half of the capital and the imperial palace in which the emperor was located. The last emperor of the Zhanji Dynasty perished and Huang-Chuan fell into anarchy. The provinces of the country became separate states with their rulers, drowning the earth in the blood of innocent people, they were so careless that they did not try to somehow make the life of the peasants easier and sold them into slavery to the Vashta corsairs, xenatans and nomads. The rebellious prefects were corrupt, and bandits often paid them to turn a blind eye to looting villages. In addition to this, the Huang-Chuan pirates, whose leaders voluntarily joined the League of Privateers, controlled the sea routes and coastal areas, terrorizing the population of fishing villages and trading ports, where they kidnapped people and demanded money for passage along the sea routes.
Xenathan warlords and nomads of Lao hordes often plundered cities and temples, burned farms and villages, taking the local population into slavery, sea routes and coastal areas were controlled by Huang pirates and robbed the people of Huang-Chuan. It seemed that the fate of the Huang-Chuan people was a foregone conclusion, but suddenly the personal army of Wonju Huang Shi and his brother Wong Huang Shi arrived in Huang Shan. They broke into the imperial palace and killed the city's corrupt government. The two brothers quickly put things in order in the city and sent guards to nearby villages and settlements. Wonju and Wong belong to a noble family that is one of the few that was able to survive the apocalypse. Wonju addressed the people of the capital and announced that he was going to restore the former greatness of Huang-Chuan. People were inspired by his determination, they began to support him, and in the year 216, after the Great Torment, a new state was created - the Celestial Dynasty, headed by Wonju Huang Shi. A month after his accession to the imperial court three people arrived: Fei Huang Zha, philosopher and military tactician; Jiang Huang Lu, a young warrior whose parents were killed by the Xenatans; Kuai Huang He, a former monk tired of watching the suffering of his people. All three sought revenge not only for the atrocities committed by the Xenathans, nomads and pirates, but also for the inaction and corruption of the prefects who were engaged in internecine clashes rather than defending their homeland. Wonju and Wong elevated the volunteers to the rank of generals, after which they all swore an oath that they would not find rest until Huang-Chuan and its inhabitants were freed from robbers, pirates and cowardly prefects. Celestial Dynasty will destroy anyone who gets in their way! Huang-Chuan will be free, whatever the cost!

[Boyar of Translavia]

Thanks a lot brothers for your contribution to the sub-mod, the stories for all the factions are now completed.
In the next week I will finish all the descriptions for the new units and the changed ones, and also, I will start, and hope to end, the placings of all the rebel characters, armies and provinces on the map.

[Panzer_Faust]

I didn't like the first version of Celestial Dynasty story, so i decided to rewrite it.

[Panzer_Faust]

I was very happy to help you writing minifactions story, Boyar. I hope soon we all will see your submod released.
I have big interest in Phobosian Tyranny faction. I know that they have variety of minotaur troops, but what does the rest of their army look like? What's their story and who is their most hated enemy?

[Boyar of Translavia]

The Tyrant and the Minotaur


One of the legends of Hesperos regarding the founding of Phobosia tells us that before the birth of Men, Areus the God of war came to the world of Thera where he found peace and the love of Gaia, but he also sired children with other goddesses. One child was Phobos, son of Areus and Aphrodita. He was the God of Fear and he was the only one who rescued Medusa from Poseidon, married her and settled on a place in Hesperos where their descendants will build the City of Phobosia. Perhaps the legends are true, or perhaps the name of the city is linked to the fact that from its very beginnings, the city-state was ruled only by tyrants, who kept their power over the people, mostly with the help of fear.

Some tyrants have managed to have their sons as successors, but most haven’t and new tyrants rose and executed the last descendants of the previous ones. Diatokles, the present tyrant of Phobosia, was previously a mercenary commander who fought in a war between Phobosia and Sybaryon. He overthrew the former tyrant, gained complete control of Phobosia and ended the war with the conquest of Sybaryon. In return for a large tribute, the Romuli Senate accepted Diatokles's possession of the polis of Sybaryon. Afterwards, Diatokles staged a financial coup by confiscating large amounts of property from the wealthy families of Sybaryon, and torturing those who resisted him; much of the confiscated land was redistributed to liberated helots loyal to the Phobosian tyrant. After increasing his territory and wealth by the aforementioned method, Diatokles started to turn to overseas ambitions. On Syrianna, his Ophisyr allies were supplied by sea with weapons and food in their wars with the other Taifas. However, the extension of the power of Diatokles greatly displeased the other city-states of Hesperos and the Romuli Republic.

