Photeus
I am here to tell of the hero our comrade Photeus, of the struggle this great man instigated within the walls of that celebrated πολιςthe Bright New City, of his love for the diarist Clio, of her betrayal of that supreme leader of the aforementioned city Marco, of the new exclave engendered by Photeus’ desertion of this aforementioned city, of the new world of unity and justice promised to his followers, of his faith in the scientist, of his disappointment in discovering the betrayal of the same, of the deterioration of his new world into paranoia and tyranny, of the eventual failure of his great project, of his estrangement from his love, and of his consequent shame and exile in the wastes of the Hidden Sands.
For it was Photeus, that celebrated champion and comrade, who numbers himself among us, who realised the great duty to strive for the equality of the few to the many, who rent the chains from the tyranny of the systems of the aforementioned city and led his compatriots to freedom in the new world of his creation.
For it was Photeus, that glorious paragon and comrade, who stands firm with us, who recognised the beauty and solidarity of unity, who toiled against the rulers and elite of the Bright New City, against the sovereign Marco who refuted his beliefs outright with no consideration for the lower castes among his subjects. Marco who had forgotten that once he was himself an impecunious traveller and now forced people into his debt and into selling their labour for pittance, giving no value to their lives and disguising all this under a veil of supposed opportunity.
For it was Photeus, that incredible emancipator and comrade, who ranks himself worthy of us, who generated this revolution in the socio-economic system of the city, who created an idyllic enclave on the eastern border where the part of no part of Marco's order could find reason and fulfilment, could value themselves and unite under the auspicious crest of Photeus.
For it was Photeus, that great paramour and adventurer, who is most like us in all aspects, who recognised the importance of the writings of the diarist Clio, who showed true belief in the importance of her meticulous records of events both minor and major, and saw the lessons that could be drawn from them and how these events led inevitably to the founding of his system. Who by these actions won the love and admiration of the diarist and who together implemented the great new system for which we were all thankful.
For it was Photeus, that unequalled visionary, who is our eternal companion, who saw the potential ally in Seth the scientist and sought to harness his technological acceleration to bring his people to the forefront of societal development and overpower the trader and his allies, who led us into a pact with the scientist altogether unaware that the said scientist was also in collusion with the other side and deftly playing us against each other for his own ends.
For it was Photeus, that infallible haruspex and strategist, our unrivalled leader, who led us blindly into a conflict in which we could not possibly hope for victory, in which we were betrayed by our ally the scientist for a basic lack of silver and which led to our shelves being emptied even of the most simple necessities.
For it was Photeus, that haunting spectre and caballer, who was our relentless persecutor, who proved himself unworthy of the adoration of Clio the diarist, who unbeknown to her erased and fabricated episodes in her diaries pertaining to himself or his enemies, who turned his back on the historical trajectory of his own project and left us with nothing to believe and nothing to hold on to.
For it was Photeus, that traitor and apostate, who was exiled from our systems, who took himself away to that monument to past glory The Hidden Sands resort, estranged from his people, estranged from his system and from his lover the diarist, who resides there to this day in perfect solitude and misery, who pays daily for his betrayal of his project, his people and his values.
All this will be told in the pages to come. A tale of hope, glory, love betrayal, failure and revenge. Are you ready? Our story begins...
