The Cericonian Dominion

One of several dominant forces present on the continent of the Long Stretch, the Cericonian Dominion is a confederation of countries and territories that share similar cultural and linguistic traits. This governing body, and the society that it presides over, is marked by its antagonistic attitude towards mages and proclivity towards science, placing it in an exclusive lineup of institutions that try not to rely on magic.  

Beginnings

  At first, there was no Cericonian Dominion (as is the case with much of anything). For most of the Mythic era, the predecessors of the member states were either isolated entities or themselves had not come into being yet. The town of Cericon is where everything started, having its roots stretching back to the Ilexanus settlers from the Amber Coasts, whose culture and language influences over half of the mainland cultures on the Long Stretch. For a considerable time, Cericon was nothing more than a minor settlement hugging the San Azul River of the Central Corridor, content to barter and grow at a slow but steady pace. However, with the march of time Cericon was beholden to a slew of incidents involving opportunistic mages and foreign militaries, who sought to either to claim the town for themselves or otherwise subvert the authority of the people there.   Now, the occurrence of such events is almost universal across all societies on Az, but due to Cericon's valuable position as an oasis in the otherwise harsh, mountainous terrain of the Central Corridor, it seemed more prone to invasion than most. At this point Cericon would still employ its native mages for a variety of purposes, but the repeated transgressions, worst of which were enacted by magicians, slowly caused a building communal distaste for those with the gift for magic. Despite repeated setbacks, Cericon persevered and continued to grow, eventually becoming a true city some time around 8750 M.E.   Once the Epoch of the Warlords began, this trend of assaults on Cericon surged in intensity, since ambitious rulers and tyrants were desperate to induct the settlement under their banners. For several centuries Cericon sustained grievous casualties, sieges and pestilence both serving to make life miserable for its citizenry. The city would eventually fall to foreign occupation on two separate occasions, though the first was short lived and lasted less than a month before the invaders were ousted from Cericon due to a poor garrison and a band of Cericonian soldiers returning from campaign. The second occupation of Cericon was a notably more gruesome affair, with the capture of the city being enabled by a group of Cericon's own mages from within. Why these conspirators betrayed their home to outsiders is largely unknown, though historians claim it may have been due to mistreatment from the populace (to this day Cericonians insist that the mages did so because they were greedy and sought to further their own status).   Regardless, the second occupation lasted over a decade, and within that span the Cericonians suffered greatly. The treacherous mages that once lived among the people were granted a place among the subjugating force, which gave them authority to exert a newfound dominance over their previous neighbours. Executions of resistant individuals and gross exploitation of the common people was the new norm, tasks which most of the turncoat magicians appeared all too eager to carry out. It got to such a point that even the invaders began to question certain acts being committed against the Cericonian people by said mages, though they were not inclined to actually stop them from happening.   Through the years, many Cericonians were forced to undertake mining in the quarries outside the city, labour fraught with danger, which was compounded by the risk of punishment by their overseers. Perhaps it is just as well the invaders put the conquered citizens to work down in those dark mines, as it was that increased tunneling which gave the Cericonians the answer they needed to combat their hateful captors. Void-steel.   Discovered early on during the quarrying, none of the proud traitor mages or foreign soldiers understood what the strange, green-grey metal was, assuming it was lead or copper undergoing oxidization. Thus, they disregarded it, focusing on finding more important veins of iron, or gold if they were lucky. This was perfect for the disgruntled workers, for there were a few scholarly individuals among them who did in fact know what they were looking at. Recalling the history of the Gren-men, who had carved a large holding on the continent years prior thanks to their mastery of void-steel, the Cericonians quietly put in place a scheme to overthrow the invaders.   Taking discrete portions of the void-ore out of the mines whenever possible, the Cericonians assigned to forges began smelting it into crude spear tips in what little free time they had. Since they made sure to only create the spear tips at first, the citizens could easily hide them within their homes at no risk of being discovered. For the next few months the people continued this schedule, while the mages lording over them grew ever more arrogant and spiteful towards them, serving to fuel the now burning collective rage the Cericonians held against the magicians. Until, at last, the day of retribution was upon the invaders.   The people of Cericon had waited until the bulk of the foreign soldiers were called out of the city to fight in other conflicts, so all that was left were the traitor mages and a few conscripted men forming the garrison. Seizing the chance, the Cericonians quietly went about affixing their void-steel blades to wooden shafts and started to encircle the quarters where the magicians congregated. Foolishly, the back-stabbers presumed that the rebelling populous had gone mad to challenge several mages at once. Sauntering out, the miscreants would have seen fit to massacre scores of people to quell dissent as they let loose spells of flame and words of evisceration at the resistance. What a shock then, those casters of curses got, when their combined surge of arcane might evaporated against the wall of spears, like sighs in a gale.   From there on out, the chain events is quite predictable; the renegade mages were caught, brutally executed and the Cericonians vowed never again to live under the oppression of tyranny, be it from outside or inside their community. To this end Cericon rapidly militarized to an extent never before seen, while a king was chosen from the scholarly men who had orchestrated the rebellion. Sallying forth some years thereafter, this time wielding the Great Equalizer in their ranks, the Cericonians laid low the kingdom that had once set out against them, assimilating all the people that had not perished in the war. This process was repeated every time Cericon encountered a rival power, which were all invariably ruled by magicians of some persuasion. By the time Cericon's population had doubled past its previous maximum, the swathe of territory her people owned encompassed several hundred square kilometres, a country now known as Greater Cericonia.   Despite the passage of some three hundred centuries, Cericonians still maintained a conviction of righteous enmity to mages, considering them inherently wrong to the balance of the world. To this ideology Greater Cericonia would expand ever outward, but now instead of brutal conquest the Cericonians would act as saviors to the regular people of neighboring states, overthrowing despots and tyrants and gently integrating any who would willingly surrender to the growing kingdom. This leniency is credited with the ascension of King Mattin II to the throne, a philosopher who often questioned the nature of dominion and rulership. Whenever a new city or town was pulled under the banner of Cericon, Mattin would grieve for the unnecessary loss of life and destruction of art wrought in war, to the point where he installed a new edict that aimed at promoting equal treatment of people under Cericon's rule.  

