[center][h1][b]Unity through Blood[/b][/h1]
129.2-258.2
(101AE-200AE)[/center]
Qa-Avnel's ayel overlords waited and bided their time in their fortified home for decades while to the north the barbaric Yossodites who had yet to see the light of their civilization fought each other and died for nothing. The ayels waited until they were as weak as possible, until they were the ripest for the conquest that would bring them into their fold and forever put an end to any threat they might pose to Qa-Avnel's hegemony. And in 131.2 (102AE), they decided that the perfect time had come. The polities in the north were embroiled in yet another conflict, and expected nothing from Qa-Avnel but the occasional raid that was typical all along any border in Yossod. After all, they had sat quietly for decades. But the silence was broken when a massive raid was launched across the border, quickly taking many of the westernmost towns, which was quickly followed by a likewise strike from the east of Qa-Avnel. With most of the armies of the independent Yossodites either busy fighting one another or exhausted from such warring, they were easy pickings for the better equipped warriors of Qa-Avnel. Within months half of the Yossodite polities had come under the control of Yossod and in the opening months of 132.2 (103AE) the last independent Yossodite city had fallen to the might of Qa-Avnel. And with that the entirety of the Yossod highlands and its people had come under the control of Qa-Avnel and its ayels, or so they thought.

But when the victorious armies began to march south confident in their victories and ripe with plunder from fallen enemies, they came under attack. At first it was only the occasional raids, and the warriors thought it simply large numbers of bandits who had ridden the wake of chaos the armies had made as they had marched northwards. But then they came to a previously conquered city, only to find it in enemy hands and requiring another battle to return it to friendly hands. Likewise, all across northern Yossod the armies of Qa-Avnel were finding similar situations. When word of this came to ayel, a good number were furious and nearly all of them agreed to pull warriors from the rest of Qa-Avnel's territories to reinforce the armies in the north. What would follow would be a full decade of strife and chaos in the northern highlands as the populace simply [i]refused[/i] to bow to Qa-Avnel. At one point even the territory taken from King Shetai in 105.2 (80AE) came under rebel control and those who had embraced the culture and beliefs of Qa-Avnel were routinely attacked and forced to flee south into safer lands. And it was then that the ayels had to make a choice; for the first time the idea of peacefully integrating conquered humans fell out of favour and a more brutal course of action was deemed necessary.

The end of the decade of strife would come with two separate incidents, the Sack of Ra-Hata and the Massacre of Akim. Ra-Hata was one of the largest cities in the north, and had long been a bastion of the rebellious population as it had only fallen during the original advance north. But in 140.2 (109AE) it fell once more to the armies of Qa-Avnel, and when it did retribution was swift as official word from the ayels themselves had ordered the warriors of Qa-Avnel to show no mercy to their enemies. Great Ra-Hata was completely destroyed, burnt to the ground and its bricks torn down to be taken back to Qa-Avnel to be used in the construction of a grand temple. As for the population themselves, many were slaughtered outright while the rest were taken prisoner. Of those imprisoned some became thralls while most would be marched to Lake Akim. And at Lake Akim they were met with a number of other prisoners from across the rebellious north, several thousand in total. And at Lake Akim they were butchered down to the last man, woman, and child for their role in the rebellion. Such brutal tactics and atrocities became common across the north, though not on that scale, wearing down the rebels as well as their will to fight. Eventually in 141.2 (109AE) the decade of strife would be considered at an end as the only remaining rebels were small holdouts.

However, the northern regions were ravaged by the armies of Qa-Avnel and many regions were no longer in open rebellion simply because they no longer had the manpower to war upon Qa-Avnel any longer. But the war revealed a major weakness in Qa-Avnel's armies to the ayels: they were, quite simply, composed almost entirely simple levied warriors. Yossodite warriors were simple peasants most of the year whose only experience came from border raiders. The armies levied from the interior of Yossod were noticeable less effective due to the simple fact that they had no experience with raiding unlike their counterparts on the borders. And even then they were not fit for garrison duty or easily holding vast tracts of land, which was why so much of the north was able to rebel before the campaign had even finished. In order to combat this, the ayels decreed the creation of a force of full-time warriors. Though they would be small in number, their ranks would be drawn from volunteers and orphans born and raised to fight. This group would be known as the Brotherhood of the Covenant after the Covenant of Blood, a ritual in which the Brothers swore to shed the blood of the enemies of God as well as to shed their own blood in the defense of their God, his Chosen Children (the ayels), and Qa-Avnel.

But the formation of the Brotherhood was only a small part of something greater, for the ayels also realized that with all their newly gained territory they couldn't simply just appoint loyal governors to all the settlements. Indeed they had already allowed most of the governors to appoint their own successors for ease of governance. So it was now that the ayels decided to both restructure the government of Qa-Avnel's hegemony as well as to codify the new faith of all of Yossod. However, with several hundred ayels all having a say it took over a decade for the ayels to finish the reformation. The Brotherhood of the Covenant itself was not even established until 146.2 (113AE) and the political reforms and codification of their faith would not be finished until 155.2 (120AE).

