Casaerdrol
A land that has inflicted and suffered atrocities, Casaerdrol's ruling Yuan-ti elite have subverted the surrounding territories to surrender to their rule through guilt and guile, and the iron fist of a zealous military.
Structure
The Casaerdrol Empire is managed through a series of hierarchies that define the power structures:
- Lawkeeper: At the bottom of the hierarchy is the Lawkeeper - usually a Yuan-ti Pureblood or other race sympathetic to the empire's cause. They command the Scaleguard, administer law, and manage the individual settlement affairs.
- Premier: With each of the cities a premier is established who governs the province under the direction of the Emperor. While they may have a small contingent of Hooded Vipers under their command, they use this force to ensure no rebellions upset the balance of the world.
- Voice of the Emperor: Normally the Voice of the Emperor is a representative raised from races outside of the Yuan-ti - in order to create a more inviting public face for those who fear and despise the Yuan-ti. They have considerable power to implement the will of the Emperor as the public face of the Empire
- Emperor: The Emperor, a fearsome Yuan-ti Anathema, remains out of the public eye for the most part. While they do make decrees that are then passed to the Voice of the Emperor, they do not interact often with the common folk as they are something akin to the gods.
History
The Early Years
The Fiendish War
As the Fiendish War raged, the Yuan-ti of Casaerdrol became a pivotal player when they requested aid of their gods to find a way to seal the fiends away. The three serpent gods whispered secrets of the Wells of Lysth to them, promising that resealing them would provide a slim chance to secure victory against the the Maelovenari. In return, the Yuan-ti would bring about a race of serpents that would consume the world at the start of the next millennium. Pragmatically deciding the fiends presented the most current threat, the Yuan-ti agreed.The Serpent War
True to their word, the Yuan-ti used dark magic to merge their bodies to snakes', and over the next thousand years bred an army, awaiting instructions. On the exact day of the millennium, the serpent gods returned and whispered their instructions: wipe out the inferior humanoids. What followed was a twenty-year bloodbath as the Yuan-ti conquered massive swaths of the continent. The most inferior creatures were either executed or enslaved. In the year 1022, the Yuan-ti were the dominant race, and their appetite for conquest had barely been sated.The Gray Snows War
However, even as the Yuan-ti began to march south toward the nations of Phindrol and Barathine, the denizens of Oevridaen, under the control of the mindflayers, began a brutal assault on the northern reaches of Casaerdrol. Sensing an advantage, the combined national might of Phindrol, Barathine and the remnants of the ancient nations seized by Casaerdrol struck from the south, forcing the Yuan-ti to fight a war on two fronts: one to protect the northern invaders seeking to destroy their clutches of eggs, and another the vengeful races eager to avenge the dead and enslaved. Repelling the Oevridaen forces cost too many Yuan-ti lives, and they quickly shifted to preserving the remnants of their culture and people. The combined southern army drove the Yuan-ti back to their homes, and struck a decimating counter attack that became known as The Culling, destroying the unhatched Yuan-ti eggs. Driven to the verge of extinction, the remaining Yuan-ti slithered into the mountains.A Time of Renewal
Following the Yuan-ti retreat, the people of the south began settling the lands that were once the Yuan-ti's home. As peace reigned, the people of the north-lands began once more to build a communal peace. However, the Yuan-ti began their resurgence after another millennium had passed. Still stinging from their defeat, they began to slither into places of power and influenced the course of events. Rather than rush forward, they waited and gained trust, then manipulated the hapless rulers of Casaerdrol to appoint them to places of power.The Reclamation
Then, in the year 2755, the Yuan-ti struck and seized their ancestral homeland in a bloody civil war. Countless races, manipulated into believing the Culling had been the world's greatest mistake, rose up in support of the Yuan-ti and seized control of Casaerdrol. Quick to soothe the nations around them, the Yuan-ti assured the world that they sought only to regain what had once been theirs. Their hidden agents in Waethern and Dryntha helped further this cause, and these nations did not protest the Yuan-ti's return to the Casaerdrol plains. The Yuan-ti then began a new whisper campaign, spreading rumors that the dwellers in the eastern mountains planned to destroy clutches of their eggs in a new Culling. After building up these rumors for eleven years, the Yuan-ti destroyed several clutches of eggs to bring truth to their lies. Feigning rage, the Yuan-ti mustered the armies of Casaerdrol and directed the armies to seize the eastern mountains and plains right up to the Elvish forests. The conquest was deemed