The Cultist War

In the later months of the year 67, the Emperor of Aurelia assembled a small force. The best soldiers in the nation were called upon to arrest Primus and his Apostles, meeting him while he preached in a small town upon the banks of Lake Bawrim. The soldiers drew their weapons and approached the men while the prophet gave his sermon, declaring that he was under arrest by the order of Emperor Citrio. Primus stayed calm and simply said, "If any of you are willing to kill your Prophet, do so".   The soldiers stopped in their tracks and stood for a while, mulling it over. Many of them were Trinitists themselves, and if they were not, more than a few family members were. One by one, the soldiers threw their swords in the dirt and renounced the Empire. Pleased with himself, Primus mounted his horse and began to ride hard to Histria. The entire city had been converted decades before, and they were more than happy to assist their Prophet in building an army. The men of the city took up their arms, with some riding out to call others to battle.   Before long, an Imperial army was seen outside of Histria. At once, Primus gathered his men, and atop a pale horse, rode into battle against the Imperials. The Trinitists fought like devils, with their fireballs filling the air and their swords shining red with the blood of Imperials. The men of the Aurelian Empire may have had the numbers advantage, but the men of Histria fought with a single goal in mind: salvation. By the end of the day, the field around the ancient city was dyed red with blood and guts, but Histria was saved. In front of the entire city, Primus declared himself the "Augus", or the supreme head of the Cult of the Trinity. Histria, his native home and the site of his first victory was to be his seat of power. Soon after, the reinforcements called in days before arrived, ready to die for their Prophet, and so Primus set out to the Twin Lakes.   For two years, Primus led the armies of the faith against the heathens. Everywhere he went, more joined his cause, and everywhere his enemies went, they were assailed by bands of Trinitists. The Trinitist Army did not suffer any major losses, and most of the Northern reaches of the Empire were firmly under their control. In the year 69 E.D., the Augus and his Apostles agreed that the time was ripe to march South and take the heart of the Aurelian Empire: Reginca.   Mounted on his steed, Primus, with Lucius at his right hand, rode down to the splendid city. In front of its gates, the Trinitist Army met a large force of heathens. Primus rode up and down the line, demanding that the Imperial soldiers make a path so that he may drag the Emperor out by his feet. They refused.   Thusly, Primus blew his horn, causing thousands of the faithful to stream forth. The ground rent and broke, shattering beneath the feet of the Imperial soldiers as the Trinitist Army sliced and stabbed. Arrows swept through the Autumn air and fire burnt grass. Before long, the Imperials turned and ran into the city, pursued by the Trinitists. Reginca burned as the Trinitist Army looted and slew anyone who was not a convert. Emperor Citrio was seen escaping by some soldiers and was apprehended. When the man was brought to Primus, the prophet simply told his men to do what they wished to him. The next morning, the last Emperor of the once-great Aurelian Empire was found in a sewer drain, stripped naked and with his head shoved into his carved-out stomach.   To celebrate their victory, the Prophet and his Apostles held a great feast in what was formerly the Imperial Palace. During the feast, Primus stood up, walked to the middle of the room, and called Lucius to him. The noble's son who had been with Primus since the beginning of his journey stood up and walked towards the man who very well could have been his brother. Primus told Lucius to kneel, and once he did, he placed a crown atop his head, declaring him the King of a new Human Kingdom: the Kingdom of Tellus. Lucius was at a loss for words, not expecting this at all, but took it in stride. His Kingdom would be one of true, unshakeable faith, one that would defend the Cult at all costs.   Word of Lucius' coronation (and, with it, the fall of the Aurelian Empire) spread far and wide. The Centaur Tribes who had formerly been citizens of the Empire broke off, and Vampire nobles in the South did so as well. The Vampiric nobility proclaimed several different Kingdoms within the Southeast, though they did not abolish slavery like the Kingdom of Tellus did. When the news reached the islands of the Jade Archipelago, the Human settlers there started a mass exodus out of the land, allowing the Goblins to rise up and take back their land, killing any foreigners who dared to stay. The Goblin Clans which succeeded the different Aurelian governates would then meet on the island of Palehulia and would declare that no more shall the Goblins tolerate foreign men on their land, beginning a period called the Great Silence in which not one foreigner set foot on Goblin land.   Despite the fall of Reginca, the Aurelians were not totally defeated. The last loyalists had retreated into the depths of the Arys Mountains as Autumn turned to Winter. Knowing that he could not march into the mountains during the Winter, Primus waited until Stareve to march up the mountains. The Battle Of Arys was a hard-fought one, with the Trinitists suffering heavy losses due to the uphill terrain. Notably, many men lost their lives to rockslides that the Loyalist forces made plummet down the mountains. For five days, the men fought, but at the end of it all, the tired and hungry Loyalists (who, again, had been hiding out in inhospitable country during Winter) lost their spirit. They held a desperate last stand in a mountain pass, killings thousands of Trinitists as they advanced into the pass. It was a brutal and bloody fight, so brutal, in fact, that no one saw Primus fall from his horse.   Hours passed, but as the sun began to set, the Loyalist forces were slain to a man. As they celebrated their victory, Lucius noticed something: Primus, laying on the ground. Crying, the King of Tellus ran over to his friend. An arrow had been embedded in his chest, and there was nothing Lucius could do. As Primus drew his last, shaky breathes, his childhood friend held him in his arms, assuring him that he would become a Martyr for a most righteous cause.   A few months later, after the grieving of millions and millions of Trinitists worldwide had slowed, the Apostles assembled in Histria to elect a new Augus, starting a tradition that endures to this day. From their ranks, they chose a formerly unimportant, but very devout and well-liked Human to be the second Augus: Eligius Silius. However, upon his ascension, Silius declared that none should be put at the same level as Primus the Martyr. As such, he declared that he, as well as all future Augusi, must give up their personal names to honor their prophet. With this declaration, the Cult continued on without their prophet, getting to work on making the foundations of what would become age-old institutions and traditions.