Keriokois Primeans

Introduction

Keriokois, a proud and martial people hailing from Pheranthos and Daxis. In the glory days of the First Kingdom, the City of Kerios boasted the formidable Epilektoi, or the Chosen, that were responsible for dispensing with an entire Heartlands cavalry regiment during the Battle of Lessholdt. They are known for their culture of heroism, and their belief in the demigod status of many canonized saints in their history, a belief that is frequently misunderstood. A rigid militarist society, but one built on a set of moral virtues set around the idea of personal improvement and maintenance. Keriokois are “civilized killers”, to quote admirers in the historical record.

Physical Appearance

The Keriokois are a stout people, with an average height among men ranging from 5’6 to 5’8 and 5’2 to 5’3 among women. They are traditionally seen with black hair and fair to tan skin, but never darker.

Culture

Morality

Keriokois virtue is rigidly enforced by its warrior culture. Fitness is an expectation, vice and slothfulness is a sign of grave weakness. In the earliest period of antiquity, the Keriokois practiced a brutal tradition of exile, particularly where moral conscience was offended. Families are expected to produce offspring for the betterment and strength of the Keriokois phalanxes, a colloquial description of their military that owes to their continental fame. As such, the strength of the family is placed above all other virtues. Adulterers are put to death, and marriages are often arranged between families of high status to maintain strong ties. Homosexual relationships are anathema to the Keriokois, and instances of such result in exile. A philosophical belief in the value of community, children are educated by city-established tutors in communal centers. Children dedicated to the military, designated as the Keriotiate, live in communal centers away from their family. Keriokois philosophy emphasizes the need for cohesion against spontaneity, unity above the individual.

The Keriokois practice a form of slavery akin to that of the old Empire of the Elves. They enslave the weak, non Keriotiate of their population, as well as non-Primeans hailing from foreign lands. Old stories used to tell of Keriokois slaver bands roaming the Reveian Continent, taking captives from Lomeria and as far north as the Lower Heartlands. Before the Keriokois subjugation at the hands of the Elves, the Keriokois enslaved many of the Primeans who lived around them.

Women are offered equal status in almost all matters, allowed even to compete with men in sports. While they are denied positions in the Keriotiate, they are permitted to join the girousia and even the Ephors if circumstances allow.

Consumption is limited to alcohol, but to drink until inebriation is considered sinful. Still, the problem has afflicted the Keriokois people for some time. Drugs are seen with suspicion, and smoking is only undertaken in celebratory settings.

Customs

Keriokois customs revolve around their rigid hierarchy, and caste-like devotion to militarist supremacy. The Keriotiate Families: the rulers, warriors, and high status of the Keriokois City-States are to be treated with reverence by the other two lower castes. When in their presence, one is expected to bow. Among the Keriotiate, members will raise their hand, palm facing outward to whoever they are saluting. With the hand parallel in line with their chest, the Keriotiate signal mutual respect and greeting.

Below the Keriotiate, the everyday Keriokois citizenry lives a relatively subsistent existence. Before their expansion and the formation of the First Kingdom, the Keriokois maintained a small population between Daxis and Pheranthos. Metassans, a larger group that inhabited the surrounding villages, were subjugated to fill the needs of the growing city-state. Some of their wealthier number retain their high status, but most were thrown into serf-style slavery, far below that of common peasants in Reveia. They are seen as lesser, even to this day, and the Metassan lineages are barred from the gerousia entirely.

Government

Keriokois government is one ruled by a dual kingship. These two kings have typically hailed from prominent lineages, the most notable of which being the Kodax, Scythas, and Koragos families. Kings are of the Keriotiate class, with no exceptions. Beneath the Kings, the Girousia and Ephors together maintained the power of the monarchs. They were made up of Keriokois citizens, with the Keriotiate given preference in the elections. Metassans traditionally did not possess any right to participation, and still today there are legal mechanisms in place to discourage them.

The Girousia is a body of twenty-eight citizens, who are charged with passing “Writs of Disapproval” on laws enacted by the Kings. When a writ is passed, the Girousia is said to have halted by the authority of Philagros, the law or initiative in question. A writ is a serious matter, and the Girousia is instructed only to undertake such political moves when the Kings have crossed good sense and virtue. Otherwise, the Girousia works by the principle of “Resolution by Majority”, a method of legislation that takes an advisory role to the rest of the government.

The Ephors are a body of five citizens charged with the ultimate duty of approving major political initiatives of the dual kings. They are responsible for blessing the wars, treaties, and other key events in Keriokois history. The Kings have tried to circumvent their authority, and have only succeeded in fringe cases where the Ephors were less assertive.

The government was founded by Philagros, described as the architect of the Keriokois political system. Today, he is still revered as a statesman and politician, whose wisdom is invoked in an almost divine way. It is believed that the lineages mentioned prior were blessed by the Soldier himself, who ordained their rule in the early days of the Trium’s spread.

