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Laterano
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Lateran City
Laterano's coat of arms
Demonym
Lateran
Based on
Vatican City with some elements from Switzerland
Etymology
Lateran Palace (Palazzo del Laterano) or the Lateran Treaty
In Other Languages
Simplified Chinese
拉特兰城
Traditional Chinese
拉特蘭城
Japanese
ラテラーノ
Korean
라테라노
General Information
Type
Head of state
Head of government
Lateran Curia
Legislative branch
Laterano Notarial Hall
Military strength
- Pontifica Cohors Lateran
- Apostolic Knights
Language
Lateran (based on Ecclesiastical Latin and Esperanto)
Currency
Lateran signa certificatorum[note 1]
Status
Active
| “ | Laterano—this Holy City continues to reshape my understanding time and time again. In my decades of travels throughout Terra, I have never seen a nation as prosperous, safe, free, and tolerant as Laterano. | ” |
| —"Laterano", Terra: A Journey |
Laterano, formally known as the Lateran City, is a Terran country bordering Iberia and Victoria. It is a theocracy and the homeland of the Sankta race with a decent population of Liberi. The nation is ruled by the Pope, the spiritual leader of the Lateran Church, with a constitution that guarantees thirteen rights to its citizens.
Laterano is famous for both its stern religious influence and its rather lax culture based on their obedience to a religious entity known as "the Law." Most Lateran citizens are ardent believers of the Lateran Church, yet they are granted the freedom to live their preferred lifestyle as long as they are in accordance with the Law. Due to the peaceful nature promoted by the Church, Laterano miraculously survives countless geopolitical conflicts throughout millennia thanks to its political neutrality, and many Terran nations praise Laterano as a "heaven on earth" in return. Nevertheless, while appearing almost flawless, the hidden dark side of Laterano is not publicly known due to the Church's attempted whitewashing of its history from their religious demonization of the Sarkaz races, the Sankta's supremacist view regarding other races, to their seemingly segregation from their Liberi citizens due to cultural and racial differences.
As the "discoverer" of firearms, Laterano is notably the leading manufacturer of firearms that holds a monopoly over the industry in Terra. Laterano is also the only country with liberal gun laws in which all Laterans are mandated to own a firearm for self-defense, whether being military personnel, law enforcement officers or civilians, while following strict regulations. The usage of firearms in Laterano is so prevalent and advanced that they form the backbone of the Lateran military force.
History[edit]
The First Saints[edit]
| First chapter of the Lateran Scripture[1] |
|---|
| "During the day, the Sankta looked up at the sky to find darkness shrouding even the sun. At night, the devil's army came and slaughtered countless Sankta. The Sankta lost much of their radiance. "The saints said: follow me. Thus they rose. The saints said: listen to me. Thus, the bells began to ring. "The bells echoed throughout the wilderness, uniting all the Sankta. "This is a revelation. This is an exhortation. "There will be light throughout the day, and it shall never be shrouded again. "The saints said: build a city. It will be the Sankta's paradise. "The saints said: this city shall be called Lateran." |
According to the Lateran Scripture, at the dawn of human civilizations before the common era, Laterano was founded as a safe haven for the Sankta to defend themselves from the Sarkaz. Following the "descent" of the first Sankta led by the first Saints unto Terra to redeem the people from suffering, they faced countless violent attacks from the Sarkaz which they deemed they were enemies seeking to annihilate them due to their "wickedness" that drove their "envy." The first Saints united the Sankta community under one banner by constructing a belfry, known as the Tower of Revelations by later generations, that rang its bell to pacify the Sankta and brought visions to guide them there. After gathering all the Sankta across Terra, the Saints proclaimed they received a vision from the Law to build a city around the tower which became the first settlement of Laterano.[1]
The Sarkaz religion, on the other hand, says otherwise. According to their oracles, the first Sankta were in fact a direct descendant of the Teekaz that split themselves from their cousin race through an unforgivable betrayal. The first Saints of Laterano were born from their contact with the Law in a suicidal mission to excavate relics underground that could protect their collapsing civilizations. After facing countless lethal traps that almost annihilated the excavators, these survivors reached the catacomb where the Law resides, and they immediately received their Sankta traits as if as if their memories as Sarkaz were forever erased.[2]
In the beginning, the Sarkaz did not bother about these first Sankta. But after their civilizations collapsed that forced them to be scattered across Terra as a diaspora, many Sarkaz realized that only the Sankta civilization was well preserved from the mercy of the alien Ancients and Elders. Sarkaz became bitter over them by chanting their betrayal as neglection of their suffering. To worsen their situation, the Sankta became cohorts with the Sarkaz's enemies by erasing their connections with the Sarkaz and demonized them as irredeemable sinners bringing the curse of Oripathy. The complicated relationship between the two races has resulted in a never-ending feud that lasts until the present days.[2]
Expansion of Lateran faith[edit]
Since its foundation, Laterano has been miraculously preserved from natural disasters and wars throughout millennia. Laterano has become a beacon of peace and stability that seeks to spread their gospels to pacify the Terrans through their religious influence. In exchange with their relationship with other Terrans, Laterano remains neutral in many conflicts by serving as diplomatic mediator.
