History

The ancient Egyptians believed Ethiopia was the home of the gods and the resting place of the Sun, a kingdom known as Punt. They sent trade expeditions there for ebony and ivory, frankincense and myrrh, gold, slaves, skins, and live animals. Herodotus' writings place Ethiopia in the mountains beyond Nubia, south and east of the Nile. Ptolemy's works say it was once ruled by King Cepheus and his wife, Cassiopeia, monarchs who came into conflict with the Greek gods in the stories of Perseus.

Despite this heritage in classic mythology, Ethiopia's remote location, its isolation from the rest of the Mediterranean made it a culture that shared its roots with Mythic Europe, but survived and evolved apart from it, creating distinct but subtle differences. The collapse of the Roman empire combined with rise of Islam and the overambitious mistakes of the Axumite Emperor in the seventh century resulted in a long period of turmoil and decline. Axum lost its formerly close ties with Constantinople and Egypt, and saw trade around the Red Sea greatly suffer. Only in the last eighty years has the Zagwe dynasty managed to establish its rule and bring order to the wider region.

Emerging from antiquity, the kingdom of Axum flourished and expanded as Rome declined. The difficult terrain of the Egyptian deserts and mountains of Kush separated the nations, and Axum blossomed throughout the Horn of Africa and Yemen. While geography deterred warfare, it wasn't enough to prevent trade, and merchants brought goods to and from the Roman empire, the Persian empire of Ctesiphon, the lands of southern Arabia, and beyond. When the kingdom of Kush collapsed,the negus of Axum sent armies north, crushing the Blemmyae in Meroë. Hungry for more, Axumite forces crossed the Red Sea and in 525 AD Emperor Kaleb's generals conquered the Jewish city-states of South Arabia. Axum expanded to include 21stcentury Ethiopia and Eritrea, portions of Sudan's southeastern mountains, and southern Arabia from Najran to the southeast Yemeni coast. The emperor's influence dominated the most of the Red Sea's southern shores, from Adulis to Zeila and through the Bab-al-Mandab straight to the Erythean Sea. For 250 years, the Axumite Emperors minted gold, silver, and even copper coins. The emperor in Constantinople traded correspondence with them, and the priests of their church attended synods in Greece and the Levant. As barbarians rampaged across what remained of the western Roman empire, Axum stood shining in the south.

The Conversion of Axum

Some claim a eunuch of Queen Candace or the Apostle Matthew first brought Christianity to Ethiopia, but no local stories exist about these figures and regional tradition credits two brothers from Tyre for Axum's conversion in the 4th century. Traveling through the Red Sea with their uncle, Meropius, only Edesius and Frumentius survived when a violent mob massacred the crew after the ship put to shore for supplies. The pagan raiders sold them as slaves to the Axumite court, where they tutored the young Prince Ezana in Latin and Greek. As Emperor Elle Amida lay on his deathbed, he emancipated them, permitting the brothers to return to

Tyre. However, the widowed empress asked them to remain and complete the prince's education. Realizing the value of their proximity to the future emperor, they stayed and encouraged Christian merchants to openly worship. Edesius and Frumentius found their position very useful for promoting the spread of Christianity among the native Ethiopians.

Once Ezana took his rightful place as emperor, the brothers finally decided to return to their homeland. Edesius completed the journey, and told his tale to the bishop of Tyre, who had him ordained as a priest. Frumentius only traveled as far as Alexandria, in Egypt. There, he explained to the Patriarch Athanasius his belief that the whole empire of Axum would convert to Christianity, if only the Church would send a missionary entourage of priests, led by a bishop. Athanasius believed no one alive would have a better chance of success than Frumentius. He consecrated the man on the spot, made him a bishop, and directed him to spread the Word of God in Axum. Frumentius obeyed, returning to baptize Ezana, his former student and friend. Utilizing the emperor's support, Frumentius supervised the construction of churches and the spread of Christianity throughout Axum, even traveling into Nubia and Yemen. The people called him "Abba Salama (Father of Peace)," and "Kesate Birhan (Revealer of Light)," while Ezana declared him to be the first abuna, the equivalent of a pope or patriarch. He led the Church in Axum until his death in 386 AD. In 1220, the Ethiopian Church considers him a saint and his feast day is August 1, or Nehase 7 in the Ethiopian calendar detailed later in this section.

