Principality of Iouisitianioi

The **Principality of Iouisitianioi** is a state on the Northwest coast of Rodinia. It is a constituent state of Paialogus' Federation. It used to be feared for it fierce martial tradition, being a thorn on the side of many neighbouring nations, especially the former Kingdom of Paialogioi but recently, the principality has became more trade-focused as a consequence of the land being located on the trade routes between the Mareian Empire and the Gruzian Empire. It is also a major port for the slave trade.

## History

Thalassokastro is a city on the coast, built around a major castle built centuries ago, even before the Imperial conquest, even before the rise of the tribes. That was the original name of the castle the city was named after. Nowadays, the city is usually called Thalassokastro while the castle itself is usually called Thalassokastro Castle (or something like that). The castle is built on one of the higher ledges near the coast for a more defensible position. There is a windy path up the castle. This is where the Iouisitianioi has staked their main residence, projecting their power in the region.

The builder of the castle is shrouded in mystery. No one really knows who originally built the castle. It has stood in the city for centuries, even before the Dark Lord conquests. There are a lot of myths about this builder and all the tribes in the region claim that they can trace their heritage to this fabled King Gregory the Builder. None have produced any convincing evidence of this but the castle has served the people of the land for many generations. Any records about King Gregory are written in Miletian which is not a language people speak anymore and for the people who do speak Miletian, the art of writing has been forgotten so no one knows how to read these records of this great king.

The castle was built near the ocean with a river close by it which not only provided a source of water for the fortification but also made the position more defensible as there are fewer areas to attack the castle. The area also is a natural harbor so at the bottom of the castle, within a natural cave there is a small pier where ships defend against attacks by the sea.

However, the positioning of the castle was also ideal for a city to develop. The ready source of water from the river and food from catching fish in the city attracted a few settlers. There was already a fishing village in the area but more of these settlers helped balloon the population of the region. The castle also provided protection for the people living there to give them protection against bandits and pirates. That was the first city in what is now called Thalassokastro

Seeing an opportunity for trade, the city opened up trade from the Western continent, which will see trade occur between the west and the eastern empire. Western spices were sold to the eastern empire where the city bought eastern wine and processed magic stones which were shipped to the west. The city became prosperous, being one of the gems of the old world, this enriched the city to expand out from its borders to found colonies in other areas in Spiti. Quite a few cities in the north could claim heritage from Thalassokastro.

There were many kings that were from Thalassokastro. Some of them are more mythical than others. The Thalassokastran kings would serve as the basis of many myths and legends of the land. The first king where written records existed of him seemingly was already part of a well-established dynasty. They were noted to be rich, with some scholars writing that Thalassokastro was the Pearl of the World.

However, this prosperity would not last. The machinations of the Dark Lord in their ambition in embracing the forbidden magics of timespace have started absorbing mana from the world, causing crops to wilt and fail. The old Kingdom of Thalassokastro declared war on the Dark Lord with the rest of the world. However, initial success would lead to disaster for the Kingdom of Thalassokastro as the Dark Lord with their loyal demons from the demonic lands destroyed and conquered each Thalassokastran city one by one until Thalassokastro was the final city standing against the forces of Darkness and the Pearl of the World and the final stand of the beastfolk.

Thalassokastran defenders were determined to fight until the last man and frustrated Dark Army attempts to take over the city. This however made the Dark Army become crueler against the defenders, killing any civilian they find. The siege of Thalassokastro lasted for 2 years. In that time, the people of Thalassokastro starved, turning to rats for food before turning to cannibalism (that could be where the myth of beastfolk as man-eaters comes from). The population of Thalassokastro would be devastated.

The defenders of the city eventually surrendered after they could not maintain the walls with their small number of remaining city members. However, they were not given mercy and the defenders and the city-dwellers were killed off. This occurred all around the land which decimated the population. However, the Dark Lord’s Armies were not complete in their killing of the people of Spiti as some people have already fled the cities and escaped to the fields while others found ways to get out of the cities during the sieges. These escaped people in the countryside became the basis of the tribes of the land.

Demonic occupation of the cities lasted for 3 decades. The many tribes of escaped people developed a warlike culture, fighting among each other for the little scraps they get from foraging and hunting in the wild. They would also develop superstitions about the cities how they are unholy places that should be avoided. Even if they will get over this superstition, this will have a deep effect on the psyche of the beastfolk as they would see the cities as impure or unclean.

Eventually, the Dark Lord was killed and defeated by the Goddesses’ heroes which caused most of the Dark Lord’s armies to retreat to their home regions to fight amongst each other for the legacy of the Dark Lord which allowed for the many tribes who awaited for their retreat to start killing and whittling down the demon population. The tribes wanted revenge and saw the demons as unholy beings to be exterminated. Eventually, the land was considered so hostile that most demonic populations left the land and returned home or were slaughtered. There would be no demonic population left.

