July Content Update: Warlords of Calligia (Pt 2) (Patreon)

Warlords of Calligia Pt 2.

Before one may begin to fully elaborate upon the particular interplays of the various noble houses of the Calligian continent, one must first come to understand the underlying fractures and divisions within the societies which populate that land. I take especial care in this account to describe such things in the multiple. For all that the continent may be under the supposed dominion of a single entity and a single government - a notion already defined as an obvious deception - Calligia is in fact home to multiple peoples, each regarding Creation in their own fashion, with their own history and means of regarding the nature of power and rule. Although these peoples have long since interacted with each other, that does not mean they exist in a state of harmonious unity, as the peoples of our own Dominions do. Instead, their history is one of mutual contention, rivalry - and in not-uncommon cases, a degree of bloodshed which far exceeds any succession crisis or rebellion in our own recent history.

The peoples of the Calligian continent are commonly divided into four. Greatest and most powerful of these groupings is that of the so-called "Old Calligians", those who pride themselves on being the heirs of the great empire which first united the continent. Evidence of their works are still present, from the ruins of the sorcerous fortresses which dot the countryside, to the artifacts of old magic which many noble families of this people continue to possess and pass down from father to son.

As for the character of these Old Calligians, their way of thinking can be best described as a contradiction: while it was they who engineered the great empires of the continent's past, it is also they who are the proudest and most jealous of their own privileges. Though it was an Old Calligian family which severed the tendrils of the Great Enemy and raised the empire of Octovia, it was likewise nobles of that extraction who were made up the majority of the rebellion which overthrew that empire. Although they carry within them the blood of great administrators, traders, and engineers, they scorn these trades, instead seeming to take only pride in their personal martial prowess. Their wars they prosecute without armies, only a vast rabble of their serfs, which are to serve solely as backdrop for the individual duels and petty engagements of small groups of mounted nobles in their traditional harness and armament, which they title "Church Hussars".

In truth, this is the understanding many have of Calligia as a whole, for the Old Calligians have often played an outsized role in their history. Likewise, it cannot be said that this people have not left their imprint on the rest of the land. After all, it was the Old Calligians who conquered and subjugated the other peoples, and it would seem obvious that so many centuries of subjugation would spread the customs of that people far beyond their heartlands along the river valleys and fertile lands which make up the great part of the Central Plains. Thus, in all parts of Calligia, there are the marks of that history, particularly among their nobility, which seem to emulate the Old Calligians in dress and forms of address and titles, as well as in the general way in which they do war.

That does not mean there are not marked difference between this people and the others of Calligia, especially in regards to temperament and thought. Those people of the far north of the continent too pride themselves on their independence and freedom, but this derives not from their history as emperors, but the resourcefulness needed to survive in an often most unforgiving land. They value handicraft and the net and spear more than the labour of the field which is so prized in more fertile regions. Their armies too, are different beyond superficial appearances. Although they too are led by Church Hussars, the relative difficulty of raising great warhorses in the north make them far rarer. The difference is made up by cavalry of often terrible quality, and the use of the frigid conditions of the north itself. Northerners are more willing to withdraw from battle than the Old Calligians, and are more willing to pardon those who do.

This way of thinking can be contrasted with those in the south of Calligia. Bounded by great forests and with land similarly less suited for cultivation, these peoples have traditionally been fishers and traders, using the access to the coast to make contact with other peoples. In the past, this has made them wealthy and influential, and as a result, they can be seen as the most open and welcoming of the peoples of Calligia. Yet this manner of living has more than once brought the south to grief. The rebellion which overthrew the Octovian Empire began as a result of the Emperor's harsh repression of a southern noble house. Likewise, the south has borne the brunt of the recent conflicts with Tierra. As a result of these clashes, much of the southlands' trade has been cut off, its villages burned, its people displaced or destitute. The past generations have seen them suffer greatly, and as a result, many possess a certain degree of despair regarding their circumstances, though this did not stop many from resisting the Tierran expedition which ultimately resulted in the end of the most recent episode of contention.

The fourth group is perhaps the only one which does not presume to make mockery out of the Calligian boasts of freedom. These are the wild horsemen of the most marginal part of the Central Plains, who call themselves the "Oberlinder". Disdaining all form of rulership or authority, they rule themselves communally, as some of the less civilised horse people of the frontiers do. These people acknowledge no noble titles, possess no princes, and maintain no great cities or works. Instead, they live as overgrown bandit clans in small villages, which in turn are allied in great confederations. In common affairs, the men of each village vote amongst themselves, and in great matters, the elected headman of each village join the others of their confederation in disordered and often drunken meetings.

Compared to the other groups, these people are very small in number, and lack fortresses, artillery, or many of the other tools of warfare. They hold the creations of armouries and shipyards in contempt, seeking to do battle only with those weapons which they themselves carry, atop horses which they themselves have bred. It is only because of the skill of these horsemen, and the worthlessness of the land that they remain relatively unmolested by more populous regions. Indeed, these horsemen are instead used as mercenaries, providing skilled light cavalry to those princes who cannot otherwise raise their own. As a result, these Oberlinders have often spread themselves far and wide beyond the borders of their homeland, leaving their imprint, and often their children among the bloodlines of distant peoples.

For centuries, these peoples have shared the same realm, and thus, have interacted greatly with one another. The Old Calligians, in their time of dominion, spread their colonies and outposts far across the continent. The Northerners likewise traveled south, while those of the Southlands spread along the coasts, carried by their trade. As a result, these peoples are no longer confined solely to their heartlands, and those who find themselves surrounded by the lands of other peoples often adopt some of them customs and ways of those more accustomed to the land. Here, we may once again see the example of Prince Khorobirit, who holds sway over much of the Northlands, despite being a house of Old Calligia. Their methods and customs are thus, a mix of the two, and the composition of the current Prince's coalition comprises disproportionately of Northern lords - while many of his enemies are like him, of Old Calligia.

Yet this does not mean such peoples live in a state of harmonious co-existence with one another. Deep are the grievances which each people holds against the other: the Old Calligians are resented for the manner which they once ruled - and still continue to rule. The Southerners are seen as almost foreign in their affinity for the sea. The Northerners are regarded as poor and primitive - even savage. The Oberlinders, almost all other peoples resent, both for their lack of respect for noble titles and princely offices, but also for their uncouthness, their rashness, and their mercenary and seemingly arbitrary nature.

Thus, we must understand that Calligia is not just a land of many princes with their own interests, but of multiple peoples, each with their own grievances and interests. This situation is further complicated by the fact that centuries of intermixing have not only created for distinct groups, but also a great many combinations of traditions and ways of living. Although they have, at times, been subordinated to a greater purpose as our own peoples have, much of their history has been taken up by fractious and violent contention between these peoples and even within them, so that the boundaries between each people and each regional distinction within them are both complex and all but impossible to truly determine. 

Given such conditions, it is perhaps a matter of course that any coalition or alliance would be inherently unstable. Not only are the Calligians disunited by personal interest, but by the great differences in their customs. They are many peoples, under the same name, and to build any manner of unity upon such a base without the means to mortar them together will necessarily come to naught.