Years later, a group of nine saints arrived in Axum, following the Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD. Known as Abba Aftse, Abba Alef, Abba Aragawi, Abba Garima, Abba Guba, Abba Liqanos, Abba Pantelewon, Abba Sehma, and Abba Yem'ata, they preached a form of Christianity known as Monophysitism. This philosophy denied any difference between the human and the divine aspects of Christ, and while Christians in Nubia and Egypt followed it, the Council of Chalcedon declared it heretical. Following the Rule of Saint Pachomius, these saints established monasteries throughout Axum, which both became the foundation for a strong monastic lifestyle and served to further spread Christianity into the heart of Axum. Abba Aftse created a monastery at Yeha, which ultimately failed. Abba Aragawi created the important monastery of Debre Damo and Abbas Liqanos and Pantelewon established Pantelewon Monastery in Axum, both in Bet Amhara. Abba Garima built the Abba Garima Monastery north of Adwa, and Abba Alef built the northernmost monastery at Bi'isa on the south bank of the Mareb River, both in Medri Bahri. Legend tells that the spring near Abba Garima Monastery began flowing when the Abba spat upon the stones, and its waters supposedly grant long life.

The Fall of Axum

A pair of events greatly contributed to the fall of the Axum Empire. The rise of Islam created a difficult situation along the Red Sea coast as the converted population became more hostile to anyone who was not Muslim. Axum lost contact with Constantinople after Egypt was conquered and the sultan of Cairo imposed many restrictions. The sultan forbade the Patriarch of Alexandria to appoint a new abuna to the

When Queen Cassiopeia claimed she and her daughter were more beautiful than all of Poseidon's nereids, the god responded by unleashing the dragon Ceto, and directing it to devastate the country's coasts and ports.Even after Perseus defeated it, Jewish tales of the Leviathan kept it vital and active, harassing local traffic to gather the benefits of sailors' fear and superstition. It still hunts the waters of the Red Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean, flying between the two as whimsy strikes it.

The Dragon Ceto

Faerie Might: 45 (Aq)

Characteristics: Int 0, Per –2, Pre –6, Com -6, Str +21, Sta +2, Dex +2, Qik –10 Size: +10

Virtues and Flaws: Huge x5, Increased Might x3; Faerie Beast, Fae Sight, Faerie Speech, Feast of the Fae, Highly Cognizant, Improved Characteristics, Lesser Faerie Power x4, Personal Faerie Power x2; Monstrous Appearance, Recovery Requires Vitality; Role Requires Suffering, Susceptible to Deprivation, Traditional Ward (Payment: those who pay the sacrifice)

Personality Traits: Destructive +3, Inquisitive +3, Dragon +3

Reputations: Ravenous destroyer of the coasts 3 (Greece), Massive Sea Serpent 2 (local)

Combat:

Claws: Init –1, Attack +11, Defense +10, Damage +24 Fangs: Init –10, Attack +14, Defense –5 Damage +22

Soak: +16

Wound Penalties: –1 (1–15), –3 (16–30), –5 (31–45), Incapacitated (46–60), Dead (61+)

Pretenses: Area Lore: Red Sea Coasts 3 (Ports), Awareness 3 (prey), Brawl 7 (crushing), Faerie Speech 5 (sounding intimidating), Folk Ken 1 (human prey), Hunt 4 (people), Stealth 3 (stalking prey)

Powers:

Corrosive Odor, 5 points, constant, Auram: Ceto constantly emits a corrosive, terrible odor, doing +5 Damage to anyone within one pace of it. MuAu 25 (Base 5, +1 Part, +2 Sun,+1 Constant): Lesser Power (25 levels)

Venomous Bite (non-magical): When Ceto attacks, check its attack advantage to the armor protection of the target, not the Soak. If it exceeds this number, add the effects of adder venom to the attack (ArM5, page 180) regardless of whether it causes a wound.

Flight, 2 points, Init –14, Animal: R: Pers, D: Sun, T: Individual; Ceto is capable of flight. It may use the Athletics skill to perform difficult maneuvers, but may not engage in combat while flying incredibly swiftly. Ceto may not fly when heavily encumbered or with a passenger of its Size or more, unless assisted by another faerie that shares the load. ReAn 40 (Base 15, +2 Sun, +3 Size): Personal Power x2 (40 levels, -2 Might Cost)

Fiery Breath, 6 points, Init –26, Ignem: R: Voice, D: Mom, T: Group; Ceto breathes an enormous gout of flame. All those caught within a 60-degree arc 50 paces long suffer +20 damage. CrIg 40 (Base 15, +2 Voice, +2 Size, +1 Unnatural Shape): Lesser Power x2 (40 levels, -2 Might Points)

Lantern Gaze, 5 points, Init –20, Ignem: R: Pers, D: Sun, T: Individual; Immensely bright light shines from Ceto's eyes, illuminating its way. CrIg 25 (Base 5, +2 Sun, +2 Size): Lesser Power (25 levels) Encumbrance: 0 (0)

Vis: There are 9 pawns of Aquam in the scales over its eyes. Appearance: A massive serpent with fin-like wings and glowing yellow eyes. Its dark green-black scales are like shields and it emits a terrible, corrosive odor. Its breath boils oceans and it causes waves in its wake. It is as large as a cog or trireme.

Design Note: Ceto is not appropriate as a player character.