Shàl bher is cruel and would see the world burn

Kranos, the Sun Priest of Khasapa is a cruel ruler, taking the goods that the people earned through their hard work to keep in the Monastery so that the priests wouldn't have to work, punishing anyone who wouldn't do what the priests instructed, cuts, bruises, manual labor. Converting the great Mounds into huge stone works was his favorite task to punish people with.

Or, that's how some people see him.

Kranos would argue that he is leading Khasapa into glory, into something larger than itself. He needed the goods to get the gods' support, he needed them for his plans. And for the punishments, he needed a people who would follow his every word for his plans too.

Sitting in the stone building on the steps of the Sun Mound, Kranos met with the patriarchs of Khasapa. His new council would help him guide his people into greatness. 13 men sat in the room, one with a pure white tunic, 12 with deep blues. Kranos, with a new red trim on the traditional white robes of priests, spoke first.

"Gentlemen, look how great our "little" village has grown! But I think it can grow even more. With permission from you, I need men to expand our control. The smaller, neighboring mounds will be easy if they don't fall in line we can make them fall in li-"

Before he could finish, the oldest patriarch spoke up "I don't care about little towns controlled by little priests. I will not be having my sons leave the safety of my home just so you can pretend your better than everyone else."

"Oh, but I'm not just doing this for myself, I'm doing this for us. My goal isn't these towns, they are just stepping stones to make me, nay, us great. My goals are other cities, just like ours. Pàtsa is a pivotal city in the north, if we can take that, we can control the north. Similarly, if we control Bomo to the east, we control the entire Hìt river. As rewards for working with me, you will have access to the wealth from these cities, and even control of them for some of you."

The next day, 10 men from each of the families left Khasapa to head towards Bomo with 20 priests. Making the journey by foot isn't too difficult, but will take several days for the group. The first stop they made was at a small not too far from where they started, about 5 hours walk. The small monastery near it had several people working their way in and out of the building and down the steps into the rice fields below. Seeing such a large contingent of men approaching them on a day that wasn't holy came as a shock to the priests living there.

"Gentlemen, how may I hel-" before he could finish his sentence, one of Kranos' men shot him in the chest.

"thank you for your hospitality, priest." Kranos approached the man, noticing his six-pointed star necklace that signaled he was the head priest at this mound. "Lend me your ears denizens of this mound!" He shouted as he stepped past the now lifeless body of the previous leader. "If you follow my instructions you won't have to succumb to the same fate as this lovely man. For you see, I am Kranos, Sun Priest of the great City Khasapa, and now the ruler of this mound. Nothing with change for you if you play nicely, only a small ... tax will keep you out of harm's way. Now, who is in charge now that this man here has stopped being with us today." A man of a small frame weakly exited the house. "It's nice to meet you. What's your name?" Kranos said as he extended his hand to the man.

"M-my n-n-name is Thaber."

"It's nice to meet you Thaber. Now, I'd like to introduce you to my friend here, his name is Beher and he's a priest of mine. And now he'll be the Sun Priest here as well. He'll be taking over for your friend here. And to make sure you respect him, 5 of my other friends will live here for a little as well." Several of the sons stepped forward holding spears. "Beher knows what to do around here to make sure our payment is made each year. Just make sure you send some of your priests to your towns to make sure they get the message that we are in control here now.

And with that, Kranos made his was mound by mound to Bomo, repeating similar acts to get the priests to agree to his new rule. Once they reached Bomo, it was a little different. The priests did not control the large village like in Khasapa. In this town, the War Chief, selected from the patriarchs of the town, control the dealing of the local government. Luckily, in Atòrganì culture, one can challenge the War Chief to take their position as leader of the town. On arriving, Kranos challenged the current chief for his position. Choosing the strongest man in his following (through a non-lethal fighting tournament) as his champion, a duel to the death was held for control of the pivotal town. Kranos' champion won swiftly, and with that, the champion's father was placed in control of the town. Temporarily left in control, the champion held power until his family made the move to their new home. Till then, Kranos spent time enjoying his new city. Soon they would make their way back to their home, and them on towards Pàtsa. Similar with the mounds, Bomo would have to pay a tax to Khasapa yearly, but that shouldn't be a problem now that one of Kranos' council member's family will control the city forever as governor.