But when they were finished, they did not drastically change the political system. The ayels had decided to transform Yossod (for they had officially declared their state as Yossod after their conquests in the north) from a [i]de facto[/i] theocracy into a [i]de jure[/i] one. The only ones who could hold governing positions were those who were officially ordained as priests, though they could appoint whomever they wished into advisory positions, and most were allowed to choose their successors from any individual also ordained as a priest. However, Yossod itself was divided into 7 different administrative divisions ruled over by a High Priest. The High Priest, however, was not allowed to appoint his successor. Instead they were appointed (and were almost always a priest from one of towns within the region they controlled) by an individual who held the title of Prophet. The Prophet was the human ruler of Yossod, and dealt with the running of the state itself as well as being responsible for communicating the will of the ayels to Yossod. And furthermore the status of the ayels themselves were codified as the Ayelic Council, the ultimate and supreme authority within Yossod which contained all the ayels that lived. And finally, the Brotherhood of the Covenant was unique in that it operated throughout Yossod and as such their leader, the First Brother, was subject to none but the Prophet and the Ayelic Council itself.

The religion itself was finally codified in a series of edicts which firmly established the theology of the faith. The predominant themes of the edicts were those of loyalty and subservience to the One Almighty God. Also of importance was that God created the Earth for the mortal races, to serve them with food and materials; the Earth itself was not a deity or worth worship. And in addition it told the story of how the ayels were the Chosen Children of God who once lived in paradise upon the Moons before being forced to flee by the treacherous and traitorous races whom God had created the Sun for, and for whom in his wroth God drove from the Moons and set their homeland on the Sun to be nightless and scorched for eternity. And the edicts also told if how upon their death, the souls of the Faithful will be allowed entry to the paradise of the Moons no matter their race, for God loves those who love him. But more important than the Edicts themselves were that they were written down, for there was no Yossodite written language. Instead the ayels had created the Ayelic Script based upon their own writings for the Yossodite language. And even more than that was the establishment of the Qa-Avnel School, which would serve as a learning institution for aspiring priests, and would eventually expand to intellectual subjects not entirely religious in nature and whose example would serve as the basis for schools in the largest Yossodite cities.

The next several decades were once again of peace in Yossod; though there were small groups of rebels in the north they had been reduced to simple brigands and bandits and when they showed their faces the Brotherhood dealt with them harshly. The north was integrated peacefully through proselytizing, intimidation, and the importation of loyal Yossodites from the south. This time would also show the beginnings of the many priestly dynasties of Yossod, for the priests were not disallowed from having children and so many chose to ordain their chosen son and have them succeed them. And in this time of peace the Ayelic Council and succession of Prophets would work to improve and expand Yossod's trade networks, both within the nation and to the other polities around it. Yossod itself would come to be an important trade node for a number of reasons including the fertile soil of the highlands as well as the gold and silver that would come to be discovered in the southern reaches of Yossod. Though the distances involved meant that there was no direct contact with any other major civilizations, items from Yossod would on occasion reach them and vice versa. And throughout this, Yossod would grow ever stronger and more populous. Which would prove to be both a curse and, eventually, a blessing.

The signs had been showing themselves for many years prior, it was a bad harvest in the year 227.2 (175AE) that would bring about famine in Yossod. The population had grown many times over since the ayels had first revealed themselves over 2 centuries ago, and while there had been some advancements in agriculture the population had finally grown too large for Yossod to support. There was mass famine all throughout the highlands, though the most affected were the peasantry as the priests could, for the most part, afford to buy what little food their was. And, of course, the ayels themselves dined on the carcasses of fresh kills as they always had. And though the ayels were aware, it was only when a priest and his entire family were butchered and eaten in a town only a few days ride from Qa-Avnel that the ayels realized the extent of the food shortages. The people responsible for the attack were, of course, ordered to be executed by the Brotherhood, but the ayels realized they needed to do something and so they looked to the southwest.

To the southwest was a land of deep crags and canyons, but with enough arable land to support at least a fair population and, the ayels assumed, gold and silver as such found in southernmost Yossod. And the ayels saw this sparsely populated region as the solution to their problems. The only thing standing in their way were those few inhabitants the land had. Though there was few of them, they were not human. No, they were the great Promethean apes, remnants of the outposts and military campaigns of the Empire's attempts to conquer Yossod prior to their great plague. And though they were fewer in number, they were fierce warriors and knew the terrain far better than the Yossodites. But the ayels were confident, and while many Yossodites were wary of entering Promethean territory they did it for promises of food and wealth. And traveling among them were warriors of the Brotherhood as well as priests to attend to their spiritual needs as well serve as diplomats to the native Prometheans. 

