Peter trying to find examples for theist rulers over Malkoni peasantry:
> Malkioni Kingdoms were controlled in the past by barbarians,
> such as the Seshnegi Kings Thyerm the Barbarian and Grodlam
> the Wolf whereas Loskalm might have come close with Black
> Hralf. However these weren't stable for very long.
They neither established a pagan tradition for the lords unavailable for the peasants. Ostrogoth rule of Rome went a lot farther than any barbarian conquest of Seshnela.
Not even Estali with its earth cult mysteries for the ruler really has this situation - IMO it is very close to Old Seshnegi influence of Seshna Likita on the royalty, i.e. entirely unorthodox, but at least somewhat Malkioni.
> Eastpoint
> is a more interesting example as it apparently seems to be a
> Malkioni city ruled by the Orlanthi Kings of the Valmark, but
> it's lunarised now.
Cities usually have less of a serf population, but more of a guild population, i.e. the free "farmer" caste. A concept which isn't too far from urban Orlanthi.
> The only other example that I can think of are the Umathelan
> Malkioni under the control of the Fonritans although the
> details of their society is unknown to me apart from the
> worship of pagan deities among them.
IIRC the Fonritians are happy to accept whichever deities their slaves worship as long as they pay the necessary sacrifice to Darleester the Noose (or whichever deity embodies their slavocracy). But then neiter the Umathelans in Malkionism nor the Fonritians in theism are close to orthodox ways.
> God Forgot under the
> Pharaoh doesn't quite count since they have native rulers
Or are ruled as a province paying tribute to some theist agency (like the Only Old One's Kingdom of Night). No, I did mean a more direct cohabitation of rulers and ruled, something like Wenelia or Jonatela reversed.
> and the Aeolians aren't farmers AFAIK.
While IMO the Aeolian Hendriki don't exclude farmers, I will admit that their farming magic tends to be crappier than comparable theist farming magics available in Heortland. They aren't a people apart from the Hendriki, but a Hendriki group which turned to Malkioni ways of magic (i.e. worship). Culturally, they aren't too different from the surrounding Hendriki, who in turn have adopted Malkioni societal concepts into their theist society. Perhaps the most similar historical situation would be the christianized Romano-Britain under pagan Anglo-Saxon management up to Oswiu.
To clarify where Peter and I deviate in our views on the Aeolians of Heortland:
Their sect is defined after a founding saint, but - again IMO - not to the exclusion of other saints, and - yet again IMO - including use of the theist deities of the other Hendriki.
They started out in the cities, with the cities really (most of Heortland's cities seem to have started during or shortly after the Bright Empire's reign in Heortland), but there is no reason not to include or spread out to farming as well. After all, most urban Orlanthi manage some small plot of land or keep some husbandry in addition to their professions.
I don't see them as a parallel to the medieval Jews (who were forbidden most crafts or land-ownership) in the christian parts of western Europe at all - if anybody, this rule would be filled by expatriate God Forgot natives in either Heortland or Esrolia.
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