Harmatiai: Part Two

The narrative of self-destruction and futility continues from the last post.

7. The Betrayal of Laodicea and the Second Fallen Civil War

The fallen cities have generally become disillusioned with the leadership of Sardis, and the Laodiceans have gradually become less concerned about their allegiance to Eleyon, and more concerned about simply seeking the good life. As they look to the apparent successes of the Luminosa and the failings of their own states, they seriously consider if moving under Alero's banner might be more stable and prosperous. After all, when Sardis was sacked, the population had been given a chance to remake their lives in the safety of the Luminosan cities, and many of them were fitting in quite comfortably.

In about the twelfth century, Laodicea holds a referendum. The issue at hand is whether they will pledge their allegiance to Sardis or to Eleris. The humans vote to join with the Luminosa. They send a delegation to Eleris, to discuss terms of this new relationship. Laodicea is to become a vassal city of the Luminosa, sending taxes and in turn, promised protection. A delegation from the Luminosa comes to the Laodiceans and ratifies the agreement with them there. At this point, the elves are commanded to leave Laodicea and find some other city to dwell in, along with the humans in the minority who disagreed with the decision. This population emigrates to the remaining cities, Sardis, Ephesus and Philadelphia.

Upon hearing about their complete betrayal this time, the council of Sardis is incensed against Laodicea. Sardis sends missives to Pergamum, Ephesus and Philadelphia to rally against the Laodicean traitors, but Pergamum sends only a token force, Ephesus ignores the messenger entirely and Philadelphia, expectedly, declines and upholds Laodicea's right to choose their own fate. Sardis nonetheless declares war on Laodicea and makes aggressive advances. They manage to cause considerable damage to the surrounding lands but upon reaching Laodicea, they find that there is already a strange enhancement of the Luminosan magic, that is able to repulse all their efforts. Sardis has no choice but to back off and accept the current geopolitical realities of the times.

8. The Rise of Totalitarian Sardis

The people of Sardis are frustrated and angry with their defeats and loss of power. They hark back to times past when they were the leaders of the Fallen, not only in name but in fact. They dream again of greatness and a federation of cities, strong in unity and able to take down the Luminosa to bring prophecy to fulfilment. They lament the fractured and degraded nature of many of the other cities, one by one succumbing to destructive tendencies. The people of Sardis have themselves remained morally upright, well managed in their societies and the most prosperous of the cities. Eleris still cannot compare head to head with the might of the Sardinian army on the open field, and the edifices, civil law and economy of Sardis is unmatched.

One man decides that something must be done. The pattern of Sardis must be enforced on the remaining Fallen cities to strengthen them against the decay of immorality and despair. The government of Sardis must extend its dominion over the other cities in order to lift them out of the errors of their ways. The council of Sardis decides to grant dictatorship to this one man, a man with a vision of a revitalised world, with the city of Sardis as its enlightened authority. With this in mind, Sardis begins to make diplomatic overtures externally. Internally, the policy of Sardis falls ever more tightly into the grip of the central government, with the ultimate aim of embodying the ideal of strength in unity, where all areas of society work towards one goal.

Pergamum decides to accept the offer to become Sardis' vassal, as they have felt threatened by the expansion of Luminosan influence through Laodicea. Ephesus however, once again ignores Sardis, criticising them for their arrogance in assuming superiority and the right to rule. Philadelphia insists that a vision of a federation is incompatible with the kind of government that Sardis's council is turning into, which has a centralised and absolutist philosophy.

9. The Sardinian Subjugation War and the Concealment of Ephesus

Insulted and determined to remain true to his vision, the dictator of Sardis declares war on Ephesus and Philadelphia, the last free cities. Philadelphia cannot resist, as they have long remained pacifists and have not developed any significant martial technologies of their own. Some are allowed to remain in Philadelphian lands, but most of the population is taken back to Sardis to begin the next phase of the plan, full scale mobilisation for war with the Luminosa.

