The Burach Empire

“Imagine four terrified halflings standing atop each other and masquerading as a tall king, and you’ll get an idea of what the Bürach Empire is like.” — Ingmar Harkon, Erlefurt Grand Librarian

Introduction

Occupying the central region of Etharis is its largest and most powerful nation. The Bürach Empire arose when four gods formed a pantheon that united the four kingdoms of Abendland , Nordenland , Rauland , and Unterland . When the assasination of Emperor Leopold I drove these gods mad, they killed each other in a cosmic war known as the Gods’ End.
Since then, a great unease has festered in the heart of the Bürach people. Ostoya continues to threaten its eastern borders, while The Valikan Clans challenge their power from the north. Meanwhile, an entity known as the Great Beast stalks the countryside, killing indiscriminately and creating aberrations born from nightmares. The Hearthkeeper Church is using all its powers to destroy the Great Beast while simultaneously suppressing all talk about it.
Still, the Bürach Empire clings to a vestige of power. It still commands the largest army in Etharis, its spellcasters remain the envy of other nations, and its currency, the Bürach crown, is recognised everywhere in the continent except Ostoya.

History

The Bürach People

The Bürach began as a group of neighbouring tribes that settled in the north eastern part of Etharis. Over the years, some of these tribes grew in size and stature, and either conquered or absorbed other tribes. Thus, they became the Bürach, which in the olden tongue means “One Above All”.
The people of the Bürach are creatures of tradition, living their lives in lock-step with religious beliefs, family ties, fealty to their Empire, and laws so ancient that few historians even remember why they were made.
The Empire follows a caste system, with the royalty at the top, followed by the nobility, the knights, the merchants, the craftsmen, and then finally, the serfs. Their society is structured around fealty to a particular noble family. Each province must abide by the rules of their lords and common born serfs may not leave the land of their birth without permission.
Those caught abandoning their lords, either by running away or breaking their laws, are dealt with severely.
Though a single empire, the Bürach is not homogeneous. Four distinct groups of people gathered into provinces, with each devoted to their own particular god, and those divisions have survived even if the gods have not. The Abendfolk are devotees of Aurelia, goddess of healing and protection. Their city of Altenheim forms the cultural and economic heart of the Bürach Empire.
The wise Norden settled in the north, where they worship Ulmyr, the embodiment of magic and chaos. Nordenland is culturally divided, with the west populated by a mix of various races, with the east primarily peopled by outlanders. To the east, closest to the Grey Spine Mountains, lies Unterland. The Unterfolk follow the ways of Maligant, god of war and conquest.
Finally, to the south lies Rauland, whose people carry on their worship of Galt the Builder, god of order and construction.

Dawn of an Empire

As these provinces grew in power, foreign kingdoms soon challenged them, coveting their lands. The people turned to the gods for aid. The Four Divines agreed that the burgeoning Empire needed a central figure around which they could rally. Appearing to each of their priests, the Four advised the Bürach to form an empire.
The priests, known as the Hearthkeepers of Aurelia, searched far and wide for signs of one who would be the emperor.
Though they met many a knight, noble, and mage, none was deemed fit for the title. Then their visions led them to the western marches. Here they found a 12-year-old boy named Thancred, who had single-handedly slain a giant that guarded a fjord so that he could build a bridge between two towns. When the Hearthkeepers came before him, they watched as he returned a dead lamb back to life with just his hands. As one, the priests fell to their knees and named him Emperor Indorius, first of his line.
As a gift to the new emperor, the four gods poured their divinity into four sacred artifacts: a crown that radiated authority (Galt), a sword that increased his might (Maligant), an orb that gave him far sight (Ulmyr), and a breastplate that protected him from harm (Aurelia).
With these treasures and the support of his people, the emperor launched a campaign against his nation’s rivals. With sword and banner, he led the combined army of the four provinces into war. Victory after victory followed him until the surrounding nations were conquered and folded into Bürach. This created an empire that stretched from one end of the continent to the other, the largest nation in all of Etharis.
With his empire secured, Emperor Indorius implemented ambitious changes throughout the land. He standardised trade and created guilds for building infrastructure. By establishing coastal settlements, he freed the Bürach from centuries as a land-locked people. A patron of the arts, he encouraged bards and musicians to flourish in his court. When Emperor Indorius finally entered the afterlife, the Empire had become a nation of wealth and enlightenment.

Gods’ End

So great was the impact of Indorius’s rule that the Bürach instituted what would be known as the Edict of Eternal Blood. According to this law, only one of the emperor’s direct descendants could be raised to the throne.
The Hearthkeepers took great care to preserve the purity of the imperial family. Cousins and sometimes siblings were led to marry in order to maintain the Edict. However, many voices across the Bürach warned against such acts, but their words fell on deaf ears. Encouraged by the priesthood, the people’s faith in the Imperial family kept the government in power, and for centuries all was right in the world.
That all changed with Emperor Leopold I.
Possessed by religious fervour, Leopold exhorted the masses to believe that only one of the four gods should rule supreme. Why should they each follow four, when only one--the greatest, most powerful of all--was deserving of their devotion? Each sect then began to argue that their god should be the One True Deity.
Leopold’s madness seeped into the four artifacts he wore. Worse, as these artifacts carried the essences of the four gods, his madness fed back into their minds, driving them insane.
The Four Divines turned on each other, each believing they should be the One True God. The gods warred in the heavens, causing calamities such as storms, flash fires, and earthquakes. Their hostility quickly spread to their worshippers. Within a year, the Bürach Empire had descended into civil war as the four provinces fought among themselves.
To end the violence, individuals from the four provinces conspired against the emperor. Their assassins swept into the imperial palace and killed Leopold. With his death, the sacred artifacts disappeared. This caused the Divine Aurelia to come out of her insanity long enough to see that the gods’ battles would soon destroy all of Etharis. She then used all her power to shield the land from the gods’ war. In so doing, she gave up her own life. In time the other three—Maligant, Ulmyr, and Galt—slew each other.
The death of the Four Divines sent a shockwave of magic throughout the Empire. Divine magic still exists, but is now believed to radiate from the remaining Arch Seraphs and Daemons, not from the dead gods themselves.
The leaders of each province called for a ceasefire, and each army retreated to their land to heal and recover from their losses. A new emperor, Aratron I, was installed and provided counterfeit sacred artifacts to shore up the people’s faith. This emperor served only as a figurehead; the Hearthkeeper ministers of Aurelia were now the real power behind the throne.

"One Above All"

Maps

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  The Burach Empire

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  Vollendorf

Type

Geopolitical, Empire

Capital

Altenheim

Alternative Names

The Empire

Demonym

Burach

Head of State

Emperor Aratron II

Head of Government

Roland Murrich

Government System

Monarchy, Theocratic

Power Structure

Feudal state

Economic System

Command/Planned economy

Currency

Burach Crown

Subsidiary Organizations

• Abendland
• Nordenland
• Rauland
• Unterland

Official Languages

• Higher Burach
• Lower Burach

Neighboring Nations

• Liesech
• Ostoya
• The Charneault Kingdom
• The Valikan Clans

Notable Members

• Emperor Aratron II
• Heinrich Zimmer
• Vassily Roemer

Laws   The Laws of Burach

Open War/Stalemate

The Burach Empire

-100

Ostoya

-100

centuries For each step one side takes into the other’s territory, they are driven back. The two great powers stand at a deadlock.