Technomancer: Birth of a Goddess
Was the Old Denntimo Civil War Fought for Ideology or Territory

Was the Old Denntimo Civil War Fought for Ideology or Territory?

By Tom Valentine of house Dahlia, First Circle

Submitted to Theodore Eleocharis for Basic History

Before the year 486, Denntimo (now known as Old Denntimo) was governed by the royal house of Denros and 18 noble houses. The civil war, which has split the continent in half and divided the nobility into two similarly weighted factions, can be understood either as a simple fight for power, territory and resources, or a war of ideas, with the rebels, now known as New Denntimo, claiming moral superiority over the royalists, now known as Denros (reflecting their loyalty to the royal house). Milana Delphinium describes the war’s causes as: “the inevitable consequence of the policies of a despotic royal family, who hoarded the country’s power and riches until many of the nobles’ frustrations and greed reached breaking point.” On the other hand, Demetrius Hawthorne argues that “ideological differences had caused long-standing rifts within Denntimo’s ruling classes, with those loyal to the ruling house of Denros keeping magic a close-guarded secret, known only to the awakened, whilst a strong faction, inspired by the writing of Ganicenda Ambrosius believed society would flourish if the benefits of magic were commonly understood and enjoyed by all.” Who was right?

In this essay, I will argue that, given what we understand of the civil war to date, Delphinium’s arguments seem more credible. The civil war is currently in an uncomfortable stalemate, with both sides seemingly unwilling to launch a full attack, preferring to focus on regular border skirmishes to maintain their positions. Whilst it could be argued that the public release of magical knowledge within New Denntimo demonstrates a commitment to the ideological principles of the rebels, the lack of drive to pursue political change in Denros suggests that they are satisfied with the territory that they have already acquired. This position is understandable, given that the rebels secured the capital, Attaliee, renaming it Liberte, giving them access to the country’s greatest mana veins. By contrast, the royalists were forced to establish a new capital for themselves in the second city of Rizenford, providing them with weaker magical resources.

Lucia Hibiscus believes that the stalemate is attributable to a “long tradition of defensive military strategy that has left both sides unpractised in the art of attack.” It is true that Old Denntimo appeared uninterested in military aggression. A strong focus on defensive measures led to the development of their greatest weapon, The Sunbeam, which was designed purely to protect the capital, Liberte (Attaliee at the time) and had an in-built range limiter. Their defensive mindset was also evident in the powerful barriers and defensive bastions they focused on establishing along the coast to block movement in and out of the continent. Even having destroyed the original Sunbeam during their retreat, the royalists chose to focus their energies on rebuilding the weapon in Rizenford, together with The Sand Wall (see my previous paper, ‘The Sand Wall: a Magical Marvel or an Inevitable Mistake’) again focussing on defence, rather than developing the capacity to take back their former territories.

However, the same cannot be said for New Denntimo, who fought fiercely for two years, before ending the initial push to focus on internal development and military force. Whilst Hibiscus has argued that The Sand Wall constitutes a geographical obstacle too great for New Denntimo to push through, the rapid development of magic and technology suggests they do have the military capacity to credibly challenge Denros. The very similar distribution of magical might supports this view. Whilst Denros has twelve known fourth circle mages, New Denntimo has ten: a not overwhelming difference. And yet, they have appeared satisfied to focus their efforts on maintaining their border, which has moved not much more than one hundred kilometers during their near-thirty-year stalemate. Whilst New Denntimo is loud in its criticism of Denros’ policies and treatment of their people, they appear unwilling to fully mobilise their power to liberate that population by force. 

It is true that New Denntimo’s elders have been true to Ambrosius’ ideology. Following the coup, they immediately began the process of spreading magical knowledge, whilst also banning the use of mental magic, a controversial practice still in use in Denros. In 488, they made a general announcement of the existence of magic and established an academy system, to provide a general education across the country, whilst focusing the development of magical knowledge in the capital’s campus. The focus of this development has been on combining magic and weapons technology. Interestingly, the release of magical knowledge has enabled a steep increase in the identification of magical potential and therefore the number of awakenings, thereby giving New Denntimo a significantly higher number of lower circle mages than their Denros adversaries. 

Delphinium argues that the decision to make the existence of magic common knowledge was driven by necessity, given “the level of magical phenomena the general population had observed in the early days of the war, most notably in the Battle for Attaliee”. Delphinium acknowledges that the New Denntimo aversion to mental magic does appear to be genuine, as they could have continued to hide magic with its use. However, she believes that expediency, rather than morality, has been their main driving force. Indeed, Ambrosius predicted the increase in awakened mages as a positive bi-product of her teachings, wondering what perceived benefits had ever given rise to the policy of secrecy in the first place.

In conclusion, whilst New Denntimo and its council of Elders have ruled in a manner that is broadly consistent with the teachings of Ambrosius, there is a strong argument that suggests that it is a strategic approach, rather than an ideological one, that has allowed them to maintain their position in Liberte, where they control the most powerful resources on the continent. Added to this, the military development that has occurred within New Denntimo, both in terms of weapons development and magical combatant numbers, suggests that the only thing preventing New Denntimo from taking the battle to Rizenford, in order to liberate the whole continent from what they claim to be the tyranny of Denros, is the drive and desire to do so. My contention is that the civil war began in a bid to secure control of territory and resources and that, having secured the greatest spoils, New Denntimo are now content to maintain the status quo and show little regard for the citizens of Denros, nor for spreading their philosophy of magical transparency beyond their own limited borders.

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78/90,

Good argument Tom, you did a lot better staying on topic this time.

You have skirted around the issue of territory movement since 488 though. I understand this is likely because it doesn’t fit your argument, but it’s an important point we focused on in class for a reason. See ‘Border Battles and Country Line Tracking’ by Rico Ashwash for a reminder if you need it, he gives a good perspective on New Denntimo’s progressive territory loss since 490.

-T.E