Gaiaterra: Elysea's Conflict/The Clans of Cantha

Within the land of Cantha, there isn't a central government. With Cantha itself led by a council consisting of the four, formerly five, major clans, Dragon, Serpent, Wolf, and Lotus, and the lesser clans, all of which are descendants of one of the five major clans, though descendants of the former Storm Clan who didn't join the Aristocracy refuse to associate themselves with their major clan.

Origins
Long ago there were many more clans than there are today... Chief among these clans was the noble Dragon Clan. The Dragon Clan was an ancient clan deep with hundreds of years of history and was ruled by wise and honorable rulers. It all changed with the coming of the mysterious horde, which eventually was revealed to be the forces of Chaos. during the dark times. Without warning, the relentless darkness that was the nightmarish Horde consumed all in its path. The mightiest and most skilled warriors of the Clans rallied under the banner of the Dragon's Clan leader, Tarrant The Elder to halt and stem the dark tide.

Alas, the sacrifice of the noble warriors was in vain as more and more of their clans got wiped out while the horde had seemingly endless numbers. Knowing inevitable defeat was close at hand, Tarrant The Elder gathered the remnants of his clan and fled. As his stalwart soldiers fought on to stall the Horde, the remaining Dragon Clansmen fled towards the south as far as possible from the coming horrors. Knowing that the Horde will eventually find them, Tarrant The Elder decided to use the Dragon Clan's last remaining treasured artifact, the Serpent's Orb, an artifact of immense power granted to them by the Dragon Clan's totem guardian spirit in days long gone to protect his people. As death's door was fast approaching, Tarrant The Elder ordered his people to flee to safety as best they were able.

Alone, Tarrant The Elder stood his ground and unleashed the wrath of the Serpent's Orb upon the encroaching darkness. That was the last anyone saw of him and what occurred next seem to baffle all who witness it. The horde that nearly destroyed the Dragon Clan was vanquished as a searing light spread across the lands and thundered the world. The earth rumbled and moved all around them as the darkness was held back. In the end, nothing was left of the horde and Tarrant The Elder. The plateau from where they escaped from was destroyed and only from a distance could they lay sights on their devastated homeland. And by the end only four clans had survived the invasion, the rest either destroyed or loss so much that they meld with one of the four. Ending with each of the clans, remnants of the Dragon, Serpent, Lotus, and Storm, reinforcing their border and reaching in an uneasy treaty and relative peace.

A few months after the battle the Wolf Clan would come to their shores, the battle having caused their island to collapse, and settled in the harsh desert west of Cantha, which the other clans believed was uninhabitable, and managed to rebuild their civilization, with the founding of their new capital Skogr. And for the next few centuries each of the clans lived in peace, uncaring of the other clans and the outside world. Until the year 1455 V.C. when (insert) colonists began coming to their shores and realized the vast amount of resources in the desert, and the position of Cantha made it a prime trading post.

And soon armies of (insert), alongside colonists, began to invade Cantha and easily conquered the technologically inferior natives. Their musketeers easily gunning down Dragon and Wolf Clansmen who thought they would honorably fight in melee, overwhelming the Lotus and Storm Clansmen as while their magic was powerful, their mages were few in number compared to their gunners, and while the Serpent had proved to be the hardest, as they too fought with guns and used "dishonorable" tactics, their general disdain toward the other clans and burning bridged had meant they were severely outnumbered. And, within two months, the entire nation of Cantha was under the rule of (insert).

And for the next (insert) years the Clans were forced to work under the (insert). The Dragon became slaves working for the whims of their masters, the Serpent forced to build tools and be the (insert) test subjects, the Lotus forcibly conscripted to fight in suicidal battles and their great tree burnt as punishment for their failed rebellion, the Wolf forced to toil and mine for the ores within their homeland, and the Storm having their magic forcibly taken and used for the betterment of (insert). But, in the year 1557 V.C. following the formation of the new Federation of Aquila the clans rebelled, having trained and worked together in secret, and successfully pushed out their invader and declared independence. Once the clans had opposed each other, fighting each other over territory within their home, but today the four, formerly five, clans now worked together for the betterment of the whole and to protect the freedom they fought for.

Dragon Clan
"..."

-Dragon Clan Creed

Those of the Dragon live and die by ancient martial codes and philosophy and believe that power is worthless without wisdom and discipline to guide it. They live according to feudal traditions, each member of the clan fulfilling his role, for excellence and balance in life, and this philosophy permeates their lives.

Serpent Clan
"..."