However, the cities and especially Thalassokastro would remain abandoned because of the combination of superstition and trade being destroyed around the world so it will take some time to reestablish trade again. In the meantime, the beastfolk tribe would fight against the remnants of the Dark Lord’s army to then fight amongst themselves once more. They would have a culture of raiding and fighting but because of the rocky terrain of the land, it would be difficult for the tribes to really exterminate one another. Though one would expect this would increase animosity among the tribes, a culture focused on honour developed to ensure that people could eventually bury the hatchet. Warriors were prized but they must also know when they cease fighting. In the meantime, Old Thalassokastro became buried under dirt as the plants reclaimed the land.

It will take around 4 centuries for the tribes of Spiti to get over their fear of the ghost cities. One of the structures that would survive and be visible from some distance, would be the ruined castle of Thalassokastro. Eventually, one of the tribes moved to settle into the castle, realising that it is an ideal location to defend against attacks and raids by enemy tribes. The sea prevented attacks from the coast (as good ships had not been developed yet) and provided the tribe with a source of food from fishing. This allowed for the tribe to project power around South Aeolia, becoming the sovereigns of the land. This is where the tribe of Iouisitianioi originated from, the first tribe that occupied the castle.

With them taming the other tribes around, 2 centuries later, who became their loyal allies through their might and pushing away the tribes who refuse to cooperate, the Iouisitianioi cemented their position as the leaders of South Aeolia. Some of these tribes would still exist to this day like the Thessalioi and the Acheliones. Now they have all of this power, they would direct this warlike behaviour to the people of North Aeolia but more often to the Paialogioi Kingdom to the south in the Karinou Plains. They would launch raids against the early Kingdom which would be a major headache for the early Paialogian kings.

The problem was even though the Paialogians were more numerous than the Iousitanians, they were usually beaten back by these barbaric tribes. In the times the Paialogians succeeded in conquering the land, the Iousitianians would rise up and overthrow Paialogian control and become independent once more.

The wars between the Paialogians and the Iousitanians were fierce to the point that the Paialogians were thinking of committing genocide against the tribes up north by the 12th Paialogian-Iousitianian war but those plans were shelved when, in their weakened states, all the petty kingdoms of Spiti would be declared war on by the Empire which would conquer all of them.

Imperial conquest was tough on all the tribes that were making up Spiti. The Empire consistently disrespected and flouted Spitian traditions and sidelined the tribes that were leading the petty kingdoms before they were conquered by the Empire. If someone was a member of one of these tribes, they were discriminated against in government positions, trade deals, and religious appointments. Usually, the Empire would appoint officials from Gruzia to staff positions in Spiti. This policy was implemented so as to assimilate the Spitian tribes to become good Imperial citizens.

The tribes chafed under Imperial control with some of them being outright destroyed because of Imperial discrimination. Some of their members would renounce their tribal affiliation. Many of the old tribes before Imperial conquest were dissolved while some, like the Iouisitanioi, Acheliones and Thessalioi retreated deep into the countryside, forging their own communities within the caves and the fields, reinforcing their own tribal heritage.

From time to time, one of the tribes would rise up in revolt against Empire, like when the Empire raised taxes on salt or Imperial soldiers raped the daughters of a major tribal chieftain but every time they rose up, they were promptly defeated by the Empire who had not only superior manpower compared to the Beastfolk tribes but also better military technology, more disciplined soldiers, good logistics and the blessings of the Emperor. Some would say these provocations were on purpose, so as to quicken the demise of the tribes.

Realising that the tribes cannot defeat the Empire alone, the many tribes of Spiti began establishing contact with one another, making agreements with one another, intermarrying, and forging bonds with one another. The old Spiti used to be a chaotic place of conflict and death between the tribes but the tribes would realise that as long as they do not unite, they will never cast off the chains of the Empire. If they want to be free, they must unite and fight together. That would mean burying the hatchets between the tribes. Between the Iouisitianioi and the Paialogioi, most importantly.

The Iouistianioi, staying away from the cities, realised that it was impossible for them to continue their martial traditions because they would be seen as a threat to the Empire. If they were to survive, they were going to have to adapt. Hammering their swords into plowshares, the Iousitianioi and their vassal tribes moved into merchanting, selling goods from the West to the empire in the East.

The tribes would meet in 1200 CE, by the dawn of the new millennium, the tribes of Spiti came together for a secret conference to ink out an alliance agreement between all the tribes of Spiti. (Or at least those that matter). During that conference, The Final Spite is created which would guarantee that if any tribe were to be attacked by the Empire, all of the tribes will rise up in unison together, or if one of the tribes declares war on the Empire, they would join in the war of that tribe.

During a crisis that the Empire faced in 1203 CE, the Paialogioi declared war on the Empire, sparking the Beastfolk Liberation War, which saw the supposedly primitive tribes of Spiti managing to beat back and free Spiti from the Empire by 1212, where the last Imperial armies, suffering losses from guerilla combat with the tribes folk, retreated beyond the mountains.