Acadeans

The Empire of old Acadea is nowadays known as one of the most influential civilizations of Leanor. The Empire was located around the Sea of Fire. After the capital of what would become the Empire, the City of Acadea was founded, its inhabitants became more and more important. They expanded their area of influence quickly by a series of military campaigns, soon controlling almost all lands around the Sea of Fire.

The Acadeans ruled for nearly five hundred years, until their capital city was destroyed with nearly all its inhabitants during a series of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, said to have been caused by a mythological creature called Daivis the Sleeper, the last of the Dragons of Old. He supposedly is asleep underneath the Dragon's Ridge, the mountain range in which the city of Acadea was located. This catastrophic event led to the disbandment of the Acadean Empire. The happenings of that day were documented in the diary of an acadean sailor, who had been sailing towards the port of the capital city on a merchant ship.

Most of the people who were once ruled by the Acadeans and therefore, at the time, considered acadean, no longer identify as such, making the acadean culture essentially a lost one. Despite that, the massive influence of the acadean culture on all of Leanor cannot be denied. Everything from the architecture to the languages spoken in Leanor nowadays, the remnants of that great civilization can be found everywhere.

Culture

Major language groups and dialects

The language spoken by the Acadeans is nowadays known as old Acadean. It was originally spoken by those who settled in the city of Acadea. Along with their conquest of the lands around the Sea of Fire, they brought their language to those lands. It was made the new official language in all of the Empire, forcing the inhabitants of the lands to learn a new language, partially even prohibiting their own languages from being spoken. As a result, many local dialects of ancient Acadean formed.

Nowadays, the languages spoken in Leanor are all basically dialects of old Acadean, similar enough that the different cultures of Leanor can understand each other more or less easily, even though the development of the languages slowly makes them separate out more and more again. In highly educated settings, old Acadean is still used, for example in universities, where people come from far and wide to learn, allowing everyone to understand everything. It is also commonly used in scripture.

Culture and cultural heritage

They were conquerers, traders and scholars. Most of their conquest and trade was realized by sea, making the water a crucial part of the acadean culture. Because of this, buildings near the sea often had not only a functional, but a cultural and representative purpose. One example for this was the Lighthouse of Iocea, located on an island off the shore in the harbour of the city of Acadea, which was not only a lighthouse but also a monument of the Emperor's status, wealth and importance.

Average technological level

The acadean culture was also known for its many innovations and groundbreaking technologies. Unfortunately, not all of its technological advancements survived the destruciton of the capital, since they were only used there, one of which is the quite brilliant method of heating the floors of the imperial palace using water from the natural hot springs of the region. Furthermore, many of the records showing the workings of some technologies were kept in the library of the City of Acadea, which was also destroyed when the city was buried in ashes.

Art & Architecture

The Acadeans had a very distinct style of architecture very different from what the region around the Sea of Fire had previously had. Nowadays, the acadean architecture can be found all over Leanor.

Common Myths and Legends

The Acadeans believed in a pantheon of seven major deities as well as a plethora of minor gods and spirits. The had an extended mythology, which was quite distinct from those of the cultures living within the area of the empire when it was founded. Many of their myths and legends were centered around the sea, which played an important role in their culture of conquest and trade that mostly happened by sea. The Pantheon is still believed in today in many of the areas that were acadean during the era of the Empire of old Acadea.

The History of the Acadean Empire encompasses a time of nearly five centuries and has therefore been one full of many twists and turns. This timeline tries to give an overview over the most important parts of the history of the empire and its people.

Interesting facts

The current counting of years is based on the acadean calender, which sets the founding of the City of Acadea as year 0, since the founding of the city brought about en entirely new era for much of Leanor.

The leaders of the refugees were a family by the name of Acadear, hence the name of the City and future Empire.

At its height of power, the Acadean Empire reached all the way to the Western Sea in the west and all around the Sea of Fire to the east of the City of Acadea. It spanned between the Southern Mountains and the Icy Mountains in the north.

Related Organizations

• The Seven

Related Locations

• Dragon's Ridge
• Lost City of Acadea
• Sea of Fire