Aurean Empire
The Aurean Empire, also called Aurea or just The Empire, is one of the largest countries in Obseron and was once much larger. For thousands of years it spread further and further across Obseron until, over a relatively short span of time, it collapsed. The empire managed to make a partial recovery, holding onto many of it's central provinces, but in its current form is much smaller and weaker.
The empire is now ruled by Andrasius IV, who has put significant effort into a renewed push to retake The Southern Passes, a core province that the empire lost during it's collapse. Most of the lands remaining in the empire have largely recovered, though they remain at a much lower population then at the empires height, as evidenced by the ruins haunting the edges of civilized lands. The empire's residents largely remain proud of it's past, and recruitment for the campaigns in the Southern Passes is high. Aurea still faces many threats, however, both from inside and outside it's borders.
The empire has had a large effect on culture across Obseron. The Aurean language, usually called common, is now spoken in most of the Obseron, and it's calendar, with the founding of Aurea as the year 0 AY (Aurean Year), is just as widespread. It has also had major effects on religion, especially after The Purge, and it's massive infrastructure projects are still used by people across it's former domain.
Structure
The Aurean Empire is headed by the emperor, a hereditary position. The emperor has absolute authority over the empire, but due to its size most day to day governing is done by lesser officials. The highest among these are the dukes that rule each province, which were originally appointed governors but have become hereditary over time. Beneath the dukes are great numbers of lesser bureaucrats, who work within a complex web of interconnected officials with varying areas and degrees of authority that can become confusing to those not deeply embedded within the system. Cities and other settlements are ruled by a mix of appointed bureaucrats and minor nobles.
History
Aurea was founded as a small kingdom in Dragonpeaks by a group of metallic dragons known as The Circle of the Heavens, an idealistic group of followers of Deyallor, to lead the disparate and disunited humans to their full potential. Using persuasion, intimidation, and when that failed overwhelming force, the small kingdom of Aurea began to spread from its capital at the then new city of Terminus to control all of the valleys of the central and southern Dragonpeaks, launching what would become known as The Age of the Dragon Emperors.
The young kingdom of Aurea soon came into conflict with Zarthax, a kingdom in the lowlands to the east that was created for similar purposes by a group of chromatic dragons who followed Dakath. The two factions were as violently opposed as the gods they followed, and at the dragons direction fighting broke out between the two kingdoms. The conflict grew more and more intense, and in 162 AY Zarthax launched an all out attack on Aurea, aimed directly at the capital Terminus.
The army of Zarthax greatly outnumbered that of Aurea, which quickly holed up in Terminus as the Zarthaxan army advanced quickly up The Rise. Upon their arrival the invaders almost immediately assaulted the walls, starting a battle that lasted five days and was fought both by human armies on the ground and dragons in the sky. On the fifth day, after very heavy casualties, the dragons of Zarthax sensed total defeat was likely imminent and abandoned their human army, most of which was soon destroyed by the Aurean dragons.
Almost the entire kingdom of Zarthax was soon taken, mostly without a fight, as its dragon overlords scattered. The dragon lords of Aurea moved the capital from Terminus to a new, planned city in the foothills between the two realms, which would become known as Aureapolis. The influx of new wealth and people unleashed a golden age within the empire.
The dragons continued to rule Aurea for some time, helping it grow to a dramatic size. But the dragons, frustrated by the humans impatience and short lifespans, slowly began to abandon the humans as a lost cause. The Circle of the Heavens eventually disbanded in 2160 AY, and the last dragon emperor, Andothrax, disappeared in 2162. A few dragons continued to help, and some still do today, though only as individual actors who worked with the empire, and never again ruled it. The humans, however, continued to venerate the dragons, and to this day Deyallor is commonly worshiped throughout the former empire, a dragon is prominently displayed on the empires flag, and dragons continue to be a common motif in Aurean art.
After the breakup of the Circle and the establishment of human rule, which resulted in a lengthy civil war, the empire continued to expand. In 2891 AY the empire began to establish itself on the western coast in modern day Pillaran. In 3215 the empire began a successful invasion of The Rift. In 4352 the empire reached the Eastern Sea. Aurea continued to pick off smaller areas at it's margin's until close to it's fall.
In 4688 AY, the emperor Tiberius XVII ascended to the throne. He was a religious zealot, committed to stamping out worship of any god whose ideals did not clearly align with his own. He settled on only a few acceptable gods, Deyallor, Nerralla, Athis, Ithren, and Endil, who became known collectively as the The Divine Five. What became known as The Purge came on suddenly and often became bloody.
In less assimilated areas of the empire, especially in the east, violent conflict broke out, soon coalescing into an organized rebellion. Even after Tiberius XVII's death the purge continued. With the emperors unwilling to relent, the empire was forced to move more and more soldiers to the east to contain the rebellion, though they were unable to do more then that.
While the empire's armies were distracted orcs, goblinoids, ogres, and giants that had long been contained to the higher reaches of the Dragonpeaks took advantage of their absence to raid the lower valleys in 4835 AY, in what became known as The Mountain War. The empire was forced to abandon most of the east, well beyond the area under rebel control, in order to protect it's heartland. Despite relatively quick movement much of the mountain provinces were decimated; the former capital Terminus was forced to undergo a nearly yearlong siege; and the southernmost of the mountain provinces, Eutoria Superior, which had been held by Aurea since before the defeat of Zarthax, was lost to an army led by giants.
Aurea soon lost control of most of the former empire in what became known as the collapse, holding only the remaining mountain provinces and the lowlands to immediate east, in the former kingdom of Zarthax. The Empire eventually regained stability, with the emperor Matteran I ending The Purge in 4856 AY, but even after that it was unable to regain any of it's former lands. Invasions of Thelegon, Pillaran, and Abadar all ended in defeat; and the war for Eutoria Superior, now known colloquially as the Southern Passes, has been ongoing continuously since the collapse with little success.
Maps
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Aurean Empire
Founding Date
0 AY
Type
Geopolitical, Empire
Capital
Alternative Names
Aurea, The Empire
Demonym
Aurean
Leader
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Currency
Gold, silver, and copper coins stamped with the face of the emperor
Subsidiary Organizations
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Notable Members
