The Five Factions

A closer look into the Five Factions of the Holy League

Sep 21, 2023

Author’s Note: I hope you all enjoyed my previous post detailing the background events of Inquisitor’s Promise. For this week’s post, I’ll be talking about the political aspects of the novel’s setting: the Five Factions.

Nota Bene: All images are generated with Midjourney.

Overview

Though Christendom in the 74th century is united by the Church through the Holy League, the nations had long seen each other with suspicion. In order to pursue their respective self-interest, they banded into various factions depending on their political philosophies. There are currently five factions within the Holy League: the Imperialists, the Proletarians, the Spacers, the Corporatists, and the Knights.

Imperialists

Faction Leader: Emperor Hannegan CII of Texarkana

Led by the Texarkana Imperium in the Amerigo Region, the Imperialists had the most legitimate claim to be the supreme power of the Holy League. After all, the Emperor in Texarkana had been appointed by the Pope to be the temporal head of Christendom when the Holy League itself was founded. This arrangement is known as the Holy Empire. But in the last few centuries, this position had been theoretical at best. The Imperialists seek to restore the Holy Empire and the Imperium’s rightful position in Christendom.

The Imperialists are arguably the most powerful of the Five Factions in terms of military might. With the Imperium spanning a significant portion of Earth, the Imperial Army have numerous soldiers and the most advanced war machine in Christendom.

Despite all this, the Imperium is a paper tiger in many ways. In the last few generations, the Imperium had been struggling to keep its territories together. Even the Thirteen Protectorates, core Imperial territories, have been drifting apart from Texarkana. Even so, the Imperium still commands respect in Christendom at large even if their geopolitical authority is only in name. They also have various allies from all over the Holy League, the most reliable being the dynamic Tsardom of Slavia.

Proletarians

Faction Leader: Grand Duke Caius Aquilanus

Led by the Pacifica Duchy in the Pacifica Region, the Proletarians are notable for being the only faction led by a non-baseline race. With the Pacifica Duchy located under the waters of the Pacifica Under-Ocean, the Proletarian faction is led by the deep ones, a race that originates from the marriage of a member of the Inquisitorial House Aquilanus and a woman whose true ancestry remains shrouded in mystery. Their descendants, the deep ones, possessed the power to command barely sentient insectoid beings known as swarm creatures or swarmlings. It was because of this power that the deep ones are seen with great suspicion by most in Christendom despite being baptized members of the Church themselves.

The history of the deep ones remains to be an open wound in the history of Christendom and House Aquilanus. At first, the children of Caius Aquilanus and Simona Koseva were allowed to live in peace in Nepoli. But tensions always remained. Generations later, the people’s fears of the underwater dwellers reached a critical mass and the deep ones, including the then Patriarch Ulysses Aquilanus, were banished from Nepoli. With Patriarch Ulysses banished, the position of Patriarch of House Aquilanus was handed over to a younger brother who agreed for his family to never wed anyone of deep one ancestry. Ulysses himself then made his way to the Pacifica Region where he established the Pacifica Duchy. Over time, the divide between the two branches of House Aquilanus widened.

In many ways, the surface world’s fear of the Proletarian faction and their swarm is justified. The Pacifica Duchy and the Swarm see themselves as champions for those who had been overlooked by the surface world. Nothing illustrates this more than the fact that the Swarm Country is located in the interior of the Earth. It was in the mantle, in the transition zone, where the Swarm King Nineveh made his home for himself and the Swarm Army at large.

Spacers

Faction Leader: Doge Norberto de Medici

Led by the Commonwealth of Veneto in the Europa Region, the Spacers are known to be the faction with the strongest presence in space, especially the Electrosphere. Being centered around the floating city of Veneto Flotia, the Venetians have a long history of shipbuilding, both airships and spaceships. Because of this, the Venetians possess a space empire out of proportion in size to their small population, especially compared to other space faring states such as the Imperium.

While the Spacers have a great presence in space, the faction’s presence on Earth is weak; the Venetians have little territories and few allies Earth-side. In fact, it is clear to all that the Venetians care more for outer space than Earth itself. Thus, while other major powers squabble over Earth, the Venetians are content to focus on their possessions in outer space.

The Venetians’ strong presence in the Electrosphere meant that they have a vested interest in fully mapping out that realm. When an ancient gate was discovered in a Venetian colony under the surface of the Moon, the Doge wanted nothing more than to open it to discover its secrets. However, the Venetians had neither the scientific prowess nor the resources necessary to do it by themselves. Thus, they turned to the Church and the rest of the Holy League, setting the stage for the events to follow.

Corporatists

Faction Leader: CEO Honda Nintendo

Led by the Zaibatsu in the Eurasia Region, the Corporatists are seen as the up-and-coming faction within the Holy League. While other major powers have existed as prominent powers for centuries, the Zaibatsu as people know it is a relatively recent creation. The lands of Nippon was once a humble place known for their skilled artisans. But this all changed when Honda Nintendo took over as the CEO of the Zaibatsu.

Initially a conglomerate of guilds from all over Nippon, the Zaibatsu was transformed into a corporate behemoth in just a few decades under the leadership of Honda. This was possible thanks to a great influx of money from the always troublesome dark felinids. The Zaibatsu used its newfound cash to fund various great developments as massive cities rapidly sprouted all over the lands; unlike other places on Earth, the lands of the Zaibatsu was not all that urbanized prior to Honda’s takeover.

But despite the riches and developments, there was a dark side to the Zaibatsu. The once proud artisans became slaves in all but name. Quality wares became cheap products made for easy consumption. Furthermore, usury abounds in direct opposition to Church teachings. Not content with just the lands of Nippon, the Zaibatsu extended its tendrils all across Christendom. One example can be found in the lands of Draka wherein the Zaibatsu used its influence to enslave the local populace in order to expand its diamond mining operations in the area.

Knights

Faction Leader: Sir Juan Carlos de la Mancha

Led by the Knights of San Felipe in the Aseania Region, the Knights are seen as the mediator faction in the Holy League. Unlike the other factions who seek to dominate Christendom through their own ways, the Knights wish to bring unity back into Christendom which had splintered into various factions. Making up the bulk of this faction are the Papal knights whose fiefdoms can be found all over the Holy League.

While the San Felipe Fiefdoms has a history that predates the founding of the Holy League itself, being known for their fearsome wyvern knights, it was never a major power in the Holy League until fairly recently. The change came when the then Grand Knight Miguel de la Mancha went on a mission to unite the Papal knights all around the Holy League. This was the start of the Knights faction.

Unfortunately, Sir Miguel died in Malta when a fire broke out, having heroically saved many civilians during that terrible event. But his work was not in vain as he was able to draw many Papal Knight-Orders and minor nations to his side. But the most important ally Sir Miguel recruited was the Inquisition as he was able to convince Grand Inquisitor Anchises Aquilanus to tacitly support his faction. Carrying on the late Grand Knight’s work is his brother Sir Juan Carlos.

Want to know more about the Five Factions of the Holy League? Get your copy of Inquisitor’s Promise on Amazon, Lulu, or Laterpress. Alternatively, you can read the web novel version here in Germanicus Publishing: