A Historians Record of the Aureunite Accord with Aniya

Authored by: Grim Khan.

Published 45 CE.

Preface: This short text is to be used for educational purposes, and has been certified by the Aureunite Department of Culture as to its veracity and usage.

Introduction: As we all know, the gods allow for covenants. As we further know, such covenants are not to be taken lightly. So then how is it that the Aureunite state managed to make one with one of the most widely hated gods of the pantheon? Most citizens have little notion aside from vague dates and knowledge of a secret cabal. This text aims to contextualize such vague impressions, and clarify them with the help of specific dates. With that being said, let us begin.

(500)BA: This is the farthest back we can find in regards to the Aureunite religion. The popular “Books of luminescence” was kept in oral form at this time, later to be codified in written form many, many years later in 33 CE.

(200)BA: The peoples that make up the modern Aureunite state begin to coalesce.

(100)BA: A brutal yeti horde leaves many dead and the Proto-Aureunites reeling. The Covenant with Scyse is made for strength to avoid such a disaster again, giving the religion its formal name.

(1)SE: The beginning of the Solus era under founder Raxius Dykron. Records obtained much later point to this being the genesis of the organized Aniyan cult- but it's worth noting that it had an invisible presence beforehand.

(1-29)SE: The cult builds its influence, remaining in the background for most of the Aureunite state’s struggles and endeavors. It bides its time to strike, with its doctrine getting ever more radical and specialized. A specific influence worth mentioning is the Aureunite military, for while it was infiltrated by the cult, over a long enough period of time its own ideals began to affect the cult as well. Ultimately culminating in…

(30SE-31CE): The pivotal, and hectic, transition period between founders. For a brief time a regency was declared to sort out administrative issues. No one expected the regency to last long, and indeed it didn't, but a crucial detail was missed by all involved save the regents- This temporary government was fully infiltrated by the cult. Imbued with the authority to, on paper, make a covenant on behalf of the entire nation and people; The regency proceeded to prepare a forbidden ritual, passed down from their order for potentially thousands of years. Under cover of night, they invoked the name of Aniya, and asked for the knowledge to crush their enemies and have Aureus reign supreme over the other nations. A lightning bolt slammed into their altar, a voice rang out over the entire nation- almost mocking in its tone. “The deal is struck.”

Furious, the legitimate founders and army stormed into the ritual site, killing any who opposed them. When they finally entered the site proper, they were witness to a haunting scene. On the floor lay empty robes, and scattered about the room were sheafs of paper and books. The founders and councilors grimly picked through the dark fruits of the ritual. The books detailed engine schematics for ships that could fly- for a substance that could roar with power greater than any alchemist's concoction before it, for metals that could be bent to any use and purpose. Physical theories that advanced their respective fields by a hundred years! And yet, the final, damning document was found, detailing what was required in exchange.

Aureus would, forevermore, innovate and push the boundaries of science. To slacken would invite disaster. Some clergy even theorized that failing to uphold the covenant might lead to Aniya escaping her prison made by The One. Like it or not it seemed, the Aureunite state was shackled to the pursuit of progress forevermore.

(32)CE: The imperial academy as an institution is created, to combat this obligation, as well as to better reap the undeniable benefits that even coerced progress could bring.

(32CE to modern day): Considering the fact that the apocalypse hasn't occurred, and that no great disaster has befallen the Aureunite nation, it can be reasonably inferred that the covenant has been faithfully maintained. Indeed, it seems that this religious commandment has been engraved upon the culture and psyche of the Aureunite state deeply.

Conclusion: A large number of youths come to me in the academy, almost every year, to express their anxieties as to this circumstance. I tell every single one of them the same thing, “Don’t worry about it, instead, fall into the rhythm it requires. Work to advance yourself, and your field. No one can ask more of you.” And if it does so happen that the world meets its end due to us failing, utterly spent of creative and scientific curiosity? Then we can at least die knowing we tried our very best. I will leave you with a final quote I learned from my local priest, back when I was a bright eyed young man about to get my start.

''“Progress is life, boy. To stagnate is to die. This is the truth of the natural world, and of all the endeavors of man. We might not like the hand we’re dealt, but by golly are we going to play it the best we can.”''