The first expeditions were less than successful, either completely wiped out or suffering from constant Promethean raids. So the Ayelic Council decided on the most rational course of action: they declared war on the Promethean remnants and the next expedition they sent was not to found a town but to uproot and destroy as many Prometheans as they could. The campaign resulted in heavy casualties, but in the end the Yossodites were successful and able to establish several new settlements in previously Promethean territory, which would quickly grow as they were protected by the Brotherhood and there were many eager to flee from the food shortages in Yossod proper. However, one thing stood out to the people living there and that was the strange lack of Promethean raids. When news reached Qa-Avnel, the Ayelic Council made the decision to suspend the military campaign. Instead, heavily protected diplomatic missions were made into what remained of Promethean territory and what they discovered surprised them. They knew there were not very many Prometheans in the area, but they came to discover that nearly all of the Promethean warriors had perished in Yossod's campaign. And so Yossod made an offer to the Prometheans, they could surrender to Yossod and become vassals of the Prophet and Ayelic Council as well as abandon the Great Ape. Naturally the Prometheans refused, and so once more Yossod went to war. Once more they were successful, but once more they took heavy casualties because while the Prometheans were not warriors they still had a terrifying strength and many of the Yossodite warriors weren't properly fed.

This time the Prometheans were forced to accept Yossod's offer, but this time they were not so lenient. The Promethean rulers were brought to Qa-Avnel bound, and forced to kneel before the Prophet and offer their lands and positions to the Ayelic Council. And then they were given a choice: forsake the Great Ape and worship the Almighty of Yossod or die. Most of them chose death after their disgrace, but a few chose to convert. The Prometheans back at their settlement, excluding the children, were given the same choice and most chose death as well. The previously Promethean lands were opened to another influx of Yossodite settlers who set up new farms and mines in the region. The lands would quickly become integrated into Yossod controlled by two new High Priests, with integration being exceptionally quick thanks to the fact that the Yossodite humans vastly outnumbered the Prometheans who remained. 

Though the new farms didn't solve the famine overnight, some of the burden was removed from Yossod proper as people migrated and warriors died taking the land. And famine would end, and things would return back to normal in Yossod. The next 31 years would be another period of stability for Yossod and its new territories. The few Prometheans who remained in Yossod quickly became integrated by the indoctrination of their children combined with their short lifespans, and the fact that the Yossodites proved their superiority over the Prometheans didn't harm the effort. However, Promethean numbers remained incredibly low as their plague was still in full force. But now, with peace and stability, the overlords of Yossod are looking outwards. There are ayels who desire to keep the status quo, to fortify and hole up safe in the mountains to protect their race. But on the other hand there are ayels who desire to expand outwards, believing that the more people they bring under their yoke to serve as shields for their kind, the safer they will be. But even this group is divided; most wish to send their preachers far and wide along their trade routes to spread the Holy Word of the God, but they are a select few who view military might and conquest the most prudent and expedient route to safety.

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[b][h3]Major Events of Qa-Avnel/Yossod: Second Century[/h3][/b][/center]

[b]Cultural:[/b] The faith and religion of Yossod is formalized and codified by a series of Edicts made by the Ayelic Council. Furthermore, the first school is founded in Qa-Avnel, created for the purpose of training the priesthood. However, the curriculum expands to include topics that are not strictly religious, and eventually schools following this model would be founding in most major Yossodite cities.

[b]Technological:[/b] A few token advancements would be made in technology, but nothing major.

[b]Military:[/b] In 132.2 (103AE) a military campaign would be launched north to bring the remainder of Yossod under the control of Qa-Avnel. Though the campaign would quickly end in victory, it would result in near a decade of civil war and strife that would not conclude until 141.2 (109AE).

In response to the shortcomings of Qa-Avnel's army the Brotherhood of the Covenant, a holy order of professional soldiers, would be founded in 136.2 (113AE). Though it would only exist as a core of elite soldiers, and not as the sole military.

In response to a famine and a need for more land and resources, Yossod engages in a campaign into the southwest mountains against remnants of the Promethean Empire in 227.2 (175AE). Though it costs a great number of lives fighting the apes, it is a success and the Promethean leadership is humiliated and most choose death.

[b]Diplomacy:[/b] Further trade routes are established from Qa-Avnel and Yossod, and though there is no direct contact goods manage to make their way too and from Yossod.

[b]Government:[/b] The rather freeform government is replaced with an established with a codified theocracy, with priests holding direct political power and each subservient to nine regional High Priests, with the human ruler and face of the ayels being a Prophet directly appointed by the Ayelic Council (composed of every ayel alive). Thanks to the priests ability to name their successor and no ban on having children, priestly dynasties begin to develop.

[b]Territorial Expansion:[/b]
[img]http://i.imgur.com/PEOMQvD.png[/img]