Ejek Vedotin
Crown Bishop Erik Slaten | |
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| Native name | Ejek Vedotīn |
| Birth name | Erik Slaten |
| Born | 15th June 1070 Vedotī, Flatstone |
| Died | 23rd August 1144 Vedotī, Flatstone |
| Buried | Unknown |
| Allegiance |  Northern Ivili Clan Flatstone |
| Rank | Dugāposun of Northern Ivili, Crown Bishop |
| Battles/wars |
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| Spouse(s) | Unknown |
| Children | None |
| Other work | Geology |
Historical records in the possession of Flatstones royal family date as far back as 1089, when the archipelagos economy was defined by manorialism and Stonish politics were dominated by powerful clans and ruthless warlords. Most notably of which was the prophet who went by the name Erik Slaten. Erik Slaten achieved a substantial amount of power through the spread of his religion, most popularly known as Geology (Or "Şotundo") today. Supposedly having been raised in the archipelago's capital of Vedotī, at the time owned by the notoriously influential Northern Ivili Clan, Erik Slaten founded his religion on the basis that the planet Anteria is one large rock that should be worshipped eternally. The religion gained the attention of the archipelago's population, as many were looking for a spiritual escape from the civil war that had plagued the north for decades. Erik used this religion to boost his legitimacy and overthrow the ruling "Dugāposun" (Meaning "Head") of the Northern Ivili Clan through a military coup.
Early Life
Little is known about the youth of Erik Slaten, however personal accounts of those whom had been close to the prophet tell a story, a story of ruthless determination and social isolation. Erik Slaten was believed to be a cynic, seeing himself as above all others and intellectually superior. However, he never made his peers aware of his god complex; he kept it to himself. His parents were likely the only ones who were aware of Erik's mental instability. Erik spent the remainder of his childhood in isolation, devoting a large amount of his time to his studies and what we can only assume was his future. It is likely that a childhood full of judgement and unyielding pressure from his friends and family lead to the development of Erik Slaten's self-important personality and mindset. Erik believed that friends were temporary and expendable, and he put as little of his faith into others as he could, favoring his own judgement over theirs.
Parents
There are no historical records of Erik Slaten's parents; as far as history is concerned, Erik Slaten's parents do not exist. However, it is safe to assume that Erik Slaten had at least one parental figure, as quotes from Erik Slaten himself indicate that he was at some point in time living under the supervision of an unnamed man, presumably his father. If this is the case, then it is plausible that Erik's mother passed away at birth, or during Erik's youth. Regardless, whomever was responsible for Erik was very obviously abusive and unnecessarily harsh on the young prophet, as Erik's personal recollections state that his determined studies were often interrupted by his negligent superiors, and that this lead to his disregard for any authority that was above him after he had fully matured. As for what happened to his surviving parents is unknown. However, it is reasonable to assume that Erik fled from his home around the age of sixteen in order to pursue his ambitions.
Ambition
Erik Slaten was an extremely ambitious individual, much more than what was considered usual for the time. Erik Slaten's personal accounts recount that Erik dreamed of the future, and that he aspired to be the one to lead his people into it. He dreamed of uniting the archipelago under him and exploring beyond its shores. It should be noted that all of these ambitions would later be picked up by the future rulers of the archipelago, most notably Eirik Von Stone. Geology played a significant role in the accomplishment of Erik Slaten's dream of national domination, for it encouraged unity and it brought the spark of hope that hundreds of thousands has so desperately longed for. The people of Flatstone prior to it's unification all thought similarly to Erik, however Erik would be the first to introduce the idea of geographical unity to the archipelago. This would inevitably be inherited by his successors and incorporated into the ideals of Geology.
Geology
Authoritarian Roots
The authoritarian roots of the Geologist faith tie into it's founder, Erik Slaten. More specifically, his childhood, in which he was abused and taken advantage of by his parents and his equals alike. Erik sought to manufacture a religion that was capable of undoing his troubles, hoping to ensure that nobody else would receive the same treatment that he had. The religion was originally designed to oust the socially unfit from Flatstones society, essentially turning it into a psychological weapon of war. However, this iteration of the religion would only be introduced in 1104, four years after the end of Erik Slaten's war. This meant that the religion had already taken it's toll in it's original, unpolished form, and that the more authoritarian adaptation would never be put into service. Instead, Erik Slaten had brought about a religion that promoted unity, environmental protectionism, and a duty to protect not only the nation, but the planet. The original version of the religion being the one that was instated, as well as having lasted as long as it has,are the only two reasons that Geologism is still in practice today.
Religious Development
As stated previously, the Geologist faith had many adaptations introduced by Erik Slaten and the Pokesīn that protected it. However, many of these adaptations did not make the final cut, and many of those that did were not implemented until far into the religions existence. For example, the idea of environmentalism was not drafted (and later promoted) by Erik Slaten until the year 1109, later becoming one of the primary ideas of the religion. Prior to 1109, the religion had focused on the enforcement of equity and maintaining national unity. The religious obsession with rocks and their symbolism wouldn't come until the introduction of environmentalism. The concept of labeling crystals with abstract ideas and emotions wouldn't become prevalent until the 1990's, being the most modern change to the religion since it's creation.
