Perspective Of A Reversionist

A lot of people have asked "Why?" about the Reversion. The response, much to their dismay, has been "Because that's how it happened, you need to read the wiki." This leaves a lot to be desired in a theme, but it was simply because nobody could figure out how to appropriately convey the development of the Reversion without filling in a LOT of details. Sometimes it's not always easy figuring out what in a wiki page is considered fluff and filler and what is absolutely necessary. Some players only need the surface information, and other players prefer a little more depth. So, in this post we're going to explore from the perspective of a Havenite beginning 3013 years ago. This will require a recap of the Timeline, so I encourage you to a quick refresher.

The reason the Reversion worked so well when it did is that society was shaken to the core. What we had in place before was nearly obliterated, and our numbers were severely reduced. We had just blown up a world full of our colonists while simultaneously dealing with enemy invaders and the loss of the Fifth World as well. It was not a good time for people. Much like what happens after a war, things were in chaos.

The government in place (initially an oligarchy turned more democratic over time) was shaken. Everyone (the Senate, the Chantry, and the movers and shakers in the private sector) got together and decided something had to be done to prepare us better for the next time - in case there was a next time. The decision was to focus on ground combat, as we were sorely bested in the skies, and to keep our people protected and safe from another invasion. In order to do so, we had to draw from our not always 100-percent accurate annals of history to research what other societies had done. Our technology had failed us, so we had to go back to the basics.

The transition from a democratic state to the psuedo-feudalism of today was not a quick leap. It took nearly three hundred years for the Paramounts to be established, for their vassals to be in place, and for the King to really have all the powers of the title. It may not have been initial vision going forth, necessarily, but it was the result. Some may have considered this as regression rather than progress, but doing something was better than doing nothing. Technologically speaking, we had no idea where to go with the Hostiles. There was simply not enough information - and not nearly enough time to gather that information. We had to rely on what we had learned to be an effective tactic against the enemy.

As the governing powers began to emulate their chosen period of history for study - arranging combat forces in a very similar manner, instituting training in the fashion of squires and knights, and establishing levels of power based on those who made the decision in the first place - so society as a whole slowly adopted the mannerisms, the fashion, and some of the culture. Naturally, many changes were made as we took the old and blended it with our new to create what we have today. This was a leap of faith, but it was also an act of desperation. The people sorely wanted to believe that this new path would be their saving grace in the coming war. We waited it out, kept on keepin' on as society is wont to do, and did our best to prepare for what was waiting for us on the other side of those five hundred years.

Lo' and behold, the tactics worked. We managed to shave nine years off of the timespan of the Second War, and what's more is that the people operated under duress like a fairly well-oiled machine. Because the purpose of our Reversion was oriented specifically toward preparing and dealing with the Hostiles, the process was markedly in our favor. The Reversion was our solution, and not only was it our solution, but by then it was our whole way of life.

In the following years, we continued to advance technologically as a people. We still did not possess enough information on the Hostiles to overcome them, and had to consider that if we were evolving, so too was the enemy. By this point, we relied entirely on the current system to carry us through, because it had already proven incredibly effective. Politically speaking we would encounter our ups and downs, see the end of some Houses and the beginning of the new, and endure the struggles that come with being human.

So now we turn toward the Third War. The Reversion is still standing firm its ground, because it has been the one reason we've managed to survive thus far. The people are not ready to let go of that which has given them a fighting chance before, and it's all we have known of our lives for the past millennium. It truly is the "norm". Now there are growing factions in our society who believe that the expanding ranks of our Awakened and our scientific advancements have made this the generation that will find the solution to ending the Hostiles once and for all - all due to the efforts of the first Reversionists.

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