The first non-Teekaz Terrans who adopted the Lateran faith were the Liberi. The Lateran Liberi originated from homeless refugees seeking refuge in Laterano from Catastrophes more than a thousand years ago. According to the Acts of the Saints, the Liberi hunter-gathered tribes first met the Sankta while they were following a burdenbeast herd to hunt them. The Sankta began to sing their gospels and drive the burdenbeasts to the city, and the Liberi were amazed by the serenity and purity of the Sankta by seeing their city as a heaven born from a miracle. In order to integrate with the Sankta, these Liberi tribes settled around the outskirts of Laterano and adopted their religion and culture. In turn, many Sankta were sent as missionaries to the Liberi tribes and constructed their first villages.[3][4] Many Liberi had become a part of Lateran culture, while some were sent as missionaries outside of Laterano to spread their gospels. These missionaries who sought to build a second paradise on Terra later settled in the southern coastline which later became Iberia.[5]
Kylian Excavation Scandal[edit]
Entering the modern era, the Kylian Excavation Scandal of 1042 almost shook the very foundation of Laterano. Born into a Victorian family practicing Lateran faith, Kylian Dougal was originally an ordinary geological surveyor who had aided his Infected colleagues to retain their job despite Victoria's discriminatory laws. While he was surveying on the eastern side of the Targangils Prime Vein, he and his team accidentally bumped into an iron artifact covered with Originium which he quickly identified as a Lateran firearm. News regarding the excavation quickly reached the Royal Museum of Londinium, and the incumbent curator quickly dispatched a professional archeological team to dig out the remaining artifacts.[6]
After days of excavation, Kylian and his archeological team uncovered several well-preserved santos, but many of them contradicted traditional Lateran santos: they possessed either monstrous features or their faces were carved in cubical shape which archeologists believed to be the personifications of the Lateran Law. All of a sudden, Victoria believed that they had uncovered the oldest site of the first Sankta civilization that could rewrite the history of Laterano, hence replacing Laterano's millennia-old cultural and geopolitical influences in the Terran heartland. Two days after the excavation, the excavation team eagerly delivered these santos back to Londinium waiting to be displayed in the museum.[6]
But before the artifacts' arrival at Londinium, the excavation team was suddenly raided by an anonymous group. All of them were unfortunately murdered by Originium explosives which destroyed the santos in the process. Furthermore, Kylian was found missing with his jeep. At first, police believed that the excavation was in fact a hoax in which Kylian had leaked the archeologists' location with some Sarkaz mercenary groups, and he was labeled a national traitor and a religious extremist due to his ardent belief in the Lateran faith. But further investigations showed no proof of their presumptions, and Kylian seemed to have evaporated all of a sudden. Two months later after the incident, Kylian was miraculously found at the Victorian border with severe wounds and an unhealthy mental condition. Despite the police's attempted interrogation in the hospital, they found that Kylian could only constantly murmur. Before his ultimate death, the police could not gain important information regarding the archeological hoax, and the missing santos remains a mystery in the museum.[6]
Although labeled as a "scandal," the archeological accident brought heated debates regarding Laterano among the public. Some presumed that the whole scandal was in fact Laterano's attempt to silence dissidents that could challenge the Church's authority; the raid was in fact done by Lateran secret agents rather than some random mercenary group. Most importantly, the surviving sketches of the santos arouse the questions regarding fallen Sankta. In response, the Lateran Church refused to recognize those santos and refuted many of these questions as unproven rumors, and the whole scandal eventually died down as a popular urban legend.[6]
Present days[edit]
The War of the Four Nations between 1029 and 1031 that annihilated Gaul drastically altered the geopolitics of the Terran heartland. Fearing that the situation would further deteriorate, the residing Pope of the Church, Pope Yvangelista XI, established the Legatus institution in 1069 as a hope to ease the tension via diplomatic methods.[7][8] To further enhance his goal of establishing global peace and uniting every nation under one banner, Pope Yvangelista XI launched the first "Summit of Nations" on March 1099 serving as a platform to various Terran nations to discuss national security. The Lateran Declaration given by Yvangelista XI ushered in the first international conference in Terran history.
In October 1099, the nomadic abbey Sanctilaminium Ambrosii re-established contact with Laterano and was recovered by the Curia.
SPOILER ALERT
This section pertains to a subject that is not yet released in the Global server of Arknights. Read at your own risk!
During the events of the Lateran Disaster of 1101, the people of Laterano were exposed to the truth about the Law and their shared racial ancestry with the Sarkaz. The Law’s deactivation, together with the upheaval of the Lateran faith,[9] dealt a crippling blow to the city and sparked a large-scale exodus of its citizens. In the three months following the Disaster, the Notarial Hall has recorded persistently high suicide rates, unrest, and widespread emigration, delaying reconstruction of the holy city. Yet Laterano endures; those who remain are determined to rebuild their shattered home and restore it to the paradise it once was.[10]
Laterano's sanctity—once the foundation of its geopolitical influence—has deteriorated following the widespread public revelation of the true historical origins of the Sankta. With that sanctity now undermined, Laterano can no longer rely on diplomacy or summits alone to maintain its standing. In response, the city has begun reexamining its longstanding pacifist policies, including reactivating the Landen Guards, in an attempt to reassert its influence abroad and restore confidence among its citizens.[11]
Notable people[edit]
The characters below were born in Laterano but are living in or affiliated with factions outside their homeland.
