#in particular with emmeryn's death and chrom's reign

[iturbide]

@leni-of-the-now​ replied to your post: 

Wait what??

Oh yeah I have a ton of headcanons about the absolutely toxic environment that the last Exalt left behind as his legacy buckle in folks 

So while I have some complicated headcanons regarding the Grimleal and the political situation in Plegia, I have an equally in-depth view of the situation in Ylisse.  The game makes it very clear that there are rigid social strata observed in Ylisse: in order of decreasing power (and increasing size), you have the Exalted Lineage on top (including both the Branded and those they marry, who are considered part of the royal family), the noble houses, and the common folk at the very bottom.  This is vividly painted in supports like Maribelle’s, where there’s a fairly radical difference between her interactions with Chrom or Lissa (who she shows utmost deference to), Ricken (who she treats as someone on equal standing), and Kellam or Vaike (who she criticizes and berates quite easily).  

Now, these castes are built entirely on bloodlines.  The Exalted Lineage traces its origins back to the pact with Naga, and the Brand that marks them has been present since that bond was forged.  It stands as proof of their divine favor, and marks them as rightful rulers of Naga’s lands.  By the same turn, nobles also use their lineage as the basis of their standing: each house has its origins somewhere in history (likely sometime not long after the first Exalt established the halidom of Ylisse) and has endured to the present day, amassing more wealth and power with every generation.  The common folk, meanwhile, have no such lineage to fall back on: at best, they might have a business that has been run by the family for generations, but this does not afford them the same power or security that a noble house does. 

Now, this kind of pyramidal complex relies on the masses being compliant with the established system.  This is where the royal family has a tangible advantage: they have a literal mark that represents their ties to Ylisse’s divine dragon, and given that the halidom is also the land where Naga is worshiped as a goddess, the lower strata (including the commoners) have largely been willing to accept the Exalt’s rule as being divinely ordained.  It’s kept the system working for a significant period of time, though there has undoubtedly been unrest at times (and some of it has likely resulted in the loss of a noble house or two over the centuries). 

But this brings us to the reign of Emmeryn’s father.  I have a lot of headcanons about him, and very few of them are good, I’ll be honest.  His father was...weak-willed, to put it mildly, allowing the nobles and the Church of Naga to run about more or less unsupervised and exerting only a passing influence on his son’s upbringing.  Though there were no outright conflicts during his time in power, his lax approach allowed the church to take a more active role in the crown prince’s upbringing -- and coupled with the Exalt’s disdain for Plegia on the whole, they readily cultivated a zealous loathing of the Grimleal in the boy as he grew.  

Even before taking the throne, he was, by all estimations, a perfect example of chivalry and nobility: he was extremely handsome (I personally headcanon him with Chrom’s strong build and Emmeryn’s gold hair and grey-blue eyes), honorable to a fault, ostensibly living by the doctrines of Naga’s church; when his father died and he assumed rule, he was welcomed wholeheartedly, for the people (nobles and commoners alike) believed that he would usher in a golden age for them.  Unfortunately, his glorious and noble presentation masked a shrewd mind and a violent temper that fueled his deep-rooted hatred for Plegia and her people.  Within a few years of assuming the throne, he began to solidify his image and his power base: he enacted several writs that offered small benefits to the commoners, bolstering their loyalty to him; he attended church services with almost fanatic regularity, instilling the image of himself as a holy and pious man; and at last he took a wife from an extremely prominent noble house -- not for love, mind you, but for the wealth and power he could draw from the arrangement.  And from there, he slowly began to spread poison through the halidom: he encouraged the church to preach more about the evils of Grima and the infidels across the western mountains, oversaw the dissemination of propaganda that painted the Plegians as savages, heathens, sub-human monsters corrupted by Grima’s evil and beyond salvation; and then he started turning the nobles against each other. 

