Ghratos Union (Aurora)
"What man came and told us you [The Xhaasans] were the enemy? We have been fighting for generations simply because we bear different banners."—Amisan Duke to Xhaasan Duke
The Ghratos Union is the union of the two kingdoms of Amisa and Xhaasa and the Castle of Pontentium, neigboring Astjumreva. It is ruled by the Triarchy, who have a Council of the High Dukes to consult them.
Ghratos Union Ghratos | |
|---|---|
 Flag | |
| History | |
| Formerly | Kingdoms of Amisa and Xhaasa |
| Allies | TBD |
| Enemies | TBD |
| Notable castles | Pontentium |
| Government | |
| King of Xhaasa | Adesola |
| Great Governor | Kadera |
| King of Amisa | Aderius |
| Legislature | Council of the High Dukes (Advisory) Members: |
| Military | Ghratean Military Practices |
| Socio-cultural characteristics | |
| Motto | May the power of Light guide our way! |
| Capital | Pontentium |
| Largest city | Xhaasa |
| National languages | Ghratean |
| Races | Humans Lizardmen (Xarbans) |
| Demonym(s) | Ghratean |
| Population estimate | 10,556,226 Humans
1,340,218 Xarbans 3,120,332 Cloud Fae |
Etymology
The name Ghratos comes from the ancient name of the River Stanumn, "Ghratossi" from the Xhaasans. The origin of the name is unknown.
History
Ancient
Thousands of years ago, the cities of Xhaasa and Amisa were founded, south and north of the river Stanumn respectively. The two cities spawned many more cities as people spread out and conquered more territory. These cities were ruled by independent kings and queens and commonly went to war with each other. The city-states were bronze-age societies, with an extremely small range, but they expanded.
The Xalra wars
The Xalra Wars were the war of the Xhaasans against the Xarbans after they crossed the Stanumn-Xarba into Xarban territory. The Xarban king declared humans an enemy to be wiped out, and sent raiding parties to defeat the Xhaasans; this caused the Xhaasans to allocate several armies to invading Xarban territory, including the first usage of the Ejaxes in Xhaasan history. This lead to the defeat of the Xarbans, who were forced to become a vassal state of Xhaasa.
Dark Ages
After the Xalra Wars, Xhaasans crossed the main branch of the river Stanumn, coming across the Amisans for the first time in the forests of the north. The two groups of people saw each other with great suspicion; they both believed that the other worshiped the wrong god, and the cultural differences made first contacts difficult. Most diplomacy broke down early on, spearheaded by militaristic factions which wanted an excuse for conquests. No records of who made the first attack exist, but whatever it was, the attack sparked a full-out war. The war itself was a never-ending slog; Amisans and Xhaasans used such different tactics in such different terrain that their former training was largely inapplicable to the area in which they fought. There was also significant magical escalation, resulting in powerful magical artifacts being created that further increased the intensity of the war. For centuries, the fighting continued, claiming the lives of many many people and destroying entire cities, reducing them to ruins and rubble. Eventually, after several generations of fighting, the fighting waned as many dukes came to agreements with their enemies to end the fighting, weakening the authority of the Xhaasan and Amisan crowns. This could have started a rebellion, but such prospects were cut short due to the Great Scourge.
Unification
Fae Wars
Some generations after the unification of Amisa and Xhaasa, the Cloud Fae floating over Ghratos became aggressive, commonly raiding and attacking cities. For this reason, the Ghratean Armies got on Maquida and destroyed many Cloud Fae hives. This led to a peace treaty demanding that all cloud fae hives either join Ghratos or leave immediately. Many of the more peaceful hives stayed to work for Ghratos, while others fled Ghratean Skies.