Diplomacy

Keriokois diplomacy is infamous among the Primeans. They are assertive, often reckless, and expansionist. Before the arrival of the Elves and Triumist missionaries, the Keriokois waged several wars against the neighboring Helaclossan and Sadafi states.

Religion

Keriokois religion is collection of several influences from Primean regional history, from the first Triumist missionaries to the old cults of the Keriotiate and Metassan groups. They are, to this day, dominated by the Conclavist Church and the Patriarchs therein. However, there exists a variety of old cults that inhabit the outer villages and towns, outside the purview of the Primean administrations and even as deeply rooted as the Keriotiate.

The Trium maintains an active role in governing the Keriokois cities. In Pheranthos, they operate through citizen militias modeled after older cultural practices, and when directed by the clergy, will conduct an active policing of moral law. Due to the Keriokois belief in personal virtue, punishments are often done in public for all to see. Lashings, beatings, and other corporal punishments are common.

Cults

The Cult of Lakia, is a cult devoted to the deity Lakia, who is said to watch over the Lakian Strait. In the old days, the Keriokois would pray over the safe passages of their ships, trusting in Lakia to see them through to their destination amidst the rocky faces of either landmass. Due to its material importance, the Cult of Lakia still maintains infamy in Pheranthos as a minor heresy, one that the Conclavists have tried to root out. Some Primean figures have attempted to syncretize the Cult with the Trium, with little success.

The Cult of Tirocles is a cult that saw an initial popularity among the Keriotiate and military castes of the Keriokois cities. They were the major threat to Trium missionaries in the early engagements, leading to several violent tensions in the City of Daxis. Tirocles is seen as a particularly vengeful god of war, requiring of the Keriotiate an even stricter code of discipline than that of the culture at large. Stories of Keriotiate warriors engaging in bloodletting rituals to show their devotion have long plagued the Keriokois religious history, and even more so the tales of Keriotiate warriors killing infants who were seen as deformed.

The Ephetros are a mythically revered group among the Keriokois, the only accepted cult among the Cities of Daxis and Pheranthos. Many young politicians in the Girousia and Ephors have claimed lineage from the Ephetros, but truthfully the heritage is quite rare among the Keriotiate Caste. The Ephetros are a warrior cult, recruiting the able-bodied and unmarried men of the initiative Keriotiate classes to join their ranks. They are a group roughly numbering over a hundred, and are sent into the wilderness to train, hunt, and hone their skills. The Church maintains a tense relationship with them, as to tread against the popularity of the Ephetros is to invite rebellion even among the most faithful Primeans. They are rumored to eschew the requirements of civilized life, taking on the spirit of predator animals and claiming a position outside humandom itself. The Reveians largely call members who transition from this group insane, and many church officials have attempted to outlaw their organization. Still, the Ephetros hold a deep belief in their own spiritual invulnerability, and show their worship to the gods that have sponsored their bloodlust, usually Tirocles or the Soldier. Stories of the Ephetros committing brutal massacres in Sadafi villages in the south, or Grapeland towns in the north, have long plagued the history books.

History

Compiled by the Clergy of Pheranthos

The Keriokois people are resilient, and their place in history is no different. House Kodaxes, from which the Doux hails from, displays to the world the cunning and political dominance the Keriokois were known for throughout their history. One could tell many tales of the niches and mysteries of Keriokois cults or old struggles, but for our purposes the recent history will do.

The Demontide Invasions that interceded the separation of the BR and AR eras saw the conquest of the Primean city-states in their totality. The Sadafi and Vemic forces who provided aid to the Demontide subjected the Keriokois to brutal slavery, mocking their newfound subjects by replacing temple icons with that of their own dark gods. They were the first to liberate themselves from the dark aligned powers when Valthour departed from Reveia, reforming the Reveian Kingdom with aid from the Grapeland houses.

The Keriokois were ruled over by the Sadafi, though not willingly. Brutal conflicts between the Reveian and Sadafi Empires dominated the period after the end of the demonic invasions. Both powers, ignorant to the spirit of the Keriokois that lived in the land, were shocked when the defenders at Trota nearly reduced the city to ash rather than surrender. It was said that the Ephetros killed over three thousand Sadafi marauders on their own before falling in battle, numbering only a hundred. These conflicts lasted until the Hashid Crisis, an event that began after the ascension of House Valestios to the throne of Reveia.

The Hashid Crisis allowed the Keriokois to once again take command of their own destinies. With support of the new King and Queen of Reveia, their armies managed to push the Sadafi to Kelae before meeting the revolutionary violence of the Hashid Crisis. It was there that the Keriokois called an end to their reclamation, granting Kelae to their Helaclossan heirs. House Kodaxes ascended to the highest honors of Primean politics, a respected great house in the Reveian political landscape. Today, that legacy has remained an important reminder of the Keriokois’ bloody and resilient history.