Nothing is here 3

This is a page describing the radical nation known as the Dundainian Anarchy within the setting The Judges of Tehom

Introduction

As a society that completely rejects rule of the Few over the Many, the Dundainian Commune is a new development on Tehom that many find terrifying. It is a society that should not be able to exist as far as most are concerned, and as such it and its ideology disturbing beyond compare. How humanity could maintain itself without looking toward its betters simply does not make sense to many of the Tehomin. We will be examining the Commune, commonly called the Anarchy, here.

History

Dundain on the Path

Dundain, the single largest contiguous landmass on Tehom that is slightly larger than Madagascar. Since before humanity was on the Path, Dundain was controlled by three city-states. The Highspire was one of the first major human settlements, founded and defended by Dimday Dragoon, and over time it developed into a cultured, almost ritualistic society. Stoutfort, meanwhile, was founded by a group of officers who left Hazor after Warmaster Molyvdos slipped into suspended animation. Though small in population, its emphasis on martial ability made it a cosmopolis to be reckoned with. And finally, the Tenax Primacy was founded by network of legacies that broke away from Srimec City. Though the pro-legacy tenor of its leadership had waned over the years, its emphasis on engineering marvels did not.

Having three major cosmopoli sharing the same island was a unique situation on Tehom, and they developed a rather awkward but more or less stable peace while humanity was on The Path, the time period of relative prospect after the Shattering War ended when a kleocratic (neo-feudal "rule of the glorious") hegemony spread across the human settlements. Archonic War between the three was a common occurrence, though in the name of stability these confrontations were always kept as static and ritualized as possible, and the stakes were also kept very low for any given confrontation.

The Wasting War

The status quo between the three did not last. Eventually, humanity fell from the Path, thanks in part to the Hadalian attacks from the deep, and the global recession created by Novum Volsci's greed. The shrinking and destablized global economy encouraged the cosmopoli of Tehom to look within their borders for resources and markets. The increased concern with territoriality inflamed pre-existing feuds among the Archons of the three cities, eventually creating a conflict. The war between them became increasingly bitter, until it moved beyond archonic war into a full military conflict known as the Wasting War. Those affiliated with the Tenax Primacy tend to claim Stoutfort began it when they violated the rules of a static struggle regarding ownership of mining rights within the heart of Dundain. Former supporters of Stoutfort, on the other hand, insist their actions were within the letter of the dueling agreement, and claim Highspire instigators promoted an inaccurate view of the fight. For their part, apologists for Highspire point out that Stoutfort and Tenax had been colluding together for years to take away land traditionally held by Highspire, and that war was inevitable.

In the chaotic war, alliances between the three shifted constantly. After the Wasting War began and military forces comprised of the Many became a common element of the conflict, the other cosmopoli of Tehom stayed generally neutral. The Wasting War had became a mass of atrocities committed by Archons of all three city states. In contemporary Earth terms, this was primarily a defensive war between three very small armies, none of which wished to commit to an all out assault. However, in the eyes of the Tehomin who had become used to the idea that "war" simply meant superhuman champions dueling for the glory of a city, the Wasting War was a shocking wave of unending violence.

The Wasting War continued for well over a year until the agora of Tenax was hit with a massive barrage of biochemical weapons, destroying a large portion of both the Many and the Few. However, the attack did not kill Seraphim Scythe, the nephew of the Primate and one of the major heroes of Tenax during the war. In retaliation for this unprecedented attack, Seraphim Scythe brought together most of the surviving Archons from Tenax, called them the Tenacian Reckoners, and led an all out assault on Highspire. While none of the Reckoners are known to have survived, they managed to kill several thousand citizens of Highspire, many of its Archons, and broke its infrastructure. Tenax and Highspire had killed themselves in matching genocides.

The Wasting Revolution

Stoutfort was unaware of its position as the likely victor of the war by default due to the massive amount of damage it had taken earlier in the war. As the cosmopolis with the most obvious military power, it quickly was targeted by both Highspire and Tenax early in the conflict, though it had been allowed to limp along ever since as Tenax and Highspire turned their attention to one another. Reports about what was happening between Tenax were full of rumors and inaccuracies, and it was unclear who attacked first, who had survived, and whether Stoutfort was next. The Archons of Stoutfort decided to gamble on an assault plan that estimated large losses by the Stout military, but also large gains. The exhausted military, however, balked at this plan. The Archons attempted to stamp out this resistance, and accidentally created a full scale mutiny. This mutiny then became a full-scale revolt against the Stoutfort Archons. The Wasting War had become the Wasting Revolution.

The Wasting Revolution was more effective than many believed it could be precisely because of how much power and training had been given the Many of Stoutfort, and over time, the organized numbers of the Many overtook the increasingly panicked and flailing Few.

For several weeks, all of Dundain - the demolished Highspire, the exterminated Tenax, and the revolting Stoutfort - was cut off from the outside world. The other city states of Tehom gained most of their knowledge of what was happening from the escaping refugees who were both if the Few and the Many. The horrors that were described were sometimes true and sometimes fiction, but the result was the other city states generally recoiled in horror and avoided Dundain for as long as they could.

Consolidation

This avoidance likely created the opportunity for the Wasting Revolution to succeed. The Enlisted Council (the leadership of the Many within the Stoutfort military) officially supported the revolution, and it attempted to plot a moderate path forward where the current regime in charge of Stoutfort was exiled, but they would accept other, more palatible Archons as leaders. This created a conflict within the revolution between the Enlisted Council and more radical elements that had come to see the Few in general as the enemy. The Enlisted Council lost this internal power struggle, and the Revolution was now guided by a secretive council of noncommissioned officers called The Peers. Under the guidance of the Peers, all members of the Few, be they Archons or independents or of any other classification were either expelled from Dundain or executed.

The Peers began to set up governing councils for the various districts of Stoutfort, slowly bringing order back. They renamed Stoutfort "Ox" to highlight how the Many had often been treated as beasts of burden by the Few. It also re-established a defenses around the city, fully expecting an attack from the Few from outside Dundain. A full attack never came, as terror and misinformation ruled the day. No cosmopolis wished to be the one that risked its Archons to retake Stoutfort. One Archon from Beacon, Caleb Warcry, organized a small and independent group of the Few in a poorly organized attempt at glory that managed to do little but create video of human military units killing superhumans with relative ease. After that, any chance of an organized invasion was nil.

As soon as it could, Ox sent scouts out to the remains of Tenax and Highspire territory to make contact with survivors. While some members of the Few were found along with members of the Many who were still loyal to their fallen city-states, many were simply happy someone had found them and was willing to help. In this way, Ox laid claim to the entire island of Dundain. This new realm was not a city state, and it was not a kleocracy. Rather, it was something new: a land settled by the Many governed by the Many. This new country was called the Dundainian Commune, though many elsewhere referred to it as the Dundainian Anarchy, as it was quite literally a society without Archons.