Melentine Empire

The Melentine Empire, also referred to as the Second Empire, was a vast empire that covered the entire of the western regions of Tremalking.
It was originally formed by the dissolution of the Tremalking Empire, when the Empire retreated into the west to survive, at the end of The Third Age.
While the city of Refuge was the only settlement to survive The Second Fall, many Melentines survived through other means, having been transmuted into brass.
Once the 4th Age ended, these statues were converted back into people, and formed the base population of the New Melentine Empire.
History
In The Third Age, the Tremalking Empire was vast, covering all of the western continent with the exceptions of the Vaskery Wilds, the eastern reaches of the island of Elbürt (later called Alber) and the Mettenheim Peninsula , its armies and riches were the scourge of the world, only rivalled by the iron legions of the Reik.
They were masters of the arcane, training thousands of mages, as well as masters of mutagenic alchemies. Their armies were composed of such alchemical creations, referred to as Weapons Races.
However, the Minotaurs, the Weapons Race that formed the backbone of their military might, rebelled, most fleeing into the unknown Vaskery. Fearing their rivals and subjects would detect weakness, the alchemists of the Empire decided to field their latest creation before proper trials were concluded; this race was the Scranc.
This proved to be disasterous, as the Scranc were capable of reproducing quickly and in great numbers, as well, they were exceedingly difficult to control. They rebelled, forming massive hordes that scoured the lowlands where they were first stationed. The Empire's human legionnaires were insuffiecient to hold back the monsterous hordes, and many cities were sacked within a short span.
The Scranc were deployed in the east of the The Dwarven Marches, near the Tremen homelands. however by the time of the uprisings, they had yet to be deployed in the Western Highlands.
Fleeing for the safety of the western reaches of the continent, the wealthy and the elite abandoned the eastern empire to whatever fate the scranc had for them. Fortifying the mountain passes, they could no longer call themselves the Tremalking Empire, having lost control of most of the continent where they shared a name. They renamed themselves the Melentine Empire, for their borders now shared solely the coasts of the Melentine Ocean.
Eventually the eastern lowlands fought back against the Scranc hordes, forming new kingdoms and empires. The Melentine fought three seperate wars against their former homelands in order to build their former empire once again, but to no avail; they no longer had the manpower, the knowledge, or the pure will their ancestors once had.
During the events of The Second Apocalypse, the Supreme Patriarch of the empire, Balthasar Gelt, journeyed to the center of The Ways in search of a magical wonder; the Bowl of Earth.
Having foretold the coming doom that the Sundered would bring, he wished to use the bowl to transmogrify the population of the empire into metal, in order to hide them from the dark creatures. Once the danger had pass, whether it took centuries or millennia, he would reconstitute the citizenry, and the empire would be saved.
However, he was captured underground by the mind controlled hordes of the Illithid, and was only saved by the Knights of Harmony.
Deciding to band together, the journeyed deeper into the Ways, discovering the Impossible City of the Illithid, and rescued many captured Mettenese citizenry. On the way to the surface, the Knights brought Balthasar to The Heart of Titan, where the Bowl of Earth was kept. Convincing him to use his powers and the powers of the bowl for the world, he agreed, though begrudgingly.
During the final battles of the Second Fall, Balthasar used the bowl on the northern most section of his home empire against the wishes of The Mandate. They were safe, but the Refuge was not. However he fought alongside the peoples of the world, as well as the not transmogrified portions of the empire, helping stem the Sunderedtide while the risen Knights of Harmony fought The Nongod.
During the last battle, Balthasar was wounded, and before he perished, he undid the metallic bindings on the citizens of the northern empire. He then perished from his wounds, but a third of the Empire's population was saved. These hundreds of thousands were not counted amongst the 144,000 survivors of Refuge during the beginning of The Fifth Age.
Though they survived, their homeland was in ruin, and they could not extend the control they once had over the western highlands. Deciding from there to start anew once again, the New Melentine Empire was formed, though turbulent times for this new empire lied ahead. From then on Balthasar Gelt has become an almost deified figure to the peoples of the Third Empire.

Disbandment

Dissolved during The Second Fall, at the end of The Fourth Age.

DISBANDED/DISSOLVED

1, 4th Age - 312, 4th Age

Type

Geopolitical, Empire

Capital

Meklagard

Alternative Names

The Second Empire

Predecessor Organization

• Tremalking Empire

Successor Organization

• New Melentine Empire

Location

Tremalking

Controlled Territories

• Konstanton