Imperial Orsiétte

Orsiétte is perhaps humanities most powerful and prosperous nations, often venerated as the pinnacle of human creativity, authority and culture. Predominantly known for its extravagant royalty and nobility, illustrious style of architecture and ostentatious clothing; known far and wide for their high quality and flare. Nothing compared to that of Elven kind but still remarkable in its own right for man's artistic creativity.
Often overshadowing the nation's penchant for political skulduggery, scandalous affairs and stark class divides. Some muse that perhaps this is by design as way of ensuring they are always at the forefront of the political stage as it tirelessly works to undermine and destabilise neighbouring countries. Others simply attribute it to the Orsiéttian nobilities natural inclination towards gossip and intrigue. To outsiders the Orsiéttians seem arrogant and imperialistic, plotting and scheming as they lay in wait, annexing boarder territories and spreading discourse amongst their neighbours. This lies in the empires lust to reunify the Agatestian empire that it sees as rightfully theirs. However there is another side to this empire and that is the soft power of their culture; music, food, art and literature all being cultivated with an equal measure of care as they seek to make themselves a force to be reckoned with on both sides of the border.
The Orsiétteian government is based on tradition, which has been in place since the days of the fall of the Agatestian Empire. Whilst they still flaunt the imperial titles of yore, the empire for the most part resembles a feudal society like most of the successor realms, dispensing with the senate and democratic institutions that made it a republic. The current head of state is Empress Caterina D'Auvergne, a woman born into a noble family and ascended the throne after her husband Emperor Mathieu D'Auvergne fell victim to the ?? plague. Due to the nature of his death and subsequent revelations, she has never been formally crowned as Empress. Instead, she is regarded as an Empress-in-Waiting, serving until such time as a successor to Mathieu's line is named. At present, there are no heirs apparent. those claimants who have appeared have come to a tragic end.

It would seem that such things are simply par for the course in this vaunted land of opulence.

Geography.

Orsiétte once stretched from the throat of Illaria, wrapping around the Lorthwyn channel toward it's colonies that spread across the northern coast of the Tacarigua Sea. Due to centuries of civil war and the emergence of different geographic cultures within the empire furthest provinces, Orsiétte today has been reduced to the south eastern point of its former Agatestian empire. With both Falrenand and Maridosa respectively earning independence at the expense of the Orsiéttian Emperors, while the empire has diminished in size it is still a powerful economic and political entity.
To the west lay the Mountains of Mourdren that create a natural border to Orsiéttes main rival both militarily and culturally for centuries, the kingdom of Rhienfell.

Léondeaux

The Imperial seat of power. Léones is the Dukedom that surrounds the Imperial city.

The Holy City of Rounesse

The heart of the holy see of the one god and dwelling on the Pontiff.

Archachon

Standing sentinel at the mouth of the Rououine Basin, Archachon is a hub of trade and activity that enters the empire.

Life in Orsiétte.

Their cities are almost reserved exclusively for the rich elite all being a central hub for the nobility's self-indulgent life style building houses to rival one another's and live in complete luxury. Whilst the poor dwell in the slums of the outskirts separated by the divide of a city wall typically. In previous wars and sieges it has been the poor whom were first to suffer abandoned by the defending forces to as many Orsiétte Emperors have put it "tire the enemy's lust for battle and entangle their force."
The largest demographic of the population are the peasantry and serfs. Their life is miserable existence of labour and prostration to the faith, believing that their toil and sacrifice will be rewarded in the next life. Generations of servitude to crown and church has entrenched the idea that the princes of the realm are their betters, while times may be tough and many of them go without, the highborn do what they can with their best interests at heart. This of course is a total fallacy, the dukes and lords of Orsiétte care little of the smallfolk, only that they kept in their place and their taxes and labour come on time.
Life for non-humans offers very bleak prospects, being little more than indentured slaves they fall under Forbidden from owning property or earning money. Often found in small communities within cities within the empire, they are seen as the property of whatever local lord they fall under.

Leader

Empress Caterina D'Auvergne

Politics of the Empire.

Orsiétte has been ruled by the D'Auvergne for over a millennia, and despite the empires tumultuous politics, has remained perhaps the most stable ruling family throughout the successor realms.
Their history has been marked by the D'Auvergne bloodlines rivalry with the Reinthofen bloodline of Rhienfell. Both having claim to the imperial crown of the Agatestian empire and both harbouring the generational ambition to re-forge the old empire. It is this that has locked Orsiétte in many bitter wars with its rival neither willing to give ground or sign a permanent truce.
Orsiette is well known for exalting the churches ideology of human superiority. A stance that has put them at odds with the Dwarin of the Mourdren Mountains, the Aelfier of Lorthwyn and most significantly the Zuhrimyyad Empire.

The Imperial Gendarme.

Like much of Orsiétte, the chivalric traditions of its knightly class overly ostentatious, surrounded by pomp and grandeur of ceremony and feats of arms. Considered to be the epitonic of knightly valour and excellence, Bards and troubadours sing tales throughout the lands of men of heroic deeds and feats of gallantry of the Imperial Gendarme.
The Gendarme are the noble born cavalry of Orsiétte, rumoured to be the finest cavalry the successor realms have produced, and widely feared among their enemies. With many young maiden swooning at the prospect of giving their favour and being rescued by one of these valiant warriors.
Whilst accepted among the small folk, the knights and lords of other lands regard the Orsiétteian knights as pompous, arrogant Individuals, their own reputation cultivating an insufferable attitude amongst many of its younger members. One that the Rhienfelldians have notoriously taken advantage of in the past, tarnishing the reputation of the Gendarme in a number of humiliating defeats, both on the field of battle and tourney grounds.