Teladir
From Lithmeria
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The Teladir Confederacy
The fiercely independent, often nomadic tribes of Teladir were almost destroyed by the initial onslaught of the Sovereignty, each tribe fighting on its own against the well organised foe. When an internal schism bought the Teladiri time to regroup and reorganise they recognised the wisdom of collective action. The Teladir Confederacy was formed as both a military and economic alliance, bridging the divide between tribes for the first time in recorded memory. Guided by the Paragon Circle, the Teladir Confederacy fights a desperate battle to repel the Sovereignty but remains ever vigilant for opportunities to take the fight to their oppressors in the west.
Lore
The Accord of Teladir was forged to the beat of war drums. Formed out of necessity it represented the reluctant alliance of fiercely independent tribes in the face of an inexorable foe. It is in many ways still a work in progress, not entirely certain of its future or how it will look in decades to come. What is undeniable is that it is a necessity for the people of Teladir. The Accord is all that stands between the once solitary tribes and utter subjugation at the hands of the Sovereignty.
It's worth examining why despite seemingly identical starting points, the futures of the Teladiri and Aspalarian people diverged so wildly. Aspalaria gave birth to an empire that united the entire continent under one, iron fisted rule and the Teladiri remained fractured and independent. This independence and individualism is a great source of pride to the members of the Accord who feel that theirs is a legacy of freedom. Those in the Accord often sneer at their adversaries to the West, terming them slaves and drones, cogs in a brutal machine.
Genuine wars of conquest remained almost entirely unheard of upon Teladir until the Sovereignty invasion centuries later. There have been any number of explanations offered for this and as with many such questions, the truth can likely be found in some combination of several. First, the vast abundance of natural resources combined with the dangers prevalent on Teladir made most tribes relatively complacent in terms of territorial acquisition. A tribe learned over generations, through painstaking trial and error how to extract the wealth of their land and avoid its dangers. Capturing more territory would mean having to learn how to adapt to entirely new conditions. In addition, the natural wealth of Teladir meant that tribes had what they needed while the dangers kept their populations under control.
A second theory suggests that the many tribes of Teladir were wary of expansionism among their neighbours. It is argued among historians that an unspoken rule existed that would bind tribes in temporary alliance against any chief that sought greater dominance. Lacking any singular figure with the power and vision of the Grandmagus, the Teladiri were thus kept from total war. Whether this rule was ever invoked is a matter of fierce debate as the evidence is considered by many to be entirely circumstantial and unreliable.
The final school of thought suggests that a subtle guiding influence shaped the affairs of Teladir for millennia. More akin to conspiracy theory or rumour than historical theory, this persistent version suggests that the Shaman have been steering the politics and fate of Teladir. Undeniably influential in certain circles throughout Teladir's history, whether the Shaman were responsible for keeping conflict on the Eastern continent to skirmishes and minor wars is impossible to prove either way.
Whatever the cause behind it, the lack of a single conquering tribe or frequent full scale conflicts created a culture of fiercely independent warriors, farmers and craftsmen. The constant, albeit relatively minor border threats bred a tough, militaristic people that honed battle skills constantly in skirmishes against neighbours and in contests of skill amongst themselves.
Racially, Teladir differs from Aspalaria in that the humans that lived upon it shared their continent with another race from the beginning of recorded history. Tinkers roamed the mountains and deserts of Teladir, eventually trading and mixing in with the humans in the lands around them. This early exposure to other races bred a more accepting, tolerant attitude toward non-humans and meta-humans that paved the way for an acceptance of virtually all of Lithmeria's races among their ranks.
The appearance of the Elementally Touched among the Teladiri tribes was almost universally held as a fortuitous and spiritual event. The brilliant, charismatic and physically superior Touched led the Tribes into a golden age of discovery and advancement, making leaps and bounds in every area of civil, magical and military learning. Yet, the Touched were few, their influence distilled by tribal rivalry and their discoveries jealously guarded. Though beneficial, their influence was insufficient to turn the tide when the Sovereignty set its sights on Teladir.
