Keshian Empire

Elven nation located in the southern region of Aedrus, below the Kingdom of Andor. Ta'Na'Rul in the Elven language.

History

Elven civilization began with Quikirathalas (the Venya, or "First One") over a thousand years ago, when he created an alliance of the Northland elves against the orcish tribes that dominated the continent of Aedrus. When the orcs retreated north beyond the Titan's Teeth mountain range, Quikirathalas founded the great sylvan city of Palanquiri. A millenia of peace and prosperity endured. Following the Venya's passing, his two children, Celarius and Cinthiar, agreed to rule the empire jointly. In time, however, Cinthiar began to believe his brother was straying too far from their ancestral roots. Meanwhile, Celarius saw Cinthiar as indecisive and trapped in the stagnating traditions of the past. In 360 BKE, Cinthiar and the Council of Elders asked Celarius to step down from his leadership position. Celarius refused. Celarius, backed by the common elves, confront Cinthiar, who controlled the powerful elven nobility. Thus began the Kinslayer Wars, a fifty-year bitter struggle for dominance. In 303 BKE, Celarius, realizing the futility of the conflict, led his followers on the Rul'Dare (the Exodus), taking them out of the Great Heart of the Northlands and deep into the southern reaches of the continent. Beyond the Marches, Celarius founded Ta'Na'Rul (Solace of the Exiled), or what is known to the humans as the Empire of Kesh.

Political Structure

To an even more extreme degree than the human Kingdom of Andor, the Keshians are fanatic believers in bloodlines as a divine right to rule. Each Emperor and Empress has claimed a direct heritage to the original leader of the First Elves, and rumors abound that Emperor Vormander, intent on fortifying his diluted bloodline, participated in a secret arcane ritual known as the Returning, in which pure royal blood was taken from the Companion Rafe Windsong and injected into the Emperor himself. At the southern edge of the Keshian empire, the isolationist Githzerai elves reside in the archipelago chain off the coast of Sol'in'ari.

Capital Nalaquiri - Empire of Kesh Foundation 1545 BKE Type Geopolitical, Empire Demonym Keshians Leader Emperor Vormander I Notable Factions A'Triari, the Bladebound Qui'Rin'Tor Chandrelle Te'Le'Venya