The Arcanaan Empire
Structure
Hybrid imperial feudalism. Provinces are governed by high-ranking nobles (dukes), who owe allegiance to the imperator (an emporer).
History
Pre-Alliance
When the Creator Astralians of the Astral Church migrated from their homeland, Nasir, because of a religious schism (see The Auroran Reformation ) the exiles traveled west across the Riah Channel and far beyond the Nasir Dominion’s borders. They migrated through and between lesser kingdoms of men that were just starting out as fledgling nation-states. Most were warring families that proclaimed themselves to be rulers of their respective territories; no more than petty kings. Eventually, the former Nasirians found refuge on the western side of the Blue Mountains, at the lake of Arcana, the namesake of their future capital. Establishing a city for themselves, the exiles created a new theocratic society with Caius dan Mehndar elected as the Supreme Pontiff of the reformed Astral Church. However, Mehndar knew that he was not suited to govern and chose to appoint a king, "blessed by the Creator", to rule and guide the people as they built their new home on the shores of Lake Arcana. This man was Eshmun dan Casra, who would later be known as Alexi Primus. The former Nasirians were thenceforth known as Arcanites.Alliance Years
The new Kingdom of Arcana slowly expanded their territory to encompass the entirety of Lake Arcana and its surrounding domain, approximately 780 square kilometers. To protect themselves, the Arcanites forged alliances with their neighbors by sharing Nasirian knowledge and culture, indoctrinating new believers into the Astralian faith, and adopting the cultures of the other Abian kingdoms and tribes. The most significant of the cultural changes was the abandonment of their old Nasirian naming scheme. Each Arcanite chose a new name, one that conformed to the customs of their neighbors. Since their first ally was Nexus, Nexan names were the most commonly adopted, followed by Practan, Crestocian, and Lornarian. Eshmun dan Casra chose the name Alexi Primus--Alexi being a Nexan name.Imperial Years
In 1,012 B.A., Antony Viscus, the reigning monarch, drastically altered the balance of power in the Kingdom of Arcana. The Supreme Pontiff was removed from royal court gatherings and the priests of the Astralian Church were barred from matters of politics. To this day, no one is sure what Antony’s motivations were for doing this, but some have speculated that since the Church leaders were passivists and often spoke out against the skirmishes and small wars between the other kingdoms, Antony would need to silence them before putting his plans to overhaul the kingdom in motion. After Antony gained the support of the other kings to make him their imperator (as Anselm I) and waged war on Nasir, the ten kingdoms that once divided Abia (not including Arcana and the future province of Sagus) united to form the Arcanaan Empire (Birth of an Empire ).Demography and Population
40 million Arcanaanites are classed as full-fledged citizens and enjoy the privilege of free travel through all of the provinces, as well as the right to live, work, and trade anywhere within the empire.
Arcanaan boasts a claim of 20 million slaves, serving as the backbone of their economy. 15 million are chimeras, while 5 million are indentured humans.
The empire controls approximately 5 million square kilometers of territory, a majority of the Abian continent, casting a wide net over multiple ethnicities.
Territories
Arcanaan consists of nine provinces, plus the city of Arcana itself and the territory of Sagus. These nine provinces are: Lornaris, Crestos, The Midlands, The Highlands, The Lowlands, Nexus, Castere, Practus, and Tavarin.
Military
The Arcanaanite military is an amalgamation of the provincial armies that are raised by the ruling noble families. Each province has a marshal lord and a warden (sometimes, they are one and the same—if not, they are close relatives). Wardens are typically the governors of their province, and the marshal lord is the general of the provincial army, which marches at the behest of the imperator during wartime. During peacetime, the marshal lords retain full control of their armies and possess independent authority for purposes of provincial defense and states of emergency. They cannot, however, act in aggression toward foreign powers without the express consent of the imperator.
The Royal Army answers only to the imperator and his or her appointed generals. This organization is comprised of levies contributed by each of the nine provinces and funded in part by their taxes. Soldiers of a province's army are primarily selected by their marshal lord if they stand out among their peers and then recommended during the annual levy tribute. The Royal Army itself then judges whether these tributed soldiers are worthy of being accepted into the ranks, but this process is merely ceremonial (often political) and rejections are rare.
While the Empire's combined military is not as organized as Nasir's Crimson Legions, the cavalry tactics passed on to them by the Arcanites during the alliance years provide them with equal footing against Nasirian cavaliers. Arcanaanite cavalry riders are known individually as cataphracts.
Agriculture & Industry
Primarily a slave economy, the empire relies on captive chimeras to perform manual labor, the cultivation of crops and livestock, and resource acquisition like mining and lumbering. Resources gathered by chimera slaves are then refined by human slaves, which are then used as materials for citizen artisans and traded in the markets of dense population centers. Smaller towns and settlements rely on wagon transports of goods, local farming and mining, and their own slave labor if there is a lord or aristocrat with the wealth to have such a commodity.
Mi Patrus polus ma popularii. - "The Father is with the people."
Founding Date
1012 BA
Type
Geopolitical, Empire
Capital
Alternative Names
The Empire
Demonym
Arcanaanites
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Power Structure
Feudal state
Economic System
Mixed economy
Currency
Lora. Electrum coinage, stamped with the visage of the first imperator, Anselm I.
Official State Religion
Related Ranks & Titles
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
