Empire of Vlast
The Empire of Vlast (or Karstvo Vlast, in the Jezik language) is a new entity in the Great Ring. It was founded by Nabijač Vihorović only five years ago, when she crushed the northern Rods of the Korabovi Islands and solidified her control of the archipelago. The Empire exists as an extension of Kar Nabijač's will, and she is the absolute ruler.
The seeds of the empire were planted in Nabijač's childhood, when Rod Vihor was compelled to surrender a number of eggs to an alliance of Rods from Otok and Kurikum. The Rods of the Pozoj have a long history of feuding, and the surrender of eggs is a traditional way to humiliate and weaken rivals. Nabijač was raised as a slave in the northern islands, and was tormented for her southern origins and her albinism. She escaped slavery several times, only to be recaptured and re-enslaved. She was considered a troublemaker, and was rarely kept in one place for long.
When she finally escaped for good, she made her way back to Dugopolje on Jelen, where Rod Vihor had lived for centuries, and began to plan her revenge. Nabijač is a brilliant strategist, and she deliberately cultivated a reputation for terrifying brutality that had many of the Jelenski Rods willing to join her rather than suffer her wrath. In only a few years, she unified the southern Rods into an army capable of overwhelming the larger islands of Otok and Kurikum. Less than five years after escaping enslavement, Nabijač laid waste to the northern islands and declared herself the Kar of Vlast.
The atrocities commited by Nabijač and her armies have earned Vlast a sinister reputation in the region. She has pursued her vengeance to an obsessive degree upon the people of the north, and continues to brutalize them in a variety of ways. Her ultimate goal seems to be their slow eradication and replacement with Jelenski Pozoj; she demands half of all the eggs laid in the north be sent to Jelen, where they are raised as soldiers for the Empire in Jelenski Rods. Those who refuse this tribute have their entire clutch smashed, and all the members of the Rod are maimed as a punishment. Some of the Pozoj have escaped the Empire - there is a community of them on the island of Selig, and another that huddles within the caves beneath Vrhovje Gora, hidden by the god Brot. There were even those who chose to fling themselves into the great lake of Dvorsko Jezero rather than be captured; Sestra, the goddess of the lake, took pity on these refugees and transformed them into the aquatic Zmajica.
Structure
Vlast is an absolute monarchy, with all authority concentrated at the Kar, Nabijač. She has organized it along miltary lines, delegating control of certain regions to her generals, almost all of whom were hatched from Rod Vihor. Her reputation for brilliance and brutality is one of the primary forces holding the Empire together, and few are willing to defy her in any way. She has deliberatly cultivated this reputation, and some outside observers believe that she is deliberately manipulating the Egregoric Force to elevate her abilities and nature to near-divine levels.
Functionally, the Empire does little to govern the territories it controls, except to maintain the express commands of the Kar. The individual regions are left to govern themselves, as long as the tributes and punishments decreed by Nabijač are met. On Jelen, the Rods are prosperous and content, their tributes are fairly light and the Empire does not interfere with local matters. In the northern islands, the situation is much different - the tributes demanded from the local Rods are deliberately crushing, and there are several rules imposed by Nabijač that are intended to punish and torment the people. The army of Vlast maintains these conditions, and seems intent to punish even the smallest infractions with mutilation or death.
Public Agenda
Since the subjugation of the Rods of Otok and Kurikum, the Empire has been focused on internal stability and solidifying Nabijač's control. However, in the last year there are signs that they are beginning to look outward. An increase in piracy near the Korabovi Islands has prompted Nabijač to start building warships, presumably to keep the sea routes safe for trade. An agent of the Empire was discovered infiltrating the refugee community of Pozoj on the island of Selig, and some believe that Nabijač seeks to destroy them before they can pose a threat to her power. Most disturbingly, Vlast has formed an alliance with the Hleemeentreezee, and accepted one of them into the Kar's court as an advisor. Combined with some of Nabijač's rhetoric concerning the past and future of the Zmei and the Pozoj, many believe she intends to expand the empire's holdings far beyond the Korabovi Islands.
Comments