While he was, by all accounts, an absolutely horrific man, he was not a stupid one.  He recognized the fact that he could not wage his war alone; but rather than ask outright for support and funding, he took a decidedly more insidious route.  He started small, bringing up a rather trivial matter in need of financial support.  Most of the nobles thought nothing of it...until one family offered to supply the funds for it -- and once it was completed, that family suddenly received an impressive property grant from the Exalt for their support.  Realizing that they could increase their own holdings and power, soon other families were clamoring to support the Exalt as he brought additional matters before the court, some inconsequential...others decidedly not.  Each family that supported the effort did, indeed, gain a significant boon for it -- but since those early opportunities only allowed support from one or perhaps two families, infighting among the families began as they vied for the opportunity.  It began with debates, which descended into arguments, which finally devolved into absolutely vicious quarrels that drove wedges between whole houses.  And the more toxic the court became, the more dangerous the Exalt’s proposals grew. 

And it’s around here that Ricken’s family becomes important.  Before things truly descended into the stuff of nightmares, back during the days when the debates were just starting to become heated, the Exalt turned his attention to Ricken’s family and asked them if they would support him in some effort or another, for they had been quiet in all previous matters.  The head of Ricken’s house refused, saying simply that it was not their place to do so, for the wealth and property that the Exalt commands should be more than adequate for a matter for the benefit of the halidom -- effectively, they saw though his game and called him on it.  And the Exalt did not like that in the least: it was a danger to his plans to have any question, let alone stand against him.  So he retaliated -- by stripping Ricken’s family of a substantial part of their property and power, and granting it instead to the house that did assist in the matter he brought to the court. 

The message was clear: play the game or pay dearly.  And none of the other houses wanted to pay. 

By the time the Exalt got around to bringing the war effort to the table, he had virtually every noble family clamoring for his attention and favor; most every house was willing to finance his ‘crusade,’ and in exchange, he pointedly skipped over the children of noble houses when he instituted his drafts for soldiers, choosing only from the common class.  This, in particular, fed a great deal of unrest in the halidom as the war dragged on: farmers, tailors, merchants, innkeepers, all were pulled into the conflict with barely any training, sent out to fight and die for the Exalt’s cause, and without them to sustain the work force, Ylisse began to collapse: there were wide-spread food shortages, and desperate civilians increasingly turned to theft in order to simply survive.  By the time the Exalt died (perhaps in battle, or perhaps of infirmity on the war front), the halidom’s peace was hanging by a thread; only Emmeryn’s immediate cessation of violence and withdrawal of troops kept a civil war from erupting within Ylisse’s borders...and even then, having seen what her father was like, the people of the halidom were understandably not thrilled with her ascension, believing she would follow in his footsteps. 

Emmeryn suffered greatly for her father’s crimes.  But she persevered, even still, and managed to bring peace to the people of Ylisse, focusing her every effort on soothing the wounds the common people had suffered through that long conflict.  Unfortunately, it took her the better part of fifteen years to get that far; in that time, she had little time to sort through the nightmare of the noble court, let alone try to connect with their Plegian neighbors to discuss trade, diplomacy, or even reparations; the latter issue fueled Gangrel’s passionate hatred of Ylisse, for it left the impression that the halidom felt it had done no wrong in need of apology.  As for the former, when Emmeryn martyrs herself and Chrom puts the conflict with Gangrel to rest, he’s left to sort out the mess with the noble court, fighting tooth and nail for every scrap of progress, because the aristocracy has too long enjoyed the power and influence they’ve been able to exert thanks to what Chrom’s father gave them; changing the system is a clear threat to them, and they are not about to take it lying down.

[stainedglassmonk]

What IS up with War Monkhood/Clerichood?

this gets kinda long so: content under the cut

Important Disclaimer: Not all of this has not been run by Chrom-mun, so everything in this is Pure Speculation. Not Ferp-Canon. (Until such time as I and Chrom-mun can bang out the parts that don’t jive, and then we maybe can keep some of this as part of libra’s canon, but well. yeah! so, mun’s hc’s down below, not necessarily ferp-canon until the jiving of the minds has occured, but given both chrom-mun and i are very busy people with relatively conflicting schedules, i asked and received permission from them to go ahead and post, so long as i put up a disclaimer that this is not intended to be read as ferp-canon)

