The Narceean Sanctity

 All the alabaster spires and golden cathedrals almost make you forget that every single one is built to worship a lie.

 - Kestrel Adain, Vindicator

A rather strange nation-state in Canthia, Narceea is governed by Amorantha, who claims to be a god and the only one still active in Canthia. Though some evidence has been given that she may be nothing more than a powerful Gifted, the religion she began, the Seekers of the Dawn has grown substantially since its founding. Occasional allies of the Kingdom of Vaelorn, the Narceean Sanctity is highly isolationist and fiercely protective of the followers of the Divine Lady. Many a war has begun due to perceived slights against or persecutions of their faith.

Founding
In 531, a Amorantha Tokal appears in the tax records in Brightshore during that year. There was also an Amorantha Tokal who was noted for her research into Pre-Schism artifacts at the Spire. Whether this is the Amorantha who eventually came to found the Sanctity is uncertain. Though it is entirely possible, the Seekers of the Dawn - the cult that grew around Amorantha - denies their goddess' mundane origins.

Whatever story one chooses to believe, the Sanctity itself was not recognised by the Spire as a separate national entity until 587 and only after the ambassador from Narceea agreed to sign onto the Pax Arcanum without provisions or rights of negotiation should the document be changed. This early difficulty has characterised the relationship with the Spire as particularly antagonistic.

In the early years of the Sanctity, Amorantha quickly established a heirarchy noticeably similar to the old city-states of Pre-Schism Aei'kar. Each major city was led by an Archon, who in turn controlled outlying areas through the use of his House and own personal power. These Archons were summoned tri-annually for a Quorum by which they might vote on state wide measures. Mostly, the Archons are regional governors who are merely echoes of the goddess' will.

The Aderak Campaign
The Sanctity's first major foray into Canthian politcs was their war against the Talo'kar in 720 AS. Begun after a small temple to the Divine Lady was shut down by the Talo'kar Ecclesiarch, Qaella, after the temple was found to be inciting religious hatred among new Talo'kar converts to their faith. The Divine Lady proclaimed a Holy War against the Moon Elves - as they are called by humans - and named Framan Aderak as the Principle Archon in charge of the campaign.

The war sees the full might of the Narceean army arrayed against the Talo'kar over 200,000 men, a great many of them mages. The Talo'kar themselves were woefully undermanned in comparison and lost much of their home island before the intervention of the elven cousins in 723. The Mor'kar, Nua'dar and Aei'kar all banded together in the Alliance of the Shards to retake Tal'Shass from the Narceeans. In 725, all of Tal'Shass was restored to the Talo'kar and the Narceeans were forced into a treaty by the Alliance after they savaged the Sanctity's coast with devastating magical assault. The Spire eventually ruled the war unlawful and with the backing of the Alliance, forced the Sanctity to pay reparations to the Talo'kar government in the amount of 250 million gold.

Isolationism
After the Aderak Campaign, Amorantha decreed the borders of Narceea shut and closed to all. Framan Aderak was executed for his failure, his House stripped of its titles and priviledges. Amorantha likewise decreed that Archons were to come from mage-producing Houses only, ensuring that leaders would be possessed of true power. In the years between 726 and 773 AS, the Narceean Sanctity kept themselves from the burgeoning field of world politics. In that time, Amorantha's appearences before the public became few and far between and her edicts became so honed to the minutae of everyday life, that there was growing concern amongst her Archons of her mental stability.

It was on or around 764 AS, that several Archons, chief among them Archon Trayfer Rast, began meeting in secret and conspired to overthrow the Divine Lady as principle head of the Sanctity. They all believed that the goddess had become unhinged by the defeat of her armies during the Aderak Campaign and was no longer fit to lead their nation.

The Rastian Heresy
In 765 AS, Rast and his co-conspirators raised the provinces of Elaeth, Marn, Orrin and Warral in open rebellion against Amorantha. Contending that the true Amorantha had been replaced by an demonic imposter, Rast quickly took over the largely agrarian province of Denn. This immediately provoked a response from the Narceean military, sparking the Rastian Heresy.

Only a few moons later with the burden of fighting against both the Rastian heretics in the west and the Eiru offensive in the south, Amorantha appears in the battle against the rebels. Her power breaks apart the very landscape of the battlefield at Casteron's Rest, decimating the Sanctity's enemies. The rebel Archons Everett Wend and Dorian Cullburn are killed during the battle. Afterwards, the province of Orrin - home to Everett Wend - turns to the Sanctity's side under Holden Gray, cousin to the former Archon, who had remained loyal to the Sanctity and returned to the province upon Wend's death. Amorantha grants him his cousin's title as reward for his continued faith and fealty.

Amorantha then appears over the main rebel stronghold of Elaeth, sending great shafts of white light thundering from the sky. Most of Elaeth is left a waste, the capital city of Unrelenting Grace is completely destroyed, rendered nothing but a crater by the goddess' magic. By the new year, all the rebel Archons have confessed their sins and been executed. The last is Rast, who remains defiant to the end. Ever assured that his cause is just, he declares at his execution that: "He did all for the faith. All for the True Amorantha, even in death."

In the ensuing years after the rebellion, the crater where once was Unrelenting Grace is renamed Amorantha's Fury and became a popular pilgrimage site.

Military
The military branch, while not as powerful as the clergy and the Godqueen herself, holds a great deal of influence over the day to day operations of the Sanctity. This is no more apparent than on the various border provinces, especially those small island holdings in the Sea of Anthram that approach the sovereign territories of Vaelorn and the Crownless Lands.

Undoubtedly crafted to ensure that the military is not a wholly independent body, both the clergy and civilian branches of government have their own divisions and duties with regards to offense and war. In fact, most of the highly sought-after and most powerful positions within the military heirarchy are only attainable after extensive vetting by top clerics.

Within the military, there are a fair few subdivisions. Some are dedicated to purely military units, cavalry, infantry and such. Special divisions and those under the auspices of the clerics are here listed to familiarise you with their nuances. They are all listed as Orders due to the fact that even within the military there is a great deal of religious symbolism within the Sanctity due to its theocratic nature.