Background of the Aitorian Reforms

  King Mattin II's son, king Aitor, was a similarly introspective character who sought to create a more ideal world for his people. Art and writing flourished under Aitor's rule in particular, but all the same, mages were still callously ostracized under the laws of La Atadura. That state of affairs may have continued ad infinitum were it not for a development that few could have foreseen. King Aitor's wife, the queen Herminia, suddenly began to manifest magic shortly after it was announced she was expecting a child. At the time no one apart from the king and queen knew, but the fear that his spouse may come under persecution if her secret was discovered drove Aitor to a frenzy, desperate to find a way to alter the harsh laws of The Binding without incurring the wrath of his people. Alas, even the insinuation that a mage could be anything but a conniving villain gained Aitor naught but ridicule from his advisors and subjects. At this, the king and queen resigned themselves to prolonging their secret, hoping that they could live a fruitful life without it being discovered.   A year later, king Aitor would ride forth to participate in inspecting of one of the townships outside Cericon, attended by a retinue of his finest guards and aides. After a day's worth of journey, darkness fell, and the group set up to sleep for the night under the stars. Some time during that night, Aitor was roused by a disturbance some feet away from the camp. Quietly creeping to the copse of trees that he believed to be the origin of the sound, Aitor's gaze was at once met by a pair of smoldering orbs that belonged to a patch of darkness blacker than the shadow already present. Taken by a sudden fear, Aitor could only wait as his eyes adjusted to the gloom, beholding a clearer figure to which the smoky orbs belonged to. A man, tall and wild. The young king gave a cry at last, alerting his drowsing archers to the danger. Snapping to attention, one man loosed an arrow tipped with void-steel streaking towards the interloper, who at that point had thrust out his hand in a gesture of power. Brilliant light blasted from the stranger's palm, erecting a shining barrier to halt the arrow. Even that wordless display of arcane might was humbled before the racing arrow, which flew unabated past the ward, thumping into the mage's open palm. The dim eyes of the magician at once burst into a visage of angry flames, and the piercing howl that emanated from his throat was more beast than human.   Staggering away at an supernatural pace, Aitor's party gave pursuit, gnashing at the bit to end the fiend that had raised his hand against their lord. At some point during the chase, Aitor was separated from the group as they charged through the woods. Running about with the meager light of a torch, the king did not notice the sheer drop approaching until he careened straight past the ledge, dropping his torch in the process. Fortunately, Aitor's lethal descent was halted by a strong arm hoisting him back to safety. Whipping around to thank whichever of his guards had caught him, the ruler was once again met with the same wild mage who had confronted him not half an hour ago. This time the mage's eyes were burning bright, like the flames of a furnace, alive and attentive compared to the dull gaze they held previously. Taken aback, Aitor drew his sword shakily, unsure how to approach the situation. The man would simply stare, not making the slightest of movements. For several minutes this standoff continued in the black night, until the crescent moon eventually peeked out from the clouds, casting a dim silver outline to the surrounding overhang. When the body of the wild mage was made more discernible by this gleam, Aitor stood in disbelief as he beheld an object embedded in the stranger's torso. A grand, ornamental blade of obsidian glass, with a weathered handle housing four multi-coloured gems. Without a word, the maimed man presented his hand that had been struck by the arrow, revealing a still bleeding wound. Dropping the arrow at Aitor's feet, the stranger motioned towards the moon, tracing the shape of the crescent and shooting a pointed glance back at the king, before leaping down the cliff and landing miraculously with no visible sign of damage, before melting into the darkness below.   After that night, king Aitor and his retinue continued their way to inspect the town, though now the guards were sure to never let their vigilance wane for even a moment. The inspection passed with little to remark on, so by the end of the month Aitor left for Cericon in a hurry for his wife. Along the way he would encounter the wild man again, this time venturing out alone when he realized the moon was in the same phase when they had first met.  

