Akkala (Total War)

Akkala is a faction in Hyrule Total War, playable in the "Ancient Age" chapter of Hyrule Historia. It consists of the ancient predecessors of the Kingdom of Hyrule, as well as some of their allies, like the Minish and Wind Tribe.

Culture
The Akkalans were a humanoid race that originally originated from Arcadia and the lost Cobble Kingdom. They are considered to be the ancestors of most modern Hyrulean races. Before their discovery of the Triforce, they were primarily a group of individualistic and splintered tribes consisting of various families. As such, the Akkalans were a quite family-focused culture, a trait that they would largely retain after the founding of their kingdom. When the First Sage Sulkaris launched her invasion of Hyrule, the various Akkalan communities banded together to stand against her. This event united the Akkalans under a single ruler for the first time in their history, and would eventually cause major changes in their culture and societal structure. The discovery of the Triforce would also cause a major shift in their religious beliefs, as it slowly changed from what could be considered a relatively loosely organized system of nature and lesser deity worship, to the more well-known faith of the Golden Goddesses.

Unlike their modern descendants, the Akkalans were far more humble regarding their place in the world. They were notably willing to cooperate with other races, which is seen in their various alliances with the Wind Tribe and other civilizations. Their society was largely based around the concept of honor, a trait derived from their more community-oriented past, and ensured loyalty and stability. The family unit was by far the most important social institution in their society and might have played a part in the fledgling kingdom's instability, as the concept of monarchy was relatively unknown before the rise of King Gustaf. It is quite evident that the family's interests took precedence over subjugation to a single monarch in times of peace. Since the monarchy was a relatively new development, many powerful individuals greedily wished for the throne and would rise against Gustaf. Thus, the Kingdom of Akkala can be understood as a temporary necessity in times of conflict, rather than a central element of their social structure. This would change, however, as the Akkalan Civil War proved to be quite traumatic and would eventually usher in an age of stability.

Language
The Akkalans spoke a language different from modern Hylian, but it's still in use among the nobility and clergy, and some of its words can be found in many of the names of Hylians.

Ancient Age
The first Akkalans came from the northern lands of Arcadia and settled south, in the lands that would come to be known as Lanayru Province and Hyrule Field.

When the First Sage Sulkaris suddenly rose to power with an army of Gohma, the tribes of Akkalans merged together to fend off her invasion. Despite their best efforts, the Gohma armies seemed unstoppable, until a man by the name of Rhoaban Gustaf took control of their armies. Under his command, the Akkalans baited the power-hungry sage into a chokepoint trap, allowing them to counter the numerical advantage of their arachnid foes. With the aid of Torkulon's Huskus, the Gohmas were utterly crushed, and Gustaf managed to fell Sulkaris in a duel, leading her armies to retreat in the Misery Mire.

After that conflict, the Kingdom of Akkala was established with Gustaf as its King, and many civilizations would soon ally with it, like the Zora, the Minish and the mysterious Wind Tribe. King Gustaf himself had secretly developed a very intimate relationship with the leader of said tribe, Queen Siroc. This would lead the two civilizations to get really close. In 2999 BG, Rhoaban would order the construction of a new royal capital, Gundrumether.

When the Darknut Legion, under the leadership of the Black Knight, began their crusade on Holodrum, King Gustaf was quick to come to the aid of the Wind Tribe after hearing Siroc's plea. While he failed to convince either the Huskus or the Zora Dominion to join his cause, he would find an unlikely ally in King Igos du Ikana of the Kingdom of Ikana in the south. In one battle, the Akkalans managed to hold off the Darknuts long enough for the Wind Tribe to depart for the Heavens so that their secret would not fall into the hands of the inhabitants of Hyrule. When that happened, the Legion suddenly abandoned its crusade and issued a diplomatic apology to the Akkalans. In secret however, the Wind Tribe had left the Triforce with the Akkalans. Gustaf's liveliness was said to have waned after the departure of the Wind Tribe and his dear Siroc.

In 2293 BG, Akkala would be deprived of another ally when the Kingdom of Ikana fell after three days of brutal civil war. A year later, a Demon of Old was said to have emerged in the lands of the Blins. With this ever growing tension, a civil war was bound to erupt. The Rhoams in the east committed some unknown crime against the Minish, while Baolin Nohansen I and Yom Daltus I, motivated both by personal ambition and mistrust of the peoples with whom Rhoaban aligned himself, plotted the King's assassination.

In the year 2991 BG, they struck, Yom killing Rhoaban via poison as Baolin Nohansen I declared himself King of Akkala, blaming Rhoaban for the death of his niece Hylia's daughter Sela. The conspirators quickly turned on one another as the other Houses took advantage of the power struggle, and the Akkalan Civil War began. In the midst of this brutal war, the Moblins would launch an attack on Akkala under the command of the Druthulidi Demise.

With the Civil War abruptly ended, the Akkalans were forced to find a solution to this sudden invasion. Growing increasingly desperate in the face of this new threat, Baolin and his supporters chose to empower his niece Hylia by directly linking her to the Triforce through magical means. With her new powers, Hylia easily held the Moblins at bay as the civil war raged on in the north. Baolin eventually deployed his niece to the northern front to deal with the remaining Gustaf Loyalists, ending all opposition from that front.

Hylia's miraculous abilities and accomplishments in the name of her family earned her the love of many, to the point she was made Queen of Akkala and made to rule instead of her uncle Baolin. Eventually the Akkalans would revere Hylia as a deity, renaming themselves Hylians in her honor. This would convince the young woman of truly being a Goddess herself. After a while, the False Goddess devised a plan to weaken Demise by crippling all of Blinkin. She ordered all Akkalan cities to be emptied of soldiers to lure the Moblins from their lands. While they were busy, her armies would reach the Old Moblin Kingdom, to seek out and kill every single Moblin they can find: man, woman, and child. Demise's attempts at repelling her arimes would prove fruitless, as she overpowered him and incinerated the Moblin city with holy fire, killing countless Moblin citizens, and forever scarring the Moblin homeland as the Crucible of Hylia. After that absolute genocide, Hylia mysteriously vanished, never to be seen again. Her loyal followers romanticized and glorified her disappearance as a self sacrifice needed to destroy Demise. She was succeeded to the throne by her uncle and later his grandson.

Berrymark Harkinian I ruled for 42 years until a coup by Duke Bal Onkled in 2939 BG. Berrymark was killed during Onkled's siege of Gundrumether, killing the king and forcing his wife and children to flee to Harkinian holdings in Vigjaro. In 2841 BG Onkled was assassinated by Lord Kiro Muno, who's actions would inspire the formation of a the Sheikah Cadre. He later married Berrymark's granddaughter Seldia Harkinian II and ushered in the transition of Akkala to Kingdom of Hyrule and the First Golden Age.

Noble Houses
Ancient Akkala was dominated by a number of ancient family lines that were among the first settlers to venture west from Arcadia. These five ancient clans were nations in their own right, dominating the aristocracy and economy of the Kingdom and lording over numerous smaller clans that served as their bannermen. House Gustaf is believed to have been driven into extinction during the Akkalan Civil War, but in truth escaped to Calatia with its bannermen, while House Daltus and its bannermen largely became the Hybrid nobility of Lanayru Province.

List of appearances

 * The Fallen Sage (First appearance - Playable)
 * Windbreaker (Playable)
 * Demise of a Goddess (Last appearance - Playable)