From the writings of Nhaka Mezalune in the Akashic Records…
Recorded in her Acacia Chronicle, on the 140th Year of the Empire of Arcadia…
They’re like worlds apart, in a way.
I write, of course, about the great cites of my fellow Archons. The Holy See of Arcadia is nothing like Shadowgate or the Isle of Eden, not at all like what remains of the Cathanian Imperium, or Oasis, the City of Dreams! Purposefully or not, we Archons shape the lands we hold in our image. It has been so for the peaceful centuries since Abbadon’s fall, whether or not we live an eternity in service of Elicia, or for only a fleeting lifetime before passing our torch to a worthy successor. The only binding thread here, is Elicia’s Law.
But what is it truly, Elicia’s Law? I suppose, were I to put it simply, it’s the founding principles of Arcadia, and all the lands of Melodia under its dominion. As ordained upon the many, many pages of the Lex Divinitus, one of the sacred texts written by Elicia herself, that her Central Church holds dear in their section of the Akashic Records, of which the Codex Elicia is but a derivative libram crafted from it for the consumption of the mortal masses who whisper and chant her name in their daily prayers. That it’d be, without question, one set of laws to rule them all.
Notably, not everyone is equal under Elicia’s Law. Those who reject it for whatever reason, aren’t afforded the protections and rights it decrees to be absolute truth upon Melodia. And of those who accept Elicia’s Law, not everyone stands equally before her divine judgement! For instance, an Archon and the Viziers under their command are afforded a much better standing as per the Privilege ordained within this Law. While a mortal supplicant may be punished and imprisoned for minor things like theft or murder, the only infractions we may commit in Elicia’s name are betrayal and incompetence. Both of which, are terms that are admittedly very flexible in definition. And death, I'm afraid, is the only punishment worthy of an Archon or a Vizier.
Indeed! The following parts of this entry into my beloved Chronicle shall serve as my own musings on this divine edict that I have worked to uphold as best I can in my mistress’s name. I am after all, Elicia’s most beloved and special Eye! And so, I’ll be focusing upon four of them in particular that I’ve found to be most pertinent. For brevity’s sake, of course!
And now, without further ado…
Law #1: Elicia’s Peace
“Loyalty to me is to live your lives unburdened from fear, despair, and hunger.”
~ From the Lex Divinitus, section I, page II.
It’s in the name, isn’t it? Those who accept it bend the knee, like many have over the years. Made a part of this growing Empire, where the sun never sets in quite a literal sense if one were to traverse the full length of the lands of Melodia held by Arcadia from one end to another, to bask in this Peace as it has remained for the longest of times!
Accepting this clause brings with it the Empire’s guarantee of protection against anything and everything beyond Elicia’s Law. Only Elicia may destroy her own subjects, after all! As for everyone who refuses this Peace, all of Arcadia remains at war with them. Wherever they may be, and however little they remain within the dark corners of the earth. The Central Church would consider them misguided, and the Black Legion would consider them dead. I, on the other hand, try not to judge too harshly!
After all, my Viziers tend to do that for me, on my behalf!
Law #2: The Covenant of the Faithful
“I am your one true god.”
~ From the Lex Divinitus, section I, page I.
There existed gods before Elicia’s time. Elven gods, for Melodia was once the land of elvenkind, with mankind and their little fiefdoms existing on the periphery and being regarded by the elves of old as little better than the worldly monsters of today. Many idols were cast to the heavens and revered, but the two most prominent ones I know of are Sophia, the Goddess of Life and Light, and Amon, the Dark Goddess, both of whom are said to be two sides of the same coin.
Alas, those days are long past! Not since the elves of the Alyssian Empire of old set the World Tree aflame as a sacrifice to the realm of Chaos to bring forth me and my fellow Hellbourne unto Melodia. It’s a topic I hope to explore in future entries, but in the meantime, I’ll say that from the ashes of that past, Elicia now stands undivided as the master of the living and the dead, as the Lord of Heaven and the Ruler of Hell.
Therefore, aside from condemning the faiths of old to the dark corners of the earth, this specific law also allows the Ecclesiarch's Central Church and its devatas to have an enduring presence throughout Melodia in the form of cathedrals and abbeys in all the cities, towns, and villages held by Arcadia. Even in the dominions of the other Archons, for it's our duty to ensure faith in Elicia in these very lands shaped in our image. We are, as her Archons, an extension of her purpose. That her vision for Melodia is made reality, for her happiness is our reward and her sorrow our failure. As it is, as it shall forevermore be across all Melodia that belongs to Arcadia.
Yes, indeed! That's our duty, for better or worse.
Law #3: The Archon’s Privilege
“My Archons are an extension of my will, existing each in their own custom, all for my glory. Serve them as you would serve me, but always remember – I remain to you first and foremost.”
~ From the Lex Divinitus, section II, page XVI.
This Privilege carries with it two big things, bestowed upon us by Elicia herself! Namely, the Right to Rule, and the Right to Destruction.
