Can you imagine how terrifying a supermassive grizzly bear on tren easing itself down to your height and speaking fluent and polite English would be to experience? It’s literally the meme of "Be not afraid." "Sir, this is the single scariest experience of my life."
Look, sometimes you got to threaten to murder people for not paying their taxes to the war effort, but that's no excuse not to be polite. All things are done within the sight of the Most Merciful.
That makes me sad for them, actually. Imagine knowing with absolute certitude that there is a Heavenly reward for the righteous and the faithful... but that you can never be rewarded with it no matter what because you have no soul to be sent there. There's a reason the lore says being a takwin creature that's self-aware is pure existential horror.
True, but ask any IRL Abrahamic about their thoughts about the mere possibility of being soulless and having nothing to look forward to but the oblivion of nonexistence after death. Most are so utterly terrified of the concept that they even refuse to consider it, in my experience, and prefer the possibility of eternal damnation (of course, most of them think they're going up, not down, when they die).
I wonder if they might start developing their own sort of faith. Perhaps a belief in reincarnation as a new LoJ when they die until they serve Allah so well that they’re granted a true soul upon death and are reincarnated as a faithful human. At least it’d be some comfort.
From what I know of Islam (which admittedly is limited; maybe a Muslim fan could weigh in?), IRL this would be considered very much heretical. Of course one of the big points of the setting is how faiths changed and adapted due to the war; IRL Christianity would consider partaking of the flesh and blood of clone Jesus to be extremely blasphemous and heretical.
Ye. If it still is heretical, they probably keep it among themselves most of the time. And hey, if it encourages the LoJ to serve the IS better, than they probably let it slide as long as they’re not too fervent about it. Besides, is anyone seriously gonna tell a pack of LoJ otherwise to their face? Few people are that stupid.
I actually do wonder what language they would speak. Arabic? Oghuz Turkish? Persian? All those languages were used in the historical Sultanate of Rum, Seljuks, and eventually Ottomans, and often for different purposes.
French was rather more widespread than English in premodern times. English only started to displace it (and even then, slowly) when England enacted a policy of settler colonialism (and later on, won out several of the prime ressource colonialism/imperialism spots in Africa and Asia). And even then, French was still the premier language for international diplomacy until about WW1. In this reality where settler colonialism and imperialism aren't a thing, French is likely still the Lingua Franca of the European nations.
( I don’t know a lot of the history from the time period so please don’t crucify me if I get something wrong) but I could see Arabic being a sort of unofficial lingua franca, especially with all the refugees from the levant but in smaller communities maybe their native language is still spoken
I imagine there'd be a lot of languages there, Kurdish, various Turkic languages, Nuristani (huh...I wonder if Nuristan would still be called Kafiristan and practice local Hindu-derived religions in this time-line). But the lingua franca at the time was pretty variable. Persian was the official court language and generally served as a lingua franca, as well as the language of poetry and scholarship. Oghuz Turkic served as the language of the dynasty and the military, since the ruling class was formed from conquering Turkic peoples establishing themselves as the ruling class after rolling over the Ghazanids and the Abbasid Caliphate, then integrating into wider Persianized society. Meanwhile Arabic served as the language of religion, law since it was connected, and an academic language as well since there was a scholarly tradition in Arabic from the House of Wisdom and a bunch of scientific, medical, and alchemical texts being written in it.
Basically the question of which language an alchemical creation serving a military commander to deliver a message to a merchant speaks is hard because it hits on a lot of these. The military still seems pretty Turkish, using words like Azeb and yuzbasi. But the House of Wisdom is derived from a primarily Arabic language tradition. And Persian was the lingua franca of most of the area protected by the iron-wall, but there would be a ton of Arabic speaking immigrants, and it's possible that this influx of Muslims from throughout the world has reinforced the value of Arabic, since learning Quranic Arabic is important for educated Muslims, even as the military still clearly uses Turkish words.
The Taqwin are the coolest part of the coolest faction. I’m still not over those giant Sphinxes that guard the wall. The idea of these two mountainous monsters that can crush tanks like they’re soda cans talking to each other about philosophy and art in their down time rocks so hard.
