Seven Crown of Anidara

It wasn't a shared history or culture or language that united them. Nor was it for the common good or peace. Ambition and Hubris. That is what the Seven Crown represents. That is what it was. A monument to arrogance.

— Eudecia Adamos VII., Queen of Thenia

It is a universal truth that the pursuit of power can lead humans to the greatest of feats. More often than not these efforts end in failure, burning out as quickly as they had started. Occasionally, they can alter the course of history and change the fate of an entire continent. The Seven Crown is a rare example of both. In the grand and sprawling history of Anidara it is but one minor age of war and intrigue, one seen a thousand times before and a hundred thereafter. But some of the acts committed during this age would lay the foundation for many a development and irrevocably change the face of the continent.

A Dream of Ages Past

by Patrick Jensen

Anidara, despite many claims to the contrary, has only ever been united by a single man. Atechandar Argead conquered the continent and ushered in an age of prosperity. While fleeting in the grand scheme of things, his realm laid the foundation for a movement that endured over three thousand years.
Known as Argeads or Imperials, they strive toward a united South where its various people stand proud, free and prosperous. Waxing and waning through the years, the movement gained strength after the Second Tarquinnian Hegemony proved that the many southern realms are helpless in the face of a greater threat. By 2840 DA, the movement had gained much influence throughout the south and was merely waiting for the right figure to lead them.

Seven Minds, One Idea

In the end, it was not one but seven men, who through various means had come into positions of power and wealth, that would set upon realising the Imperial Dream. Seven men, driven by ambition, came together on the island of Adamis. And on a sweltering day in late 2846 DA, they swore an oath upon the island's sun-scorched cliffs. Together they would rule Anidara, seven crowns for seven Kings and seven tribes.
The Broken Lord
From the far south came Hammilkar Baliahon, noble son of the Itrakan Empire. Head of a powerful family, he had long lusted after the starlit crown of Itraka, only to be beaten and humiliated. Using what remained of his wealth and strength, he now sought to carve himself a realm further north, in the windswept plains of Arran.

The God of War

The Avirites are a vicious people, conquerors cruel beyond measure. But even among them, Barglath Pilgaser stood out. Barely twenty years old, the sellsword had carved a bloody path across Anidara. Marching under the banner of the flayed man, his mercenary army stood undefeated in a hundred battles and as the strongest in the south.

The Apostate

Where the Avirite commanded with the sword, the Elamite ruled with the coin. Cunning businessmen, and perhaps the richest man Anidara ever saw, he had his hands in almost every trade imaginable and eyes in every court of the continent. Shunned by his people for his turn from their faith, Tahmid Sulgan was out to prove that gold held more power than the gods.

The Red Lion

Strategist, Duke of Velnar and Knight, Henrik Lastarn was the latest in a long line of men and women that had tried to spread their influence into Anidara. The Feran had long held a grudge against Thenia, proudest of the Themyran cities and desired more than anything else to see it fall under his lion banner.

The Mad Prince

Like his ally further north, Andronicus Mycalis desired above all else domain over a city. Fair, charismatic and utterly insane, the Prince of Heron had long since schemed against his King and brother. And although few could deny the danger this man posed, many were drawn to him either by charisma or promises of power.

The White Viper

In old Sekara, where the Kings had become weak and warlords ruled, Eumenes Phylkead had risen to power. Priest and chosen avatar of The Divine Eye, he had made the kingdom's south his own domain. And at the head of an army as loyal as it was fanatical, he would strive to make all Anidara revel in the glory of his god.

The Pirate King
Scion of the ancient Onadaran people, Vendris Kolvaren had built himself a kingdom on the waves of the Great Divide and Tyanis Wound. His ships moved freely wherever they wanted, either to plunder or to trade. Once a lowly street rat he now commanded every pirate on the eastern sea and had made himself a crown of driftwood.

Century of War

by Mai Anh Tran

A year later, in the sweltering heat of late-summer, the Seven Crown struck against the continent. The Mad Prince killed his brother and usurped the throne of Heron. From the north came the Lion, the Viper marched out of the mountains and together with the Prince they crushed the Kingdoms of Thenia, Lydaros and Koinos. On the Golden Coast, bands of thugs took the great harbors to make way for the Pirate King's fleets.The God of War stormed across the western highlands and raised Legions of his warlike kinsmen for the cause.
Mercenaries supported by the armies of the Broken Lord stormed the lands of Arran. All the while, the silent army of the Apostate was doing its work, golden coins, bloody knives and whispered words halting any force that could pose a threat. Within three short years, large swaths of Anidara had fallen under their sway and Argeads joined them in the thousands, ready to make the Imperial Dream a reality.

by Alex Nice

But equally as many rose to meet them. Herodians and Themidians, kingdoms and city-states and most fiercely of all the Kidarites of Peshara. Before the gates of the Twin Cities, the Seven Crown was beaten. And what was supposed to be a quick conquest became a century of war. In time, the old seven faded and handed their ambition on to their heirs.
Generation after generation, these men and women tried to fulfill the dream. Some came closer than others. Some fought each other as fiercely as they did their enemies. Battle followed battle, cities burned and were rebuild, nations destroyed and resurrected. In 2968 DA, Emmerik Lastarn, last to bear the banner of the Seven Crown was defeated in the Battle of Kurupedion. The great dream was over.

Organized Chaos

The Seven Crown never was a nation in of itself, despite the claims of some pro-Argead historians. From its first day to its last, it was an alliance based on ambition. Its power dependent on that of its warlords and its borders in constant flux. There was no common identity or culture to unite the people behind. And the Argeads themselves were just as divided, individual factions aligning with whoever seemed the most powerful at the time.
Each Warlord was in command of their own realm and personal army. War could be waged on an individual basis, the Seven only aligning when dealing with especially tough opponents or outside interventions. Taxes and resources they kept to themselves, although trade became easier without tariffs. Individual realms were governed in the way their warlord wished and the Seven Crown included anything from theocracies and monarchies to warlord states and mercantile republics.

This realm is built on one thing only. The universal truth that has governed humanity since ages past: might makes right.

— Barglath Pilgaser

Seven Tribes. Seven Crowns. Seven Kings.

2847 - 2968

Type

Geopolitical, Empire

Alternative Names

Empire of Anidara

Government System

Despotism

Power Structure

Confederation

Neighboring Nations

• Rhomeian Empire

by Martin Deschambault

Strange Banner
A crown with seven spikes, each for one of the seven kings. Under it a star with eight points, seven representing Anidara's Tribes and the last standing for the Imperial Dream elevating them together as one.
Inheritance
When the first generation of warlords faded, their titles and ambition were given to their heirs. Those of already powerful dynasties, like the Lion, Mad Prince and Broken Lord, gave their realm onto their sons and daughters. The Viper's successor was chosen by divine ritual, the heir to the Pirate King by democratic vote among the many captains under his rule.
As God of War, Barglath Pilgaser chose the most capable of his generals and adopted him. The Apostate groomed the most promising of his subordinates as his heir. These practices continued throughout the Seven Crown's existence. In total, there were Nine Generations of Warlords.

war by Wu. Hao

Religion under the Seven
Religion, like all things, was a matter of individual preference. Some like the successors of Eumenes the Sekaran allowed only their faith to be practised. The Lastarn would allow other faiths while actively proselytizing and those following The Apostate simply did not care, letting worship of any kind go unhindered as long as it did not actively harm their cause.

by Victor Rossi