Fragments VII-X

> When the Iskuzai horde invaded Askedoria, the land was drenched in blood and many died heroically, both among the Iskuzai and the conquered people, the proud Etoi of the Coastal Eparchies.
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> As the Iskuzai settled in Askedoria, their customs and rituals changed accordingly, influenced by the more refined Etoi culture. They learned that the Eparchies were a colony of a powerful Empire built on the shore of a distant continent, beyond the Sea. The Etoi called that region ‘Oikidas’ which means ‘Home’ in their language. The Three Iskuzai tribes — the Lipoxais, Arpoxais, and Colaxais — were restless, and there was no peace among them during the war. They often fought each other for slaves and loot during the invasion. Yet, under the threat of a powerful enemy thirsty for vengeance, they decided to create a Holy league of city-states, an Amphictyonic League (meaning, ‘a league of neighbors’) to let peace reign over their people. Aulea was the heart of the Amphictyony, a sacred place without an army that every other city-state swore to help in case of danger. It was a prudent course of action, but wisdom eludes a fool like a swift deer escapes from an inept hunter. Thus, some refused the agreement, saying that the life in the city comfort would have poisoned their customs and old laws and that the forced alliance would have meant the end of their freedom — those who rejected the pact, became pirates.
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> When the Iskuzai roamed the northern regions beyond the Acmonides Mountain, they worshipped a wild beast, the Double-Crested Panther. Wise men and women knew that the giant Panther was a symbol for a notion that we call ‘Change’. Later, during the war against the northern Shell Desert tribes, the Iskuzai learned from them to honor the dead and to practice embalming rituals. At that time, a slave from the Shell Desert was a precious thing in the house of a warrior. They were females because the secret of treating the corpse had been revealed only to women by Cirta, the Goddess of the Underground Waters. The slave embalmers take care of the deceased and preserve, perfume and anoint the bodies of the dead. This venerable custom changed with the Pact of Aulea, when the Iskuzai abandoned their nomadic life. The slave embalmers initiated the female priesthood that had the purpose of worshipping the remains of the Twelve Warrior Saints, the greatest commanders of the Iskuzai. The priestesses learned the art of dancing, chanting and acting to perform the Holy Plays for daily worship.
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> The Iskuzai, like all the other people of the Ophiotauran Sea, except for the dark-eyed Molubdenoi, worship the Twelve Gods. The divine Cult exists side by side with the ancient reverence for the Double-Crested Panther and the Twelve Warrior Saints, who are all considered to be of divine origin. Among the Twelve Gods, four are particularly eminent for the Iskuzai. They are collectively known as the ‘Tetrad of Askedoria’. They are: Phoeraia, the Goddess of the Wild Beasts, whom they call ‘Mèter Iskuzoin’, ‘the Mother of the Iskuzai’, believing to be her descendants; Auleo the Cartographer, who was once a King of their people, before losing himself in the heavenly firmament; Cirta, the Goddess of the Underground Waters, who came to Askedoria from the East, teaching the chthonic mysteries to the Etoi; and Erigonio, the God of music, turmoil and violence, who is considered the most unpredictable of the four and must be appeased to avoid his displeasure.
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"The Pact of Aulea" from *Historia Iskuzoin*, I by Melanippos