City States

Acheron

Acheron stands at the precipice of oblivion, being the first line of defense against the horrors that lurk beyond the eastern reaches of the City States Peninsula. The city itself emerges in a dense mesh of gritty, yellowed marble and weathered limestone, as Acheron’s urban landscape is often bombarded by harsh sandstorms that arise from the Wastelands to the east. Although the traditional architecture of the region dictates the liberal use of white paint – mainly to combat the intense heat of the summer months – Acheron’s structures have a characteristic patina to them. Every year, slews of laborers swarm the city with buckets of ivory paint at hand, applying rich lathers of white coating to all building surfaces that are touched by the sun; their efforts are destined to fade away when a wave of swirling sand descends upon the city, stripping away the paint and exposing the raw stone underneath. This cycle represents the mentality of Acheron’s citizens: they are exposed to constant threats and hardships, yet they insist on persevering despite the odds.

The Triptychon acts as the central fixture of the city’s landscape, consisting of a titanic statue of Radamanthos which houses a considerable temple complex within its bowels. The statue – facing towards the east to signify the god’s vigilance against the W’adrhŭn and the Old Dominion – leads two others, each of flanking the central statue and facing east as well. The statue to the right represented Demophon and the one on the left is Triptolemos. The two flanking statues house lesser temples of their own, connecting to Radamanthos’ main temple at his statue’s base. Though Radamanthos’ sculpture is in relatively pristine condition, the two lesser divine constructs have experienced a state of extended disrepair. The statues of Triptolemos and Demophon are worn down and crumbling, missing large chunks of stones in places and showing signs of unnatural corrosion. This massive, dominating edifice perfectly encapsulates the pathos and fading glory of Acheron, defiantly staring east even as the relentless winds and pressure of its border existence continue to weather its once pristine fortifications.

The city is ruled by an iron-clad theocracy, with Radamanthos – an original divinity from the Old Dominion, the judge of the dead and Acheron’s chief deity – acting as the pinnacle of leadership. Radamanthos remains a remarkably active and focused deity, the looming threat of his perennial nemesis in the Old Dominion a constant and relentless source of concern and focus. This effort comes at a tremendous cost for the deity, his power sapped by his continuous expenditure, reducing his divine might to a level almost close to that of a mortal. The secret behind the god’s urgency and weakness lies in the two empty thrones that stand next to his in the central chamber. Radamanthos was never meant to be a deity. His role and focus were meant to be shared among his two partners, Triptolemos and Demophon, each wielding the power of a demigod at best. The Fall and ensuing battle cost him his two partners, and in truth, have mortally wounded the god.

With his attempts to replace the fallen members of his triumvirate by cooperating with deities from others states having failed, his desperation and the necessary martial character of the city have pushed the god onto an uncharacteristic path. Acheron’s society is almost entirely militarized, each citizen soldier expected to serve for ten years in the military, though most opt for a life of service. While a significant number of these men are required to garrison its massive fortifications along the river Stegos and push back the encroaching W’adrhŭn tribes, the core of his forces is split among the Eastern and western flank. The forces of the Eastern flank focus almost exclusively on the Old Dominion, having reached a tentative truce with the local W’adrhŭn tribes. Their campaigns are few and far in between, but when locked in combat the battles are brutal and the losses severe. Few understand the true purpose of these campaigns, most citizens and followers believing the official line that they are preemptive campaigns against the gathering might of the Old Dominion. Only the Moirarchs, the priest-commanders of these isolated warbands know that the true focus of these battles is the recovery of relics of Triptolemos and Demophon in the hope that their power and mantle might be resurrected to bolster the city once more.

The western forces on the other hand serve an even more obscure purpose. As far as the world and most citizens of the City State are concerned, those forces sell their services as mercenaries to any and all who might meet their steep prices, providing the city state with an endless stream of income it uses to bolster its defenses, a relentless regime of almost constant warfare to hone its massive conscripted forces, no small amount of influence among its peers and one of the most developed web of contacts among the leaders and commanders of all mankind, from the steppes of the Rus and the fiefs of the Hundred Kingdoms to the mountain peaks of the Polmag Confederacy and the bustling sister capitals of the City States.

The truth is much grimmer: the Moirarch’s of those forces, aware of their god’s predicament, are looking for worthy candidates who might possess the strength of character and spirit to assume the mantles of Radamanthos’ fellow deities. They rove the continent seeking worthy commanders to serve in a lifetime of conflict, hoping that the grim toll of their life’s work might reveal those extraordinary individuals who could be imbued with a portion of their City States might and ascend to aid their god in defense of their City State and mankind against the storm of undeath they know is coming.

Acheron has control of two fortress cities within its extended territory: Petrapolis and Rhamia. Petrapolis is positioned next to the dam that controls the flow of the river Stegos – potentially flooding the surrounding area to halt an encroaching army. Rhamia has used similar dam technology to push back the ocean in its vicinity giving it access to enormous manmade salt flats which constitute a large part of its trade. Few doubt that these flood gates and dams do not have measures in place that would also allow the waters to rise and wash away an invading force should the city be incapable of containing the threat.

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