The Rise
The Aurean province of the Rise consists of a long, wide pass in The Dragonpeaks stretching west from Aureapolis Province to the plateau known as High Rift . It is the empires oldest province, home to its original capital Terminus, now the provincial capital of the Rise. Terminus is situated at the top of the Rise on the far western end, while the base of the pass in the east is close to the imperial capital Aureapolis.
Despite the presence of these cities most of the rise is fairly sparsely populated, with most of the land being only suitable for grazing. Abandoned terraces dot many of the hillsides, hinting at a more prosperous past. The Rise also contains numerous mines, and as it lies along a major trade route many of its towns have vibrant markets.
The empire historically had an unusually good relationship with many of the regional orc tribes, often paying the larger ones to keep the others from attacking Aurean settlements. This system broke down during purge due to a lack of funds and distrust over a failed settlement known as Skyhold, part of an attempt to bring the mountains to the north of the Rise under imperial control. This contributed to the outbreak of The Mountain War and brought much destruction for some time but the system was eventually recreated, though it functions less well and the occasional orc raid is not unheard of.
History
The Rise province was created in 22 AY, once the empire grew large enough to necessitate administrative divisions. It was the site of the battle of Terminus in 162 AY, where the Aurean army dealt a great enough defeat to the kingdom of Zarthax that the latter would collapse and be fully subsumed by the former within a year. The capital was soon moved to Aureapolis, and the Rise became a prosperous but insignificant backwater.
In 4799 AY the empire began construction of Skyhold in the mountains to the north, a heavily fortified town from which the empire was meant to be able to exert more control over the northern Dragonpeaks and the orcs resident there. This angered the orcs, who destroyed the settlement. This soured relations with the orc tribes in the region, and would come back to haunt the empire.
Eastern rebellions brought on by the Purge eventually drew away most of the empires armies, and in 4835 AY great numbers of orcs, goblinoids, ogres, and giants from the higher portions of the Dragonpeaks began to raid the passes and valleys controlled by the empire, in what would become known as the mountain war. In the Rise this mostly took the form of hordes of orcs, many disgruntled former allies of the empire.
Much of the province was depopulated as residents fled to neighboring provinces and fortified centers or were slain by the orcs. Many of these fortifications were attacked, with Terminus undergoing a nearly yearlong siege, but the orcs did not excel at sieges and took very few before the empires armies arrived. The province, however, has never fully recovered, and abandoned villages can still be found throughout.
Demography and Population
Like the other mountain provinces, the Rise is populated primarily by humans with a significant number of dwarves along with many other people. It has an unusually high population of half-orcs due to the large population of orcs in the mountains surrounding it. Due the empire's unusual relationship with the orcs in the region, orcs are fairly well accepted here and numerous full-blooded orcs live among the humans of the Rise or come to settlements for trade and other work, their strength making them particularly highly valued as manual laborers.
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Geopolitical, Province
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