Ephesus, by the thirteenth century, has become a highly stratified society. Magical purebloods sit at the top, commanding most of the resources and inbreeding to maintain their magical potential. The lower classes take on manual labour while the upper classes pursue esoteric research. Their slant has been intensely biological, delving into physiology, ecosystems, cloning and genetic engineering. They are determined that the solution to the Luminosan problem will come not from man, but from harnessing the powers of nature, believing that the militarised Sardis is fundamentally misguided. When the armies of Sardis come to storm Ephesus, the very forest and waters around them seem enchanted and dangerous, strange creatures with venom and claws attack the armies of Sardis and drive them back. Ephesus becomes a hidden city, protected by its environment, its location is forgotten in time. Only the elves of Philadelphia are permitted access and can find their way through the shifting glades and labyrinthine paths.

10. The Sardinian-Luminosan War and the Bane of Sardis

Soon, the Sardinians are ready for their greatest push against the Luminosa. The Philadelphians have been treated like slaves and the Pergamines, having lost their magical potential utterly, like second class citizens. The army of Sardis is effectively tiered, the expendable Philadelphians, the infantry Pergamines, and the elite Sardinian forces.

The first push against the Luminosa is lethal and highly successful. Laodicea is infiltrated with a precision and tactical genius that takes the defenders completely off guard. The necromantic magical source is destroyed and the power of the Luminosa broken in that region. Laodicea is annexed for Sardis. The Sardinian army moves on and swiftly attacks Alaris, the cultural jewel of the Luminosa, which for the first time is captured successfully, such that it can no longer serve as a source of supplies and support for a besieged Eleris. The strategies employed by Sardis though, effective as they may be, come at great cost of life, particularly to the lower ranks and the Philadelphian slaves. Even the Luminosa are taken aback by the Sardinian leadership's willingness to sacrifice human lives for their objectives.

The final phase of Sardis' war plan begins. They surround Eleris and the most unnerving initiative is put into motion. Suicide agents simply give themselves up in a destructive frenzy within Eleris, and these kamikaze attacks throw the Elerian defences into complete disorder. This is the hidden innovation of the tyrant, and upon its implementation, his cabinet fractures. Nonetheless, the tyrant enters Alero's temple, and manages to destroy the necromantic heart of Eleris, disabling the armies and defences of the city. In his victory, he boasts to Alero that he is the Messiah, come to crush the serpent's head. Alero only begins to laugh, to mock the tyrant's utter hypocrisy and abandonment of honour. In a great speech, Alero calls upon all that remains of nobility among humans and the Sardinian leadership to rally and put down their deranged leader.

The greatest war criminals of Sardis are trialled and found guilty, sentenced to the dungeons of Eleris to await their end in the batteries of the generators. The reconstruction effort is great, helped along by the resources of the remaining Sardinians, who decide that they must give up the fight and work for the reconciliation of the cities, even the Luminosa. Sardis would never again rise up in violence against its neighbours.

The fourteenth century begins with a new hope for a world of peace, under the purported benevolence of Alero. Eleris, Alaris, Sardis, Pergamum and Laodicea, the only cities of significance remaining, pool their resources to a try to commit to a better future. The victor narrative of the Luminosa is promulgated throughout the world, in the effort to quell dissent. Sardis the magnificent is scarred by a collective guilt and for a time retreats from centre stage, before eventually emerging as a tamed lion under the steady hand of the Luminosa. Pergamum is all but degraded, becoming a city of such vice and hedonism that her reputation is infamous. Some of the Pergamian elite, or whatever remains of them, move to Alaris where they find some semblance of how Pergamum used to be, a place of creativity and artistic pursuit. Laodicea only remains as an output, most of the population moving to Eleris and Alaris in the reconstruction effort and settling in afterwards.

11. The Ministry of Noah

Only two cities remain outside the influence of the Luminosa. The first is Ephesus, seemingly fading into isolated irrelevance. The second is Philadelphia, which is little but a small hamlet after the draining war. It is from humble Philadelphia that a man receives a call that will upend the new world order. About a hundred years have passed since the war, and the last elves of Philadelphia are given instructions. Eleyon instructs that Noah, a farmer of Philadelphia and its youngest man, is to marry and have three sons. The Philadelphians had stopped procreating after Noah was born, because of a misinterpretation of his name. When Noah's sons are mature, word comes again, Noah is to go with three of his sons to the cities of Sardis, Ephesus and Pergamum to prophesy about a disaster that is to come, for the wrath of the Eleyon is burning against them. He is to invite them to the salvation that Eleyon will prepare for them.