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The characters below were born outside Laterano but are living in or affiliated with factions within the country.
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Other notable people[edit]
- Luciana Giallo
- Marcello Giallo
- Itida: A young ice cream vendor who offers sugar-free ice creams with her autonomous vending cart, which she customized to play a jingle with her name while serving. Ever since her father, a dentist, told her that excessive consumption of desserts could give her cavities, Itida decided to try improve the Laterans' eating habits. The Doctor and Mon3tr come across her after arriving to Laterano.[12]
- Gunject: An expatriate Sankta R.I. Operator specialized in weapon-smithing. Despite being a firearm user, he does not like them as much as other weapons, and prefers to craft anything that isn't related to them. His apathy towards firearms is what lead to a conflict with his family, which led to him being unable to legally return to Laterano.[13]
Itida
Itida's autonomous ice-cream cart, which ressembles a kei truck
Places[edit]
Pagi and avenues[edit]
- Pagus Stevonus: The name likely alludes to Saint Stephen.
- Pagus Ambrosius: The name likely alludes to Saint Ambrosious
- Pagus Faber
- Pagus Theodosius
- Pagus Icalesian
- Pagus Michaelion: The district where the Notarial Hall is located, as well as various firearm workshops.[14][15] The name alludes to the Michaelion, a Roman sanctuary dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel.
- Pagus Griffin
- Pagus Saint Marcel: The district where the Sunset Chapel is located at.[16] The name alludes to Saint-Marcel, the ninth bishop of Paris.
- Via Thervatius: The name likely alludes to Saint Servatius.
- Via Theodoros
- Via Jovita
- Via Borgos
- Via Canelé: The name alludes to a traditional sweet pastry from Bordeaux, France
Churches[edit]
- Sanctilaminium Ambrosii
- Landen Monastery
- The Basilica: The main church of Laterano where the Pope resides; the headquarters of the Lateran Church.
Landmarks[edit]
- Tower of Revelations: The ancient stone belfry that is said to be the foundation of Laterano built by the first Saints. Every hundred years, the Laterans gather under the belfry to celebrate the arrival of the new century with a series of rythmic explosions, in an event known as the "Century Celebration," which has been documented to be held at least ten times over the last millenium.[17] Since its construction, the bell has not been rung for a thousand years until the Summit incident in the year 1099. The ringing of the bell usually symbolizes grand changes in history.[1]
- Pagus Stevonus Central Hospital: The only hospital located in Pagus Stevonus, which is frquented by numerous kids going for their daily check-ups.[18] The director of the Psychology & Empathy Department there is researching a phenomenon called errari.[19]
- Universitas Michaelionis: The institution where Stefano Torregrossa graduated from with a double major on international relations and classical philology.[19]
Gallery[edit]
A street in Laterano
Ditto, but in monochrome
An avenue in a Lateran district
Rooftop view of Laterano
Ditto, but in monochrome
The square in front of the Lateran Basilica
The hall of of the Lateran Basilica
The ballroom of the Lateran Basilica
The guestroom of the Laterna Basilica
An office in Laterano
A Lateran-styled living room
A hospital ward in Laterano
The interior of a Lateran chapel
The backyard of a Lateran chapel
A Laterano gun workshop
The square outside the Laterano nursery
A corridor within the Laterano nursery
A room inside the Laterano nursery
The grand hall in the nursery where all Laterans are baptized
A square in Laterano during the events of The Masses' Travels
An alleyway in Laterano during the events of The Masses' Travels
People[edit]
A male Lateran Sankta citizen with a rifle
A female Lateran Sankta citizen with a revolver
A female Lateran Sankta citizen with glasses, coat, and a handgun
A male Lateran Liberi citizen
A female Lateran Liberi citizen
A Lateran Liberi boy
A Lateran Sankta nun
Ditto, after becoming "fallen" due to the Law's impairment.
Ditto, but is a Liberi
An elderly Lateran Sankta man carrying a bag
An elderly Lateran Sankta lady carrying a bag and a revolver
A male Lateran Fallen Sankta
A female Lateran Fallen Sankta
A Lateran Sankta Legatus
Ditto, but from side view
A Liberi guardsman of the Pontifica Cohors Lateran
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Trivia[edit]
- The thirteen rights of the Lateran constitution likely derives from the canon law of the Catholic Church.
- The Summit of Nations and the institution of the Legati are akin to the formation of the United Nations.
- The worldwide gun-control/enforcement of gun-laws through Laterano is a parallel to the Geneva Conventions.
- The date when the Lateran Declaration is published (March 18) is when the teaser trailer of Arknights: Endfield is released.
Notes[edit]
- ↑ Sing. signum certificatorum; Latin for "certificate marks"
References[edit]
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