Empire of Avana
The Empire of Avana is the largest, richest, and oldest of Desmian kingdoms. It is here that the Desmian Struggle began, and the modern buildings are interspersed with ancient shrines and monuments to wars gone by. You can see the different styles of architecture from 8,000 years of history intermingle- it gives the idea that Avana is the heart of Desmia some feeling of truth for those who live here.
Avana's core is also uniquely safe. There are regions where this is less true, such as occupied Kaluta in the East, but the Demon Armies and foreign invasions are a distant rumor to Avavans in the heart of the empire. Kobold raids can sometimes make it through the mountains to the North, and bandits exist in the hinterlands just as anywhere else, but the existential threat is not present for Avanan civilians. This creates something of a gap between those Avanans who have gone on Crusade - who comprise most of the military and urban police - and feel a connection to the Great Wars, and those who are less afraid of Demonic threats. It would be inaccurate to say that this civilian population isn't Desmian, as Avanan civilian children still undergo training and religious-military education. They simply feel that the Struggle is less immediately urgent than Desmians under more current threat. Many Avanans also resent the privileges of the international crusading military, as elites cater to Crusader veterans (even foreign ones) over local Avanans.
Avana's safety, prosperity, and size also makes it a center of Desmian cultural and political power. The Perpetual Conclave in Hadara is increasingly under Avanan sway, Avanan literature is exported across the continent, Avanan fashion is considered the most trendy and high-taste, and Avanan nobility have free reign to interfere in the politics of other Desmian countries.
The Empire can be divided into three: the Avanan heartlands, Ezanay, and Kaluta. The heartlands are the largest, richest, most populated, and most secure part of the empire: full of humid rice patties and maize farms, dotted with ancient statues and temples, and interspersed with massive urban centers. Ezanay to the North is slightly cooler and more hilly outside of a large fertile river valley. Kaluta to the East is hot, humid, full of moors and swamps, arable but difficult to traverse.
Structure
The Emperor and imperial royal family rule uncontested, assisted by the High Council - the Emperor, Crown Prince, Chancellor of the Palace, Chancellor of State (managing diplomacy), Imperial Steward (managing finances), Landskeeper (who manages directly controlled imperial lands), Imperial Pontiff (managing priests), and Lord Martial (managing military matters).
Orbiting the high council are lesser councils- councils of treasury, war councils, commission of trade, council of justices.
Underneath this grand machinery is the nobility. The ranks are as follows:
- Viceroy: a unique non-hereditary title for the regional managers of Ezanay and Kaluta.
- Dukes: The Empire is divided into 18 duchies- 10 of them, in the direct Avanan heartland, report to the Emperor, while the others report to Viceroys. Of these 18, 6 are Princes- Dukes belonging to the royal family
- Counts: Counts manage sub-parcels within duchies, usually 5 per duchy.
- Viscounts: Viscounts manage units too small to be counties but too large to be baronies, typically in conjunction with a count.
- Barons: Barons manage sub-parcels within counties
- Vidame: Vidames manage large estates or land tracts within baronies
- Knights: Knights manage estates but mostly work as warriors
- Gentry: Aristocrats that have small land grants but retain noble titles, usually working professional jobs
History
The first empire in the area now known as Avana began in the 5000's DE, with the primeval Viderik Empire- more of a collection of early Desmian city states united in war than anything else. Once the anti-Dryad crusades left the region, this early empire collapsed into warring slaver-states. This slowly transformed into a more structured balance of power, with state coalitions rising and falling. By the 10ME, 10 city-states had divided the heartlands of Avana between them, with 2 more coastal city-states to the South competing for dominance. This led to a web of alliances and wars, ending in a single league of cities- the Avanan League- dominating the others in 75ME. The most powerful of these was the river-city of Haduz, an ancient and prosperous city known for its martial traditions. Tensions built up within the league as Haduz centralized power, exploding into internal war after the King of Haduz was assassinated during a diplomatic tour in 115. His son Kinigar would lead the armies of Haduz to unify Avana by force into a centralized empire in 120. Kinigar was ruthless, cunning, and well-versed in the arts of Hedge Magic- the use of curses, comedy magic, and the like. Known as the Laughing King, Kinigar rapidly expanded the empire for loot even as he brutally brought his subordinate cities to heel. As he grew older, he grew more deranged, claiming to be the Adukar the trickster in human form and increasingly wearing shark-tooth-embedded grinning masks in the style of Adukar. In 150, he attempted his greatest trick- to arrange his own comedic death to be transformed into a ghost that could reign as emperor forever. Despite the humor of his demise, his intent was ruled against him and the Lunar Pantheon denied him ghostly undeath. Despite his flaws, he is still revered as an honored ancestor for his crusading contributions and great works.
