Meridian of Stars' Eternal

An immortal empire that has existed long before the first Evening, founded and officially managed by the living dragon goddess, Astralshaper.
The Regent Vicarvoyancy Assembly has been designated to carry out the will of Astralshaper over the past fifty rotations, as her direct influence is currently not seen.
The Meridian spans the entirety of the habitable part of the Equatorial Rise and all governments and organizations answer to the Meridian in some capacity.

Structure

For the entirety of its history, the Meridian has and always will be an Absolute Monarchy so long as their living goddess, Astralshaper remains. She reigns at the precipice of government, overseeing all that occurs within her empire of old with a scrying eye that sees not just what is, but what will become and what is to be. Ambition is the driving force of this industrialist queendom, and this motive is not exclusive to only Astralshaper; it is the tenant in which her whole administration is founded upon. With a sight unparalleled, she hand-selects advisors and chairmen that display a superior potential aptitude above their peers to selflessly develop the eternal Meridian in her name. With a defining declaration, ordinary Houses of seemingly no relevance are elevated to a Greater status that entails an authority that overshadows all but the goddess herself; a decision that is always contested. To the empress, the reality is not the present, rather the true span of empire exists outside the bounds of time: a key note of mentality that envelops the upper eschelon of the stars. Decisions are never reactive, and rarely are events and tragedies unplanned or unexpected, for all that befalls the empire for both better and worse plays a vital role in the grander scheme only Astralshaper truly comprehends. Arguably, this same foresight is a double-edged sword, for many believe it to be the folly and crux of their seemingly failing empire of recent. Because of the unfathomable scope of her vision, lower administrations have a very difficult time fully supporting ideas that 'maybe' benefit the empire in the long-term, but evidently ruin the people in the present. Often, those with power preferred to further the needs of the current time rather than play along with the obscure stratagems of the far future that even their grandchildren wouldn't live to see. Astralshaper apparently knew this divide was inevitable, and thus opted to elect a priesthood Vicarvoyancy to serve as mediators, interpreting and relaying the wishes of the goddess of night in "simpler prospects that even mortals could understand". Even still, she was not heartless and did indeed care for the people under her wings, for it was the very same that trusted and allowed her to transcend this reality that so she could propel them to a utopian future. She needed their support, and so she permitted the many Great Houses under her to elect representatives of their respective schools of magic to attend the instated Celestial Assemblies: a council of thousands that convened regularly to advise the Vicarvoyancy and Astralshaper of practical concerns of state. And for a long while, this system was functional and successful, expediting the growth of not only the empire of her dreams, but the empire of now. All was right. Ideally, the administration operated as follows:
Astralshaper, the empress of night, the eternal goddess of the Meridian stands above all. While she allows the Great Houses to conduct themselves independently, it is ultimately she that decides and ends any contest. Typically benevolent, but her foresight can impress as arrogant and condescending. What's more is that she directly controls the energy source that powers the Meridian that is the Major Constellation; all within the empire need this energy to sustain themselves, their equipment, and more importantly the perimeters that staved evening and the wastes. Without it, they would surely die.
The Vicarvoyancy priesthood zealously follows the goddess in her every step, though possesses no official power within the law of the Meridian. They are the interpreters and mediators that translate her ambition and wisdom into terms that her people could understand and support. Additionally, they occupied the role of judge and jury during the Celestial Assemblies in Astralshaper's stead if she was unable to attend, which was quite often.
The Celestial Assemblies are a collective group of eight elected bodies, each representing their respective school of magic hosted and appointed by the very same Great House. While they too hold no power in the law of the Meridian, they serve to advise the goddess of present issues of state and potential ideas of good that would better the people of today. For while Astralshaper knows that her vision is grand and absolute, she is also well aware that she often loses sight of the more practical aspects of life.
The Great Houses fall immediately below Astralshaper in terms of power, though are technically fourth in line when viewed overall. They were once simple Minor or regular Houses that were seemingly ascended to Great Houses status at random. They represent a single school of magic and are charged with the general progression of its utility and application for the Meridian as a whole. More realistically however, they advise all subsidiary Houses that dedicate themselves to the same school of magic, but are lawfully disallowed from directly micromanaging anything other than their assigned districts granted to them upon ascension within the Imperial City itself. For access to the Meridian's abundant and experimental knowledge, resources, and full support of a Great House, minor or regular Houses must agree to pay their dues in exchange for unparalleled benefits associated with alignment to a school of magic.
