The Southern Calradian Empire
Ariminius was not the only claimant to the empire upon the death of Aristarcos.
His daughter, Rhagea, attempted to claim the throne upon the death of her Father. This would, in normal times, have been successful, as she was his only child, and it was tradition for one of the heirs of the emperor to succeed them. However these were not normal times, and when her Father died, Rhagea was away visiting her Mother's family in the Southern city of Qasira. By the time she learned of the death of her father, and returned to the capital, it was already too late for her, as Ariminius had already rallied the Lords of the West to his banner, and The Senate had already declared Ariminius a pretender, and claimed the rest of the empire for themselves.
She quickly fled the capital back to Qasira, where she rallied the lords of the South, many who were fiercely loyal to her deceased mother, to her banner. From Qasira she rules as "the True Empress, Rhagea, Heir of Sigvald".
The Lords and people of the South are a traditional people, and are fiercely independant and loyal only to one of their own. In the Second age many cities here freed themselves before the arrival of St. Aethelstan (it is of course argued that they were only able to because the daemons had been severly weakened by that point, but of course such talk would be fighting words in the South). They fervently believe still in the inherited line of Sigvald, and hold their oaths to that line in high regard. Hence, the South is fiercely loyal to rhagea. The people there are hardy and resilient masters of the rocks and sands. They expect either strength, or wealth, if you want to be respected. Respect is earned there, not bought, and the respect earned by your forebearers can be passed on to their children, so familial lines are important.
They fight as they have learned to in the sands, with short range skirmishers and archers making up the majority of their forces, backed up by heavy cavalry cataphracts. They appear from the sands and rocks, pepper their enemies with missiles and javelins to keep their heads down, then charge in with the heaviest cavalry on the continent. By the time the enemy knows what has happened, they are gone.
Demography and Population
The population of The Southern Calradian Empire is divided by race as follows:
- 74% Human 12% Dwarven 2% Elvish 11% Gnomish 1% Halfling
Worship
As is the case throughout the former empire, this nation enforces what is close to a state religion. It is generally not tolerated for anyone of any level of authority to be a worshipper of any but a Saint of Godric. It is even not uncommon for an individual not in authority, but has gained too much influence through their actions, to be forced to publicly proclaim their religious beliefs in favour of the Saints of Order, or risk retaliation from the state.
Though not illegal, Fey worship is heavily frowned upon by the church, and devout followers of the saints of order. It would not be uncommon for someone who is an open Fey worshipper to be refused service form businesses, or be openly heckled in the streets. Fey worshippers are also often framed for crimes, as their word is not considered to be strong, as they are believed to be liars and deceivers.
Churches exist of each of the saints in every major city. Smaller towns will often have a single church, within which there are specific altars to the different saints. For each Saint there is a respective church organization that oversees their worshippers, and these organizations have grown quite large and wealthy. Many churches will themselves hire monster hunters on behalf of communities, or will work to root out daemonic corruption or daemonic heretics.
The True Heirs of Sigvald
Type
Geopolitical, Empire
Demonym
Southerners
Controlled Territories
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