Abendland
While Abenland is the seat of Imperial rule, it is clear that the Holy Church of the Hearthkeepers is the power behind the throne. The Hearthkeepers maintain order by preaching fidelity to the tenets of the late goddess Aurelia: kindness, humility, and temperance. Newcomers may find this odd, considering the wild, drug-fueled parties that occur every night in the city. One finds that the citizens of Altenheim are able to worship fervently each day and still not lose sleep over breaking every law of the goddess at night.
There isn’t a desire or whim that can’t be sated in the City of Joy. With its trade routes and acres of farmland, Abendland is one of the richest provinces in Etharis. The Silverstream Markets offer goods from as far north as Grarjord to as far south as Sante Viegre. Those eager to sample the culture of the Bürach Empire can visit the Bard Colleges and the famous Starhold Theatre. For the more religiously inclined, they can learn much from the priests of the Grand Temple of Aurelia. Finally, those looking for a good time can hardly do better than the many-storied Caledan Inn, open at all hours and usually booked full.
Newcomers to Abendland and the Empire would do well to familiarize themselves with the laws of the land. One recent law stands out: it is a crime to talk of the Great Beast. The Hearthkeepers deny any such being exists and forbid any discussion of it. Gossip of this threat is considered a grave insult to the Church, doubtlessly landing the speaker behind bars. Yet simultaneously, the Hearthkeepers made it a serious crime to withhold any information regarding the Beast. All encounters with the entity must be reported to the Hearthkeepers, and all its monstrous progeny must be destroyed. Failure to do so may arouse suspicion that you are in league with the unmentionable entity.
Government
Pope Roland Murrich —
The leader of the Hearthkeeper Church and the right hand of the emperor himself, Pope Murrich is a shrewd, ruthless leader whose aim is to keep the Church in power. To this end, he oversees a system of tithes from the populace, selling indulgences and holy favours for money. The Hearthkeepers also seek to keep the hearts of the people close to the Holy Church and to the emperor. From childhood, citizens are taught to venerate the Imperial Family as the chosen leaders of Aurelia.
Murrich dotes on Aratron II like his own son, though his detractors accuse him of simply using the boy to prop up the Church’s authority. His current obsession is to recapture the missing artifacts of the Emperor in the hopes of accessing the remaining power of the gods. His efforts have yet to bear fruit.
Gatekeeper Chantal Sommerkin —
A charismatic if rather unhinged woman, Sommerkin is the leader of the Celestial Gate, a doomsday cult that has grown to rival the Hearthkeeper Church in the Abendland countryside.The Celestial Gate believes that the world is irredeemably corrupt, and the only thing that can be done is to start over in the next one. With the growing threat of the Beast, the cult offers people a way to prepare their souls for the next life. Their current aim, aside from growing their membership, is to depose the current emperor and make Abendland a full theocracy in preparation for the end of the world.
Emperor Aratron II —
Only 12 years old at the time of his coronation, the young Aratron knows little of the world outside of his palace. Kept a virtual prisoner in his own home, the bored Emperor spends his time reading the Church-approved books sent to his quarters, or attending one lavish ball after another. He is merely counting the days until his inevitable marriage to a cousin when he turns 16.Anyone who is able to gain an audience with the young emperor will find him as haughty, sullen, and remote as any member of the royal family. However, Aratron will light up if the visitor mentions tales of other lands. Such a visitor will find themselves questioned relentlessly for every scrap of information, particularly about seafaring. The emperor is innocent of the ways of the world and constantly relies on the advice of his staff and of Pope Murrich.
Industry & Trade
It can be said that Altenheim runs on hope, such as it is, as the lands surrounding the province of Abendland were greatly affected by the death of the gods. While still fertile, they are slowly losing potency due to the waning influence of Aurelia. The city of Altenheim, however, has continued to flourish. Like a tumor syphoning the nutrients from a healthy body, it draws all the wealth and produce from the surrounding province into its coffers. Its vast tracts of farmland still produce enough grain and fruit for trade outside of the empire.
While the peasants suffered, the city-dwellers took to revelry and worldly pleasures to forget the horrors of the past and present. Trade routes to the Valikan clans brought in a supply of Dreams Leave, an addictive substance that soon had many citizens in its grip.
The walls of Altenheim grew taller and thicker over the years, to guard its wealth and secrets against would-be thieves--but more importantly, to keep its citizens from looking to the world outside.
History
Since time immemorial, Abendland had been ruled by the Holy Church of the Hearthkeepers, clerics of the goddess Aurelia. According to legend, Aurelia herself led the first of her priests, Amara, to the western plains in order to escape the tyrannical ruler of her former tribe. There, the goddess ordered Amara to strike the arid ground with her spear. From that spot emerged a spring of crystal clear water. The spring became the sacred lake, Osea, which fed the land and the city of Altenheim, until it turned verdant and green.
When Emperor Indorious was crowned, the Hearthkeepers welcomed him with open arms. He was the only son of Aurelia, they said, the promise of the goddess made flesh. They threw all their power and resources into supporting his rule, and taught the Abendfolk from youth to revere the Emperor. Thus, the Imperial family and the Hearthkeeper religion became tied together forever as a political body. For centuries, the clerics have legitimized the rule of each Emperor, and used their influence to keep his bloodline pure.
The coming of Leopold I brought an end to this golden age. His madness seeped into Aurelia’s holy artifact, the Hearthfire Breastplate, and reached the mind of the goddess herself.
Aurelia became jealous of her people’s devotion. She demanded adoration, prayers, tributes, a lifetime of servitude from her followers, all while fawning over Leopold. In the end, she even demanded blood sacrifices. All of this was an effort to show she was the one true god, the most deserving of worship. As for her priests, they willingly followed her whims and those of the emperor. They had lived too long in the comfort of authority to give it up.
Finally, Aurelia went to war with the other three gods. Thus distracted, she did not see when one of her priestesses, Talana, turned on her. Conspiring with like-minded individuals from the other three provinces, Talana opened the way for the assassins to infiltrate the Imperial Palace. It worked, and with Leopold dead, the assassins seized control of the artifacts. Galt, Maligant, and Ulmyr remained mad, but Aurelia—perhaps because she was the goddess of protection— managed to break out of her insanity.
Seeing the devastation caused by the war, she used all her power to protect her people from the Gods’ End. The sacrifice consumed all that was left of her power. Aurelia plunged to Etharis, lifeless.
After the Gods’ End, Altenheim did its best to rebuild. The Church of the Hearthkeepers installed a new emperor, replaced the missing artifacts with fakes, and led the people to continue their veneration. But to their horror, the priests found that their clerical abilities were slowly fading as the remnant of Aurelia’s power waned from the world. Thus, they withdrew from the public and spread myths among the people: that Aurelia was not dead but merely sleeping, that she would rise again to restore her people to the glory of the Empire’s early days.
Soon the concept of “protection” took on a different meaning in the City of Joy. The citizens had to be protected from the corruption of the outside world. They had to be brought closer to the light of Aurelia’s hearth. They need to be sheltered from the harsh realities of the Gods’ End. Dissent among the populace was dealt with harshly. Any talk of a horned shadow monster roaming the lands was silenced.
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