The Houses, while they fall under the Great Houses in law are still directly managed by Astralshaper herself, the Great Houses disallowed from flexing their generously granted authority over weaker members in the empire. These Houses are elected by Venerates, whom delegate their assigned districts to the trusting care of a single minor House, permitting them the full reign and control over all assets within that district to include other minor Houses. The role of House is an honorary one, as the sponsoring Venerates can just as easily retract their trust and place it upon another minor Houses, thereby ascending them to House status instead.
The Venerates are a collection of aligned districts designated by the Royal Veneracy of the City: a council of all Venerates within said town or city that regularly convene to assess and equally divide power as the settlement develops overtime. They constantly vote and revote to redraw the borders of the city's many districts, of which are assigned a local governing venerate to oversee the advancement and fulfillment of their needs and wants. A Royal Veneracy may vote at will to divide the power of the city should they find a minor Houses or fellow venerate overstepping their bounds or growing too ambitious, perhaps even creating or disbanding entire venerates if they so choose. The Royal Veneracy holds no power or territory within the law and should not be confused with a District Veneracy, or regions of a city banded under a single administration; all of the District Venerates make up the Royal Veneracy, and it is the Royal Veneracy that details the rights and span of District Venerates. The District Venerates occupy and govern the district that was assigned to them by the Royal Veneracy, and are simply a minor House entrusted with the title of mayor. While the Royal Veneracy may choose to divide the city into another district under the command of a single District Venerate, these District Venerates also host their own council that congregates to decide upon the route of development their district should undertake; and if they cannot agree, the District Veneracy can vote to further divide their single district into many smaller districts, which become their own extended Local Venerate upon the election of their own minor house to mayor status. However, these new Local Venerate extensions are typically not recognized as official District Veneracies and still lawfully fall under the original District Venerate that was elected by the Royal Veneracy they split from. The only difference now is that this new extension does not have to abide by the wishes of their parent and can independently govern their own district however they see fit. They are still subject to the whims of the Royal Veneracy, whom can choose to continue ignoring their existence, or may officiate them as their own District Venerate. To further complicate their relationship, each independent Local or District Venerate may choose to elect another minor house to be their sponsored House or choose an already existing House, whose responsibilities are outlined above; many Local and District Venerates may sponsor the same House.
And this is how the Meridian is intended to operate, and it is how it was so successful for almost three hundred full rotations. However, all is not perfect, and the empire's fragile government was made apparent when the top came crashing down in inglorious flames, completely disrupting the balance of power and ruining their intricate system of trust. Astralshaper began to express little interest in overseeing the continuation of the nation, delegating more and more responsibility to her loyal Vicarvoyancy. Overtime, they were granted the same authority and power as the goddess herself, able to overrule all aspects of the Meridian as they saw fit, directly commanding every member in its shadow. The Vicars quickly rose to be the Regents, managing the empire in the absence of their beloved empress; they however proved to be radically incompetent and unable to maintain the balance and trust the Houses placed onto their goddess. Great House Vertinal was the first to openly disregard law and order, disowning the regent Vicarvoyancy and disobeying most of their commandments. The Vertinals took to cleverly carving a small kingdom within the empire, appointing members of their blood into subsidiary Illusory Houses, ensuring absolute loyalty to the Vertinal's own ambitious motives. The Great House Vertinal could not officially command its subordinates as was outlined in their responsibilities, tasked by their more powerful Venerate family to simply be the shield that divided them from the Meridian and to keep the Vicarvoyancy as far away as possible to the extent the law allowed them to, coyly toying with their new regent governors by utilizing legal loopholes against them. In an attempt to retain a government that was forever loyal to Astralshaper, the Vicarvoyancy abolished most of the Celestial Assemblies save for the Diviner's Assembly, believing that the rest had lost their way and did not deserve to be at her side. This only served to further slander their already lacking credibility, with many more Houses as a result flocking to the safety of their reliable Great Houses instead of the Vicars. The Vicarvoyancy had their hands tied and saw that their power was quickly slipping, other Great Houses and Venerates following the example of the pioneer Vertinals. And so they resorted to the one thing that has never failed them in the past: they went to Astralshaper. They begged the