HISTORICAL MAPS
MAGICAL ITEMS
The Psionic Oligarchy (PO) began inauspiciously enough when a minor Burduvian warrior, all of 19 years old, was elected in 2689 PF to lead the newly united Burdue tribes in the area of the Northern Geldron Peninsula. His name was Straighthair.
Although slave raids against the mounted Burdue tribes had gone on for as long as anyone could remember, recent generations had seen changes. Since the time of Straighthair's grandfather the Auloron Federation to the south had been taking more and more slaves, and had been increasingly violent as well. In the face of these depredations the tribes had united, elected this new leader, and decreed him the leader of the united Burduvian Horseclan Banner.
Little is known today of why he was chosen, but the story goes that their Priests and advisors all agreed he was the one to be chosen.
In fact, Straighthair turned out to be an able leader, a brilliant strategist and a gifted warrior. Working with the Ehthosian Priesthood, they began training a sort of anti-slaving Paladin known as Cohoshim (singular Cohosh). After securing their Southern border with the Auloron Federation, he expanded their territory Northwards (thought conquest and treaty) to join with their Raushmen brethren. He was so successful that by his death at age 62 the Horseclan banner fluttered over a powerful nation from the Mitanpen Mountains in the south to Mistvale in the north, from the Firefall Sea westwards to the Bay of Dreams. He died fighting Pteryons just south of Mistvale, and that same month after 75,000 warriors created his massive tomb, they decreed Bonethew his successor.
Bonethew was a young (22) Ehthosian Priest with a military bent, but not a Cohosh. His succession went well, and soon thereafter he married another Tribe Leader's daughter. Although he was often away fighting slavers (he was if anything even more aggressive in his fight against that evil scourge than Straighthair, and believed the Horseclans should take the offensive and ride to free their fellow citizens in the Auloron lands), his wife bore him five healthy sons.
When his first son turned 13 years old (in 2747 PF) he began to manifest strange and wonderful powers of the mind. These were not magic related in any apparent way, and seemed to represent some new ability. Whatever the source, this gift was immediately construed as a blessing from Ehthos. Bonethew had raised his sons in strict religious fashion, teaching them the power of good and the evil of slavery, but also added his own emphasis on how the other Gods must be allowing this evil to continue. As each son in turn reached the age of 13, they too manifest these powers, which soon became known as Psionics. The sons even were able to train others in these arts, and soon became powerful indeed, leading combined forces of Cohoshim, Priests and warriors along with their elite Psionocist fellows successfully against Auloron troops.
But the sons also began to reinterpret their father's teachings. Now that they had the power and the means, and were so obviously blessed by Ehthos, surely this was the time (and a sign!) that they should do much more? Not only should their father's dream of seeking out and freeing slaves be carried out, but those who held them were evil and must be punished or even killed. More alarming to Bonethew was their further contention that followers of other faiths and Gods must turn to Ehthos too (to prevent slaving from ever happening again) or be put to death.
Long did the arguments between father and sons rage, but at least initially he supported their efforts to free slaves and convert those who wished to be converted. Weeks later however the brothers ordered the death of an Auloron farmer and slave owner who refused to convert during a raid over the mountains. That same day, every Ehthosian Priest and Cohosh lost every spell, every granted power from their God.
Yet the brothers were not deterred. They only intensified their campaign, claiming now that without the Priests and Cohoshim the need for converts and freed slaves was greater than ever. There was nearly civil war, but the Priests without spells and the Cohoshim without granted powers were no match for the Psionocists and myriad warriors who now saw a chance for revenge. And whom frankly liked their new-found power.
Thus in Septos 2765 PF Bonethew was overthrown in a peaceful coup and sent to enforced "house arrest" on Point Feugerol. That same month the brothers decreed the Burduvian Horseclans were now the Psionic Oligarchy (PO).
Their initial successes were stunning, but also well crafted. Upon decreeing the PO they encouraged (tacitly) a slave revolt in Auloron lands. And then cold-bloodedly left the rebels to be harshly repressed. Those who survived and fled knew nothing of the brothers' role, but served to swell their armies' numbers and fuel PO moral outrage. As the PO prepared to drive south the brothers encouraged their Raushmen allies to drive north and surround Mistvale. This would provide secure access to new resources like lumber and gold, and protect the PO's northern flank from Mistvale attacks.
The Auloron Federation fortified the Mitanpen Mountains and secured the passes, but on Disos 4th, 2770 PF a bold stroke bypassed them completely. The Battle of Silent Sails crushed the Auloron fleet and landed over 100,000 troops in Auloron territory. A puppet state (with no slavery but a clear goal of 100% conversion of all inhabitants to Ehthos worship) was set up under Burdue Psionocist rulers. Two years later the Battle of Six Spears broke the combined armies of Mistvale in a slaughter that removed the threat of Mistvale incursions for decades. And although they never occupied Mistvale, the defeated inhabitants did open the rift's treasures to the PO. This was the PO's greatest time and most glorious period.
In fact, although the brothers ruled a territory from Ard Bay to North of Chiem Lake, their popularity had begun to slip. Some began to feel that the rumored atrocities committed in the name of conversion (or to those who refused) were unacceptable. Others noted the lack of Priests and Priestly powers and suggested that their own God was mad at them and giving them a sign.
Rather than listen or change their ways, the brothers tried new strategies. First, they distracted the populace with massive building efforts, erecting enormous monuments to inspire pride and cenotaphs of huge proportions to praise their victories (and of course the brothers' fine leadership). They also became more despotic: those who complained were locked up or even changed psionically so they no longer felt the same way. Finally, they found a new enemy: all the pantheistic godless heathens across the Firefall Sea, namely the Fire Clan worshippers.
