"By His endless grace, I am the Emperor's will."

Low Fantasy | The Wars of Atesia

Art From: 村壱 雀

Previously on Atesia...

Duelists weep, the crowds cheer, and Lucia Ferra has made a name for herself.

Interesting people were seen interacting with Lucia along the way; we may not know who they are, but their presence no doubt had an impact on Lucia.

Though, someone was raving about a "moskette" that some young woman was carrying.

Hmph, never mind that. Let's take a look at more serious matters.

The Thornornas! Have... receded? King Alaric has restored Ashwark and seems to be consolidating the Thornoran people!?

Strange! You cannot put two Thornorans inside one room without one leaving with a knife in his gizzard.

Additionally, the raiding has started to trickle down. Both Bruria and Adraysal are seeing less Thornor activity near their borders.

Perhaps a brutal invasion, famine, and civil war was all it took to finally civilize these savages. Perhaps they've grown soft.

This development is pretty convenient for the Empire, a little bit too convenient. Is it possible that the Evranai weren't really the "strongest" tribe, yet won anyways?

A dead chieftain here. A burnt granary there. Little conveniences that shifted their civil war.

Could it be that the Empire has its reach much farther than its borders and armies?

HIS IMPERIAL HANDS AND EYES

UNDER SEAL OF IMPERIAL SECRECY

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MISSIVE

Bruria has brazenly dispatched envoys to the Imperial Capital under the guise of diplomacy.

Intelligence suggests ulterior motives, likely to disrupt Imperial peace and stability.

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ERRANT KNIGHT(S)

Gaia Caelia is hereby appointed Errant Knights-Commander, vested with full authority to command Errant Knights in service to His Majesty.

All knights undertaking this quest must swear to secrecy.

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DUTIES

• Ascertain whether Bruria intends or prepares for military action against the Empire.

• Investigate the source and nature of Brurian claims concerning a “living god.”

• Transmit findings exclusively through the secure raven network.

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INTELLIGENCE

The Brurians are split into two administrative regions, Adatos and Legatos. Adatos is administered by the capital, Parvila, seat of the Brurian Holy Council. Legatos is administered by the military stronghold of Satonta. Satonta was the former Brurian capital, and is home to one of the oldest temples in Bruria, making it a natural rallying point for fanatical militants.

Almost all Brurian cities are placed along the coasts, with the interior mostly being devoted to temples, homesteads, and farmland.

Movement through Brurian lands will prove difficult due to general Brurian suspicion. Efforts to learn Brurian customs is encouraged to avoid discovery.

Intelligence has also reported about a mysterious island the Brurians refer to as Zaraqis. Unchecked access to Zaraqis is quite difficult as the waters surrounding the island are well patrolled by the Brurian navy. Zaraqis may house something of great importance to the Brurians, given the security.

Almost all charters sailing to Zaraqis originate from Parvila and are usually permitted through the naval blockade without much challenge.

PARVILA - Points of Interest

The Basilica - Seat of the Holy Council.

Circle of Elaine - Gathering place for pilgrims to charter boats to religious sites.

Shattered Dome - A ruin that demands absolute silence. A place for meditation.

Temple of Veol - A place for absolution through self-punishment.

SATONTA - Points of Interest

Fatav's Honor - A stone citadel that is the seat of Satonta's governor.

Fatav's Maw - A seaside cavern that resembles a beast's maw. A shrine to Fatav is located inside.

Old Market - A place for warrior monks to buy talismans and trinkets to adorn themselves with.

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CARRY OUT HIS MAJESTY’S WILL WITHOUT FAIL

FOR THE PEOPLE OF ADRAYSAL

Gaia Caelia

(Full Backstory in Bot Personality)

Gaia is an Errant Knight serving within the Emperor’s personal order, His Imperial Hands and Eyes.

These knights are no ceremonial guards, nor soldiers of the line.

They do not march in formation, and their deeds are rarely spoken of.

Few know they exist at all, a thankless duty devoid of glory or recognition, yet vital to the Empire’s reach and dominion.

The Caelii have served the Emperor for generations, devout and unwavering in their loyalty.

For Gaia, this commission is the highest honor: she is the Emperor’s will made flesh, his hand extended into the dark.

She will undertake her charge without hesitation; to succeed, or die in the attempt.

Join her as she ventures into the shrouded lands of Bruria, seeking the truth behind their so-called “living god.”

{{user}}

The intention is for you to come along with Gaia and help her out, but there's nothing saying that you really have to. You can always just make your character a Brurian and just, you know, walk right in.

To aid in your journey, I put some hints below on keywords that will move the story along in a "chapter". I've tried to leave breadcrumbs in the lorebook so that this will happen naturally, but if it doesn't, you can say the keywords in green to progress.

Basically, you can turn the page yourself or see if the LLM will trigger the script!

Tested with DeepSeek V3 0324, your mileage may vary with other LLMs!

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Chapter A. Determine intention of military action.

• Be in the Legatos region.

• Find a way to get into Satonta.

• Find a way into one of their administrative buildings: Aerold's Rest. (Or "Fatav's Honor", which should be adjacent.)

• Get your hands on the Council's Missive that's in the abbot's study. Read it. (Script should spit out what's written on it when you say the keyword.)

• After you've read it, go ahead and read the spoiler below!

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The Reveal at Satonta (Spoilers - highlight to read)

Yes, Bruria does indeed want to go to war. Not just with the Empire, but with the entirety of Atesia.

Will other Brurians stand for this? How will the Mathyrans fare? Is the Empire ready?

We shall see soon enough. First, we need to know the reason behind all of this fervor.

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Chapter B. Investigate the religious claims.

• Be in the Adatos region.

• Find a way to sneak into Parvila.

• Swing by the Circle of Elaine and try to get in a group that's heading to Zaraqis.

• Arrive at Zaraqis and hail the guards (if they do not hail you first) with "Koskavitai!" It's a custom, you know, pretty rude if you don't. After that, you can probably follow a priest to wherever you need to go.

• After you're revealed what lies under Zaraqis, go ahead and read the spoiler below!

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The Reveal at Zaraqis (Spoilers - highlight to read)

Assuming you've made it to Zaraqis and entered the tomb. You will likely find a disturbing sight.

Refer to this picture for a proper visual:

https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/129647514

It demands submission. It grants transformation. It is Kos! The living(?) god!

Kos itself cannot force you. It will persuade you with whispers. Its followers will try to force you to kneel.

But ultimately, there's no magical element making you kneel.

That being said, its existence will change Atesia forever.

So... yeah. This is how I'm introducing other races into Atesia. They're originally humans that prayed to a strange skeleton on some far off island. lmao. Still 'low fantasy' I guess, since magic is still in the background and not heavily used.

My Corner

Ever CAG'd out in harness?

This one was honestly a longshot but I kind of wanted to do something like this for a while.

It might be not very coherent since I'm introducing so many concepts at the same time, but it, we ball.

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Anyways, I'll be on a semi-hiatus from two weeks up to two months. Check my announcement post for more details.

I will be on to play a bit or respond to messages. If I do write, it'll probably take more time than usual.

The next bot will be a PMC bot (whenever it comes out).

Hold on to your britches, because we're rolling with Ramskull again. 💀😈

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The System Prompt I used is from ᴍᴏʟᴇᴋ's ᴛɪᴘs ᴀɴᴅ ᴘʀᴏᴍᴘᴛs ғᴏʀ ᴅᴇᴇᴘsᴇᴇᴋ

As always, thank you very much if you try out the bot and any feedback is welcome.

Please enjoy!