Tyrrell the Living Husk

  Appearing by a small river, the stranger would begin speaking to the king, surprising as he had not shown any previous ability to speak the Cericonian tongue. He revealed himself to be Tyrrell, a notorious mage from the northeastern lands beyond the Cericonian Dominion, commonly known by the epithet of the Living Husk. Famous he was for the trail of destruction he left in his wake, obliterating any city he came across for the last fifty years. Bemused at this revelation, Aitor would question the mage why he had chosen to speak with him at all and not kill him at first sight. Here Tyrrell would explain his life story, starting from his early life in an unremarkable village called Mavon, his unprecedented advancement in magical strength and the subsequent leading of his village to prosperity. Tyrrell was a kind leader, being raised by a small community that instilled in him values of benevolence and compassion, which spurred him to create a utopia where all would be welcome. For the century in which Tyrrell acted as leader, this was almost made a reality, with Mavon changing from an unassuming village to a respectable city with the constant influx of people from surrounding villages seeking protection from rampant barbarism. A rate of growth so impressive it naturally drew in rivals, who saw Tyrrell as a threat to their own machinations, prompting the erection of a great barrier of wards around Mavon so that only those who wished the city no harm could pass through.   Tyrrell continued to repel every challenger to his realm time and time again, to an extent where the mage king began growing arrogant in his abilities. Believing he could cure every illness that came his subject's way, aid in building great structures and perform acts of general spectacle while still protecting his city, Tyrrell started wearing his reserves thin in doing so. This cockiness is what lead to his home's demise, when at last a threat Tyrrell could not overcome reared its head. Four mage-tyrants they were, the Visages. All fierce adversaries of one another and past students of a warlord whose territory was in contention for the largest of the Epoch of the Warlords. The Visages had betrayed and killed their master at a place not far from Mavon, falling to infighting as they scrambled for the supremacy, leaving the area surrounding Mavon as a sort of no man's land. With Tyrrell's sudden appearance as a genuine competitor, the Visages had grown increasingly wary of his power until at last they had agreed to form an alliance to crush him together.   When the Visages did eventually break through Tyrrell's dome, they easily overpowered him with their combined prowess, capturing him and Mavon in the process. Tyrrell was the forced to watch as the armies of the Visages ransacked his city and massacred all the inhabitants in brutal fashion. Utterly broken by this, Tyrrell was then held still as the Visages prepared to execute him with the same bleak blade that they had used to kill their master, the Mentor's Ruination. Spinning the broad tipped sword with telekinesis, the four directed it through Tyrrell's prone body, drilling through his heart and out through his back. As the life ebbed away from him, Tyrrell only saw one thing before his sight blackened: the four foul mages jeering and celebrating their victory, while Mavon and her people burned behind them. And this drove Tyrrell mad.   From there Tyrrell lost himself to insanity, his once normal eyes being overcome by a roaring red blaze and his pooling blood surged back into his body as if it had a mind of its own. He had become a Divine-eyed mage. Tyrrell's physical strength then exploded, shattering the chains restraining him before flying forth to destroy the Visages, who in their arrogance had once again started bickering amongst one another to decide who should claim the area. With their backs turned, all but one of the Visages was taken by surprise when Tyrrell descended on them, with the outlier slinking away, hoping they would kill each other without him having to raise a finger. A strategy that proved ill considered, as Tyrrell dipatched one of them in the blink of an eye, before forcing the other two to flee lest they suffer the same fate. The forces of the visages present at Mavon were eradicated in the face of Tyrrell's maelstrom of violence, those few who survived abandoning their lord's side and escaping to the wilderness.   What followed that woeful night was a fifty year vendetta against the remaining Visages, as Tyrrell systematically dismantled each of their dictatorships. This extended to the innocents under the rule of the Visages, with the mad mage too far gone in his grief and rage to spare anyone while he razed every city he came across in vengeance. After disposing of each visage one by one, Tyrrell's blazing red eyes dimmed to a smoky haze, signifying his departure from an all consuming rage to a state of abject despair. Reduced to the state of an animal, Tyrrell spent an unknown amount of time roaming the Long Stretch, barely eating and unable to form a coherent thought. This stage of his life is where the Living Husk moniker came into use, as any who witnessed him saw an emaciated creature that seemed to defy death in spite of the obsidian weapon lodged in his chest. How Tyrrell was able to endure past such a grievous injury to his body, mind and soul is chalked up to his sub-conscious desire to live, automatically using magic to mend any injuries he suffered.   The broken magician seemed doomed to wander endlessly, until he encountered Aitor. On the night his palm had been struck by the void-steel arrow, the sudden pain mixed with his inability to heal the damage must have shocked Tyrrell back into a receptive state of mind, so he told Aitor. When that had happened, he had spent the last month reevaluating his existence, learning to speak again and coming to terms with the fact that he had nothing left in the world. Sorrowed by what he heard, king Aitor explained to Tyrrell the predicament of the Cericonian Dominion. Of how it was a place where magic was reviled and the common people were able to live their lives on their own terms, and how this status quo now threatened his own family. Perplexed by the concept, Tyrrell would begin conversing in earnest with the young monarch, and they discussed many things through the night, becoming amiable as they attempted to help each other.   Convincing the haggard recluse to follow him back to witness Cericon itself, Aitor returned to his entourage and resumed the trek back to his home city. Finally making it back after two months, Aitor set about finding a way to make his people understand what he had learned from his new confidante, that not all magic users were evil and were no different from them, while Tyrrell lurked beyond sight outside the city walls. Much time was spent deliberating, so much so that queen Herminia was soon to give birth and Aitor began panicking at the prospect that she may accidentally unleash her hidden power during the painful act. Growing despondent, all seemed hopeless as the Cericonians would not accept any sort of challenge to one of their founding principles. Until the earthquake struck.   Most likely caused by natural plate tectonics, the tremors that rocked Cericon were of a magnitude scarcely seen in that part of the world, rocking the very foundations of the buildings. Many Cericonians abandoned their homes in fright, fearing that the end was nigh for the city. Certainly, without any arcane means of subverting the tremors the Cericonian architecture would have been doomed to be reduced to rubble. Fortunate then, that Tyrrell at once halted the quake with his near boundless reserves of magic, diverting the seismic waves away from Cericon, sparing the citizenry from harm. Bewildered, the people would leave their homes to look upon the shaggy protector that had shielded them. Some in the gathering crowd would demand Tyrrell be bound immediately, or claim he had caused the earthquake himself, so should be put down on the spot. Others who had seen Tyrrell perform his miracle refuted the violent calls, and the dispute grew so heated that violence would have broken out, if not for Aitor quelling the masses as he strode forth to greet his friend. Declaring Tyrell a hero, Aitor invited him into the city as a guest, yet those who reviled the mage again grew wrathful and violent. At the threats and insults thrown his way, Tyrell said naught. Rather, he revealed his crossed arms from behind his back, displaying a length of cloth for all the Cericonians to see. Tying the cloth tightly over his eyes, Tyrell shuffled towards Aitor, blind and at the mercy of his hosts. The throng was instantly silenced by this unforeseen gesture, to which Aitor would confidently guide his skewered companion through the gates of the city to be granted a proper welcome.   After being treated to days of celebration and feasting, Tyrrell would regale the Cericonians of his life's sad tale in a public speech. So moving was the address that many of the still disgruntled traditionalists shifted their misgiving to sympathy instantly, and those who were still not convinced were at the very least inclined to hear more of what the mage had to say. Weeks of discussion and interaction with the people saw Tyrrell become increasingly involved on the subject of mages and their place in society, prompting a referendum on the matter. The choice was simple: should mages be afforded tolerance within the Cericonian Dominion, or not? Such a monumental decision was so significant for Cericonian tradition that Aitor could not merely brandish his status as king and determine a decision, so it was put to a vote.   Particularly, the law of La Atadura was brought into contention, and while king Aitor desired to have the custom wholly removed from Cericonian way of life, Tyrrell actually stood as the greatest proponent of preserving it. A stance that is not at all surprising with Tyrrell's past in mind, the maimed guest stressed the importance of restricting the freedoms of magically gifted individuals for everyone's sake, arguably for the mage's most of all. At the same time, Tyrrell did suggest that utter rejection and revilement of mages may backfire at some point if it continued, so it would be better to recognize that magicians are people like any other, just with a greater vulnerability to exercising their will over others.   Although Aitor was not thrilled with this proposition from his ally, he was unable to voice his misgivings as the citizenry cast their votes, revealing the outcome to be in favour of keeping La Atatdura while revamping some tenants to afford mages basic rights within Cericonian society. So it was, mages were now to be treated with a degree of respect, and Tyrell offered guidance on how best to integrate and teach such individuals, especially with regards to humility and obedience to the common folk. It was a pleasant time thereafter, with queen Herminia delivering a healthy boy soon after the vote, now termed the Aitorian Reforms. Aitor continued to lead his kingdom well, convincing several more city states and countries to capitulate while continuing to improve the quality of life within the Dominion. Tyrrell and the Cerionian king would become true friends during this period of prosperity, aiding each other in whatever endeavours they put themselves through. Tyrrell trained Herminia in secret on how to control the magic she had, ensuring she could live amongst the people without fear that she may lose control, an act that Aitor honored by naming his child Justo in reference to the justice brought by Tyrrell's action.   After a fruitful sixteen years, one day Tyrrell the Living Husk felt a wariness greater than any before come over him. His time had come. Drawing the Cericonians he had grown to cherish to the plaza outside the palace, he bade his surrogate home goodbye, finally wrenching the Mentor's Ruination from his chest as he did so. As blood issued from the gaping cavity, Tyrrell poured every inch of power he had into the black blade before slamming it into a raised podium at the center of the garden. The sword sunk deep into the ground, so that the hilt only stuck out. This strange gesture was to be Tyrrell's parting gift for Cericon, for contained within the blade was a command of shielding, so grand that once activated a great dome of light would engulf the inner city of Cericon, repulsing entry from all outside its walls. Explaining the spell in detail, Tyrrell had the four albindite jewels of the hilt removed from the sword beforehand, each needing to be connected back to the handle before the dome could be activated. With this fail safe, the chances of the spell being used against Cericon were negligible, since each jewel would be held by a different person.   Satisfied with his work, Tyrrell left for his old home of Mavon alone, passing away silently in the house he was born in, somewhat redeemed after his fall from grace. The Cericonians would never forget his contribution to their civilisation, though future generations still retained an apprehension for magic in all its forms all the way up to present events. As for king Aitor, he would lead a productive life ensuring the reforms to La Atadura were implemented correctly across the Dominion, ending his reign with a near spotless record of peaceful resolution with foreign powers. Above all else, Aitor is remembered as the epitome of mercy and compassion among the Cericonian kings, largely in part to the Aitorian Reforms that freed mages from absolute demonisation to a more bearable life.  