just, as few had the stomach to take part in another Culling. Reconnected with their new mountain homes, the Yuan-ti bided their time, waiting for nearly eleven years as they dominated the region and influenced the region. The elves and gnomes of the northern forest, however, began to grow uneasy with the Yuan-ti on their doorstep. They fortified their borders, but an uprising of Oevridaen creatures along the northern mountains forced them to pull their armies back. The Yuan-ti offered to help, and the forest folk reluctantly agreed. Yet the Yuan-ti again sacrificed their own to sell the story, and they began a forceful invasion into the forest to seize it. This time the neighboring nations could not accept the story as true, and they began mobilizing armies along the south of Casaerdrol. Having learned from their mistakes, the Yuan-ti negotiated a truce with Oevridaen, convincing them to focus pointed invasions in the Dragonborn lands of Ssandroth. With the Dragonborn occupied with this, the Yuan-ti spread their army in two: one to hold back invaders, and another to invade the plains to the southwest. The peace-loving folk there did little to struggle, and they soon fell in 2892. The Yuan-ti repulsed the armies of Waethern and Dryntha, crushing their armies so badly they could only watch in dejected horror as the Yuan-ti consumed the land Ssandroth as well. By this time, Casaerdrol had reclaimed much of the land they conquered before the Gray Snows War, and they settled in to wait and solidify their control.Demography and Population
| RACE | SUBRACE | % of Population |
|---|---|---|
| Aarakocra | 2% | |
| Aasimar | 2% | |
| Bugbear | 2% | |
| Changeling | 1% | |
| Dragonborn | 5% | |
| DWARF | 7% | |
| Duergar | 1% | |
| Hill | 3% | |
| Mountain | 3% | |
| ELF | 17% | |
| Drow | 2% | |
| High (Valenar) | 5% | |
| Pallid | 1% | |
| Sea | 3% | |
| Wood (Valenar) | 6% | |
| Firbolg | 1% | |
| GITH | 0.5% | |
| Githzerai | 0.5% | |
| GNOME | 6% | |
| Forest | 3% | |
| Rock | 3% | |
| Goblin | 2% | |
| Goliath | 4.5% | |
| Grung | 0.5% | |
| HALF-ELF | 4.5% | |
| Aquatic | 0.5% | |
| Drow | 1% | |
| High | 1.5% | |
| Wood | 1.5% | |
| HALFLING | 7% | |
| Lightfoot | 3.5% | |
| Stout | 3.5% | |
| Half-Orc | 4% | |
| Hobgoblin | 2% | |
| Human | 5% | |
| Kalashtar | 0.5% | |
| Kenku | 0.5% | |
| Kobold | 0.5% | |
| Lizardfolk | 2.5% | |
| Minotaur | 0.5% | |
| Orc | 5% | |
| Tabaxi | 3% | |
| Tiefling | 4.5% | |
| Tortle | 0.5% | |
| Triton | 2% | |
| Vedalken | 0.5% | |
| Verdan | 2% | |
| Yuan-Ti Pureblood | 4.5% |
Territories
Ancestral Homeland
The land Casaerdrol was a fertile land along the northeastern stretch of the Mollen Marsh. However, the Yuan-ti returned to power in the year 2755, seizing the provinces Casaerdrol and Seagin. Then Gwenthon broke out in a brutal civil war that laid waste to the generally peace-loving denizens, and Yuan-ti invaded to restore order in 2759. After consolidating their control and raising a generation or two of citizens trained to be loyal to the Yuan-ti, their ambitions grew to claim more of their original lands and elevate the people to achieve greater heights. The territory they seized only grew when Baendon fell in 2766, then Flaesdon in 2778. The conquest ended after the Yuan-ti claimed Kambriet in 2892 and Ssandroth shortly after in 2893.Military
The military of Casaerdrol is separated into three levels:
Scaleguard
The Scaleguard at the protectors and keepers of the peace. Though untrained and not as effective of warriors. They wear red and black scale mail (divided diagonally between the colors), with visored helms that cover all save their mouths. Very often the Scaleguard are composed of the lower-class Yuan-ti Purebloods or the other races, as the Yuan-ti reserve their most powerful for the Broodstalker contingents.The Hooded Vipers
When marching to war or defending its borders, the empire will order the Hooded Vipers into position. A mix of various races, the Vipers feature more disciplined forces than the Scaleguard, and they wear variously colored armor that are colored like the underbelly of a snake - in the center it is lighter than the sides, which are a darker shade of the center.Broodstalker
The elites of the Hooded Vipers are called the Broodstalkers. Highly trained and deadly, they are the elite military force that handles invasions and defenses from foreign threats. However, they are also present often in the cities of the empire and may take matters into their own hands when faced with situations - the empire allows them to do so with impunity. Most who see their obsidian-black armor, contrasting with their scarlet capes and the red entwined snakes on the chest, offer a wide berth to prevent any confrontation. Very often the officers of the Broodstalkers are chosen from Yuan-ti Malisons or Abominations, as they inspire more fear and have unflappable loyalty to the empire's cause.Foreign Relations
Type
Geopolitical, Empire
Demonym
Casaerdrins
Head of Government
Government System
Dictatorship
Power Structure
Autonomous area
Economic System
Market economy
Neighboring Nations
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