…Then why didn't they put it down? I mean for god sake, that thing was just eating everything, INCLUDING THE WOMEN! (god, those poor girls.) And after Mara started becoming the favorite, it just killed everyone! Maybe I could understand if it was still in its formative stage, but at that point it was pretty much fully grown. So I have to question if everything there was on the up and up if they let THAT happen.
The devourer was at a stage where the professionals can deal with it in the event it gets out... provided they find/catch it. Though it might evade its pursuers, but Mara survived after all. They are more the first responders rather than watching all the time, and some places might escape observation long enough for things to get out of hand. But trust outside of extreme circumstances they're going to be able to put most demons down. Novencia has existed alognside them for... a logn time now.
Wow... Arcade was kind of an idiot. If he had wanted to transition Ohms into a more peaceful society he could have gone about it slowly for years in over a dozen different ways. Used Novencian philosophy and education to temper the Ohmish ways (they were already joined at the hip so it wouldn't be a far fetch for them.), he could have focused the military for more defensive purposes so they could solidify what they already have, hell, he could have TALKED to Cade to find a middle ground so none of this would have happened ( wouldn't be the first time it happened in Ohmish history). But no. He got terrified, and instead of correcting the nation out of crashing, he decided to press the ejection button SO FAST that the plane exploded.
Which begs the question... how the hell did the Anemas lose this? If the Arcades rule was so unpopular, his decisions so extreme, why didn't the rest of them just swallow their pride and say "well... THAT was embarrassing, lets just sweep this under the rug" and just restore the Anemas to the throne to avoid a similar fracture?
Hmm... maybe Ghbrd was involved.
Arcade was very advanced in age, in his mid-seventies with no heirs, as the Ohme he was married to ascend to the throne, exiled herself shortly after. His next wife bore him two sons, who promptly kicked the bucket in their infancy due to sickness. Likewise said sickness took his wife from him as well. Natural causes not poison or anything and happened quite a long before Arcade's end. Time was running out and Anemas were next on the throne, as no Arcade alone could hope to claim the throne over an Anemas... or an Ohme, but at that point all of the Ohme line was/are absent.
Arcade was not without supporters. Tullis, fairly high in stature and popularity wholly supported Arcade's plans, as well as many of the eastern noble houses excluding the southeast of course (Graff and Anemas). His rule was a time of great providence in terms of wealth, academia, and agriculture. Him fearing his time was coming though hastened his hand and tried to switch over.
There was no middle ground to be found in Cade. Cade was, by all reports, a warhawk. Excessive by Ohmish standards even. But many respected his name and his strategic acumen. Among the greatest Ohmish strategists. A respectable duelist too, but nothing like his uncle or eldest son. Graffs are also
sworn to the Anemas. There have been a few unions of Anemas and Graff through the years. And these two constitute two of the largest houses... but don't forget the Arcade and Tullis are two of the richest and most prosperous houses, providing much of the buckwheat, wheat, tubers, and other agriculture.
And also
something fomented divisions between some of the houses, causing four ideologies and two allegiances to form.
Also what is the history behind Einad? Considering it was Redic's home, id be curious how he grew up there.
A very martial society with libertine values and... fairly accommodating. The highest respected jobs are its professional soldiers and those industries that directly supply them, as well as a healthy degree of respect to those who literally feed them and clothe them etc. Einadians wake to the joyous revelries of its academy's patrols and sleep among lover(s) in good drink and hearth. Neighborhoods band together and raise children, make sure they have a packed lunch, and send them off to the academy for their schooling. Its three military academies are huge points of pride where many are educated and some even housed and raised in two of them.
But they also have public schooling for trades, and trade programs to ensure men and women have options. But it's no secret how pivotal their mercenaries and troops are to their prosperity. Not to mention the fact it makes a shit ton of grains, vegetables, and fruits grown by its farmers. Barley, einkorn wheat, masses of it. Einad exports and uses much of these profits to pay for its military.
