The Hyperios Syllogi

The Hyperios dynasty was preceded by 2 ages in the history of Echaea: The Agate Age, and The Ruby Age. Each of these ages lasted almost a millenia, and it was only in the year 1268 did all the disparate kingdoms get brought under the Hyperios Syllogi, and thus known as the united region of Echaea. Cyrene seceded to become a free city only a decade into the Syllogi’s formation, and has remained independent ever since.

The Agate Age

The Agate Age was a time of war and conquest, boundaries between individual kingdoms were constantly shifting, with some kingdoms growing more powerful while others diminished, some kingdoms even dividing themselves into separate independent realms entirely. Depending on the year, there were believed to be as many as 28 different kingdoms or as few as 12. There is not much archeological information that survives to the present day about these kingdoms, or even what many of them were called. However, by the year 916, 5 kingdoms emerged and formed an alliance, thus ending the Agate Age.

The Ruby Age

The Ruby Age of Echaea began when the 5 major kingdoms of Echaea at the time came together to form an alliance. The day this alliance was made is officially known as The Joining of the Pearls, or the forming of The Nacreous Federation.

The Nacreous Federation

The Nacreous Federation is made up of the (then) 5 most powerful kingdoms of Echaea, namely:

Kitrin
Prasino
Erythri
Yanos
Mavros

The Federation had leaders elected from each kingdom to lead them, and the Federation worked closely with each kingdom to ensure peace and prosperity for all within the alliance. The 5 leaders were called the Silverflames, they wore white and grey uniforms with the silver pin of the Federation, mantled with long capes that seemed to be made of liquid silver. Each member of the Silverflames had an equal voice in the council, and they each had a right to veto any law that gets put forward. If anyone vetoed a law, it would not pass and had to be reviewed again. Each Kingdom did have a monarch, and each kingdom may have had their own laws or ways of governing, but the Federation’s laws applied to all and came before each kingdom’s laws. There’s a punishment from the Ruby Age which is still in effect, and it is considered one of the worst things that can be doled out, second only to the death penalty: Ostracism. If a criminal is ostracised, they are banished from the location in which the crime was committed, but this can extend to banishment from the entire federation. The criminal, now a Marked, can be banished for a minimum of 10 years. The Marked are universally considered to have no rights and, by law, are little better than stray animals or vermin. Many are subjected to slavery or other crueller fates simply because they are little better than resources or goods. The Marked also will be branded with a mark on the back of their hand or on the side of their neck. This mark is arcane in nature and causes others to immediately distrust the Marked, and a Dispel Magic spell will only pause the effects temporarily. The only way to remove it permanently is to use the same brand that placed the mark to begin with.