OKAY SO!! Crash Course in Explicitly Recent Ylissean History. (before i get to maybe answering questions in depth? This is the Recent History bit)

SO. an unnameable number of years ago, less because many and more because the timeline here is. hrm, vague, Dick Daddy The Genocidal was borthed. I imagine he was raised in a fashion similar to general heirs, and then he ascended the throne.

that’s not really the important part.

the important part is Dearest DIckfather The Genocidal rather hated his neighbors. And not in like, a suburban kind of way. no, D.D.T.G rather hated his neighbors in a “they’re different and they should die” way instead of a “they don’t water their lawns 3x a week like the continental aesthetic guidelines clearly indicate”

so, at some point he takes the country to war.

and it’s canon that the war goes on long enough to be devastating to both countries. plegia in that uh. Yeah, just about every way. and then ylisse in that the country basically drains itself of resources to sorta fuel the machine of war

and i’m assuming/running off canon that this makes him an Incredibly Unpopular Person.

like, maybe…assassination attempts unpopular. or “so we’re gonna smash through the forces of the exalt and target HIM SPECIFICALLY since we hate him so much. okay? cool. BREAK” plegian team huddle style

anyway

so eventually at some point DDTG decides that perhaps his dwindling army (due to death rates, desertion rates, lack of enlistment/draft dodging, depending on if a draft was enacted and other factors) isn’t The Best at keeping him seated firmly and power and allowing him to continue to breathe

BUT! OH BOY OH BOY! he has another avenue he can turn to that isn’t just the general population. because DDTG is the Exalt. And the Exalt is both kinda Pope-y and Kingly at the same time. A two-fer, if you will

And since he’s the head of the ylissean (the continent, rather than the country) church, he can decree things. and since he’s the king of ylisse (the country) he can enforce things!

and idk much about how this whole thing started but the easiest/best known way to get a buncha medieval peasantry up in arms for a significant period of time (as far as I know) is involving religion. so i’m kind of assuming that he tied in his reasons for going to war with something about the idea being a decree straight from naga

and since we know the voice sleeps….a lot, and is clear and away on the other side of the continent and then past an ocean and on a different continent…it sure would be easy not to contest that

SO

assuming all that, we can say he probably put it down as a decree (from naga, to him, disseminated to you the people, his beloved subjects [Naga came to me, specifically, since i’m the exalt, and told me to kill everyone who might look like [a plegian] or might worship grima [all plegians, or so the sources tell us], are you with me!])

and bound several but not all of the devotional orders to his personal defense/orders. probably two or three of the most populous monasteries/nunneries suddenly were called upon to join the war effort at the exalt’s side personally

regardless of popular opinion of the war effort itself, some likely/definitely saw this as an honor. the head of the church relying upon them specifically, asking for favors of them, specifically

yeah.

and then i imagine that a bunch of previously peaceful monks/clerics suddenly being given cheaply produced weaponry with no experience with weapons, being thrust into battle / defending the exalt didn’t exactly have a huge survival rate.

it’s likely that many of the bound monasteries and nunneries were wiped off the map, just their entire “war-ready” population destroyed.

and then after DDTG’s death, the decimated orders went home to heal, as emmeryn took the thrown and began making reparations to plegia and healing her own country

the order binding the monks/clerics forgotten in the upheaval.

and, well. since the order isn’t rescinded, the nunneries/monasteries practice with their armor and their weapons, to get better, for when next they are called.

and everyone knows which (surviving) monasteries are obligated to the exalt, and the remaining ill-will that DDTG inspired in the people hit acolyte induction very hard

(this is why all of Libra’s monks are older. they were survivors of the first war, and all the acolytes are libra’s age, having been children when the war ended and grown up loving emmeryn. This is a snapshot of every monastery and nunnery sworn to the exalt at this moment. All with similarly aging avowed members and then a huge age gap between the incoming young acolytes and freshly graduated new devotees)

And this brings us to the beginning of LIbra’s backstory, where Calum picks him up and he joins in with the first influx young, babyfaced acolytes (the older batches of acolytes having just barely taken their vows), and only a scant four or so years later Emmeryn is kidnapped to Plegia and the monks and presumably some clerics as well mobilize in her defense

We know what happens to Libra’s monks. They die in the desert, before ever reaching Emmeryn. I believe this is because the older monks went alone, leaving the young ones behind. Though in Libra’s monastery, none of the acolytes had taken their vows yet, due to that specific monasteries choice in extended acolyte periods.

