Pavan Empire

It is impossible to talk about the Pavan Empire without at least mentioning the religion of Archonism. Not only has this religion laid the foundations for the empire, but most of the events in its history were influenced by it. Even today it forms an important aspect of their nation as the leader of the faith is also the Emperor of the Pavan Empire.

— High Sage Syronikir

The Pavan Empire has perhaps been the most influential nation in the history of the Human species. After centuries of enslavement under Avaronian rule, the Pavan Empire was the first to establish an independent Human nation. With this it set the stage for other Human nations to rise and for the future fall of the Avaronians.
All of this is heavily tied with the founder of the Empire and its religion, Archon. This prophet would create his own version of the Avaronian's religion and use it to oust them out of the continent.
Today the Empire is still controled by the descendants of Archon and therefore religion and government are actually inseperable in the Empire. Their elite and devout troops of the Archonic Order are respected throughout the world, even more with the new inventions of gunpowder and the Pavan Soulknights.
But the Empire does not only set a military example, also in industry it is a leading force. The industrial revolution started in the Empire and quickly spread to the other Human countries. Now the Empire is the center of the Human economy and they intend to spread their influence and that of Archonism across the globe.

Continent

The Pavan Empire spans, as the name suggests, a vast part of the Pavanor continent.

Founding Date

The first version of the empire was founded 223 BF. It would, however, change form many times over its long history and lose or win various territories.

Capital

Sondar

Currency

The Pavan Empire uses the Archem as their currency which is actually accepted in all other nations of the continent and around the Mizarin region. It is one of the more common coins used in trade and it is not hard to exchange it in a bank on other continent with frequent trade with the Empire.

Current Leader

Emperor Kalives II

Pavan Empire by Kefkejaco with Inkarnate

Nation

Pavan Council by Ilya Repin

Government

The Pavan Empire has been controlled by the same family since its founding, the Archinies. They are said to be direct descendants of the prophet Archon, the founder of their religion Archonism. At some point in its long history the nation was divided into several successor kingdoms of which many were ruled by a branch from the original family. When the Empire reunified these other branches were invalidated and one branch was deemed as the true branch.
The Emperor is both the leader of the religion and the nation but does not rule completely alone. The military, existing mainly out of the Archonic Order, is controlled by the Archinus. The Archinus, however, is chosen by the Emperor himself to ensure their loyalty.
Besides the Emperor and the Archinus there are also other people holding power in the Empire. The Imperial council consists out of 150 members of which 75 are chosen by the Emperor and 75 by the Lower Council. Members of this council are chosen from nobles, members of the chamber of commerce, industrialists, Archonic clergy and members of the universities. The power of the Imperial Council is more legislative.
The Lower Council on the other hand is a bit more democratic. Together with the Imperial Council they would take vote on matters concerning the state. Even though anyone could secure a set in the Lower Council it is more common for richer people and those from the central regions to be elected. Each territory of the Empire, however, has at least 5 representatives in this council.

Demographics

The vast majority of the Empire is Human but other species can be found within this nation. In the second place are the Half-Elves, which are actually a remainder of the time when the region was controlled by the Avaronian Empire. Elves themselves are almost not existant in the Empire and those that do live there are often distrusted. Their settlements are therefore located further away from Humans.
With the increase in trade during the last centuries many new species and cultures came together in the Empire. A decent number of people originating from Farlis or the Mizarin region currently reside with the Empire's borders. Especially the capital is a melting pot of various cultures. However, it is still clear that the Pavan culture remains the dominant one in the western side of the Empire.
A few region have a deviating culture, mostly due to the fact that they were not conquered that long ago. In almost all of the easter coast of the Empire the Pavan culture is secondary to other cultures of the region. The same is true for the southern regions which are home to many people from Evilyea and Savanor.
Another region that is somewhat different is the region of the Elervir Isles. They have a more maritime focused culture in comparison to the rest. They are, however, long enough under Pavan control that they are currently more of a hybrid culture.

Yamaderis misplaced this image by Kefkjaco with heroforge

Territories

Atriem

The Atriem region is considered the core province of the Empire and was also the only part left when the nation split into several parts. It consist mostly out of the region around the Pares inner sea. Currently the region is heavily industrialised and a center for trade towards the west.

Elervir Isles

To the west of the heartlands is a group of islands called the Elervir Isles. It is a great region for fishers and its climate also makes it a well liked region for tourism. Most importantly though it is an important stop for travel between west and east. The region is also known for wines and perfumes.

Sithom

To the north of the Atriem region is a forested region known as Sithom. It is the main region from where wood in the Empire originates and it is therefore instrumental in ship building. In addition to that the region contains many natural resources such as gold and silver.

Insalta

The last conquered region of the Empire is Insalta and provides the nation with its eastern coast. The Empire has developed the region heavily and made it a center for trade with the eastern side of the continent. Due to the Raitin trade a large military presence has been put in the region as well.

Manse

The Manse region is the name for the territories between the heartlands and Insalta. Before the aquisition of Insalta it was merely a border region with a more agricultural focus. When it became the main route for trade between the western and eastern coast its importance grew.

Arealem

Arealem is the most southern region of the Empire and is the main region for producing goods that require a warmer climate. One of the more common products from this region are olives. The eastern part of the region is home to river valleys filled with karsts.