Political Characteristics

  The Cericonian Dominion is a coalition of states and territories, all united under similar language and cultural values. The capital of Cericon acts as the linchpin of this confederation, with overarching laws and mandates being issued by a council of governors and legislators that represent the constituent regions of the Dominion. Despite Cericon holding such elevated status, the Dominion as a whole is currently managed under a system of democratic conference, with representatives of most regions being elected by the people's popular vote (Initially Cericon started as a kingdom for several hundred years, before a slew of inefficient monarchs turned the public against the royalty). This serves to strengthen cohesion between the members of the Dominion, as each province is able to exercise a degree of independence, and any decisions that specifically target a member's policy only takes into account the opinion of Cericon, the area itself and any member states bordering it.   Which leads into the topic of admittance into the Cericonian Dominion. An involved process, candidates for membership historically have been selected on a basis of societal semblance to the Cericonians themselves. Earlier on, during the latter half of the Mythic Era, Cericon would aggressively annex certain countries if deemed it was in the service of liberating the common folk there from the clutches of magocracies and other dictatorships, an act that has not transpired in over seven centuries as of the current setting. Another factor for member selection is the economic strength that they represent, since the Cericonian Dominion derives a great deal of its power and influence from its reliance on trade. Once a candidate for induction is approved, their government is met with an offer of confederation, which entails several benefits for them. Naturally, the guarantee of protection from any and all assault on the member by foreign entities is an enticing prospect, what with the Cericonian war-machine being among the most technologically advanced powers of humanity on Az. The promise of industrial advancement and monetary gain the likes of which many could only dream of is perhaps the more decisive point of interest, representing a chance for poorer countries to make life better for themselves. Women are given a bounty of advantages when they are under the protection of the Cericonian Dominion, seeing that they are allowed the right to work in most industries, receive education and full legal recognition in courts, on top of being entitled to buy and sell land (to an extent).   All these factors are effective at attracting outsiders to join, yet there are sacrifices to be made when joining the Cericonian Dominion. Obviously the antagonistic relation to magic can be a deterrent to many people, especially if magic plays a vital role in the cultural identity of a people. The restrictions of mages and the arcane does not merely stop at the act of casting magic. Truly, any form of belief or ritual that contains the possibility to invoke supernatural phenomenon is held in contempt by the Cericonians, seeing it as shackle that stifles the development of a population. This mindset is what compels the Cericonian government to outlaw faiths of various kinds, a tradition which is responsible for eradicating dozens of religions in its quest of integration.  

