NEW VOSTOKA HISTORY -- Part IV "The Lucid Ages"

PREFACE: Remember this? I got around to finishing the remaining maps and written sections, pertaining to New Vostoka's 700 year history! Its a bit wordy but, for those of you who enjoy world building and geopolitical history stuff, I hope you enjoy the rest of these!

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    The following year in 435Æ, the fifth Interval began - the Lucid Ages. New Vostoka would experience a burst of enlightenment and reformations, after the horrors of the Pantheon Wars left many disillusioned with the institutions that created them. The Dominion of the Greater Reverent - being the chief example - slowly balkanized into numerous semi-autonomous Provincial Republics that united into the Khelod Guild Confederation as the Order of the Diarchs experienced numerous reforms post Schism which curtailed its political authority. The most consequential of these was the Benediction: a movement which saw the rise of the Holy Triumvicarum, organized and tasked with rooting out apostasy and purging the Order and its congregation of the now heretical interpretations of Kolar, which included all manner of witchcraft, Dark Arkana, and patronage of the Pandaemonic Sovereigns. A number of Inquisitions and Iconoclasts followed, which pushed the “original” Kolar sect into the shadows and “cleansed the faith” of the Diarchs, the two gods now viewed as [mostly] equals rather than opposing forces.

     The Lucid Ages were also kinder to the “lesser” Kin-races, as entire cities began to crop up with populations of Dreg, Vermis, Grae, and even Kathar, which began to mingle with more diverse populations throughout the Stalriek. The Protectorates - which overtime merged into one larger territory - hosted most of these cities and provided a cultural melting pot south of Karrikos, which meanwhile faced its own Reconstruction via the assistance of the Confederation [and to a lesser extent the still highly isolationist Cyotek]. These came with some costs outlined in the articles of surrender, which disbanded the united Horde armies of the Clans, established a Confederate province around the Eye of Karrik, and enforced a trade levy which drained many treasures of the Old Monarchy from the region northward into the Khelod Confederacy for study. Moreover, redrawn boundaries within Karrikos, and then later the total abolition of Grae-kin slavery, led to friction between the contrasting sects of the Karrikan faith which would largely shape the culture of Karrikos until the Second Pantheon Wars.

The Confederacy itself become its own melting-pot, as races from every corner of Vostoka immigrated to the thriving nation; bringing their own ideas, innovations, and unique cultural elements. Cyotek in particular found themselves fleeing the fundamentalist, often oppressive Patriarchal society of Kolov, and resettling in provinces to the west. This led to a crucial juncture for the House Nobility within Kolov, as each House found itself splitting between the progressives and traditionalists - an affair that would result in catastrophe by the next Interval. 

     Meanwhile, the Guilds of the Confederation also struggled with internal unrest over the reforming feudalist political structure; without the centralized support of the Reverential Order, the Guild Barons faced mounting pressure to abdicate their positions and allow the fledgling People’s Syndicate movement to install party councils at the head of each Guild. This movement was in part caused by the sweeping technological progress throughout Vostoka during the Lucid Ages, leading to the inevitable industrialization of trades such as mining, agriculture, forgery, smithing, and goods manufacturing. The rift between wealthy nobility [such as the Barons] and the laboring class widened, prompting an era of instability throughout each province. This was exacerbated by the Barons’ lack of unity, as the loose bonds of the confederation succumbed to its own sheer growing weight of territory, resources, and population. With Guild trade membership [now the central aspect of Khelod society] haphazardly spread across the Provinces, each Baron looked to each other’s territories with envy. The closing years of the third Lucid Age saw a sharp rise in militarism and innovation in armor, weaponry, and transport [including airships - an invention of the Cyotek], as the Barons initiated an arms race with impending consequences.

     In total, the Lucid Ages are divided into 5 eras [“Ages”] - 2 of which encompass the next Interval - roughly half a century each, defined by the dominant movements, ideologies, and technological developments therein:

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• The Lucid Age of Illumination [435 - 484Æ] begins in the wake of the Pantheon War and its horrors, and is seen as the “light” at the end of a black era. The most defining factors of the age are the rise of Education, Medicine, and Arkana as the driving forces of wisdom and advancement; with the founding of many institutions of magic, repositories of knowledge, and academies of learning - most notably those in the Sage Cities of Riekwaulde Confederate Province. The ongoing ordeal of the Blight Rot, having gripped a bulk of the Ashen Peninsula, spurs an emergent medical revolution, led by the Plague Clerics who would later fold into the Triumvicarum. A significant portion of this Age is also dedicated to exploration, as the furthest corners of the Realm are mapped in expeditions that contribute immensely to the disciplines of cartography, botany, zoology, and geography. Colonial undertakings in what would become modern-day Tyvos and Skoros begin in this Age, with varying degrees of success [Tetryans from Xiros and some Confederates successfully explore the frigid north, while Karrikos and Kolov struggle to pierce the unforgiving wastes of the southern ice shelves]. Attempts at Diplomatic outreach to the nation of Xiros were also tried at this time, with minimal but surprising returns; the Tetryan Queen broke the veil of isolation and revealed their own encounter with the Blight Rot in the Osrieks - prompting a small but united front to contain the disease in various quarantines throughout the Realm.
  
