Conjuration By ThemeFinland Watch

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"The inner provinces were the most populous of all of the lands the white dragonoids controlled during their time. It consisted of 5 provinces. Elea, the southern province which was militaristically the most important, housing the majority of the empires military forces. Ianisis, the western province that was responsible for most technological advancements. Iosen, the northern province, mostly filled with swamp marshlands. Sola, the eastern province, containing arid drylands and an important place for religious activities, thanks to the vast deserts that allowed an unobstructed view of the night sky. And finally, Sesim, the central province, and the governing body of the entire empire. Around these 5 provinces existed the 12 outer provinces that were ruled by 4 counts and 8 barons, each with a province of their own which they ruled almost independently of the inner provinces that

were ruled by the emperor.



Those who are aware of the story of the moon serpents know what happened to the inner provinces prior to the great war. The discovery of moon magic lead to the slow degradation of these provinces, which culminated to the unintended creation of the moon serpents. Slenasea prior to becoming one herself advocated the use and studying of moon magic to the major governing bodies, the military, the intellectuals and the faithful. The faithful few from Sola were immediately impressed by this new form of mysticism and thought it would fit well into their ceremonies that celebrated the moon. The militaristic Elea were fast to adapt moon magic as well and develop new ways of using it, both for military purposes and for the good of the society as a whole. The intellectuals of Iansis were baffled and curious about it, many of the temples and academies there dedicating their time to studying it in their vast halls. Slowly the practice spread to Sesim and Iosen as well.



The outer provinces took a more conservative stance upon the use of moon magic as during this time Slenasea had been losing popularity from the outer provinces due to her favoritism over the inner provinces, so majority of the outer provinces had taken a cautious stance against anything that came from there, albeit hiding this from Slenasea herself to the best of their ability. It is true that Slenasea herself probably intentionally delayed the spread of this magic to the outer provinces as to allow her own people to experiment with it first to avoid the outer provinces from innovating with it and turning it against her. As years went by communications between the capital Sesim and the outer provinces began to gradually stutter and die out, birthing a sense of suspense between the capital and the outer provinces. Messages were moving arduously in and out and a lot of the sluggish pace was written down as a result of bureaucracy. The tipping point was when first permanent changes caused by the practice of moon magic began to appear. Majority of the outer provinces rulers decided that this practice should be stopped before serious damage could be caused to the population.



While the outer provinces were bickering about the practice of moon magic to the deaf ears of Iansis and Sola, large changes were taking place in the capital which were spreading outwards to the surrounding provinces. Indeed Slenasea was clever to argue the main figures of the most prominent sects of the society on her side as once the moon serpents began to appear they were some of the first to transform due to being the first ones to adapt it. With their great reputation it was easy for them to convince their peers to follow them and become moon serpents themselves. However some of the prominent figures who saw what was happening shortly disappeared, either by fleeing the capital that was slowly becoming more and more fanatic or by imprisonment. The intellectuals at Ianisis tempting the people with the promise of a higher level of consciousness and the faithful few of Sola preaching the transformation as a step to becoming closer to the moon itself. While this was happening Slenasea was puppeteering the capital, which by now had become entirely silent to the outside. Slenaseas own transformation to a moon serpent threw more wood to the fire as people now saw even more legitimacy to the claims the people of Ianisis and Sola were feeding to the

public.



This clearly did not sit well with the outer provinces that were already started to become more vocal of their opposition to the inner provinces and were preparing their armed forces. The outer provinces lacking in military force compared to the inner provinces began to conscript people to their newly formed army which consisted of all of the armed forces of each of the 12 outer provinces. Those who were unfortunate enough to practice moon magic in the outer provinces at this time were hunted and persecuted, often executed in grotesque displays at town centers. The rising tensions between Slenasea and the rulers of the outer provinces as well as forceful conscription and persecution of practicers of moon magic caused masses of people to seek refuge outside of the empire, rather living in primitive settlements built from sticks and stones than risk arm and leg in war. Majority of the practicers of moon magic instead decided to seek refuge from the inner provinces, an act that would lead to heavy punishment if caught, however in the inner provinces these people were of course welcomed with open arms. It was not long however until all ties with the inner province were cut and the rulers prepared for a bloody war."

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