indifferent goddess to "set an example" of the unruly Vertinals, citing that should they remain unchecked, an apostasy that defies her will rise soon enough that could threaten to dethrone and destroy her and all she worked for. It took several rotations of constant pestering, but finally she relented, severing the Major Constellation from the Gold Anchor that powered Strongbox: the supposed Vertinal seat of power. And like that, they vanished come evening, the Vicars confident that the other Great Houses would cease their insubordination after witnessing the awe-inspiring might of Astralshaper. It didn't. In fact, it only served to fuel their desire to cede, fearful that the same would happen to them soon enough, some even going so far as to believe that their beloved goddess had finally abandoned them. And in the span of one rotation, the Meridian collapsed under its own weight, now developing a rebellious new line of government, with the Great Houses at the head in place of the tyrannical regency. This new administration behaves as follows, overlapping the previously aforementioned and overriding any conflicts in law:
Astralshaper is no longer the absolute ruler, the Great Houses rallying the people under their care with actual promises of rebuilding their desecrated, fallen empire. They still view her as their goddess, but they believe that they should be ruling as equals rather than entrusting their fate to a dragon that has proven to not understand the current needs and wants of her citizens.
The Vicarvoyancy is now the enemy. They have forged a theocracy that is nothing short of an abomination and must be immediately deposed as soon as it is convenient. They are what stands in the way in their new government from becoming fully realized.
The Great Houses command their subsidiary Houses directly, completely disregarding the restrictions placed upon them by the regency and Astralshaper. This does not mean they rule uncontested, as any displays of "unlawful ambition" would most certainly invoke the ire of not only the smaller Houses, but also the other eight Great Houses that would gladly jump on the chance to reduce the power base of their rivals. Essentially, there are now nine smaller corporate republics in the place of a single unified empire, each unwilling to relent their authority.
The Houses not only have to attend to the promises made to their sponsoring Venerates, they also must follow the orders of their overlord Great Houses lest they are replaced. They are stuck between a rock and a hard place, for if any of the two were unhappy with their administration, they will be replaced in a heartbeat. This has created a dynamic in which only the most competent House may reign, allowing other Houses to assert themselves and contest the capabilities of rivals, attempting to impress and sway the sponsoring Venerates to support them instead of the clearly "weaker" House they currently support.
The Venerates remain as they were, but are have switched their primary directive from cooperative prosperity to hysteria and fear. With the Great Houses now able to directly command the Houses they sponsor, they are now extremely cautious and paranoid that their choice will quickly bring them ruin. Should a House even make the slightest error that upsets the Venerates that support them, they will not hesitate to replace them. To this same end, many Venerates have grown distrustful of the House system, with their sponsored Houses answering directly to the Great Houses more often than not which could be detrimental to the development of their city. Minor Houses and their Districts have begun to form alliances that resist and challenge the new lopsided government, consolidating into larger District Venerates with several Local Venerates. The Royal Veneracy is sometimes disregarded entirely, a city's borders and districts solely defined by the truces and agreements between individual District and Local Venerates rather than the official designations of the Royal Veneracy. This is not always the case, but it has become an increasingly popular counter to the Houses, now leveraging a much larger territory that can and will evenly allocate its districts to rivaling Houses to both encourage their sponsored Houses to care about winning over the rest of the Venerate through good deeds, and to force the Great Houses to not intervene should they lose influence in a city. What's more, the Vicarvoyancy has recently instated a program that allows a District Venerate to disown the Houses entirely and swear Eternal Veneracy to the Meridian. Legally, this means that they can only sponsor the Vicarvoyancy, are exempt from most of the Meridian's crushing tariffs, and are protected from harm should a Great House over-assert themselves. If a Great House did choose to disregard the Eternal Veneracy status of a district, the entire city has been known to openly revolt against the assailant Great House with the support of the Vicarvoyancy's growing Legion; additionally, rival Great Houses would not hesitate to crush their competition and will happily side with the city if it meant reducing the influence of their rivals.

Public Agenda

Provide sanctuary for the races of old and combat the forces of the Evening Star.

The Measure of Her Embrace

Founding Date

0.0R

Type

Geopolitical, Empire

Alternative Names

The Meridian, the Empire, Astralshaper's Meridian/Empire

Demonym

Meridii

Head of State

Astralshaper

Government System

Monarchy, Absolute

Power Structure

Federation

Economic System

Mixed economy

Location

Varganth-Sutheochr

Official Languages

• Draconic

Controlled Territories

• Meridian Wasteland

Notable Members

• Astralshaper