Custos

The south of Anitum through the bottom stretch of the Serpents is dominated by religious nation of Custos, a breakaway of the Tantus Empire.

History
The Tantus Empire has always had The Eternal as its central religion, ever since Tantus, who was an Eternal worshiper himself, took control of Plainchase. A great deal of time and resources went into the development of Cathedral, a center for religious thought, learning, and art. While the Tantus Empire began to shift away from a central religion as it adapted the cultures of captured territories Cathedral continued to grow in size and influence.

The leaders of Cathedral began to butt heads with the emperor over the drift from the religious model. They demanded that the religion should be supported and enforced throughout all the regions of the Empire and that effort be made to convert the people of newly conquered territories. The emperors tended to feel that people are easier to rule if they are not being religiously oppressed and refused to pass any laws that forced the religion. The rift between Cathedral and Tantus erupted into full scale war during the early days of the Age of Nations. Cathedral called upon support from Eternal worshipers all across Amikus to fight for their independence. When the war was finally settled the nation of Custos was born.

The new nation of Custos took it upon themselves to continue the imperialistic nature of the Tantus Empire. During the Age of Nations they constantly vied for territory in Moxia and Desina. One territory they were particularly adamant about claiming was the peninsula south of the Evermyst Coast. Their most fierce competitor for the region was the Legion of Iuris. They dared to activate a magical artifact leftover from the Age of Wizards they believed would grant their men supernatural health. Unfortunately, 'supernatural health' turned out to be a mistranslation of 'supernatural life' and the peninsula became filled with undead.

After the incident the general of the Custos army, General Hallendale, was disgusted with the nation's leadership. He had been against using the artifact and was furious that they went ahead and did it anyway. He tried to stage a coup against the standing government but his plans were discovered and he was imprisoned and eventually executed for high treason, but while imprisoned he famously wrote a book “A Treatise on Military Power” in which he outlined his ideas that the power of a nation comes from its military, not its leaders, and without its military to enforce its word the nations were powerless. He suggested in the book many ideas that would become the basis for Guild Philosophy.

The church leaders would resist the rise of the guilds for as long as they could, holding that their seats of power were “god-given.” But when the pressure became too much they finally gave in and called out for the righteous to make their guilds in the gods' names.

Culture
Custos is a religious nation based on worship of the Eternal. While not all of its territory is entirely hardcore-religious, the closer to Cathedral the more the religion holds influence. The influence of the Eternal can be see in the art, music, architecture, and even food of the people of Custos. People live their lives based on the values taught by the church of their god or gods. Even the 'evil' gods have followers, although they are typically less welcome in settlements dedicated to the other gods.

Politics
Custos is a theocracy. Each god in the Eternal pantheon has a church located in Cathedral led by a head priest. These priests meet as needed to make decisions that affect the nation as a whole. Towns and cities are often led by their church as well, with a few exceptions.

Guild Affiliations
Custos gets a lot of support from guilds with religious leaders. Adversely, guilds formed of people who feel they had been oppressed by the religion in the past are always eager to take cause with their enemies. Official standings with the major guilds are:

Leoria's March: Official Military Guild

Luck of Tabor: Defensive Alliance

The Eight: Friendly