Diatokles's rule was largely based on his social reforms and the expanding of Phobosia's armed forces. The military of Phobosia, had traditionally been based on mercenaries paid by the tyrants and supported by lightly armed helots. However, many of these mercenaries were killed in the war with Sybaryon and Diatokles's politics drove the remainder of them into exile. In consequence, the heavy troops were no longer available in sufficient numbers. This led to a serious decline in Phobosian military power, and the aim of Diatokles reforms was to establish a class of loyal subjects capable of serving as well-equipped hoplites. Diatokles's liberation of the enslaved helots was one of the most outstanding deeds in the history of Hesperos. With this action, tyrant Diatokles eliminated a central ideological pillar of the old social system and the chief reason for objection to expansion of the city-states of Hesperos. Guarding against helot revolts had been, until this time, the central concern of all the city-states of Hesperos, and the need to protect against internal revolt had limited adventurism abroad; Diatokles's action abolished this concern with a single stroke. His freed helots received land from him and were wedded to wealthy widows of the rich elite, whose husbands had been killed at his orders.This situation was no longer acceptable by the Senate in Romulium and a Romuli Consul was sent to Phobosia to demand the liberation of Sybaryon. When Diatokles refused, the legates Cakius Romulius and Tarquinius Apollonarus were sent at the head of the seventh and eleventh legions.

The siege of Sybaryon was a long and brutal campaign, and the Romuli legions had to be reinforced by other three Ethuraean rough battle-hardened legions. The Ethuraean veterans thoroughly besieged and stormed Sybaryon. But when the city was taken, Cakius forbade any looting, earning the hatred of the Ethuraean legionaries, who were unpaid for a year. Later, two of the Ethuraean legions would revolt and liberate Ethuraea, forming the Triarchy with the Lakedorians and the Vulcii.
When the victorious Legio VII “Fulgura” of Cakius Romulius marching on to Phobosia, Diatokles was so desperate that he offered his daughter's hand and the position of succession to the rule of Phobosia after his death to anyone who will defeat the Romuli and save his tyranny.

Three moons have passed since Phobosia stands surrounded by the legionaries led by Cakius Romulius. Although some news of a revolt in Ethuraea reached Diatokles, the tyrant’s mood is still grim as the Romuli besiegers show no sign of retreat and with each passing day the legionaries are getting closer and closer to breach the walls of the city. Being unable to sleep that night like in almost all the nights since the siege began, the tyrant stood on his throne and contemplated a few ways to end his life and deny Cakius the opportunity to parade him in chains on the streets of Romulium. But suddenly, the relative calm of the night was interrupted by the roars of battle outside. The surprised Diatokles went on the top of a tower to see what was going on. At the Eastern Gate, the Romuli siege line was shattered in matter of minutes and an angry Cakius is shouting orders to the seventh Legion to quickly lift the siege and regroup to a nearby hill to the west of Phobosia. The enthusiastic tyrant orders his troops to open the Eastern Gate and allow his saviors to enter the city. But the help came not from men but from the mighty Minotaurs led by Mydon of Minosia. To the surprise of all Phobosians, tyrant Diatokles calmly embraced Mydon and, in the same night, Chore, the daughter of Diatokles was given to Mydon and the Phobosians and Minotaurs feasted with women and wine until morning.
The next day, at noon, three armies faced each other just outside Phobosia: the Phobosian hoplites led by Chydras, a strategos of Diatokles, the Minotaurs led by Mydon and the Legio VII Fulgura led by Cakius Romulius. Will the numerical advantage of Phobosian hoplites and helots combined with the brute force of the Minotaurs be enough to win the day or the legionaries armed with arcebuses by the crafty Cakius will manage to stand victorious? Only the Gods can tell.

[Boyar of Translavia]

Their units are the former dominion hoplites, they also have a province on Syianna with serpent guards and a peninsula on southern Hesperos, with minotaurs.
The religion of the Tyranny is part of the Serpent Cults with the deities Medusa and Ophis.
Their main enemy is the Romuli Republic, but I expect that they will come to blows with the Triarchy also, for the dominance over Hesperos. And their "vassal" (part) in Syrianna will eventually meet with the borders of the Malekates or the Good Knights.

Their story is based on a mixture of what I've read about Mithrdates VI of Pontus, tyrant Nabis of Sparta and the tyrants of Syracuse.