Age of Fire

Long ago, yet still long years after the Cataclysm , Soraes stooped low in the sky over Caino. There are as many reasons given for this as there are tellers of the tale, but all explanations tend to fall into two camps, divided along geographical lines: in the north of Caino this is attributed to divine wrath, a judgement on the nebulously defined sins of the southerners; in the south, however, it is understood that the interference of jealous Colossi diverted the sun from its course.
The established facts of the period, known as the Age of Fire, are that for a period of more than fifty years, the sun orbited lower and closer, especially in its afternoon course around the southern edge of Aiaos. This meant little for most of the World, where Soraes hung over the ocean, but in the south-west, southern Caino's occupied land came right to the edge of the dome with no seas to ab­sorb the heat. This caused a climatic crisis, resulting in crop failures, drought, wildfire and famine. Some called this a tribulation, a test sent by the Gods, others that is was a punishment, but the majority held that this was an attack by the ancient enemy of the World, the Colossi.
As conditions became worse, therefore, there was a great surge of cult activity. Deist cults attacked the animist faiths of the southern population, peaceful shrines were attacked by those who blamed the gods for the 'attack', and many sought relief in the service of the Colossi for their woes, whether in spite of the divine or simply seeking favour from their destroyers. In the names of Hadar and Agathys, the Colossi of insatiable hunger and violence without cause, mobs burned the little food that remained, slew the innocent in sacrifice to their dark masters, and met genuine attempts to relieve the troubles with violent resistance.
Faced with these many threats, an emergent kingdom in the northern plains of what is now called Jaridan, achieved something remarkable. They managed to persuade leaders from many other tribes and states to come together in a summit that was retrospectively known as the First Imperial Council. This Council proposed an alliance of the dominant clans in the regions worst affected by the crisis. They organised trade with the north for vital food and water, preventing competition that would have let the north exploit them. They arranged for vital supplies to reach as many as possible, at the cost of comfort for any.
Many groups claim responsibility for correcting the orbit of Soraes, but it was the Council who saw the five provinces through the crisis, brought them together in alliance afterwards, and oversaw The Creation of the Empire of the Southern Sun. They created the system of houses to maintain the Empire, and the city of Golean to be its capital. By then, there were few of the original Council left - many starved during the crisis, refusing to abuse their position, and many more had simply succumbed to age - but those there were set themselves up in the capital as House Golean, the stewards of the city.