An Angel Called Eternity

Lore Chapter: Triarios and the Cult of Anawroth

Twentieth Day, Eighth Month, 871 AD.
Lykourgos Sperakos, Prince.
Kingdom of Teleytaios.
Aenirhen.
The River Keep.

My Dearest Lyk,

Well, this certainly seems to be a change, doesn't it? Me writing about a kingdom of the Heptarchy whilst you ask for advice on the writing of a book, I mean. Well, I know that yours is certain to be more of a treatise than a historical work such as mine, however my point still stands. I agree with your reasoning last letter, and I must say that if anyone is qualified to write a piece on the governance and stewardship that goes into ruling then it surely is you.

I also find myself agreeing on the 'other' point you raised in your last letter. Though I will not write much, just as you did not, please know that I could read in between the lines perfectly well. On that personal front, far removed from the stresses and duties of rulership, I know we have much to discuss. Whilst most of that discussion will have to wait until we talk in person once more, I know that we do not really need any solid words for what is to come. We have known each other more than long enough for that sort of thing, I would like to think.

Though I could ramble on about that particular prospect, and no doubt will once we are finally together once more, I recently went on a trip to Triarios at the invitation of the King himself. He wanted me to see the forges his family had built, the lives of his people, etcetera. He wanted us Polaerans to tell the world that Triarios, whilst still a stratocratic feudal society, is not the kraterocracy it once was. Survival of the fittest is no longer the mantra of daily life, and instead newer ideas are beginning to take root. It's taken them eight-hundred years longer than everyone else to get moving on that front, but better late than never I suppose.

On this trip I also got rather intimate with the inner workings of the Cult of Anawroth, and have included my notes and observations on this sect of the church in case they might be of any use or interest to you in your own writings. I am aware that circumstances may soon put that plan by the wayside, but when the dust has settled you will be able to continue with it anyway.

With all else said, I will now relay to you why I was pleasantly surprised on my travels across Triarios. Further personal notes will be included below, as always, and I can hardly wait to see you again. I pray the moment will come sooner rather than later, but there is no way of knowing with such things.

The Kingdom of Triarios is, and has been since its founding, the most militaristic nation in the world. A land of rolling hills and unending rivers of ore, the people who live here are well suited to the lives they have chosen.

In the aftermath of the Aauta Pass and the death of King Harald II, those legions who had not been at the disastrous battle maintained their positions in the lands between Dathan and Tilda, ensuring that a follow-up strike would never occur. Of course we now know with hindsight that the Terranean military had been mauled just as badly as that of the Klironomeans, but aside from scattered reports the surviving legions had no way of knowing this. When it eventually became clear that the enemy was not coming their commanders seized vast tracts of land in what had once been Klironomea, the two legionary commanders wedding their son and daughter together to found a royal house based around their shared martial legacy. Commanders became the fathers of royalty, officers became lords, and soldiers... well, the soldiers remained soldiers, but in Triarios a soldier is held in far higher esteem than a civilian. A few decades passed, and Triarios as we know it was formed.

There is strangely little to say about Triarios when it comes to war, which seems odd given that it has defined so much of their history. Their armies are the most professional in all of Klironomea and perhaps the world, but they tend to bicker amongst themselves and lash out at the Tildan princes and merchants to their south in search of wealth rather than look towards the conquests of land. Then again, the last time they tried such a thing ended up with an entire army disappearing in the Owkrestan mists, so maybe they don't want to push their luck again.