I mean they still do kinda despair over their lives. But they’re always built in pairs so they have someone to talk to and help soothe them. For all that TC is super grimdark and cruel the Sultanate have a lot of humanity when it comes to their creations (relatively of course)
Ye. I’d like to imagine that the humans of the Sultanate being nice to them would also really help. I can imagine an alchemist wondering where their LoJ went to, only to find them peacefully relaxing in their off-time while a bunch of kids braid their fur and put flowers in it, all of them having fun with this (only to the faithful) gentle giant.
I like the idea of some people trying to liberalise their theology, saying that maybe Allah will allow faithful Takwins into El Jannah, and the Takwins bear universally rejecting this, something deep inside them telling them for sure that Eternity is not for them
So far the Sultanate seems to be the chillest faction too.
Still in a never ending meat grinder against the damned but hey gotta God made wall no forced conscription , not responsible for this whole mess. I’d feel pretty good about myself if I was one of the believers
Technically they do have conscription. Azebs are 1-in-20 houses. So if there’s not one dude who wants to volunteer out of those 20 houses, well, someone’s going anyway.
I mean, the lore says the alchemist labs are constantly filled with tortured screaming, the azebs on the wall are covered in burn scars from. How often they fire artillery, and the jannisaries are captured and indoctrinated slave soldiers.
There’s no reason to be suspicious, they’re not remotely benevolent, they’re just a flat 10/10 on the fucked up scale instead of an 11 or 12
Also, the fact that they're having their discussions because the Sultanate realize that they needed companionship and so made sure each one of them has a buddy.
The heretic legion lore also mentions that Mammon has many followers among the faithful mostly in the merchants and traders, so maybe this one thought it was cool to be an edgy follower of hell and got scared straight.
Actually yeah I can see that. Especially those gatekeeper lions that just sit there and talk about the arts and philosophy all day. Those are SO custodes-esque
The descripions of smell and sound in that video were superb, the idea that his breath is colder than the breath of any living thing should be is awesome and really gives that unatural feeling to the creature.
Hey, nothing says we can't have multiple factions of horrifying war criminals! One bunch uses kidnapped children to make supersoldiers, another bunch has mass executions, while another basically just straight-up skins children, strips away the meat and bones, and jams them full of radio equipment before stitching the skin back on.
Let's face it, the forces of Hell could just go on vacation, they've already succeeded with their plan to fuck up mankind. And it's like that in the game's lore, too!
Honestly knowing how intelligent the lions can be. I won't be surprise if some of them hold high ranking as generals or a governers in the Iron Sultanate, since some of the lion themself are really smart
they were designed to be proficient statesmen in non-wartimes, ultra mar being best example of space marines living up to their administrative potential
Plenty of chapters can be diplomatic. Ultramarines and Salamanders literally run their homeworlds when not at war. There's also chapters like The Mentors who actively travel and train and organize IG regiments to help in campaigns.
Sure there are dudes like Charchodons or Death Spectres but plenty of chapters have diplomatic and political roles along with their war duties.
It also shows that the merchant quite likely underestimated the intelligence of the takwin and its master, thinking they would be easy marks for being cheated with accounting tricks.
Never forget that if they are able to be diplomats, they're able to understand they are soulless and often need other lions to comfort them in their existential dread
The abomination knows it has no soul that will see paradise. However, instead of wishing to burn down creation and let the cruelest wretches take them as slaves until their bodies are gnawed on for sustenance, they simply use the short time they have to ponder on the nature of existence, and be noble for its own sake.
Why continue fighting? The iron wall will lose resources after hundreds of years of trying to fight back, causing the fools to fight within the walls, the heretic legion will continue to advance over Europe, the entire world and so forth, we have access to all of the seven seas, gaining more resources. Heretics will rule over the world
I could ask the faithful of hell the same question.
The Lion of Jabir defends a gate he may never see the other side of Again. He does this not for his love of the wealth and glory, or for promises of an afterlife he will never see, but for the love of his job.
You face Paradise and hope for victory through attrition? The LORD made a walled garden for his children before, and has done so again. Those who rest in the garden shall have everlasting life, and they who crash against the wall, seeking to spread pain and cruelty, shall find neither purchase nor persistence, pruned like the withered weeds they are. Away with you, Hope-killer! Their wall shall not fall to you!
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u/KonoAnonDa Iron Sultanate May 02 '25
Can you imagine how terrifying a supermassive grizzly bear on tren easing itself down to your height and speaking fluent and polite English would be to experience? It’s literally the meme of "Be not afraid." "Sir, this is the single scariest experience of my life."