There were advantages to being a nation that many would say was in decline, people kind of left you alone. Over the past 100 years or so around 30million of your own people had elected to seek a life beyond your own borders. That though had simply meant the vast resources the Gods had blessed them with went further and so while the nation struggled in some respects it was a nation where, if you looked beyond the fairly frequent religious carnage, life could be good. Life in Xerente was dominated by the faith. In a way everyone should have been worshipping Salvatrix for she would one day return and save every soul, others though believed that while the Goddess was powerful other actions must be taken for if she would save us all we need to make sure we survive in the best manner we can until then, that was where the problems started. Those in the Cults of Bellator believed being the best fighters and warriors would increase your chance of seeing this moment, meanwhile those who followed Mendax believed in the use of cunning and guile to position yourself in as strong a position as possible for when she returned. Throw into the mix that not only did the five sub-cults have a love/hate relationship with each other they also had their own sub-cults. Chief Magistrate Narcis Zappa now regretted this as he would need to try and navigate explaining this to an outsider. However he was not alone, thankfully the Primarch of the Covenant would be alongside him. Octavia Pax had the unenviable job of keeping the various Cults inline, a task some said was like trying to herd kittens. Attired in a simple black suiness suit she didn't radiate the image of a faith leader but that was just one of the Primarch's job. She also had a government role, acting as a check and balance to the Chief Magistrate Narcis Zappa who would be dealing with todays business. In truth he was rather nervous. It wasn't the cosy trade talk, or embassy expansion he had imagined but more like an inspection. He knew the Morelanders were rather well connected so perhaps this was a chance to make a good impression.

When the Morelander finally arrived at Xarqueada International Airport he found a group of black uniformed men holding historic looking rifles presenting a guard of honour from the bottom of his aircrafts steps to the two hosts. While foreign affairs were firmly Narcis' field of play he was also aware that protocol was potentially important and so he was happy to allow Octavia to take a lead and she confidently stepped towards King David. "Welcome to Xerente Your Majesty. We're delighted to welcome you. The background to your visit may not be the most joyous but we hope we can ensure you leave happy. I hope your young countryman is OK?" She enquired. "This is Chief Magistrate Narcis Zappa, he'll be doing most of the talking for our nation just with some of the talks likely requiring a religious input he thought it best that I should be here too."

"Your Majesty" Narcis bowed his head. "I agree this may be an unfortunate reason for our meeting but I hope we can make something good come from it." He escorted the King towards a waiting helicopter. "I would normally encourage you to enjoy the sights of Xarqueada, its a beautiful city, however its also a chaotic city in terms of traffic and so we believed it better to take a more direct route." The group boarded the helicopter and Narcis handed everyone a headset. Soon the helicopter’s rotors thundered through the early morning air, casting a shadow that skimmed the green fields crisp with frost. The city stretched like an intricate mosaic, where ancient history and modern life intertwined seamlessly. To the left, the mist covered hills flanked the city. The helicopter veered in towards the city itself, gliding over the terracotta-tiled rooftops of the Old Town which today was little more than a tourist attraction. The unmistakable form of Temples marking the skyline still dominating the heart of the city. Tourists and locals alike appeared as tiny, bustling figures, moving through its historic courtyards and beneath arches that had withstood centuries of storms and war. Beyond the Old Town, the city expanded into modern districts, where glass-fronted buildings and bustling streets signaled the pulse of modern life. The hum of life was almost audible even above the roar of the rotors—a blend of car horns, laughter from open-air cafés, and the faint strains of street musicians performing by the various Temple steps.

As the helicopter climbed higher, the view extended to the rugged peaks of the hills that formed the border with Abertone, their gray limestone faces streaked with patches of green. To the south, the green forests of Marjan jutted out from the mist their evergreen trees maintaining an otherwise missing spark of colour in the white dusted landscape. Joggers and cyclists braving the cold morning were visible from above, tiny dots weaving through a natural escape that seemed worlds away from the city’s vibrant core. Ahead, the Primarch's Palace building loomed—a modern architectural anomaly on the outskirts of the city. Its sleek, angular design and metallic sheen contrasted starkly with the red roofs and ancient stone of the Old City. Security vehicles surrounded the building like chess pieces on a board, their positions strategic and unwavering. Banners of the six Gods fluttered from the buildings roof. As the helicopter descended, the faint scent of damp soil gave way to the sterile, metallic tang of the landing pad. As the rotors stopped a young man hurried, head bowed, towards the door and opened it just as the blades locked into place. "Your Majesty" he helped unstrap King David before holding the door for him. Now free of their transport the Primarch and Magistrate took the King inside the building which despite its name was just 20 years old. "The old one was destroyed by earthquake then fire. It's on the opposite side of the city and being turned into something of a tourist trap." Octavia added as they made their way to her large lounge used for when she normally meet with the various Cult leaders. "So King David where would you like to begin?"

