[Nations] The Domination of Stygius

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Czernobog
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[Nations] The Domination of Stygius

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THE DOMINATION OF STYGIUS

HISTORY

Leonard was once a knight of England who rode with the First Crusade, and was an important man in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. But one day, as the city was under attack by a vast horde of Saracens, Leonard's magical abilities erupted, annihilating the Saracen army in blasts of gaping fire. Leonard would have been burned alive by the Church if not for his importance, and was thus banished from the city, to die alone in the desert. If only that had been the case, but Leonard was drawn towards a great mountain, and found within it a tomb. Inside the tomb was a grimoire of black magic. Leonard eagerly read it, studying the tome for seven days and nights, before he vowed to return to Jerusalem and raze it to the ground. Behind him marched a great horde of undead and beings summoned by his diabolical powers, the light of the sun blocked out over the land that it marched over.

The defenders of Jerusalem fled in terror, and the civilians were offered the chance to repent, those that refused being slaughtered en masse. Leonard's brother Rufus repented of his 'sins' and became Lord Stygius, while Leonard declared himself the Black Emperor of Jerusalem and renamed himself Acheron the Undying, for he had taught himself the art of immortality. After conquering Arabia and great swathes of the Middle East, reaching all the way to Persia, all Acheron the Undying has done is scheme and plot and wait, recovering after a near-fatal wound inflicted upon him by the King of France 600 years ago, worshipped as a god by millions of citizens labouring in ignorance. Lord Stygius has become his hand in the world, and when he is seen in battle, he is terrifying to behold.

JERUSALEM

Jerusalem, the City of Acheron, deserves a section all of its own. The once-thriving city is now dead, populated mostly by the spirits of crusader knights, bound to serve the Domination while Acheron yet lives. The sky over it is in perpetual eclipse, the sun high in the sky yet its light impotent against the shadows Acheron calls forth. Thousands of pilgrims and supplucators trail to vast obsidian temples, avoiding the jerking puppet-movements of roaming bands of undead. At the city's centre lies the Palace of Acheron, a great citadel of undeath, made out of black stone and dark iron, towering high over the accursed city, Acheron's throne at its very pinnacle. It is guarded by the 10,000 strong Black Legion, the personal guard of Lord Stygius, regent of the Domination. The 1000 strong Immortals guard Acheron himself, beings existing in an accursed halfway state between life and death.

The Temple of Ages also lies here, training the mage-soldiers that lead the Domination's armies, marshalling the rabble and controlling the undead to smash the enemy. Each of these mages are immortal, having placed their beating hearts in boxes of obsidian, the one link between them and the mortal world. They are collectively known as the Heartless, in recognition of their cold-hearted psychopathy and their method of immortality.

MILITARY

The feudal structure still exists in the Domination, and as such most of its living soldiers are conscripted from the peasants, barely trained to use guns and artillery. The nobles lead the fray, armed with accursed weapons and armoured with enchanted steel. They are said to be able to take cannon shots and still keep going, as terrible as they are on foot when they are on horseback. In addition to this are the multitude of enslaved spirits of crusader knights, hordes of fell beasts, seething tides of undead minions, masses of insane cultists, and the Black Legion itself, composed of people who have sold their souls for immortality. The veil of night advances with them, and it is said that by the time they reach the enemy, they are already terrified.

GOVERNMENT

The government of Stygius is based on the feudal system, with serfs and undead at the bottom and Lord Acheron, Lord Stygius and the Witch Lord at the top, forming the Dark Trinity. They are well known for their cruelty and evil, only matched by the Eastern Horde in sheer brutality.
You have ruled this galaxy for ten thousand years.
You have little of account to show for your efforts.
Order. Unity. Obedience.
We taught the galaxy these things.

And we shall do so again.
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