Religion

  The issue of religion in the Cericonian Dominion is certainly a strange one. From the onset, Cericonians themselves held beliefs that were similar to the Ilexanus peoples they descended from, so polytheism revolving around spiritual entities that inhabited the natural world. After the Cericonian expansions to surrounding regions, this religious standard would slowly erode, giving way to a so called "Faith in Human Triumph". A simple dogma that espoused the virtue of the common, hard working person, this religion had no defined gods, instead focusing on doing good by one's community, as one would hope their community does good by them. Included in the Faith of Human Triumph was the demonizing of magic in its entirety, sneered upon as an upheaval of the natural order and the enemy to an honest society. The afterlife was still pondered heavily in Cericonian philosophy, with the popular sentiment being that it did exist, but only for those who lived virtuous and true lives while making an effort to improve the lives around them.   Time progressed, and as the technological knowledge of the Dominion increased with its prosperity, religion as a whole became less popular, substituted for scientism and the like. At the moment, Faith of Human Triumph is still technically the most widespread faith in the Dominion, since it functions more so as a guide to respectable living that can coexist alongside empirical science with little friction. Agnosticism is the only other major belief system present, since its uncertain nature makes it impossible for a group of people to unwittingly manifest the arcane to any visible degree. Certain provinces may have local religions, but these are heavily monitored by inquisitors and officials for any conspicuous behaviour, with any disciples of said religions being forced to sign documentation that attracts usually undeserved hostility from others.   Such a lack of true faiths in the Dominion is unlike any other society or system of government in Az's history. The closest group would be the Order of Scion-students, whose global outlook and leaning towards science means that there is no one religion which dominates that organization of mages. Yet the Scion-students are still very open (depends from individual to individual) on differing interpretations of the nature of reality. So without a doubt, the Cericonian's unorthodox relationship with spirituality poses a serious question on the how it affects the people living in the Dominion. The answer is hardly simple, but with more recent events the trend appears to be that the Cericonians, and their allies in the Dominion, are slowly growing more despondent. An increase in materialism is attributed to having nothing to look forward to after death, which in tandem with the ever growing luxury of the Dominion means that the wealthy are able to exert a growing degree of influence over political discourse. A situation that many historians and philosophers note may contribute to future civil conflict. Nonetheless, the Cericonian Dominion continues to be stable and the average people within still adhere to a lifestyle of amiable conduct, for the most part.      

La Atadura

  The defining law that the Cericonian Dominion enforces, which contributes to its unorthodox nature is La Atadura, "The Binding". A dogma that targets those with the ability to visibly harness magic, La Atadura is so called for the distinct act of restraining mage's movements and perception by way of blindfolds and shackles around the hands. This is done so with the intention of preventing any would be magical malfeasance being committed against common folk within the states of the Dominion. When this law was first introduced, it was akin to a form of torture, tying mages to stakes with no ability to see their surroundings, while onlookers could berate and beat the mages for the simple crime of being. Once Tyrrell the Living Husk saved the life of the Cericonian king Aitor, La Atadura shifted from a strict law of punishment to a less severe set of regulations. king Aitor decreed that magic was no longer a criminal offense of itself, but stressed that La Atadura was for the good of both mages and the average person, as advised by Tyrrell himself.   From this point onwards, La Atadura acts as a guide to how mages ought to live and conduct themselves within the Cericonian Dominion, positing several tenants that any settlement in the jurisdiction should follow. The aforementioned restriction of mages is chief among them, yet depending on circumstance, it is permissible that a magician should utilize magic in a small degree if a situation calls for it. Such events may include; healing a person suffering a fatal injury which natural medicine cannot mend, fortifying an area against invasion with wards, or using spells to scan the surroundings for anything of value. Hence, La Atadura has, in a sense, morphed into a Discipline of magic of its own, albeit a highly sterilized and rudimentary one. Cericonian mages are taught basic spells of restoration and protection, but are strictly prohibited from the use of magic as a means of offense, with the fear being that, if a magician grows accustomed to exerting their vision so aggressively, they may begin to harbor grander ambitions for themselves.   After the Aitorian reforms of The Binding, Cericonian mages were afforded small concessions in the form of lodgings and food provided directly by the government. A caveat to this condition is that mages cannot own property themselves, nor can they hold any positions of economic, political or judicial importance. Consequently Cerconian mages have their lives completely dictated by the Cerconian Dominion's governance, who appoint casters to jobs according to their aptitude. Most settlements within the Dominion have a distinct area in their layout where a mage's housing is located, close to embassies and military depots. While inside these abodes, mages are finally able to shed their restraints and move unfettered. However this is the extent to which magicians are allowed such freedom, and usually such apartments lack any line of sight to the outside world. A bleak way of living.   Mages under La Atadura are also mandated to have at least one specialized supervisor assigned to them, which depending on the power the individual may come in the form of a high ranking watchman, an inquisitor, or even one of the "Guardias del Vacío", elite soldiers clad in signature white armor that heavily incorporates void-steel, rendering them immune to direct magic. These supervisors act as escorts and guards to their charges, ensuring they can navigate where they need to go and protect them from undue harassment from others (though truthfully, such supervisors are mainly there to protect the public from their assigned mage). The mages will have their every move monitored and noted, with any sign of rebellion taken with the utmost prudence and it is the supervisors who are tasked with submitting reports of their mages and correcting any suspicious behaviour.   Finally, there is a fourth key component of the Binding as it appears in the current day, namely the Term Restriction of Gains. A less flowery way of saying this, is forced euthanization of mages when certain criteria are met. The primary two situations where this contingency is applied are intrinsically linked: either when a mage and their stock of soul-force grows to a point where it becomes a cause for concern, or when a mage reaches the age of two hundred years. The reasoning for using the Term Restriction is fairly understandable when considering the Cericonian attitude towards magicians, especially powerful ones, but the logic for terminating mages past a certain age is harder to grasp at face value. Of course the rationale behind the second case comes from Tyrell the Living Husk himself, who vehemently blamed the ambitions of his enemy mages and his own failings on the deterioration of the mind that comes with prolonging life past its natural course. The Nature of Mages, as it would be coined, is to strive for more gains in whatever pursuit they desire, foregoing the essential senescence of the body, to the invariable detriment of the mage's sanity. In this line of thinking, the Cericonian Dominion asserts that the Term Restriction is a mercy for mages under its wing, preventing their psyche from crumbling under the strain of years, while allowing them a humane passing that does not shame their person (Just about any mage not under the Cericonian Dominion would Strongly object to that statement).  

