Of the beginning of days
Of the beginning of days and the origin of the Empire.
In the beginning of days, volot and archvolot ruled all the lands. Humankind was little but so many cattle for the whims and pleasures of the volot. In some regions, ruled by particularly benevolent or particularly indifferent archvolot, men could turn their minds to arts, and crafts, and sciences. One such region was Greece, lorded over by an assembly of volot and archvolot whose favorite pastime consisted of sexual escapades.
One day, an embassy came to the learned men of Greece from Romulus and Remus, two volot brothers who have established themselves as rulers of a hilly region in a land across the sea. They have observed that the worship of men, while bringing great power to the archvolot, was liable to drive them mad, so they were searching far and wide for a solution that would let them wield as much power as they could while letting them keep their sanity intact.
The learned men of Greece debated and discussed the matter over several years, and finally, among many proposed solutions, one was chosen. The brothers established a Senate - a ruling body consisting both of volot and regular people. They empowered Consuls, both volot and non-volot, to act on their behalf in different situations. And most importantly, they established laws, so as not to make every punishment a reason to hate them and every reward a reason to love them. This was the beginning of what will be later called the Roman Empire.
In time, the Empire grew and became stronger. The neighboring volot rulers, if they haven’t gone too far on the road to becoming mad, often saw the advantages of this new way of life, so they adapted or imitated the laws and structure of the Empire; or else joined their lands to the imperial province next to their land, and became subject kings. Those too mad or too ambitious sometimes tried to invade the Empire and take its lands and people, but it soon became apparent that a few hundred well-trained soldiers led by a dozen powerful imperial volot can prove a match even for an archvolot.
In the beginning of days, volot and archvolot ruled all the lands. Humankind was little but so many cattle for the whims and pleasures of the volot. In some regions, ruled by particularly benevolent or particularly indifferent archvolot, men could turn their minds to arts, and crafts, and sciences. One such region was Greece, lorded over by an assembly of volot and archvolot whose favorite pastime consisted of sexual escapades.
One day, an embassy came to the learned men of Greece from Romulus and Remus, two volot brothers who have established themselves as rulers of a hilly region in a land across the sea. They have observed that the worship of men, while bringing great power to the archvolot, was liable to drive them mad, so they were searching far and wide for a solution that would let them wield as much power as they could while letting them keep their sanity intact.
The learned men of Greece debated and discussed the matter over several years, and finally, among many proposed solutions, one was chosen. The brothers established a Senate - a ruling body consisting both of volot and regular people. They empowered Consuls, both volot and non-volot, to act on their behalf in different situations. And most importantly, they established laws, so as not to make every punishment a reason to hate them and every reward a reason to love them. This was the beginning of what will be later called the Roman Empire.
In time, the Empire grew and became stronger. The neighboring volot rulers, if they haven’t gone too far on the road to becoming mad, often saw the advantages of this new way of life, so they adapted or imitated the laws and structure of the Empire; or else joined their lands to the imperial province next to their land, and became subject kings. Those too mad or too ambitious sometimes tried to invade the Empire and take its lands and people, but it soon became apparent that a few hundred well-trained soldiers led by a dozen powerful imperial volot can prove a match even for an archvolot.