Noah goes to Ephesus first, shown the path by the elves of Philadelphia. In Ephesus, he is treated with scorn, for he has no elvish blood, and is but a peasant in their eyes. The Ephesians believe that they will one day be the victors over the Luminosa, and their hope in a salvation of their own making deafens them to Noah's prophecy. Only one daughter of one of the noble houses of Ephesus chooses to come away with him. She becomes the wife of Japheth, Noah's eldest son.

Noah goes to Sardis, and preaches but the Sardinians despise his message, refusing to believe any more in the words of Eleyon which they had tried repeatedly and failed to fulfil. Eleyon is a liar they claim, all his words have only brought about death and destruction, not salvation. The will of Sardis is spent in rage and grief and all they want now is to work for the healing of man. Only one daughter of Sardis believes and comes with them, she becomes the wife of Shem, Noah's middle son.

Finally, Noah goes to Pergamum, the pleasure city of the antediluvian world, and preaches judgement. The Pergamines accept the judgement but do not wish to be saved, welcoming the message that the world will come to an end. Once again, only one daughter of Ephesus believes Noah and comes away with them, and she becomes the wife of Ham, Noah's youngest son.

In total Noah ministers for six years, from 1630 to 1636, and when he returns to Philadelphia, Eleyon tells him to begin to build an ark.

12. The Death of Cain, The Destruction of Ephesus, Sardis and Pergamum

In the year 1650, Cain dies despite the best medical intervention of the Luminosa and Alero's image begins to come apart. There was nothing to be done, the breath of Eleyon had departed from Cain's flesh. Sardis and Pergamum are also caught up in fresh turmoil and Alero suppresses them brutally. The events of the Cradle of Sinners occur. Dalvos falls into Ephesus, Lelia, on the run, passes through Pergamum to try and reach Philadelphia, while Barvos and the delegation arrive at Philadelphia, determined to learn the way to Ephesus.

In the ensuing drama, Ephesus is found guilty of trying to create a disease to eliminate the Luminosa, and a weapon of nuclear proportions is detonated there, destroying the main city in 1651. However, its refuges remain hidden, and from there, the Ephesians attempt to stage their revenge. The elves of Ephesus flee with pairs of animals to Philadelphia, all affected by radiation. Many of the elves themselves soon die of radiation poisoning. The rest pass over the mountains in a final departure, with the Philadelphian elves. Eleyon sets up a protective barrier around Philadelphia so that they cannot be pursued.

13. The Plague of the Luminosa

In the year 1655, the Luminosa begin to succumb to a sickening and deadly disease. It is the perfect biological weapon, spreading from person to person, with long incubation periods and highly infectious. The plague begins in Sardis, but soon spread through all the Luminosan cities. Pergamum is the first to be completely overwhelmed, then Alaris. Selvia dies in this plague.

14. The Third Fallen-Luminosan War and the Flood
The remaining healthy individuals in Sardis and Eleris decide that the entire Ephesian forest must be completely destroyed. A vast army of Ephesians emerges from the forest, with all manner of strange beasts and half-men, and they march on Sardis to destroy it. The final confrontation occurs once again on the historic Mirrosea mesa. As the battle rages, the deluge begins. Noah, his family and the animals in the ark are preserved.

Semi-Fictional Key Dates:
Birth of Noah - 1056
Lifespan decree - 1530
Birth of Japheth - 1565
Birth of Shem - 1567
Maturity of Japheth - 1630
Maturity of Ham - 1634
Ministry of Noah - 1630 to 1636
Building of the Ark: 1636 to 1656
Death of Cain - 1650
Death of Lamech - 1651
Flood - 1656

What has been is what will be, 

and what has been done is what will be done,

and there is nothing new under the sun.

Is there a thing of which it is said, “See, this is new”?

It has been already in the ages before us.

There is no remembrance of former things, 

nor will there be any remembrance of later things 

yet to be among those who come after

Ecclesiastes 1: 9-11