Exemptions

  On exceptionally rare circumstances, certain jurisdictions or locales of the Cericonian Dominion have been given special privileges in regards to La Atadura, due to any number of circumstances. For example, many towns and cities on the western fringes of the Dominion were given the ability to legally recruit mercenary magicians and unbind native casters during the Creed Wars, where the countries of the Insaelid faith began crusading eastward across the Long Stretch. Such a large-scale conflict meant that the Dominion could not always draft enough soldiers with void-steel to fortify everywhere, so scores of places would be at the mercy of enemy mages if they were unable to use magic of their own.   Aside from this situation, exemptions are given to localities where mages are vital to their prosperity, such as the city of Mesetita which required healers and bio-mancers to constantly monitor and care for the Topopelos, artificially evolved moles which substituted sheep for the city's clothing industries. The governing heads of the Dominion will try to slowly wean such areas off their dependence of magic, though this is a tricky process that hardly ever works. Mesetita to this day, while officially bound to most laws of La Atadura, can disregard all but the bare minimum required to appease the judges of the capital, who are rather helpless to do anything other than demand an occasional fine (which is amusing, knowing that Mesetita is one of the wealthiest cities in the Dominion).  

Military and Espionage

  Existing as a buffer between the caliphates and Massidian Empire to the west, Ganneoux Empire to the east and countless kingdoms on the Emerald and Amber Coasts, it appears impossible that the Cericonian Dominion could hope to contend with so many rivals at once. Of course, as the motto of the Cericonian Armed Forces says, "Think not of what could be, do what should be". This mindset is indicative of the Cericonian approach to warfare, with an emphasis on decisive strategy which best dismantles the efforts of an opposing force. Hence the Cericonian Armed Forces are well rounded in both matters of defensive and offensive combat strategies. Above all else, the meritocratic nature of the Dominion means that commanders with the best tactical sense are selected, promoting an unmatched degree of flexibility within armies.   Soldiers are likewise expected to perform at the peak of their ability, with a decade of military service being required of most able-bodied men. Beginning at recruitment, conscripts are forged into hardened warriors by a gauntlet of grueling physical activities, transforming the most inept of men into a model paragon. Once basic training is completed, fledgling soldiers are drilled on more tactical aspects of conflict, ensuring cohesion between a superior's orders and a subordinate's implementation. From there, conscripts are assigned a role between holding garrison or scouting the surrounding territory of where they are stationed. In times of open conflict, these two subsets of the military are brought together to form standing armies.      

Chain of Command and Units

  Past the basic rank of footman, there exist many different career paths a soldier can take during their service. Moving up the hierarchy a footman can become a cabo (corporal) who aids in management with the next rank, an alferez (sergeant) leading a ten to twenty man squadron. All going well, an alferez will find themselves in the rank of a teniente (lieutenant), who has a major step up in power leading a platoon of one hundred soldiers. After advancing to this stage, it is necessary for a man to complete his ten years of mandatory service before further promotion. If an aspiring teniente displays great leadership, they may be promoted to a capitan in command of a five-hundred man company, a substantial military force that often made up the defending force of a smaller town in the Dominion. Greater still are the comandante menor (lesser commander), who supervise several captains and are the highest rank of soldier that are expected to serve directly on the field with their battalions. Comandante mayor (greater commander) is a derivation of the rank below, usually a comandante menor who has shown extreme capability in large-scale strategic thinking, so have another comandante menor control the battalion from the front while they monitor the situation from afar. The general de brigada is the penultimate rank in the Cericonian military, presiding over brigades of over five thousand men, the largest military division employed to take to the field in most battles. Finally, the general. Tasked with overseeing the entirety of the Cericonian army, the general is themselves stationed in Cericon, directing brigades as is necessary with the aid of lieutenant generals, who are merely glorified brigadier generals who have to manage more paper work than normal.  

