Eletsya

Eletsya is a continent in the far west of Aquila. It boasts a population estimated of about 1.5 million people, divided among five kingdoms and the various mountain clans which inhabit the Mountains of the Sun. Often considered a “backwater” or “primitive” continent by peoples in other parts of Aquila, Eletsya is the battleground where various petty kingdoms wage their wars, and is mostly isolated from the rest of Aquila.

## Geography and People

Eletsya is unique among the continents of Aquila in that almost all of its land is peninsular. In the center of the continent lies a large mountain range known as the Mountains of the Sun, which serve both as a home to various mountain clans, and as a natural barrier to the petty kingdoms of the continent, as these kingdoms often find themselves unable to effectively conquer and administrate the populated areas of the mountain range. Much of the area at the foot of the mountains is occupied with forest, covering a notable amount of each of Eletsya’s five peninsulas. Otherwise, the geography of each peninsula consists primarily of hills and plains. The most notable exception to this is the southern peninsula, which boasts a large stretch of swampland in its center.

Eletsya is populated almost entirely by two ethnic groups; the Akiosi, and the Einhish. Of Eletsya’s roughly 1.5 million people, about 850,000 are Akiosi, and 650,000 are Einhish. The Akiosi primarily inhabit the nations of Kalosa, Yavyn and Promethya, while the Einhish inhabit the nations of Acker and Stelerga. The demographic size and makeup of the clans inhabiting the Mountains of the Sun is not entirely known, and speculative estimates vary wildly between the scholars of the different kingdoms.

## Culture

In current times, the majority of both the Akiosi and Einhish peoples speak High Eletsyan. High Eletsyan is an amalgamation of the two groups’ original languages, now often referred to as Old Akiosi and Old Einhish, that formed during Eletsya’s Unification Period as a natural result of the groups interacting more often. The Old Tongues are more frequently spoken by the clans in the Mountains of the Sun, though minorities of Old Tongue speakers still exist within the traditional kingdoms. Aquilan Standard is known and spoken by very few, as Eletsya was never incorporated into the Aquilan Empire (and, as a consequence, is often considered “primitive” by other peoples in Aquila). Despite this, Aquilan Standard has gained a level of popularity with nobles and merchants, as desires for the continent to be culturally connected with the rest of Aquila strengthened in the aftermath of the Aether War.

In antiquity, the Akiosi worshiped many nameless gods representing various aspects of the world around them. The Einhish, however, worshiped only one god; Avus, better known as Avromemnus, the "Eagle God,” the worship of whom caused much strife between the Einhish and the Xolumir Khaganate in ancient times. In modern times, after a period of unification in the time shortly after the Great Desynchronization, the religions were molded together. In the current Eletsyan pantheon, aptly named "the Faith of Avus," Avus is considered the supreme god of all Aquila, and the lesser nameless spirits extensions of his will.

### Knighthood

In all five current Eletsyan kingdoms, and even some of the mountain clans, the concept of Knighthood is considered a cornerstone of society. Knights are warriors who are heavily intertwined with the feudalistic, martial culture of the Eletsyan kingdoms, and with the Faith of Avus. Typically, one is only knighted after years of service as a squire to another knight, and after having shown prowess in the martial and religious duties expected of a knight. Exceptions do exist to this rule, such as if a standard man-at-arms shows exceptional skill in combat or goes above and beyond the call of duty (such as saving the life of a nobleman) during battle.

Only a lord may knight a soldier, though any lord may do so. As a result, most knights are in service to one lord or another, though wandering knights do exist. The process of knighting involves the knight-to-be taking a knee, the aforementioned lord placing the blade of a sword upon the knight-to-be's right soldier, and saying:

*"In the name of Avus and his Will, do you, [name of knight-to-be] swear to uphold the knightly virtues; to protect the women and children, to defend the weak, the innocent, the afflicted and poor, to fight bravely and chivalrously when it is required and make the world a better, more honorable place?"*

When the knight-to-be confirms they will uphold these virtues, the lord moves their sword to the left shoulder, and the newly-declared knight may rise to his feet.

## Politics

 *Red - Acker*

 *Yellow - Stelerga*

 *Blue - Kalosa*

 *Green - Yavyn*

 *Orange - Promethya*

 Since the fall of the unified Kingdom of Eletsya around the year 1,000, Eletsya has been divided into various smaller kingdoms, constantly vying for supremacy over one another. The current kingdoms on the continent are Acker, Stelerga, Yavyn, Kalosa and Promethya. Though Acker and Promethya are generally judged to be the most powerful of the five, the gap in power between the kingdoms is small enough that, as a result of ever-shifting alliances, the kingdoms’ borders and the balance of power often shift with them.