It also has a college specifically for academic pursuits in scribes, scholars, physicians and such. Though well funded it's much smaller than any of the military academies and was constructed when Einad was at its most prosperous... it is seeing a bit of a resurgence, especially with the mercenary wars going on on the borders of Pyri. Which Einad really hates lol.
Frequent festivals! Stone homes carved into the cliffs and plateaus of the main city, other buildings made from the stone quarried from those constructions... acacia trees and their flowers scenting the summers. Regular rains roll in from the mountains and its rainy season is capped with a nude mud run and wrestling festival! Its clays and ceramics are famous the world over, too. Her leaders expect the best, and they give the best, led by the current ilkhan and "sub ilkhans" it secretly keeps despite the Sutlan's express wishes for that not to be the case.
Redic's life isn't the most typical for those from Einad. He had insane expectations from an extremely strict father. Though this can often be the case when children are pressured to live up to military legacies and great smiths, Redic's father was stricter than most.
The military isn't as entwined with everyday life as Ohmes, but it can be seen everywhere. They follow their old gods, their old customs, and old traditions. Einad is a snapshot of the Sultanate's history. Harkening back to a time when husbands and wives were unions of those who wished to have a higher bond than those others they may take as nightly trists of passion and unite their estates together. A time when celebrations were plenty, drinking was public, and joyous merriment was the expectation and not a taboo. Where at a moment's notice the populace could take up arms and form a formidable fighting force if threatened.
Einad was pivotal in stopping the Rotten King, tides upon tides, waves, an ocean of undead breaking upon her sword and shields failing to break through the great cliffs of Einad while Ohmish troops in Pyri fought, scorched earth, withdrew, and fought again until hey wore the armies of the undead down... Einad stood its ground there, on the spot, and stopped them firm. they paid for it in blood but were showered with riches and favours by the old Khanate. It's mercenaries are renowned the world over and fetch the highest prices of any... raking in huge sums of money for Einad itself as most all of these are organized by Einad as foreign legions fighting on behalf of forces the world over.
Shit, what did Pyri do to piss them off so much?
Also, I'm Confused. From the game it looked like the Zahara were losing the war, so how did they manage to broker a peace by getting their land back?
Pyri was one of the states that broke away from Lorum and were very aggressive in pushing its borders with others, even ignoring some pretty serious crisis' in the world to take advantage and strike when others were weakest. They made insane fortifications across their territory and others and were insanely good at resisting siege warfare, just pissing people off the world over forcing months/years long sieges... which broke the supplies and logistics of the sieging force even.
The Zahra didn't lose a war to Pyri. They lost to Ohmes... well, more accurately they lost to
a single Ohmish noble house that wanted something from the Zahra, specifically, and cut Pyri in half to get that thing. It took multiple surrounding nations and the Orderites of Mourning Valley to excise them, and lands of Pyri (traditionally/formerly the Zahra) were given back to the Zahra to keep Pyri cut in half.
The Zahra are more than likely capable of holding Pyri back on their own. Especially with how fucking unorganized the northern Pyri is and the insanely hilarious long time it takes for the two halves to communicate with each other since the Zahra won't let them just go through their territory and force them to skirt the mountain range/go past Einad which results in mixed results depending how much Einad wants to fuck with the couriers that day. Northern Pyri has access to one of the greatest forts in history... Umbregada, and have failed year after year to hold it for more than a few months at a time. If they could secure it they could expand a TON of their territory. Also where one of the largest mercenary wars is being fought right now with seasonal campaigns.
Zahra had the land returned as part of a major fuck you to Pyri by Einad and others in the region that brokered peace. There's not much going on in said land in terms of resources etc, it's mostly arid savannah transitioning into grass steppes. Technically not even any real settlements of worth that Pyri had, some ancient Zahra ruins here and there and a couple small villages of Pyri people (formerly, they were relocated)... but it was kind of critical to Pyri for obvious reasons.