-Serpent Clan Creed

The Serpent Clan was forged out of those of the Dragon Clan who fled south to escape the ravages of the horde. In the beginning, the Serpent Clan had dominated through force and cunning until the death of Lord Oja at the hands of (insert) created a dangerous struggle for power among the five Clans on the island, leaving them vulnerable for the (insert) to conquer and colonize them. An event which humbled the Serpent who today, while still harsh and pragmatic, now treats their allies with respect and kindness, though most clans will gripe at their lack of honor, which they will rebutt that it was their dishonorable acts that saved the clans.

Like their totem, the Serpent Clan knows the value of a stealthy approach and a sudden, lethal strike. Their soldiers tend to be tricksters and thieves as well as deadly fighters, skilled in techniques to baffle mounted pursuit and lure opponents into an ambush. The Serpent Clan was also the only clan to research gunpowder, as the Dragon and Wolf considered the gun a dishonorable and cowardly tool and the Lotus and Storm saw it useless due to their magical prowess, making them the only clan to had adapted it before the colonization; indeed, while the Dragon Clan may have been the ones to first discover the power of gunpowder through traders in the year 1460 V.C., it is the Serpent that mastered the use of it, and in modern times was the clan who had made the Metalstorm and Deplete Uranium rounds.

And when (insert) had invaded the Serpent had laughed at their neighbors, reveling in the fact that their refusal to use gunpowder out of honor or pride was the reason for their loss against the invader. And out of the five clans the Serpent had held the longest against the invader and was the last clan to fall due to a combination of their guns and fighting with guerilla tactics, unlike the other clans who tried to face the army head-on with sword and shield, but eventually, due to alienating the other clans with their condescending attitude and selfishness, they were overwhelmed. And their actions had angered the (insert).

And during the dark years under their rule, the Serpent and the Lotus suffered the worst treatment. With the Serpent Clansmen enslaved to toil within the (insert) factories or be the test subject of their experiments, many of which they refuse to say for the fear od drudging up horrible memories. But it was due to this punishment that the Serpent was humbled, realizing that kindness and camaraderie were stronger than power and fear, and began to work alongside the four clans in the rebellion. Using their skills in machinery the Serpent began building and smuggling weapons to rebels, and use their knowledge in "dishonorable" tactics to teach the clans how to fight in the modern battlefield.

Wolf Clan
"..."

-Wolf Clan Creed

The Wolf Clan is noted to not actually being one of the native clans of Cantha, having their humble beginnings in their ancient homeland island, its name now lost to time. The Wolf Clan were a peaceful people, consisting of Humans, Varls, and Horseborn, living off the land while tending and respecting it as it had provided them shelter and food for centuries. The Wolf Clan knew little magic and what little they did know was used by their Druid Order. The Druid Orders were renowned for their medicinal herbs and their control over nature. The Wolf Clan revered a Guardian Deity, known only as the White Wolf, and communed with their deity through a totem known as "The Skull of The White Wolf". Life was good for the Wolf Clan.

This age of peace that lasted for generations finally ended when the world was shattered by the Serpent's Orb used by Tarrant The Elder to protect his own clan from the ravenous Horde. The impact of the Dragon Spirit's clash with the horde sent shockwaves for hundreds of miles and disrupted weather patterns worldwide. Huge waves rose from the sea and quickly drowned the humble island of the Wolf Clan. Rain unlike anyone had ever seen before fell from the sky endlessly and lighting crashed and struck the homes of the Wolf Clan, shattering their simple dwellings of stone and wood to splinters. Even their own formidable druidic magic was useless to the Druid Order during this sudden destructive calamity. Though many clansmen tried to endure it, in the end the clans had only knew there was only one way to survive, escape. Thus came a mass exodus, known as the Banner Saga due to the large banners the clans used to lead their people, where every clansman, from children to the elderly, made the treacherous journey west toward a nation they only saw by telescope, in hopes that the new land was safe, losing many of there people from the elements, beats, and starvation.

Eventually, the Wolf Clan reached a strange and fertile land, unknown to them that this was the land of Cantha and the land of the Varls. Thankful for being saved, the Wolf Clansmen rejoiced and together built a new home, soon joined by the survivors of their clan who had left when earlier, reuniting families and friends. Exploring their new home, the rough Wolf clansmen met with the neighboring Dragon, Serpent, Lotus, and Storm clans; though their customs were wildly different, an agreement of peace was struck. But it was not to last...

Centuries later, around the time the people of Gaiaterra began experimenting with gunpowder, the larger neighboring nation of (insert nation) swept forth and ravaged the villages of the Cantha Clan. It would take many months, but the (insert) took advantage of the clan's technological disadvantage, cowing the Clans into submission by ruthlessly killing them with their flintlocks, or "thundersticks" as the Clans called them, fooling many of the Clans into believing the (insert) were gods. When the deception was finally revealed, it was too late.