## History

### Antiquity

The earliest surviving writings about Eletsya come to us from a short political treatise named Eletsya and Her Peoples by the Xolumiri diplomat and historian Agatos. This treatise dates back to around 35,000 years before the Great Desynchronization, during the time when the continents of Aquila were still part of the super-continent Vulturia. In this text, Agatos wrote:

*"Of the Eletsyan subcontinent in the southwest, there is much to say. Her fertile plains are abound with towns and villages, oft ruled by the various kings who make their seats in walled cities along the coasts and river banks. Despite the dominance in much of the subcontinent by petty kingdoms, there exist other 'societies' in Eletsya, if they can even be called such. Eletsya's mountains, forests and swampland are plagued with these 'societies'; various nomadic peoples, who fight with primitive tools. The kingdoms of Eletsya would have surely subjugated them or wiped them out in their entirety if not for their knowledge of the landscapes around them; with this, they are able to almost melt away into their surroundings and evade capture, like prey hiding from their natural predator.*

*Despite the habitation in some areas by these nomadic clans, Eletsya is ruled primarily by its numerous kingdoms. These kingdoms are dominated by two races of people; the Akiosi and the Einhish. From my extensive time spent in the castles and towns of both peoples, it is of my opinion that the Akiosi are the most like our own kind. Much like us, the Akiosi have an expertise in crafting complex political hierarchies and for executing intelligent military strategies. Though I could understand few of their words, the bards of the Akiosi royal courts sang and played with such melody that they could not help but elicit a positive reaction from myself and others listening. The very same courts' walls were adorned with beautiful paintings that looked as if they could have been made by the finest Xolumiri artists. They keep a pantheon of nameless gods that rule over every aspect of life, from the streams they bathe in, to the steel that is used to forge their swords, to the biological processes behind their more carnal affairs. Though these gods are quite strange, their conflicts with our own faiths would be minimal.*

*The Einhish, by comparison, are a completely alien people. Though they have a penchant for fighting and politics similar to that of the Akiosi, spending time in their royal courts was a tedious affair. The Einhish nobility were polite, though curt to the point where it seemed the very act of speaking brought upon them an immeasurable pain. In place of paintings, the Einhish display swords, shields, axes and other weaponry, almost as if to boast their strength. What few bards presented themselves in the Einhish royal courts only played songs boasting of victory in war, or songs of a melancholic disposition (my translator informed me that many such songs were about the singer losing loved ones in war and declaring they would enact vengeance). Though the Einhish people are culturally a barbaric people, this is not my main concern. What I fear most is the Einhish religion. In contrast to the multitude of nameless gods worshiped by the Akiosi, the Einhish worship but one god; the "Eagle God," sometimes called "Avus." This name may not carry any significance to the less educated, but to students of history such as myself it carries much; "Avus" is the Einhish people's primitive name for Avromemnus, the father of His Divinity, the Emperor Makrozoia. Avromemnus attempted to prevent His Divinity from casting down the false god Aetomemnon and taking his rightful place as the true God-King of Mortals, and the persistence of his worship poses a danger to us, and to the existence of the Khaganate in its entirety.*

*It is after exhaustive research on the peoples of Eletsya that I have come to my final conclusion. If we are to subjugate Eletsya in the name of the Khaganate, there is no doubt in my mind that the Akiosi must be the ones to administer the region, if direct rule is deemed to be too great a drain on resources. The primitive peoples in the wilds of Eletsya can be dealt with if the proper resources are put forth. The kingdoms of Eletsya are not strong enough to effectively stop these peoples, but the Khaganate should be; they are not more than wild animals that must be domesticated. The Einhish, on the other hand, are trickier to deal with. At the very least, their religion must be purged entirely; replacing it with the Akiosi faith would not be ideal, but it may be the best option available to us at the current time. If they reject our attempts to purge their faith, then I believe our next best option would be to remove their people from Aquila entirely."*

Though we must take into account Agatos' inherent biases against non-Xolumiri peoples (which can also be seen in another surviving writing of his, *The Mendean Problem*, for those who would like to read further), and the original intent of this treatise (advising the rulers of the Khaganate how to best conquer Eletsya), his is one of the very few texts about Eletsya from before the Great Desynchronization that has survived into the current day.