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"Today, I was taken by Señor Albarano to the High Temple of Myrmidia in Magritta. It is a sight that I shall never forget. In particular, it has impossibly large, unsupported domes. When I enquired as to the force that kept them from falling, the amused reply was simply: "Science." I remain unconvinced, and believe there must be some magical component to their construction. I received a tour of the wondrous place, and the myths associated with each carving, frieze and window were explained to me. One story stood out as particularly unexpected, so I will recount it here. Myrmidia once chose to walk the earth as a powerless mortal. At this point, she was, like her sister Shallya, a pacifist. When still a girl, her parents died, so Myrmidia went to live with her aunt and uncle, who were farmers, and very poor. They hated the girl, and took any opportunity to spite her, forcing her to work from dawn to dusk. Eventually, when she came of age, they gifted her to a local lord, hoping he would be grateful, and ease their taxes. The lord was not a kind master, and the mortal Goddess was subjected to many indignities. Eventually, unwilling to accept the injustice any longer, Myrmidia, enraged, rose up and took a ceremonial spear from the lord’s collection, thrusting it into his abdomen. Myrmidia was changed forever. And from that day forward, she never walked again without a spear, a weapon that came to symbolise her future struggles."

—From the journals of Karl-Rikard Goellner, 2nd Grandmaster of the Knights Panther, 1556 IC[1a]
Empire archecclesiastium

Archecclesiatium of Myrmidia's symbol as depicted in Total War: Warhammer

The Archecclesiatium of Myrmidia is technically the governing council of the Cult of Myrmidia, but it has also become an interchangeable name for the High Temple of Myrmidia in Magritta that is the primary centre of the faith by association.[2]

There are a few temples of Myrmidia, the goddess of strategy and honourable war, in the southern provinces of the Empire, but her primary strength and popularity is found in Estalia and Tilea. The smaller shrines answer to the temple in the Estalian city of Magritta where the Archecclesiastium is held. This council of high priests of the goddess governs and administers the cult, seeing its tenets are upheld.[2]

Captain-generals of the Archecclesiatium are well aware that among those called upon to protect the rulers of Marienburg, there are many devoted believers of Myrmidia, a fact they think they may one day exploit.[5a]

History[]

In a forgotten past, in approximately -1050 IC, the Vampire Lord W'soran, on his bloody journey in search of new knowledge, was thwarted by the Order of the Myrmidons in Araby and Tilea. His raids ended in -1017 IC, during his umpteenth attack, when W'soran tried to loot the Temple of Myrmidia in Magritta to plunder the greatest library in the Known World. But yet again he found the extreme defence of the Myrmidons. After slaying many of them, he was impaled by the spear of Abhorash, one of the members of the order in disguise.[3a]

Estalian Tradition[]

Magrittans fiercely differ with the theology and history of Myrmidia taught in the Tilean city-state of Remas. They decry the Reman account as mere fable -- are not the sly Tileans renowned for their trickery? Was not Myrmidia born of the union of Morr and Verena, daughter of the gods of death and justice? They attest to the primacy of the priests of the Archecclesiastium and teach that their authority is warranted by the Bellum Strategia, a brittle, yellowed text kept under lock and key in their city temple's library. This text asserts that it was in Magritta that Myrmidia first stepped from the heavens, alighting on the same rock upon which the Archecclesiastium is built. In the bowels of the temple an imprint of her footprint can be seen on that sacred rock.[4a]

The Remans mock the text as apocryphal. They claim that a simple explanation lies behind the indentations on the rock, and that centuries of rainwater dripping from the leaky roof of the Archecclesiastium is their actual cause.[4a]

This schism is no mere clash of words between venerable archivists. Over the centuries, the argument over primacy has escalated to the clash of arms. Duels have been fought between champions of each temple, and even armies have been raised to settle the matter. Some histories maintain that the collapse of the Reman Empire in the distant past was caused by the revolt of the Estalians against Tilean rule, fuelled by this religious rivalry.[4a]

Whether this is a matter of historical fact is best treated with healthy skepticism, but what is certain is that relationships between followers of Myrmidia in Tilea and Estalia are tense and show no signs of waning.[4a]

The head of the Order of the Eagle and high priestess of the Cult of Myrmidia, La Aguila Ultima Isabella Giovanna Luccelli, despite being Tilean herself, has moved to Magritta and re-established the cult's high council at the Archecclesiastium. She has taken this course of action in the hope that it will help ease tensions between the two branches of the faith, but many Tileans regard the move as a humiliation.[4a]

Sources[]

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