Cavalry

  Maybe not the Cericonian forte, cavalry is arguably their weakest area militarily, in no small part due to the mountainous terrain found throughout the realm. Although in saying that, when the Cericonian military is famed for its excellence, even its weakest links are robust compared to many other minor state's best showings.   If a conscript is recruited into scouting divisions, they will be provided a horse and based on their proficiency may go on to train as a jinete, light cavalry men who harass enemies with skirmish tactics. Currently, the jinetes are still in use, but mainly use contemporary firearms in lieu of spears and javelins of antiquity.   Riders who came from families of esteemed cavalrymen often underwent extensive training to become knights. These heavier shock cavalries never quite reached the same level of repute as the various knightly orders of Ganneoux, nevertheless they commanded a powerful presence that few would wish to contend with. It was these riders who were instrumental in the Creed Wars, with many crusades into Massidian territory providing some much needed open space for the knights to shine. Lances, halberds, and sabers for side arms were historically preferred as weaponry, and owing to semantic and traditional reasons, have not changed much over the centuries.The integration of flintlock pistols as a ranged option is the most substantial shifts in combat ethos in the recent past.    

Infantry

  Currently, there exist the basic footmen of the Cericonian Armed Forces, versed in the use of spears, swords and shields. Despite being the most rudimentary unit in the military, footmen of the Cericonian Dominion are equipped with high-end plate armour or brigandine, and mainly wear morion style helmets, though this can differ between provincial forces. More advanced melee infantry units include pikemen and halberdiers, who use large polearms to deter the charge of cavalry and giants alike. Hombres de la hacha, usually past hunters employed in fringe territories of the Dominion, use hatchets with great skill and can perform a dual role as a front line offender and a skirmish infantry by throwing their weapons.  

Guardias del Vació

  Briefly mentioned above, the Guardias del vació are legendary foot soldiers who are seldom seen outside of major city holdings. Enigmatic sentinels bearing pure white armour with sculpted face visors in the likeness of ancient Cericonian kings, guardias del vació (Guardians of the Void) are the ultimate mage-killers. Beneath the ornately crafted outer shell, bands of void- steel are wrapped around the body, completely nullifying the ability for magic to alter the guard's immediate surroundings. Further accentuating their reach, each warrior bears the symbol of Cericon, a feathered spear which is made from that same miraculously mundane metal. The recruitment process has changed since Cericon's expansion, with the first generations of guardias del vació being selected from people who had close links with those who were at the helm the initial reconquista of Cericon. Nowadays the process is undertaken by a selection of soldiers every three decades, at which time a serviceman can opt to take an examination that pushes them to their physical and mental limits. If successful, the examined will be promoted in due course, receiving the standard equipment of their corps and placed under the tutelage of a senior guardian.   Guardias del Vació are rarely employed in offensive military operations, so important is their role in deterring the use of magic against major settlements. In those extraordinary times when they are employed in campaigns, Guardias del Vació are used sparingly, the grandest number ever being fielded being exactly one hundred during the final battle for the Two-faced Fortress. That particular siege was where the Cericonian Dominion employed a novel tactic for maximizing the power of void-steel, imposing tower shields known as barricadas de brezo (Barricades of briar), which feature winding spines across their surface that radiate far past the main body of the shield. This design quirk would rightfully be scoffed at as being absurdly uneconomic if a regular metal was used, but because of void-steel's properties, this is not so. Having a wider surface area with which to halt magic means that the guardias del vació can safeguard not just themselves, but scores of allies behind them, a concept that was taken advantage of by positioning one guardia del vacio at the front of the army for every four or five regular spearmen. This brilliant tactic meant that the Massidian defenders of the Two-faced fortress were locked out of using magic against as many as four thousand Cericonian soldiers when the latter began their assault, netting the Dominion a decisive victory.   Ranged infantry has seen the most evolution out of all the strategies in the Cericonian military, starting with humble archers that perfected their craft from an early age. With Cericon's growing wealth, education became more advanced, enabling the engineering of crossbows. Crossbowmen were a stable for over five hundred years, owing to their dominance on the field. As the Enlightened Era rolled around, the crossbowman began to wane in its efficiency, since other powers began utilizing them. Therefore the Cericonian engineers had to adapt and devise better means of ranged warfare.   The result of decades of hard work resulted in the arquebus, matchlock rifles which were the first of their kind on the Long Stretch, inspired by tales of the Vull'jorgi firearms on Quon'gir. Such weapons were instrumental in finally breaking the stalemate between the Insaelid armies and the Cericonians during the third Creed War, ushering in several centuries of peace. Such guns were especially potent against mages, as ammo lined with void-steel could pierce wards while traveling too fast for many magicians to react to. In the subsequent peace time, the aruebusiers became the standard ranged unit of Cericon, crushing the odd bandit and barbarian hordes they came across. Again, the development of ranged weaponry slowed, as now the Cericonian Dominion was under no pressure to improve, so great was their ranged advantage over their rivals.   This would prove disastrous when the Disaster of Kyner commenced, with the slow loading time of the arquebus being a terrible match up against the inhuman speed of the Fell. Forced once again to improve, the Cericonian military produced its latest marvel after the events of the Buen Salida. Flintlock Muskets. These guns could fire with much greater force than their predecessors, on top of being easier to reload. So the musketeer superseded the arquebusier as the golden standard, though the latter are to this day still employed in more rural areas.  

