Espios

Southern Espios, by the Amtari Plains

The city of **Espios** was the largest city and city-state in the Old World, the first city ever established, the site of many founding myths and religions, and the central reason for the Mythic Age decline following the Castigation of Espios.

Espios was founded Preliturgy and was built out of stone dredged from an unnamed settlement belonging to giants. Its purpose at its founding was to protect the farming territories of *Lydia* from invasion of the wood elves of the Grand Line. It was later populated and grew to be an expansive, complex, diverse city that became the foundation for civilizations throughout Neuphany and Tyrrhos.

The city was technically a religious, divine elective monarchy with patrimonial elements. In less ambiguous terms, a single ruler was selected by a council of priests called "Wayfinders," the clergy of Wepwatet. The ruler, called the Lathotep, who is the only source of power in the city. That is, only those at the whims and favor of the Lathotep have authority, other than the Wayfinders ordained by Wepwatet.

## History

### Founding people

Written records did not emerge in Espios for thousands of years after its foundings; most of its origins are traced by its oral history. It is most likely that they were humans from Jigoku. This has been a controversy that was initially an undercurrent of tension between Hellastians of Prace that migrated likely after the invasion of the neogi Preliturgy, and the humans who were almost certainly the first settlers. The concept of *pivinspel* was an unspoken belief among native wood elves who believed that Espios was theirs historically; later, this was promoted by Dinamid influences and led to significant disruption during the Magdamolia and beyond. This controversy has yet to be resolved.

Beyond the race of the initial settlers, *Lydia* was settled in the earliest periods Preliturgy. Espios has been mentioned chronologically earlier than virtually every other city, civilization, and event written or recorded in oral history. The only peoples older than Espios is the Tirahni, as well as the Subrason.

At this point in time, the region of *Lydia* was not well forested. In fact, almost all of it was dry due to its proximity to the central Tyrrhosi mountains. Though south of *Lydia* was equally lacking in rainfall, a region known as the Amtari Plain, the north formed a massive forest thanks to seasonal rainfall from the Strait of Espios that made the land fertile and crowded in flora, a place once known as the Grand Line. Here, wood elves that had escaped neogi invasion millenia before had formed complex tribes within the forests.

### Dynasty of Tlin Shen

   The settlers of the fertile lands of *Lydia* struggled to hold claim over the region against the invasion of multiple different groups, in particular the wood elves from the Grand Line.

A demigod figure identified as the Divine Peasant or Divine Farmer Tlin Shen formed an armed coalition that was able to build a wall on the northern boundary of *Lydia* to stop further incursions by the invaders. Tlin Shen is credited for teaching the people of western Tyrrhos farming, alchemy, medicine, smithing, and architecture. He also shared the healing properties of different types of tea, and helped fortify the small kingdom.

Tlin Shen used his innate magic to construct massive pyramids offshore around *Lydia* as waypoints for sailing vessels and as outposts to watch for potential seaborne invaders, though no such invasion would come during his lifetime. During Tlin Shen's reign, several cities that would be incorporated into greater Espios would be built, and the demigod reigned from the southernmost citadel built into the wall itself, Tlincal.

Tlin Shen introduced many revolutions in agriculture, including irrigation, crop rotation, and seasonal cycles, allowing the people of Espios to expand their farming efforts fairly rapidly and concentrating cities around his wall in Tlincal.

The kingdom allegedly stood for thousands of years. In that time, Tlin Shen slowly lost power over the noble families of the smaller cities. At this time, many of the cities built their military forces and engaged in minor feuds and conflicts over land.

### Wepwatet and the Aspis

The city of Asp, which would later give the name to Espios, was the northernmost city in *Lydia*, and traded with both the Hellastians of Cisteria, Tirahn, and beyond, even as far east as Jigoku. It was these Eastern influences that eventually brought the worship of the god Wepwatet, the "Wayfinder." This god encouraged the nobility of Asp to conquer the kingdom of Tlin Shen as their own, and to brutalize and subjugate the population of the other townships. Under the god's vision, the people of Asp conquered *Lydia* using advanced strategy, and created what would later be more integrated and recognizable as Espios.

Tlincal did not fall as easily. The family of Aspis bargained with Wepwatet to help them complete their kingdom, and vowed that they would allow him to select their kings if the god would help them break down the gate of Tlin Shen's dominion. The "Wayfinder" found a weak point in the wall, and had battering rams break down the wall, not the gate. They succeeded, and Wepwatet joined the fray in storming Tlincal to fight the surprised population, driving them out and scattering the Tlincal natives across *Lydia*. The Asp nobility killed Tlin Shen by boiling him alive in a massive pot of water.

It is often said the population of Tlincal was cursed for abandoning their god, and the former citizens of the kingdom of Tlin Shen became the hideous scorpion-men that roam *Lydia* as nomads. This is why these scorpion-men are called Tlincalla.

The king of the Asp family perished in battle, usually believed to have been by the god's flail to rescind his end of the deal. Wepwatet formed a council of priests called "Wayfinders" to communicate his whims of who he chooses as his "Lathotep," or supreme king. This was followed by long succession schemes under the easily influenced and relatively corrupt Wayfinders. Wepwatet entered his slumber shortly before the Early Bronze Era, enclosed in a massive underground palace where he would be confer with the Wayfinders in selecting new members by writing their names on one side of a wall, and the names appearing on the opposite side for the Wayfinders to read. However, Wepwatet stopped this practice over time.

### The Eras of Bronze

Between its organization under the Asp dynasty and the Age of Young Fire in the Early Bronze Era, Espios became a unified state under the Lathoteps chosen by the Wayfinders. Wepwatet did not awaken during this time, leaving the Wayfinders to slowly grow more corrupt under indeterminate conditions for selecting rulership and Hellastian influences leading to growing power of the elvish aristocracy. This led to growing resentment among humans who lived in the city.

#### Muzdash rule

Merchants who shared word of Espios to Jigoku enticed the Muzdash empire, who returned with massive armies outfitted entirely with bronze as well as inherent magic capabilities that had not been present in Espios for thousands of years. Nebonyses the Great easily conquered the ill-organized and somewhat difficult-to-defend conglomerate of cities under the Lathotep.