By the historian Decurtius,
by the grace of God Count of Occitania.
About 100 days within the third era.
The greatest ambiguity of the third era are its geographical inconsistencies relatively to the second era. The Great Migration, which initiated the third Era, was triggered by a series of calamities, sent by the all-mighty chadz, blessed be his name, as a way to punish the wicked of their glitchy ways. Nevertheless, theses migrations reorganized the map of Calradia, without reorganizing the allegiances of the second era. Although it is widely said that references of these previous times is condemned by the official chadzian dogma, the popular belief is that neither the almighty chadz, nor the Great Migrations that followed the second Era, really changed the national perspectives.
What in the end really reorganized the minds were the new geopolitical situations. As the chadzian church prescribed, the records and acts of the second Era passed by a
damnatio memoriae, and thus, were not mentioned, although they played a great role in the events that followed.
As such, this chronicle will tell the aftermath of the Hospitallo-Occitan war against the Fallen Empire. But first, the protagonists.
The Fallen Empire had a long and proud history. Encompassing people of all nationality, the Fallen Empire could be described as multinational and multicultural, although the official language of the Empire was, what came to be known in the third Era, as the North-Eastern Calradian. This particular language is concentrated in this region, though it is the most widely spread in the Calradian world. The population of the Empire surpassed, by most standards, that of other nations. Estimates that came through, leave this historian with numbers varying from 80 to 120 persons (without the vassal states). Even though nominally an Empire, the Fallen Empire was more or less structured as any other Calradian kingdom, with the Emperor, Loki I, supervising all activities in a very centralized fashion.
The Fallen Empire, as it is the case with many empires, encompassed a certain number of allied/vassal states. Left with some degree of local autonomy, they seemed to have little to no exterior latitude, as the Fallen Empire dictated most of the exterior relations of what composed the
Fallenem Orbis; the area of Calradia known across all eras, as the eastern steppes. As far as recorded history remembers, the Fallen Empire always had its core in theses regions.
Of their vassals/allies one, maybe, that deserves mention is the HRE, whose population was significant enough to be considered as an "associated nation" among the Empire, in most chronicler's opinion. Perceived as a lightly fallenized people, the HRE seemed to have a superior degree of autonomy, and particular cultural customs made them easy to differentiate from the citizens of the "core" Empire.
At the other extremity of the specter, the Hospitallo-Occitan alliance.
In ancient history, this alliance was born in blood. The second Era history tells of a time of war in the northern land, where, in the myths, and popular songs, a large Empire existed, whose name was lost in the mists of time. It would seem tough that distant ancestors of theses nations fought a war against the already existing Fallen Empire, a war whose records were lost during the late second Era calamities. As an Occitan chronicler, the only written document of this time who came to us to this day is the "
Ballade de Decurtius_XII" (perhaps a distant ancestor of your servant?) wich is an epic song, telling the tale of an Occitan farmer boy, sent to war at age sixteen. As written in old Occitano-Calradian, the following fragment has been traduced in North-Eastern Calradian:
"And then, from the cold plains, we saw the banners... lost fragment ...
they came to me, a man wearing the apparel of an Hoplite layed his hand on my shoulder and handed me a fork and shield. I was to fight and die for the Empire".
Theses ancient tales report customs and people unknown to the actual Hospitallo-Occitan alliance, and thus indicate that this second Era "Empire" englobed more nations than the ones we know today. Some say that former people of this Empire now roam the land as nomadic tribes, but this information, of course, cannot be verified with certainty. What we do know of, and this information corroborates the legends, is that in the beginning of the third Era, two tribes, one known as Occitan, the other as Hospitaller, came from the cold northern plains and settled in the former Fallen Empire territory.
As the Great Migrations that opened the Third Era ended, the Fallen Empire administration was quick to reclaim the lost territory, only to discover that several tribes already settled in their former territory. The Empire's response was immediate, as they declared war instantly on the newcomers. It is said now that they should have changed their course of action and consider a
receptio for the new tribes, but this argument is now semantically null, as the newcomers now own the land formerly held by the Empire. But as it was the Emperor Loki's will, they were to be annihilated.
The newcomers were quick to react. and it is said, that in the first day of the Third Era, the two tribes sealed a pact of mutual friendship and brotherhood, an unlikely event, considering that unlike most nations populating the North-Eastern quadrant of Calradia, Occitans and Hospitallers are not from the same ethnic origin. As such, the Occitan people are often considered a geographic anomaly: Tough it is said that they always lived in the North-Eastern quadrant, they are of Occitan culture, sharing in that regard, some traits with distant kingdoms, like
Pecores who happen to speak a similar dialect. Hospitallers, on the other hand, are known since the first Era, and share most of their culture with the other northeastern Calradians, although, for what are perhaps historical reasons, they share most of their religious beliefs with the Occitan people, thus easing the close relationship theses nations share together.
The Alliance formed by theses tribes made possible the emergence of a bi-national kingdom, formed from one part by the Occitan Duchy, while on the other hand, Hospitallers are organized as a religious fighting order. That being said, this is where the division ends, because despite the fact that both nations retain their former cultural traits and colors, they share exterior politics and react and live as a "block", as mentioned by the early Third Era pact, wich makes the nations "indivisible". Later on, the Fallen war of annihilation tightened the bonds between the two nations, to the point that they are now known as a single faction whose name and status is unclear, but well understood as the Hospitallo-Occitan alliance.
END OF TOME I
