The Iron Senate

Faction Color: [#8B0000] (Matching the Crimson Cohort)

Description: Arekthon, the City of War, is a militant polis governed by the Iron Senate. Devoted to Ares, its culture is built on strength, bloodlust, and victory. It is the earthly proxy for Ares and the sworn rival of Myrrdin.

Detailed Faction Profile

Core Identity & Philosophy:

 * Identity: A disciplined, militant, and expansionist city-state (polis).

 * Philosophy: "Victory is measured by the body count. Cunning is cruelty, and rage is a virtue. The best battle is the one that ends in a glorious massacre. We are the City of War, and our ways are blunt, efficient, and true. We call Myrrdin's ways cowardice."

History & Origins:

 * Founding Story: The city was founded around the Shrine of the Unbroken Spear, a holy site where Ares's spear was said to have fallen. Its society was forged in conflict, built to be a permanent "long spear" aimed at its rivals.

 * Key Events:

   * The War of Broken Wards: The long-smoldering war against Myrrdin. It began when Arekthon demanded the crystal-cavern resources of Myrrdin to fuel its siege engines, and Myrrdin refused. The war has defined their culture and military.

   * The "Spear & Aegis" Festival: A sacred ceasefire and time-boxed truce with Myrrdin, where offerings are made at both temples under a Styx-oath.

Goals & Motivations:

 * Long-Term Ambition: To defeat Myrrdin and prove that Ares's philosophy of "fury" is superior to Athena's "strategy". To control the north, including Myrrdin's crystal resources.

 * Short-Term Objective: To win the "Second Apple War" by sending a champion to the Garden of the Hesperides to claim the Golden Apple of Eris, proving Arekthon is the "worthiest polis".

 * Driving Force: Ideological Supremacy and Glory. They are driven to prove their patron (Ares) and their way of life (war) are superior to all others.

Methods & Tactics:

 * Operational Style: Overt, disciplined, and brutal. They are a professional military, not just chaotic warriors.

 * Preferred Strategies: Frontal assault, siege warfare, and "first blood" duels. They rely on levy cohorts, siege wagons, and Bloodsworn champions. They settle internal disputes on the tourney field.

Internal Structure & Culture:

 * Hierarchy: Governed by the Iron Senate, a council of war-chosen senators who debate policy by banging spear butts on bronze. Champions who win three consecrated victories in the arena can earn a Senate seat.

 * Atmosphere: Blunt, efficient, and entirely focused on war. Life is regimented by musters, drills, and the Bloodroll.

 * Recruitment: Citizens are raised in the military. Prisoners of war are held in the "Bloodroll Pits," healed, and can be entered into the Bloodroll for trial by combat, with rare commutations for mercenary service.

Key Members:

 * Leader (De Facto): Senator Kastor "The Iron-Voiced"

   * Role & Description: A former general who earned his senate seat through decades of brutal, effective campaigns. He is the unofficial leader of the Iron Senate, known for his blunt logic and his ability to settle debates with a single, sharp command. He is the chief proponent of the war against Myrrdin.

 * Religious Leader: High Priest Volos "The Blood-Priest"

   * Role & Description: The High Priest of Ares, overseeing both the Shrine of the Unbroken Spear and the Warforge Enclave. He is a fanatical zealot who reads omens in the duels of the Bloodring and personally consecrates every new champion.

 * Military Commander: General Dracos "The Ram"

   * Role & Description: The grizzled commander of the Sableford garrison and master of Arekthon's siege wagons. He is a blunt, pragmatic, and ruthless tactician who sees Myrrdin's strategies as cowardly and inefficient.

 * Faction Champion: Acastus "The Thrice-Consecrated"

   * Role &Description: The reigning, undefeated champion of the Bloodring arena. His three consecrated victories have granted him a seat in the Iron Senate, and he is a hero to the people. He is being groomed as Arekthon's champion to seek the Golden Apple of Eris.

 * Common Archetypes: The disciplined hoplite, the glory-seeking arena champion, the siege-engine master, the grim Bloodroll clerk, the iron-willed senator.

Relationships:

 * Allies: (Clients) The Crimson Cohort. The Senate views the Cohort as useful (if undisciplined) zealots, hiring them for jobs that require pure terror.

 * Enemies: Myrrdin, City of the Aegis (Sworn, primary rival). The Republic of Theros (Whom they view as godless cowards). They clash with the Anvil Choir by trying to get "war exemptions" for weapon orders, which the Choir refuses.

Public Perception & Reputation:

 * Feared as a brutal, expansionist power. They are seen as the "wasteful" masters of the "glorious massacre" by their rivals. To their own citizens, they are the pinnacle of strength and honor.

Resources & Assets:

 * Key Assets:

   * The Warforge Enclave: Ares-blessed smithies that produce siege rams and armor.

   * The Bloodring: The grand arena, which serves as a training ground, political stage, and judgment court.

   * Sableford: Their key frontier citadel, the "Long Spear" of the nation.

 * Strengths: Disciplined military, strong sense of purpose, powerful siege-craft, and the direct favor of Ares.

 * Weaknesses: Overtly aggressive, lacking in subtlety, and ideologically inflexible. Their entire society is dependent on a state of conflict.

Notable Deeds & Current Status:

 * Deeds: Waging the centuries-long War of Broken Wards against Myrrdin. Establishing the heavily fortified frontier town of Sableford.

 * Status: Actively training and dispatching champions to claim Eris's Golden Apple. They are also implicated (falsely) in the theft of the Gorgon Aegis from Myrrdin, pushing the two cities to the brink of open siege.