The Adamant Empire

The Adamant Empire was an oppressive, world-spanning governing body mostly comprised of Moon Elves and ruled with an iron fist by its Eternal Emperor, Korbal Broach. A powerful Moon Elf sorcerer, Broach seemed to neither age nor wane in power, and no existing history book ever makes any claims of another Eternal Emperor. During its more than thousand-year reign, the Empire spent an enormous amount of effort erasing all traces of history prior to its rise, and as no one alive today can recall ever living in a world before the Empire, Astoria's history from that time has been lost. What is known is that the Empire's grip on the world was absolute, and all races aside from those of High Elven descent (mostly pure-blooded Sun Elves or Moon Elves) were viewed as inferior, and therefore enslaved.

Structure

Korbal Broach ruled his Empire with supreme authority. Complete respect and loyalty was demanded of all creatures in Astoria, and those who failed to meet these demands were punished severely, often slaughtered where they stood or disappearing entirely. Very little is known about the exact chain of command in the Emperor's forces, but the troops that seemed to be responsible for maintaining order among the "lesser races" were referred to as Suppressors.

Disbandment

As the world awoke to a new year in Imperial Year 1024, whispers began spreading among the populace of brave individuals who had broken free of their oppressors and were beginning to fight back. Rumors were quickly squashed, however, and nothing was certain. But the seeds of hope had begun to spread in the hearts of Astorians everywhere.
After little more than a year of steadily gathering strength, spreading discord and the seeds of hope, and striking from the shadows, the brave freedom fighters that had, up until now, only been discussed in hushed whispers of disbelief openly declared themselves as The Astorian Pact. This group of revolutionaries, consisting of members of all different races of Astorians, began to wage all-out war on The Adamant Empire. Starting with guerrilla tactics, but eventually spreading to open warfare, the Pact (much to everyone's great surprise) began to cripple the Empire's hold on major points of the world.
Finally, after years of brutal bloodshed and open warfare, The Astorian Pact besieged the very heart of the Empire: the capital city of Theogonia itself. As the siege weapons and troops hurled themselves against the walls of the city, the Pact sent a small, elite group into the city via the sewers, the way opened for them by a contact within the city. Sneaking their way into the heart of the city, they made their way into the Emperor's Palace and confronted him. What they found was not a feeble old man, as many believed. Rather, they faced a strong, healthy, dark sorcerer, grown powerful from a thousand years of consuming the innocent souls of his Empire's "citizens." A fierce battle ensued, and the group struck the Emperor down again and again, and each time he rose again, cackling madly. However, their assault on the Emperor's throne room had forced him to divert all of his attention on their battle, allowing his magical defenses of the city to fade and fail. The Pact's army surged into the city, cutting down the Imperial soldiers and liberating its citizens. At last, the infiltration group was able to deal Broach a fatal blow. But with his dying breath, the Emperor played his trump card: cackling madly, he unleashed all the power he had left into a massive explosion of energy, blasting the heroes back and ruining the structural integrity of the building. As the building collapsed around them, the heroes scrambled out of the palace, barely escaping with their lives. But in the end, they stood victorious. The Imperial Army surrendered at the sight of the Palace in ruins, and Astoria was free.

Military

The Adamant Empire's military strength stemmed mostly from its focus on destructive magics. Imperial Battlemages were highly coveted and respected positions, and students who displayed even a small proficiency with magic were immediately given over to the Enigmatrum Institute for further exploration of their magical abilities.
Moon Elves who displayed little or no proficiency in magic were instead trained as the foot soldiers of the Empire. Once they finished basic combat training, they were split into different areas of the military based on their strengths. Fighting, Cavalry, Scouting, and Siege & Artillery each had their own branches of the military, but were all commanded by the General of the army.

Education

During the Empire's reign, only Moon Elves were allowed to receive any kind of substantial education, though this mostly consisted of military tactics and strategy, training in destructive magics, and combat practice. In addition, Moon Elf children were constantly bombarded with fanatical nationalism and propaganda, urging them to "Support their Emperor" and to study hard and learn well so that their Emperor would have a use for them. 
Sun Elves living under the Empire's rule were treated slightly better than the other races due to the High Elven heritage they share with the Moon Elves. Sun Elves were allowed to pursue education, but only at designated schools, and only with other Sun Elves and from a Sun Elven instructor. They were not allowed to hold any government or military positions, however. These were limited to only Moon Elves.
Lesser races were "educated" in their version of the Empire's fanatical propaganda, which consisted of constantly belittling them and stifling any thoughts of rising above their station. The instructor was always a Moon Elf, and most treated their students like little more than cattle. Most children were taught how to carry out the menial tasks they were assured they would be doing for the rest of their lives. Leniency for failure was few and far between, and punishments were frequent and harsh.

DISBANDED/DISSOLVED

1 IE - 1029 IE

Type

Geopolitical, Empire

Capital

Theogonia

Leader

Korbal Broach

Leader Title

Eternal Emperor

Government System

Despotism

Currency

Imperial Mark