War Machines

  Owing to the cold, empiricism of the Cericonian perspective, it is not surprising that their engineering prowess has surpassed most, if not all, human civilizations of Az. This is especially true of their mechanical contraptions used in warfare. The knowledge of rudimentary balistae and catapults was known even before Cericon started its conquests, but this had never been capitalized on until after the expansion of the Dominion began. Similar technology would be continually refined throughout the late Mythic Era, giving rise to several varieties of catapult and trebuchets, with ammunition ranging from stones, blades and decaying carcasses. In attacks against fortresses inscribed in spells or wards, small quantities of void-steel could be added to the payload to make arcane defenses obsolete. After the Aitorian Reforms, Cericonian mages could also be enlisted to add certain spells to ballistic weaponry if an adversary proved resilient in the face of the Cericonian Armed Forces. Most magic utilized was the sort of runes and sigils which focus on improving the durability and performance of such machines, albeit there are instances of innovative spells being developed which still kept within the bounds of the La Atadura. Verily, a clever application of magic was when a general by the name of Guilherme Ferreyra had his casters create a network of runes on small stones. The intention of these stones was for them to increase in size after being fired from a catapult, enabled by the runes which stripped carbon from the air and compacted it around the projectile. This trick served to be a devastating strategy, allowing a rain of pebbles to be fired at great speed, before they impacted enemy lines as great boulders and dealt catastrophic damage.   When gunpowder revolutionized ranged warfare at the onset of the Enlightened Era, Cericonian artillery developed in tandem with the invention of the arquebus, netting the Dominion access to cannons and mortars. These weapons were credited with cementing Cericonian victory in the third and final Creed War, so influential was the ability for common folk to invoke power rivaling the average mage. Much like the arquebus, development of this technology stagnated for a few centuries, before the Catastrophe of Kyner acted as a catalyst for rapid progress in ballistic technology, which yielded new variants of streamlined cannons and mortars able to cover a greater range of battlefield roles. Los Gordos Rugientes (Roaring Fat Ones) are gargantuan batteries that can fire either large balls of metal that cause the ground to shake for tens of metres, or volleys of grapeshot so calamitous that anything fifty metres in front of these cannons is said to be removed from existence entirely. Smaller contemporary artillery include semi-automatic carronades that can unload a burst of several shots without the need for reloading, as well as mobile mortar platforms that can keep up with swifter infantry.  

The Inquisitors

  Probably the first thing outsiders think of when asked about the Cercionian Dominion, the institution of the Cericonian Inquisitors has a deep, often dark, history.   Inquisitors are tasked with monitoring threats to the Dominion, both internal and external, a role which has existed as far back as the early days of the Cericonian Expansion. Although, the name inquisitor would not come into use until after the Aitorian Reforms took hold, at which point an officially recognized system was implemented to ensure the new laws were not taken advantage of. This was especially true for high ranking officials in the government, who now had direct legislative power to request the emergency use of magic, which posed a serious concern for the balance of power between such officials and the citizenry.   To this end, the inquisitors are somewhat divorced from the normal conventions of judicial custom, able to circumvent the authority of a minister if there is sufficient reason to suspect foul play. Of course such a degree of freedom is in of itself a potential risk, so inquisitors are held to a standard by a committee of ex-inquisitorial officers who work in tandem with the Cericonian bureaucracy. Even then, there have been instances where inquisitors   Inquisitorial agents are reputed as some of the most dangerous individuals that humanity has ever produced, owing to a combination of exceptional training and equipment. Selected at a young age (twelve - fourteen) from children who show supreme ability in physical and mental performance, cadets are put through a process of rigorous activity, more demanding than that found in the Cericonian Armed Forces. Trained in various martial arts and handling of weapons, inquisitors are additionally taught several languages, political theory and advanced survival skills. All this goes towards the formation of agents who can act on their own in almost any situation, be it infiltration of foreign governments, sustaining themselves in the wilderness and so on. The institution of the inquisitors is unique for its application of women as agents, who are usually preferred in circumstances where a low-profile is needed for operations.   Concerning the standard kit of an inquisitor, each is supplied with a uniform that has undergone few changes since its creation, a thick overcoat with an accented collar paired with trousers and sturdy boots, topped off by a large brimmed hat that may sport a plume of feathers. Upon recognition of becoming an inquisitor, each previous cadet is gifted a daga robusta (Stout dagger), strange blades a third the length of an arm, made of void-steel and featuring a handle large enough for two hands to comfortably grasp. Because inquisitors are expected to at some point to encounter hostile magic, void-steel is a necessity to have at least in some capacity, hence the daga robusta.   Besides those, inquisitors are rather unfettered to choose any apparel they may desire. Some agents may prefer using blades, blunt weapons or a mixture of the two depending on assignment, area of operation and personal taste. Ranged weapons are popular, especially firearms, the first prototypes of which the inquisition received before the Cericonian army at the turn of the Enlightened Era. Pistols are beloved by these enigmatic enforcers, being easily concealed and effective against just about anything. On the defensive end, while the standard uniform is tailored to resist basic stabbing and slashing, most inquisitors will want to make adjustments based on their environment. It is not uncommon for inquisitors to add metal plating beneath or on top of the uniform, sometimes foregoing it entirely in favour of a full suit of Cericonian plate armour if the inquisitor is needed for a full-scale battle. The uniform also draws attention, so naturally it is dropped in times where such a thing is antithetical to their mission.   Concluding on inquisitorial equipment, while magic is heavily restricted for use by anyone in the Cericonian Dominion, inquisitors are able to request special permission to apply basic enchantments to an item. Such an affair is heavily regulated and scrutinized, often taking months to get approved by the council of Cericon. Once the authorization is made, the querying inquisitor can let a licensed mage apply the desired enchantment. Such enchantments are not allowed by law to impart capabilities that grossly enhance the destructive power of a weapon, nor can they allow the wielder to freely manipulate natural phenomenon as if they were a magician themselves. Hence, enchantments used by inquisitors are relegated to either automatic responses to stimulus or activations that apply simple alterations to the item's properties. Decreasing the friction on clothing, allowing blades to alter length and creating projectiles which can track a marked target are some of the most common augments used by inquisitors, though there are potentially thousands of others.   This blend of intelligence, physical skill and advanced tools means that a single inquisitor is able to go toe-to-toe against all but the most adept warriors. Powerful mages would be foolish to underestimate these Cericonian enforcers despite all of them being common folk. Indeed, some of the mightiest exemplars have fallen victim to hubris when faced with the inquisitors, before subsequently paying the ultimate price.