Some Burdue were distracted, mollified (or pacified), but not all. Worse yet, Auloron Federation loyalists took up guerilla warfare from bases in the Mitanpen Mountains (the very same bases the PO naval assault had gone around), the Emden Isles and Goldenboughs Forest. Soon these largely Mantaten rebels had joined with disenfranchised and disillusioned Burdue to create major headaches for the PO and the brothers. Worse yet, in defeating a small group of Burdue "traitors" within lands that belonged to the Vayethian Elves, their bloody, unnecessary and post-surrender slaughter brought the Elves actively (as opposed to passively allowing refuge as they had before) on to the Rebel side.
Initially though these were minor setbacks. After declaring war on the "evil, heathen" Fire Clan "empire" across the Firefall Sea in 2779 PF, the PO was able to score victory after victory. In 2782 PF they trounced Fire Clan forces during the Battle of Tirzon Bay. Further victories in 2784 and 2787 only encouraged the brothers that they were fighting (and winning) a just and divinely ordained war. Monuments went up ("Victory at Tirzon", "Mind's Glory", etc.), and the populace still grew increasingly restive.
By 2790 the war spanned the region. As Elves, Mantaten humans and rebel Burdue joined to fight against the PO, what would later become known as the Race War commenced in earnest. The Rebels scored their first real victory in the early '90s as they eliminated the last PO outposts on the Emden Isles. This was offset by further naval loses however by the Rebel cause in the Firefall Sea.
These naval losses left the Fire Clan leaders were in a desperate situation. Fearful that their entire Western coastline along the Bay of Bornu and the Firefall Sea was vulnerable to PO landings and knowing that Mantaten Rebels in the Emden Isles had powerful Mages as allies, the Fire Clan leaders made a fateful decision. Through Taloss the Adventurer they had come possession of Ubic's Tomes, and having few Mages but recognizing their potential, they decided to send them to the Emden Isles. The idea of using magic to send the Tomes was the first option, but some spellcraft on the volumes prevented such action. So calling on their Elvish allies they created a massive escort fleet and set sail on Onos 3rd 2799 PF for the Emdem Isles.
On Onos 9th during the Battle of Fiery Seas (near the mouth of the Vayethian Gulf off Point Feugerol, where they had just joined up with their elvish allies) the Rebel fleet was virtually destroyed and scattered. But after the confusion ended and smoke cleared a meager 5 ships were still sailing south, Ubic's Tomes safely aboard.
The Fire Clans had done their best, but now had no defense left for their coastline or for the bulk of their worshippers. By 2802 PO troops had landed in force on both the north and south shores of the Samarkand Sea. Although the Fire Clan Priests, warriors and guerilla troops made the occupation very costly, only a few areas were successful in resisting the PO forces. Lingarn Tower and its environs on the coast never fell. Lands south of Lake Mured were held, as were the southernmost parts of what is today the Fire Clans, but by Disos 2803 the PO could enforce military rule over the entire Yelstyrian Peninsula and most of the lands north of the Samarkand.
The PO troops and Psionocists in particular were spread every thin, and given Rebel problems in their own homeland and their long supply ones, but they were incredibly ruthless and they struck terror into the hearts of those who had resisted them. They were particularly harsh on the Yelstyrian Peninsula. Here were Mantaten humans, just like those that enslaved and oppressed them in the Auloron Federation (and were now fighting a guerrilla war back home against them), but had doubly offended by joining the godless heathen devil worshipping Fire Clan. If Mantaten humans could be found on the Yelstyrian Peninsula they converted on the spot with a great show of willingness, or they died painfully within minutes. It would be known as the Race War Slaughter. And it would go on for over 5 years.
By 2809 PF Fire Clan worship had gone from well over one million to less than 75,000. But the PO was cracking from within as well. Back home the brothers were low on troops (and even fewer willing recruits), their own people were protesting the great losses across the Firefall Sea to guerilla attacks, and everyone by the Army, Navy, Psionocists and the brothers seemed to see how evil and twisted the PO had actually become. That same year the Rebel Mage Dalmask mastered Ubic's Tomes in the Emden Isles. A new hope was born.
Contacting what was left of the Fire Clan leadership and asking them to do everything they could to keep PO troops unable to leave that "second front", Dalmask led Rebel forces into combat with PO armies. These battles would collectively become known as the Mind Wars, spanning from 2810 until final victory at the Battle of Three Arrows on Synchos 8th, 2821 PF.
Dalmask was a fearless leader. He was patently a powerful Mage. Most surprisingly, given the PO crimes that happened during the Race War Slaughter and the Mind Wars themselves, he was also prone to forgive rather than seek vengeance. Thus, it is perhaps less than surprising that in his victory both the Auloron populace AND the Psionic Oligarchy populace sought him as their leader.
So it was that the PO ended under Rebel control. Rather than condemn to death the remaining PO leaders, Dalmask insisted that they be freed alive. Perhaps moved by insights that Dalmask's magic was able to provide them, the survivors agreed but only on one condition. They insisted that each and every one of them be permanently polymorphed into a new form. Dalmask agreed, and each was changed into a race that we now call Centaurs.
To this day the Carabellum Clans refuse to ride the Centaurs that roam their Clan-lands, even though they have forgotten why this is so.
Dalmask insisted on one other condition. Every record, trace and scrap of the brothers' must be destroyed. None of the five of them had ever been caught (or seen to be killed), but Dalmask insisted they have no legacy or glory. So while many of their monuments stand to this day, they are all faceless, defaced and without name. That is why to this day we do not know their actual names, they are remembered solely as "the five brothers".
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