Literature and Music
Akaeian literature and music from before the Interregnum exists now only in reconstructed form, or as the result of various caches discovered after the Interregnum or taken to Xenar. Many epic books were lost, and many poor quality novels saved. A similar fate occured for music in pre-Interregnum Akaeia.
Literature
There are, from each period of the Akaeian Empire, literary classics which have remained favorites across the ages. So much of the literary tradition of the Akaeian Empire and it's subject peoples was lost in the Interregnum that whole reigns are known only through the name of the ruler, with little or nothing of the actual state of the nation or the well being of the people known. Some of the more famous literature, which survived the Interregnum or came after it, is listed below.
The Teloreian: The writer of the Teloreian has been lost to history, but the work itself is one of the most popular among Akaeians. The Teloreian is actually a collection of "books" recounting the war with Novitreia that led to the flight of the ancestral Akaeians from the ancestral village of Telos into the west and following the Akaeians until the end of the war with the Ilii, a people then living near modern Dauvanatris. Of particular interest is the Prophecy of Daurex, recorded in both the Teloreian and ancient Novitreian records. According to both sources, a Novitreian seer warned the King of Noviron that if the Akaeian people escaped into the west they would return one day and conquer Novitreia. It is thought by some modern scholars that this was added to the story to justify Akaeia's conquest of Novitreia under the third Crown. The Teloreian is also one of the few sources for information on proto-Akaeian religion, mentioning in the first chapter the "awakening of the primitives on the bank of the Yarisis River on the 10th day..." and refering often to "our Heavenly Patron."
The Ancestral Histories: Written by Enos Menaerex in 11 A.R.A.D., the Ancestral Histories is the main source for Classical Acheron Akaeia. Spanning from the oath at Meranen to the dissolution of the Oath when Arkastos Solaneios stood before the Seven, Enos Menaerex flips between serious history and mythic, nearly religious recountings of the events. Regrettably many records of pre-Empire Akaeia were lost in the Interregnum, so there is no other source for early Akaeian history.
On Citizens and Governments: The Philosopher Auriastes Palantianteias wrote this book just before the reign of Dauvan Eklekteias Sainted, in the early Middle Empire. Most famous for the Dual Obligation, this work provided much of the foundation for political science in Akaeia straight through the centuries. Modern Akaeia still operates on the concept of the Dual Obligation.
For Duty and Justice: Contrary to first expectations, this is a book of poems written by infantryman Auros Deianan largely criticizing the Akaeian Empire and portraying the life of an Akaeian infantryman during the middle of the Reconquest. Originally recorded in a small leatherbound journals, the poems were found after his death in the Battle of Marbicourt and became an instant success, highly popular among the lower classes who saw no reason for further wars of expansion.
De Panselle: This is a play written by Dauvan Iriliastes about a soldier returning from the Panselle War and finding his farm in ruins and his wife gone without a word. Rumor has it that she leaves town in an affair with a city-man from the north. As the weeks go by he has more and more unfortunate occurances, and despite attempts by his best friend to console him, he ultimately kills himself. One of the greatest tragedies of the last century in Akaeian literature.
Herakleios: This is another famous Akaeia tragedy,written about the civil war of 809-813."There is in me deep-seated fears that all our labors will fail against the formless chaos, as the whole of the world fractures beyond repair, and the celestial heavens crash down from their lofty heights. I fear we,of all the generations, have been chosen to bear that final burden, to struggle against fate when the stars themdselves grow old and faded, and the primeval darkness returns for the consumption of the world." - Aeias Iaruras.
Music
Akaeian music varies from province to province. There are, however, two basic music groupings.