I think that the other sworn orders would do the same, explaining why Libra is alone. (There is a chance that some just didn’t make it in time, and I don’t doubt that some did arrive too late, after the armies had both abandoned the area, and had to go home without even knowing if Chrom’s rescue had been successful or not)

And, since Chrom doesn’t ascend the throne to Exalt right away, leaving the sworn orders leaderless, and the way the War Against Plegia: Take Two, The Emmeryning escalates and then concludes fairly quickly, giving the delayed/late clerics/monks little time to re-mobilize to Chrom’s defense (so little time in fact, that none even leave Ylisse’s borders before the conflict is over)

While normally this might have brought the law binding the monks/clerics to Chrom’s attention, other things were pressing, and being the Exalt is TRULY a busy job, and neither Libra nor the sworn orders ever think to bring it up

AND THAT’S THE RECENT HISTORY OF THE YLISSEAN MONKS/CLERICS (so onto the more specific questions)

So. IN RESPECT TO HOW PREVALENT THEY ARE.

Numbers: At the beginning there were minimum 4 and maximum 6 orders sworn to DDTG. Each being chosen primarily for their strength of population, it can be assumed that each had a population in the hundreds varying in ages from the very young to the very old.

So i’m going to give a middling estimate of a war-ready force in the 200-350s but an overall population of 400-800

After DDTG’s war, this war ready population dove down to maybe at most 100. Probably more in the 60s or below. (I’m leaning more. 30)

And with the lack of incoming new generations, the overall population crashed to a bottom at probably overall 200-550s, though each monastery’s/nunnery’s losses varied (Libra’s in particular had been from a relatively large area with an exceptionally hard hit populace due to the war itself, so even the monks who’d stayed behind and hadn’t gone off to war had suffered, leaving the population of the monastery at <80 people)

Distribution-wise, the monasteries/nunneries are likely from all over Ylisse. From the far north towards the feroxi border to the plegian border, to the lands around the ocean

Libra’s monastery inducts acolytes from a large area near the Plegian border. The others probably are centered in large population areas, or service large areas (i don’t have any hcs in regards to placement but i know exactly where libra’s monastery is)

(below you will see libra’s monastery in dark blue, and primary potential monastery positions in purple with secondary potential locations in green; the capitol is marked in red)

Other monasteries, which have/had smaller populations are steady, quiet establishments that keep to themselves and have varying practices and routines. The Exalt doesn’t bother them and many of them have vows of pacifism.

What they do: so. Basically what other monasteries/nunneries do

But the sworn ones in particular: they function as general monasteries/nunneries, but they train themselves to be tough, to defend the Exalt, defend the faith

Some of the monks/clerics work towards helping the monastery/nunnery be self-sufficient, some of them devote themselves literally to the word of naga, some specifically choose to focus on charity, or service or any number of things

Regardless, they are still functional places of contemplation and devotion, with a side of defense-ready combat skill

Relations with the Exalt: in this case i’m a little fuzzy. The sworn are meant to protect the exalt/are under the exalt’s explicit command, but Chrom and Emmeryn likely knew nothing about this

So I think it’s safe to say that there’s an advisor somewhere, leftover from DDTG’s reign, marshalling the forces to the Exalt’s aid whenever ordered, or whenever they feel the war monks/clerics can be of use

And while normally they would run these decisions by the exalt, since DDTG left office, emmeryn and chrom both seem like the kind of people who’d frown upon this sort of abuse of power

And well, this position does hold power. Not an especially massive amount of power, but power nonetheless, and attention drawn to this position would mean its erasure

So despite being under Chrom/Emmeryn/(Lucina)/(Lissa)’s direct command, it’s probably, hell, almost certain imo that after DDTG dies the monks and clerics are handled by some character like the Hierarch who betrayed Emmeryn unbeknownst to the exalt