• The Lucid Age of Reforms [485 - 535Æ] The political weight of the dominant religious orders begins to subside in this time, with numerous church and government reforms occurring throughout each nation. The Triumvicarum is established, as are a number of other organizations built on maintaining peace and economic prosperity; trade among the powers reaches its zenith with the Lattice [Crystal Sea] and Pale Exchange [Pale Sea] commerce lanes, and the unprecedented growth in major cities reflects the changing adaptations of technology and Arkana in daily life. During this age, the United Protectorates see a sharp increase in local populations, with the establishment of many cities of, by, and for the Vermkin, Dregkin, and Graekin, built around the mercantilist mecca of Karrik’s Maw, birthplace of the Triad - economically linking nearly every nation of the Stalriek. In Kolov, In one of the few [initially] bloodless power struggles in history, several Cyotek Houses are split and new Houses established - divided by the emigrant radicals and the Kolov traditionalists, leading to the popular notion of the “Two Societies” of Cyotek. Karrikos reaps the benefits of its modernization under the nearly 50  Reconstruction of the prior Age, and the 5 Great Clans once again break into smaller, more insular clanships and tribes - this time without the carnage of civil warfare - albeit heavily aligned with either major sect of the Karrikan faith: The Prae’tors and the Th’rashik.
  
• The Lucid Age of Philosophers [536 - 587Æ] Considered the most enlightening of the Lucid Ages, The Age of Philosophers produced some of the greatest minds of Vostokan history. The growing influence of the Sage Cities prompted a revolution of sciences and disciplines throughout the entire Realm, with every nation establishing their own centers of enrichment - pumping out eager minds, creations, and schools of both thought and worship. Modern Alchemy became the dominant facilitator of most technologies and Arkanic applications in the Stalrieks, and the practice and understanding of AEGIS reached unprecedented levels. The first Airships were produced by the Cyotek, and rapidly spread across Vostoka, igniting an entire revolution in transportation - accelerating trade and migration. The burgeoning Syndicalist faction now gripped at the core fabric of the Khelod Confederacy, pushing the nation to the brink of revolution as the Provincial Guild Barons refused to relinquish power or unite under common cause. In the Osrieks, it is believed that the Tetrya of Xiros created the microcosal realm of The Menagerie in this Age. Other discoveries of this time include Feryns Disease, automated brewing, and textile manufacturing.
  
• The Lucid Age of Steel [588 - 645Æ] The first 11 years of this Age were a prelude to war, sparked by the Alchemic invention of Blackpowder and its immediate military application into firearms, which prompted the great Arms Race of the Realm. The discovery of a new liquid fuel in the Eye of Karrik, Noxoleum, ignited the Surge - a drilling rush to acquire and siphon as much of it as possible, here and wherever else it could be found [straining relations within the Confederacy and Karrikos]. This series of events led to the inevitable outbreak of the Industrious War, coinciding with a number of lesser conflicts that combined to make the Second Pantheon Wars. While these wars raged, military innovations continued uninhibited, feeding the engines of conflict and chaos - defining the 6th Interval. Moreover, obsessive interest in acquiring Old Monarchy technology resurfaced as reverse engineering became a realized possibility; with some previously unburied artifacts and monuments, providing the foundations of new architecture and new technologies that launched the realm into an era of progress otherwise marred by geopolitical conflict.
  
• The Lucid Age of Machines [646 - 671Æ]-- The ongoing Industrious War did not halt nor slow the now deadly march of progress, as greater and more efficient means of performing mechanized bloodshed continued. The use of weaponized Alchemic gas, advanced firearms, and armored Airships became commonplace, and more terrifying additions to the battlefield would soon follow; in 656Æ, research into ancient abandoned Machines of the Old Monarchy yielded a new potential race: The Automata. Originally piloted war-machines, breakthroughs in Alchemy-AEGIS infused engineering granted a semblance of sentience that would revolutionize both warfare and labor throughout Vostoka, as entire cities [namely those in the Confederacy] became factory-towns for producing the intelligent behemoths. The other most significant breakthrough was that of Rail and Rail-engine transport, which would not see much practical commercial use until after the war.