The Right to Rule allows us Archons to govern our lands as we see fit. It’s why, perhaps, that the land itself becomes moulded in our image, sometimes in a very literal sense. Governance is largely dominion-based, as per the system set out by each individual Archon. For instance, the Ecclesiarch of the Central Church divides up her dominion into four prefectures set in the cardinal directions, where the fortresses of Sina, Tasha, Rose, and Maria, as well as the Viziers assigned to each respectively govern the western, eastern, northern and southern portions of her lands and the towns and villages within them, with the Holy See of Arcadia itself right smack in the middle! On the other hand, the Lord General of the Black Legion divides his holdings into village-fortresses dotted all over his dominion, while the Caliph of Oasis divides her property in the deserts of the Dread Expanse amongst her nine merchant-princes who each give her a cut of their massive profits!
Well, this myriad of doing things continues onward with Elicia’s blessing, so long as her Law is upheld. And it’s with this that I do wonder at times what my own dominion would be like, were I to ever have one all to myself! But then again perhaps it’s better this way, for what I have right now as the Eye is a little piece of each by means of free and safe passage throughout all the lands of Melodia so as to better commit to my duties! Variety is, after all, the spice of life. That’s what the mortals say, and I’m inclined to agree!
The Right to Destruction is, as I’ve mentioned earlier, the one truth that only Elicia may destroy any and all of her subjects and supplicants. Legally, at least, by what is just as ordained by her Law. This divine right is divested, passed down to us Archons, and we in turn pass this right down by proxy to our Viziers, and then down some more to those who serve as our soldiers and our guards. There is, of course, a much greater leeway on what can be destroyed, the higher up you go. But whether or not Elicia cares to admit it, I know she cares for each and all of her mortal supplicants! Even if she’s been so withdrawn as of late.
Also, only Elicia herself may lawfully destroy an Archon! The Command Spell she wields in her sigil makes this possible, for it’s an invocation that allows her to compel complete obedience from any of her Archons. Even myself! We, her chosen Archons, by divine proxy, have a lesser version of this Spell in our own sigils that allows us to compel this same loyalty from our Viziers. Our souls, eternal or not, are bound to her in life and death, forever. Just as our Viziers are, to us.
And just like her, we hold the exclusive right to destroy our Viziers as per what we deem to be proper. Personally, I like to talk things over a nice cup of piping hot tea! Maybe use the Command Spell I have, if need be. As a Beholder, I may not have a sigil like the mortal sorcerers, but I do have my very own Command Spell!
Law #4: The Sorcerer’s Peril
“Practitioners of magic worldly or otherwise, do so only by my blessing, and for my glory. To do so otherwise, is to be my enemy.”
~ From the Lex Divinitus, section X, page CCL.
From all that I’ve learned of Melodia ever since my summoning, its magic and the sorcerers who wield it have levelled entire kingdoms and raised hell in a quite a literal sense. In the time of the Alyssian Empire of the elves of old, magic was left mostly unchecked. Abaddon and his ilk were unhinged sorcerers themselves, so I suppose they had a little sense of realising that regulating it would be tantamount to hypocrisy! After all, they were the first to break the barrier between this world and the realm of Chaos, bringing forth us Hellbourne in their campaign to scour the lands of all mankind. The humans and the dragons called it the Corruption, the elves unaligned to the Alyssian Empire like the Wild Elves called it the Devouring, while those of elvenkind who first embraced our eldritch rites called it the Liberation. They are all different words, perhaps, but it’s still something worth noting!
Regardless, Elicia has no desire to revisit those tumultuous times. Those who wish to practice the arcane arts or the eldritch rites of the Hellbourne upon Melodia must belong to an organisation sanctioned for sorcerers. Usually its a conclave belonging to an Archon's army, such as the Seraph Artificers of the Lightsworn Guard, the Magic Breakers of the Black Legion, or the Blood Shamans of the Wretched Horde! Or alternatively, for the everyday adventurer, the Mage’s Guild and its many guildhouses found everywhere from the biggest cities to the smallest villages, managed by no other than my fellow Archon, Fatebinder Nyx! Of whom, I’ve heard has ‘transcended her mortal form’ as of late thanks to her research. Not sure what that means exactly, though!
Notably from this, sorcerers who join the fold by bending the knee to Elicia’s Peace are automatically absorbed into one or more of these sanctioned organisations, and become sanctioned by default! Viziers are automatically granted sanction, since we Archons hold supreme authority. It’s only right, after all! As for everyone else, they are to be hunted down and dealt with. It's my duty as the Eye of Elicia to find these rogue sorcerers and, well, 'handle' them. Most of my Viziers are thus capable mage-hunters, their skills suited to handling the horrors of magic both worldy and eldritch!
They are, after all, sorcerers just like me! Masters of the arcane, who hold in their sigils the secrets of magic! Just like a good number of my enemies, if we're grasping at straws here.
Anyways, the following are but four of the most noteworthy bits of Elicia’s Law that I wanted to cover in this entry of my beloved Chronicle! Of course, there are a whole lot more enshrined within the Lex Divinitus, governing both the unnatural and the mundane. But for now, these are the ones that I wanted to cover and muse about, since they're the ones most pertinent to my work. So, have at it!
And like always, I remain lovingly yours!
~ N.M
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