The initial assault on Lamaar Bay Fortress caught the Teladiri almost completely by surprise. The disciplined, numerically superior invasion force seized the fortress and created a beachhead upon Teladir from whence they could begin their conquest. The Teladiri tribes fought valiantly, utilizing every ounce of their military experience, passed down through the centuries to stem the Aspalarian advance. Yet, lacking unity, organization or central infrastructure their efforts did little more than delay the apparently inevitable.
The introduction of first and second generation Hybrids in 196 and 151 BQ respectively swung the balance of power firmly toward the Aspalarians. With Hybrid shock troops and powerful Arcanists supporting increasingly experienced and bloodied Sovereignty soldiers, massive gains were made on all fronts. Though skilled warriors, the humans of Teladir were simply unable to match the ferocity and physical power of Hybrids and the haphazard training of the Callers rendered them incapable of matching the concentrated efforts of the Arcanists.
The revolt by many of the second generation Hybrids serving within the Aspalarian forces decimated their armies, crippling their chain of command and depriving them of the bulk of their most effective shock troops. Morale greatly improved by the seemingly miraculous reprieve, the Teladiri forces were able to muster a powerful counter strike, aided by Hybrids eager to slaughter their former masters, that sent the Aspalarians reeling. The Sovereignty retreat also allowed time for Aradis Sedell, a Touched of incredible power and wisdom to put in motion a plan he felt would save his people.
Having located and secured the support of the three others as mighty in their own elements as he was in harnessing the wind, Aradis Sedell began working to bind the loose tribes of Teladir into an alliance. Greatly aided in his task by the fact that having retreated before the Aspalarian advance, tribes were now located in the same area and were fighting side by side against the same foes. Still, the struggle to create unity among the fiercely individualistic tribal chiefs was excruciating and in many ways goes on to this day.
The Accord of Teladir was loosely formed in the twenty third year before the Great Quake as a loosely worded agreement about general collaboration. Highly unspecific, it was seen as a broad mandate to begin cautiously exploring ways to better work together in the face of the Aspalarian threat. It was co-signed by representatives of the Tinker race, whose government felt grievously wronged by the Aspalarian destruction of the Tinker village Rashtokii. Even with the treaty signed, the most vital and pressing question of overall leadership remained conspicuously open, with several tribal chiefs of considerable influence considered equally viable candidates and no clear leadership structure emerging.
It was Aradis Sedell who was eventually chosen to guide the future of the Accord in parallel with a council of tribal chiefs and Tinker leaders. He would share leadership with Adrale Domyrri, Jaghon Rislin and Laerynne Rislin, the very same three Touched with whose aid the Accord had been forged. Together, they would be termed the Paragon Circle and would soon change the world forever.
Coming together, the Paragon Circle unleashed a ritual of terrifying power designed to elementally infuse and bless the very populace of Teladir. The energies unleashed were unfathomable, proving beyond the control of even the four Paragons. Raging unchecked across the material and magical planes, the powers harnessed by the ritual shattered the landscape of both continents, rocking the world. So great was the disturbance that the remaining Aspalarian forces on Teladir were shattered, limping back across the ocean in their remaining ships to aid with the reconstruction of their own continent.
Since then, the Accord of Teladir has rebuilt and evolved. The modern Accord is a slightly more homogenous, albeit still fiercely internally independent collection of very gradually merging tribes and races. Highly accepting, the Accord tolerates all races with only the Aspalarian Imperials finding a cold welcome. Tinkers, the descendents of the second generation Hybrid revolt, Seafolk fleeing the destruction of The Crystal Isle and Touched rub shoulders with humans in the markets of the Accord. The Ephemerals have, for reasons unclear, an almost pathological hatred of the Teladiri and Touched especially, making them an incredibly rare sight within the Accord.
The present day finds the Accord stronger than at any point in its history or indeed in the history of the continent. Having combined their resources and with a hundred years to meld their forces into a homogeneous military, the Accord is for the first time capable of striking back against the Sovereignty on their own territory. Unable to contemplate a full scale counter invasion the Accord has settled for mirroring the Sovereignty's pattern of skirmishes and exploratory raids while they wait for an opening to appear. Should that weakness appear, none need doubt that the fury of Teladir will descend upon Aspalaria in a storm of fire and steel.