Erik Slaten's War
Battle of Umudīn
Upon Erik's rise to power, Erik inherited all of the lands formerly controlled by the Dugāposun of the Northern Ivili Clan, and with it a capable fleet. However, the fleet was small in size and was mostly made up of cogs and galleys as the fleet had originally been used to deter piracy off the archipelago's coast. Despite these drawbacks, embargo's on the Taverkny Clan prevented any large naval engagements occuring between the two, as the Taverknian fleet had essentially become trapped in-port. Erik marched his followers around the mountains and down the northeastern coastline of Poşotī, effectively reaching the city in 1093 without ever actually issuing a declaration of war to Bir Taverkny, who was at the time the Dugāposun of the Taverkny Clan. Despite this, Taverknian patrols had managed to catch Erik's army on it's way to the city, giving it a small amount of time to prepare. Upon realization that his ambush had been ratted out, Erik ordered for the encirclement of the city in order to prevent the flow of supply from reaching it's walls. This was done with ease, as the Umudīn garrison, under the command of Signe Loss, had put it's faith into the stone walls that surrounded the city, hesitant to engage with Erik's army directly. This fatal mistake was made without the permission of Signe Loss, as Signe Loss wasn't present in the city at the time of Erik's arrival. Instead, he had fled just hours before after being recalled to the Traverknian city of Suntugā. Unfortunately, the general had been captured by Erik Slaten's men and later executed under the belief that he was deserting his men in Umudīn. The city was surrendered to Erik after word of Signe's death made it's way through the cities walls. The lack of a proper commander and the casualties caused by attrition and arrow fire had effectively demoralized the inner garrison to the point of mass desertion, and thus the remaining troops pledged their allegiance to Erik Slaten and the city was ceded to the Northern Ivili Clan.
Siege of Suntugā
The fall of Umudīn had been an embarrassing defeat for the Traverkny Clan, as the city had acted as the clans capital since it's founding. To have it lost to a numerically inferior force so easily caused many to lose faith in their leadership. Instead, many began to turn to Erik Slaten due to rumors regarding him as "invincible", or a "god" that had popped up as a result of his astonishing victory at Umudīn. Others put their faith in him simply because of his connection to Geology and his promised incorporation of religion into the Stonish culture, which to many, was dying at the time. They saw Geology as a solution to the decaying Stonish civilization that had been badly severed by the century long era of civil war. What made matters worse, is the majority of the Traverknian leadership had been in the Traverknian city of Suntugā, coincidentally the same city that was made the replacement capital after the fall of Umudīn. Suntuga was a city located on an island isolated from the main archipelago, and because the Traverknian fleet had been burned in the port of Umudīn, the Traverknian leadership was unable to make it's way back to mainland Flatstone because of Erik Slaten's fleet. This meant that the remainder of the Traverknian army had to reroute itself to the Southern Ilivi Clan and regroup with the Southern Ilivi forces, who were busy fighting off the Ou Clan south of the archipelago. This allowed for Erik Slaten's army to occupy the rest of the Traverkny clan in one decisive strike, only being halted upon reaching the Southern Ilivi clans territory. By 1096, the island that Suntugā was situated on had been starved of it's supplies entirely and a famine had swept through the local population. Erik Slaten issued an ultimatum to Bir Taverkny, demanding that he surrender his forces to Northern Ivili or face execution. Bir Taverkny did not hesitate to comply, signing a separate peace treaty then that of Southern Ivili, officially ceding all Traverknian territory to Northern Ivili. It was after the signing of this treaty with Taverkny when Erik Slaten declared the formation of the Order of Flatstone, or the Stonish Theocracy. Bir Taverkny was exiled to the northernmost city of Umoko, and his generals were incorporated into Erik Slaten's army under the flag of the Order of Flatstone.
Treatment of the Southern Ivili
Erik Slaten had a profound respect for the Southern Ivili people, likely originating from his Northern Ivili ethnicity and the linguistic similarities between the two. However, Erik Slaten scoffed at the tactical and military incompetence of the Southern Ivili, often going out of his way to denounce the less than adequate attempts to put up any sort of resistance against Erik's Northern Ivili army. Erik Slaten sought to toughen the Southern Ivili peoples, make them more like the North per say. Erik Slaten went to extreme lengths to erase Southern Ivili culture and replace it with the cultural habits of the Northern Ivili, however, because of the amount of decentralization throughout Flatstone at the time, completely wiping out the Southern Ivili culture or even language was impossible. Instead, Erik Slaten opted only to desecrate Southern Ivili military tradition and model it's regional army more after the Northern Ivili army in order to compensate for it's severe lack of military incompetence.
Late Life and Death
From the year 1140 onward, Erik Slaten's health would gradually decline drastically. The young nation of Flatstone made an extensive effort to cure the crown bishops ailment, to no avail. He would pass away in 1144, with an autopsy determining his cause of death to be Tuberculosis. Little was known about Tuberculosis in Flatstone, however because of the nations Mediterranean climate, epidemics were uncommon. The humidity kept it at bay. This could not be said for Erik Slaten, who spent most of his time in his studies, often in dark, gloomy environments such as underground chambers or in tall towers of stone. Erik Slaten's empire would collapse after his passing, leaving the nation to it's fate.