[iturbide]

I was wondering just what you thought of the Grimleal faith as a whole? I always wanted to actually know about the general faith, not the weird cult that Validar made :/

OOOH 8D Oooh oooh I like this question a lot so much in fact that I’m probably going to have to cut for length because once I get started it’s hard to stop

So I have always been of the opinion that while Awakening is a great game, one of its major failings is in its treatment of Plegia and the Grimleal.  The game teases us with the fact that Ylisse’s western neighbor is more than the heathen Grima worshippers Chrom’s father thought they were: after all, they are so moved by Emmeryn’s sacrifice in the name of peace that they lose their will to fight and abandon the field in spite of Gangrel’s threats.  But the next time we see Plegia in any real way, the game effectively walks back any progress by depicting the people as Validar’s mind-controlled masses, sacrificed for the sake of Grima’s return.  And that’s a terrible injustice for a nation that’s already been so unfairly smeared. 

The game doesn’t tell us too much about the Plegian faith, and most of it is sadly twisted through the lens of Validar’s cult.  But I’ve put a lot of time and thought into developing the kinder side of the religion, and these are some of my personal thoughts: 

Grima is, in fact, known as the Fell Dragon even in Plegia, though the name has very different connotations there than it does to Ylisseans.  Before Naga and the First Exalt struck them down, Grima was Plegia’s protector, keeping the people safe from threats that might befall them; in particular, Grima was vicious in their defense of the nation from outside invasion or other hostile forces, which is what earned them the title in the first place (since ‘fell’ is an archaic term for ‘fierce’ – quite appropriate, for a dragon that gives no quarter in battle). 

Plegia is truly the Grimleal nation, and most people who live within its borders worship Grima in some way, shape, or form.  This can range from casual observance of holy days to more dedicated attendance of temple services; however, they are as much at risk from Validar’s crazy cult as anyone else, since the zealots are using their rank within the religious hierarchy to excuse some terrible behavior.  This is why the villagers in the desert help Chrom and the Shepherds when they come to warn them of the Grimleal threat: they are simply good people doing their best, and they appreciate the kindness of strangers, offering what little they can to return the favor. 

In following with this, most Plegians actually have no interest in stirring up conflict with their neighbors.  They just want the freedom to live and worship in peace; Gangrel turns people to his cause through a combination of manipulation (preying on their understandable fears in the wake of the last Exalt’s reign) and force (threatening their loved ones should they disobey or desert).  Emmeryn’s sacrifice laid bare Gangrel’s lies, which allowed so many Plegian soldiers to find courage enough to abandon the cause they did not believe in when the final battle came. 

The Grimleal do, in fact, look forward to Grima’s return – but while the Grimleal cult has been working tirelessly toward reviving Grima through a mortal vessel for the purposes of destruction, the rest of the nation wants nothing more than the safety and security stolen from them by Naga’s champion.  They have endured a millennium of persecution, culminating most recently in the crusade by Chrom’s father that attempted to wipe out the Plegian ‘heathens’; it’s little wonder, then, that the Grimleal at large would yearn for the return of the divine that once protected them from such cruelty.

On a related note, none of the general worshipers actually thought that the dragon would come back; rather, they believed the Brand, known in Plegia as the Heart of Grima, signified the one chosen by Grima to be their proxy who would guard and guide the nation in their stead. 

It’s also true that the Grimleal believe their souls go to Grima after they die; however, only the cult believes that their deaths strengthen the Fell Dragon in any way.  Most worshipers believe that after their defeat, Grima became the “Shadow of the World”, which allowed them to keep watch over their people and offer guidance and comfort, since shadows are always present; they also hold that, when a body dies, the soul joins Grima in the shadows and can be at peace within Grima’s protection. 

On another related note, Plegians believe that the longest night of the year (the winter solstice, aka Grima’s Night) is the night when Grima’s powers peak and the souls of those who died can return to the world and reunite in spirit with their loved ones.  Grima’s Night is a huge party on the western half of the continent.  

tl;dr i love the grimleal faith so much