Long ago, thousands of years before the continent of Dureign was structured the way it is now, thousands of small fiefdoms, tribes, and unified village communities filled the borders of the continent.
While some of these groups held small trade with each other, they were too small and too numerous to have many unique resources to trade with their neighbors. Because the trade between communities was small, and because the number of groups meant that each community was limited in the number of resources they could collect, tensions between groups ran high and conflict was everlasting within the continent.
There was only a single factor that brought forth a semblance of unity between groups. The Divine.
While the deity that was worshiped may not have been uniform across the entirety of the continent, and while some deities were only worshiped by a single group, the deities that were worshiped were largely split between seven regions.
Across the vast North, East, and South portions of the continent, the distance that divided each religious center was wide enough to avoid any serious religious conflicts. The Western side of the continent, though vast itself, held four religions, more than any other portion of the continent.
Due to the concentration of religions within the West, the conflict between them all was frequent and the blood that was shed over the years was plentiful.
Of the four religions in the West, the followers of Infernis held the most territory in the West.. Despite having such a large territory, however, the followers of Infernis had the smallest population within the West. The land they held within the southwest was barren, filled with not much more than deep canyons filled with minerals and ore.
The Northwest was home to three religions whose combined territory was barely that of the territory Infernis held in the Southwest. Still, because of the rivers that ran through their lands and the bountiful forests and agriculture throughout, the population of those that worshiped the three gods in the Northwest was high.
Of these three religions, Izotz was worshiped by those in the far Northwest along the coast of the northern oceans. Because of the frigid weather of the northwest, the population of the Izotz worshippers was lower than the other two. Within their territory, those who followed Izotz were among the most powerful.
On the Northeastern border of the Western religious region, the followers of Kuhn held their territory. The followers of Kuhn, while not as powerful as those of Izotz, were plentiful in their population and were prosperous in their resources. The forests that made up their lands provided a sturdy natural defense.
The final religion within the West was made up of those who worshiped Mithra and was found in the center of the Western borders. The followers of Mithra had the largest population and most bountiful resources of all other religions in the West. Yet, it was because of its large population and plentiful resources that it was unable to spread its influence. Of all the other religions in the region, the followers of Mithra were the most divided and had the most frequent conflicts. Being divided amongst each other kept them from expanding their own influence.
Eventually, however, in one large village near the center of the territory of Mithra, a girl was born.
On the hour of her birth, the moon eclipsed the sun and rings of stars could be seen circling the village.
The baby, born with bronze skin and dark black hair and bright ruby red eyes, was glowing as she entered into the world.
Born with the blessing of Mithra, an event unheard of within religious circles, the girl developed quickly.
While most would have to wait until their 15th year to even hope to receive a blessing, the girl received her blessing, along with the 1st Divinity, at birth. The power that comes from being born with Divinity accelerated all physical and mental aspects of her development.
While those who understood what had happened at her birth tried to keep it a secret from the outside, the speed of her growth was quickly exposed to the world.
Her village was sacked when she turned 8. The villages surrounding her own recognized that if she were allowed to grow, the power structures within the territory of Mithra would shift completely. Only with the help of the village's priest was the girl able to escape, and even then she did so alone.
For the next 7 years the girl wandered the central Western territory. The power of the Divinity allowed for her to grow quickly and to grow strong. The Divinity kept her alive as she and through her worship to Mithra her Divinity only grew. On her 15th birthday, a time in which even the most fortunate would receive their 1st Divinity, the girl was blessed with her 3rd.
While only those who worship have the chance to be blessed with a Divinity, one does not need to hold a position within the church. However, when it comes to the 3rd blessing, only those devout in their worship and sacrifice to their god have the chance to receive it. Such devotion is often only found in those who are a part of the church.
As such, as an individual without the restrictions of the church and with the power to defend herself and fight against those that wish to eliminate her, the girl began to raze the villages that sacked her own.
After a single week of carnage and bloodshed, and with her anger and hatred subsiding, the girl received her 4th blessing. The justice that came from avenging her family and village, along with the blood sacrifice of all those she killed in the process, made for a perfect offering.
With the power of Divinity that came from this 4th blessing, and the abilities that came with it, the girl sought to unify the territory of Mithra. She knew that the strength given to those blessed by Mithra and the plentiful resources within their territory would allow them to destroy the rest of the religions within the Western region. She knew that as she expanded the word of Mithra, her own power would grow.
And so she did. Starting by moving to the Southwestern regions, the girl, along with those that had unified below her went from village to village, fiefdom to fiefdom, and tribe to tribe. Any who worshiped a deity other than Mithra was slaughtered and churches and temples were built in honor of Mithra.
After the girl conquered the Southwestern region, she stopped. The girl deemed that the stability of the land she now possessed came before expanding further. Thus, she built a city over the land that was once her village.
With the mineral and ores of the Southwestern region, the city that the girl built was expansive. The walls of the city were dozens of meters high, the Imperial palace sat in the middle of the city and overlooked every district, and the temple that the girl dedicated to Mithra sat on the Western border of the city, for Mithra shall be blessed by the morning Sun each day.
On the day that the girl turned 25, the city, named Mitras in honor of the deity that has protected her, was completed and the girl gathered her armies once more.
For years, the two religions to the North were given time to prepare. Despite their differences in beliefs, the followers of Izotz and Kuhn knew that only through cooperation would their own religions survive.
Still, no matter what kind of resistance they gathered, they would only last a few more years than those who had followed Infernis.
Eventually, two years before the girl turned 30, the only remnants of the followers of Kuhn and Izotz were those few who managed to flee before the decimation of their homes. 22 years after her home was taken from her, the girl unified the entire Western region.
On the day that her war ended, the girl returned to her city. In the temple she built for Mithra, she offered the heads of the priests that headed the religions she conquered. As the light of the morning sun rose upon the offering table and the heads were burned to ash, the girl began to glow, much like she had on the day of her birth. As the glowing faded and the girl received her 5th blessing of Divinity, a voice thundered across the continent.
"ANIKA THEMA VON REVAN. CONQUEROR. UNIFIER. WORSHIPPER. LET MY VOICE CEMENT YOUR MARK ON THE WORLD. LET YOUR LIFE AND YOUR BLESSING BRING FORTUNE TO YOU AND ALL WHO COME AFTER YOU. ALLOW MY WORD TO BLESS WHAT YOU HAVE BUILT. CONTINUE FORTH, CHILD, AND HONOR THY GOD."
As the name of the girl sounded across the continent, so too did the name of the first Empire that the continent would see. As one Empire grew, the spark of unification was lit across the continent. No longer would hundreds of tribes and fiefs and villages control the land. The empire that Anika Revan built was only the first of many.
Such was the foundation of THE REVA EMPIRE.