Unable to fight back, the Clans were subjugated and secretly vowed an oath of revenge against (insert). As fate would have it, a few remnants of the Wolf Clan, composed mainly of the Druid Order, escaped the wrath of the (insert) army and hid within the safety of the swamplands unknowingly to their subjugators. However, the majority of their Clan were still chained and imprisoned in the Eastern Mines of the (insert), becoming slaves and servants, forced to mine ore and other metals for their arrogant and cruel jailers.

And as generations passed the Wolf Clan home soon gain the reputation of a penal colony as many dissidents and POWs of the (insert) were sent into Wolf Clan territory to work in the mines alongside the natives. This eventually caused the prisoners to bond with the clansmen, to the point that in modern times a quarter of the Clan's population and culture descended from these prisoners.

For generations this continued, until a young and wise clansman named (insert), descended from a long line of Wolf chieftains, rose into leadership and joined the other clans in rebellion, using the Clan's newfound hammers and pickaxes to invent a form of morse code in the deep mines. In secret, the Wolf Clan trained and practiced new forms of combat, waiting for the fateful day when their bloodlust would be sated. Then, at last, the call was issued, and (insert) led a vicious rebellion against their (insert) masters within the mines while the Dragon, Serpent, Lotus, and Storm fought above. The Wolf Clan struck as one, and through blood, sweat, and tears, the Clans of Cantha reclaimed their freedom.

Free of their shackles, the Wolf clan traveled to the North-Western mountains once more and rebuilt their home in the caves, crags, and valleys, wishing only to live in peace with nature, but if their homeland is threatened they will march out to protect it, alongside their companions the Dragon, Serpent, and Lotus.

Lotus Clan
"We bleed. We endure. And in enduring, we are purified."

-Lotus Clan Creed

Like the Serpent, the Lotus Clan was formed from the remnants of an older clan devastated by the horde. Long, long ago, there lived a peaceful tribe of wizards and foresters who worshiped the gods of balance and nature as symbolized by a great towering tree. They seldom knew trouble, or dissent, save when a group of overzealous scholars delved too deeply into certain dark magics of rot and corruption, together called the Forbidden Path.

When the horde came, all of that tribe died except for those few renegade wizards, whose knowledge of the Yin gave them a chance to flee as their brothers died. The wizards eventually reached the island of Cantha, and settled in the High Plateau, long known to be a place of strange energies. By that time they had formed themselves into a new clan, named for that intoxicating, perfumed blossom, the Lotus.

Free of all restriction, the twisted members of the Lotus Clan pursue the Forbidden Path in earnest, seeking to master death and corruption by immersing themselves in it. Their beliefs are a rotten parody of those of their forefathers - their tree is an unnatural nightmare, tended by corrupted brothers and sisters. Their pride in themselves and their magic and supposed perfection and contempt for the other Clans may well have deep roots in their own history.

All of that changed when the (insert) invaded. While the Lotus had fought valiantly, their disregard for their normal clansmen and their belief that their dark magic surpasses technology meant that they had suffered extreme losses as they had severely underestimated their foe, not helping at all was that their magic corruptive property had psychically weakened them. Leading them to the first clan to be conquered.

And for the next generations, the Lotus was initially the most rebellious of the clans, believing that once they get their full power they could easily destroy the colonists, and, unlike the other clans, had openly fought against the (insert) with little planning by themselves, believing that they they were already perfect to beat them, until one day their leaders were caught and brought into their prisons for punishment.

What came next could be best described as the Lotus having all of their pride and arrogance karmically gutted out and beaten. As their leaders, all high-level Warlocks, were tortured and mutilated to the point that their faces were a mess of scar tissue, their eyes and vocal cords were torn out rendering them blind and mute with most going mad with pain, before being tossed out to show the Lotus how they can easily break their greatest mages, while the trees they held sacred were burnt to the ground and their people brutally beaten and forcibly conscripted to become the (insert) suicidal soldiers, with only a few managing to escape. Such an event had finally broken the Lotus pride and had them realize how far they had fallen for the sake of power, and realized that power must be earned, otherwise you wouldn't have the wisdom and honor that properly use it.

After that event the surviving Lotus, who escaped thanks to the other clans, began working together with the clan, sharing their knowledge while learning from the others. And when the day came Cantha rebelled the Lotus proudly fought alongside the other clans, not for glory or recognition but for the sake of their people.

Today the Lotus clan symbolizes their flowers, as they willingly get corrupted and face challenges so that they may rise above and become stronger, a far cry from their past where they believe that they could become stronger be reveling in their demons.

Storm Clan
"..."

-Storm Clan Creed

Once part of the Cantha council and a former Orlesian colony. The Storm Clan, now known as the Aristocracy of Encantadia, broke off from the clans around the year 1968 V.C.