Ajaxae

Ajaxae, "the followers of Ajax" was a Kracian city founded on the teachings of Ajax the Scholar. It is located on the interior of Greater Woldheim, and is one of the largest cities in the Kracian world.

Ajax the Scholar's first teaching was that sentient life has the capacity for Reason, which allows it to illuminate Truth. To Ajax, everything could be governed by logic, and explained by scientific principles. Perhaps his most radical claim was that magic itself obeyed certain rules; his investigations into the "science of magic" founded the Hermetic College which led to the first Mana Mages. Ajaxae, perhaps not surprisingly, is known for its knack for organization and discipline. Ajax himself is said to have conducted the World of Mana's first census.

Ajaxae played a key role in the War against the Centaurs. Although not particularly good fighters, they were able to field, organize, and supply large forces in the field. Additionally, their Mana Mages were quite potent. They were able to haul back numerous centaur slaves, freeing most Ajaxae from manual labor to (in theory) focus on philosophy.

Although the teachings of Ajax always emphasized rational thought, it was only after the war that his followers began to interpret this is meaning that emotion was weakness. Instead of merely a tool in the quest for truth, a totally rational mindset became an end in itself. This coincided with the degeneration of Ajaxae philosophy into a kind of navel-gazing, increasingly obsessed with esoteric questions like whether magic was more fundamental than time, or how many elemental spirits could fit on the head of a pin.

Ajaxae still has a large army, though its mostly specialized slaves. The Hermetic College still boasts some of the most powerful magic users in the Kracian world, and they regard the Pan Dore as a bunch of witches and charlatans.

The city has become increasingly insular; what goods they sell to the rest of the world, such as olives, marble, and slaves, they tend to do through other Kracian intermediaries. (A Taznikanze merchant tried to break in on this market, but his partner in Ajax accidentally convinced him that the external world did not exist. He went insane shortly thereafter.)