Technology and Education

Technology

The Pavan Empire is currently several decades into an industrial revolution and has become a main producer of many items throughout the world. Factories have become a common sight and more an more of the nation is becoming connected through the use of railroads. The most important one is connecting the west and east coast making the transport of goods throughout the Empire very fast.
The main power source behind this revolution are not Falls like in many other areas of the world. The Pavan Empire does not have a large amount of relevant falls crystals. This all changed with the discovery of Fireshrooms, which proved to be a very efficient power source.

Education

Education has become an important part of the Pavan Empire and every citizen needs to at least receive some basic education. Those who want to study further can choose between several great universities. Many great minds and ideas have originated from the Empire in the recent century and there is no indication that this would stop any time soon.

Textile Machines by Wikimedia Commons

Steam Locomotive by Immigration railroad west, Harvard University

History

by Total War Warhammer II

Founding

The founding of the Empire is all thanks to one man, Archon. According to the myth Archon, who was a slave supervisor at that time, fell deep into the earth while observing mining operations. He was then saved by the grace of the God Indovir and received his first visions about what he should do.
Indovir told him that the religion that Mackevor, the founder of the Avaronian Empire, had started had become tainted. Indovir asked Archon to redirect his faith into the correct direction and gave him part of his divine power to rid the world of Mackevism.
Not long after a wave of slave rebellions hit the Pavan colonies. The Avaronians, already declining to a degree, could not mount a decent response and started losing territories. Many attempts to reconquer lands were made by the Avaronians of which some succeeded, but these did not last long. For 140 years Archon and the Humans waged war in Pavanor, aided by ORC mercenaries, but in the end the Avaronians were forced to leave their last colonies.
In 223 BF the first version of the Pavan Empire was founded by Archon. In reality this was more of an alliance between several regions known as the Archon Alliance. What we now know as the Atriem region was actually the only area that Archon controlled directly.

Farlis Wars

After solidifying his position in Pavanor Archon made plans to invade the heartland regions of the Avaronian Empire in Farlis. However, after living far longer than any Human before him, he died at the age 180. From then on his descendants would be the ones to take on the mantle of leadership with the title Archines.
One of his descendants, decided to continue with the plans and in 116 BF the Pavan troops made landfall in Farlis. Over the years that followed the Pavans would conquer most of eastern Farlis. When the troops reached the Avaronian captial, Bagor, disaster struck. Through some sort of chaos magic the Avaronians caused a gigantic magical surge that killed everyone in the city and around.
The area of Carthen would be plagued by Chaos Tempests for the years to come. The Avaronian Empire itself split into several successor nation after losing their core province.
But the Archon Alliance did not emerge unscaved from that war either. The heir to the Archines title died during the siege of Bagor and a crisis was brewing due for succession.

Yamaderis misplaced this image by Kefkjaco with heroforge

Yamaderis misplaced this image by Kefkjaco with heroforge

Civil Wars

When the heir died there was no clear successor. The Archines himself was already nearing death and everyone felt that problems would arise. After the death of the Archines a civil war broke out which would eventually lead to the alliance disbanding and the Farlis territories gaining independence. Some of the nations that came out of the chaos were ruled by different branches of Archonic family.
It would take a long time for the Empire to form in its current state. This did not mean that there were no expansion for any of the successor nations. Many of the nations would spread out over the continent and Humans would go on to create new nations in the Mizarin region and Avak'am.

Reunification

One of the nations, in the region we now know as Atriem, a leader of the imperial line would succeed in conquering many of the successor nations. In 723 AE Irasem proclaimed himself to be the first emperor of the Pavan Empire.
However, the heir of the new emperor, Sanvielires, was rather young and the control of the nation was actually in hands of some powerful mages after Irasem's death. The Archonic church was not keen on this and when Sanvielires grew older he allied with them to oust the mages from the new nation resulting once more in a civil war. By the end most magic casters left the Empire to neighbouring nations.
When stability once more returned the Emperor decided to invalidate any other claims to his throne once and for all and introduced many reformations. Military and religion became inseperable under the Archonic Order. The Emperor himself became the leader of the Archonic church while the army and the Archonic Order would be led by the Irases, named after his father. This allowed the emperor to choose the succesor of the Irases himself and ensure his loyalty.

Yamaderis misplaced this image by Kefkjaco with heroforge

Pavan Raitin War by Amplitude Studios, Endless Legends

Towards a new age

In the centuries that followed the Pavan Empire would continue expanding and increasing their influence in the region. Eventually they would position themselves to become the center of trade between several continents. They achieved this mainly through their conquest ensuring that they had harbors in both the west and east coast of Pavanor. All trade from the east coast travels through the empire since it is far safer than the sea route north of the continent.
With their evergrowing power and great position they also became a center for sharing ideas. When the Progressive Era started they would become leaders in development. However, they were eventually challenged by a new emerging power, the Raitin. Their technological progress was advancing much faster prompting the Pavan Empire to find new ways to stay on top. This lead to the invention of gunpowder and the Pavan Soulknights.
When the Raitin attacked one of the Empire's most important trade allies a war ensued. The Pavan-Raitin War was devestating for the nation where it took place and both the Raitin and Pavan Empire would continue trying to get the technological upper hand for the years that followed it.

Further Reading