The current Primarch is Amalia Rogetovi. In 2024 she was 70 years old. She has been the Primarch for 18 years. She has worked her way up through the ranks of the clergy.
She has spent a lot of her reign trying to subdue conflicts between the various Cults while promoting more to worship Salvatrix directly. She has sought, unsuccessfully, for the Primarch to have a direct role in government but this has been overruled by several leaders. Many have accused her of nepotism with her daughter Andona being rapidly promoted with the service of Salvatrix.

It was hard to say when exactly the "Time of Avaritia" became so crazy. At first the ritual had been one in which followers of the various Cults dedicated to the Goddess of Excess would compete to boost their wealth and possessions before making an "accounting" at the Temple. In the last 100 years though the materialism had grown exponentially with more and more elaborate attempts at gaining wealth. While for the majority of the members of the official Cult of Avaritia it was those of minor lesser Cults that saw this as something giving them free reign to do as they wished, but only to those outside their faith system. Initially Xerente hadn't really seen much immigration but in the 20th Century things changed, the invention of the aircraft, longer shipping voyages thanks to first steam and then diesel and finally nuclear engines had brought all manner of people to Xerente. That had this year alerted Brigadier Januarius Scordato of the Custodes Publici that something bigger was happening. The Custodes were a kind of ambiguous aspect of Xerente culture. They were members of the military but outside the regular command structure. They didn't serve in full combat roles and instead spent more time preparing for domestic incidents such as dealing with terrorism and riots. Their operations could range from being a scalpel to remove unwanted elements or a blunt cudgel to smash insurrection. His sources spread among the less favoured minor Cults had told him that one particularly xenophobic group, known as the Golden Children, had ruled that all wealth in Xerente was the right of only the Xerentens and that those from overseas taking wealth and material goods were in fact criminals and as all societies know criminals must be punished. That was why two of his teams had been dispatched to the docks in Xarqueada. He had selected all the men himself, all members of the Cult of Bellator, the warriors Cult and many of them despised those of groups such as the Golden Children. They saw them as nothing other than thieves and that they lacked honour. The twelve men waited in two different shipping containers while a spotter kept watch. When the evening began to fall shapes could be seen moving at the port facilities fence line and as the spotter watched them cut a hole in the fence and sneak through he radioed in his observations. The Custodes knew where the group would be heading. A big fat shipment of clothing had been dropped off by some company exporting from the Allied States of Ardia. A van had been left in the port earlier in the day, after all it was easier to break out of a port when all plans were to keep people in. The group had clearly found the right container and armed with bolt cutters managed to break open their target container and soon after a human chain had been formed as boxes of valuable fashion items were being thrown from person to person and into the back of the van. The Custodes waited until the van was around half full before swinging into action and silently exiting their place of concealment. They sneaked as close to the van as possible, they had suspected the group were unarmed as that was the usual case with people like this. They were happy to steal but not generally get violent with those who could out match their violence. Soon the commander of the squad blew a whistle and two flash bangs were thrown. Soon the Custodes were busy wrestling with the thieves and then soon all were in custody.   Brigadier Januarius Scordato should have been happy with the news of the bust but as he reviewed the news it was clear, the Golden Children had gone on a rampage. News had reported several top end cars stolen, a couple from Vanora walking home had been mugged on their door step before their appartment had been ransacked. Most concerning though was that there were reports of gangs hanging around near the various embassies no doubt hoping to catch someone unsuspectedly heading there for help after their nations had advised them to leave. The Time of Avaritia had begun but with the main accounting ritual coming in 48hrs time the Brigadier was concerned things would escalate.

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The Federal Alliance of Xerente
Chief Magistrates Palace, Xarqueada, XQ7638, Mendaxian Quarter
www.fexerente.org

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It is with deep sorrow that the Federal Alliance must issue a warning to non-Xerenten citizens currently within our borders. Our Federal Intelligence Organisation has received verifiable intelligence of threats against foreign nations during the upcoming time of Avaritia. In the respect of this the nations paramilitary body, the Custodes Publici, have been deployed and extra flight slots to the nations three major international airports have been made available. We would urge any foreign national unable to make their own arrangements to leave to contact their embassy as soon as possible.

It is regrettable that we must take this action however we wish to ensure the safety of all within our borders as responsible governors.

By Order of the Chief Magistrate
Lord Narcís Zappa