The early Avanan empire serves as a model for the more recent one. They innovated in public religious education, infrastructure, and military technology; they conquered Pakray and Inara in 244, led by the 'Father of Orthodoxy' Kaydren the Hammer. The empire broke into a massive civil war in 300 that shattered the empire and led to a warring period. Pretenders to the empire rose and fell, but it wasn't until 600 that a true inheritor of the Empire emerged - this time backed by the Proto-heretical School of Vigilance priest-cult. This dynasty fell into civil war again in 780, until a new group, assisted by migrating mercenary tribes, rebuilt the empire again in 800. The Vigilant Heresy and Orthodox forces began clashing within the Empire, and in 868 the Empress herself attended the Council of Avedra (intended to define heresy and official temple policy) to encourage the priests of the Pakrayan schools to assist in finding and removing the heretic priests.
Civil war from 1000-1050 saw yet another dynastic transition- headed by a dynasty determined to conquer other Desmian countries. Ezanay was invaded in 1080, and attempted strikes into Kaluta, Ralev, and Pakray were met with priestly condemnation and excommunication in 1120. After that, the conquests became far slower, but continued through the late 1300's, when the dynasty was finally overthrown and replaced. After that, Avana's expansion was purely into heretic-held lands in Kaluta and occupied Ralev. Two more dynasties came and went in the 1500's, 1600's, and 1700's, but the precedent for Avana reforming through these civil conflicts was set.
The most recent dynastic transition was in 1804- an extremely brief and virtually bloodless transition. The Kivishta occupation of Kaluta and evidence of an attempt by the Victor's Circle (a cabal of Desmians willing to undermine social order in exchange for information and power from Lily of Red ) brought the factions of Avana together. Kaluta was invaded from 1825-1840, a bloody occupation that led to uprisings and counter-attacks through the 1800s and early 1900s. Even to this day, Kaluta remains war-torn and seething at Imperial authority; raided by Kobolds, a center for heresy, infiltrated by the Victor's Cicle, and ruled by ruthless foreign nobility. Since the last major Kalutan revolt in 1950 and the joint Avana-Pakrayan invasion of Heretical Seruv in 1965, Avana has focused on maintaining order and supporting crusading efforts abroad.
Demography and Population
Territories
The Empire contains around 170,000 square miles of land, much of it in the fertile regions of Avana and Ezenay. The eastern 16,200 miles of hilly landscape mark Kaluta.
Military
The current dynasty, the Olosha family, has pushed Avana's feudal aristocracy into crusading with a passion, further entangling the aristocratic military and the international crusading military. Crusading veterans are welcomed into Avana's man-at-arms ranks, given royal retainership, married into noble houses, and hired into city or town guards. Aristocrats who don't want to leave for distant lands are often sent to help occupy Kaluta with small groups of men-at-arms or sent to suppress the Kobold tribes to the North. Aristocratic spare sons and daughters are often armed and sent on expeditions abroad to bring fame and fortune to the family.
Religion
Avana is an aggressively Orthodox Desmian country, with the Imperial Throne legally reserved for Orthodox claimants alone. The Empire has a great deal of sway over the Perpetual Conclave and direction of the faith. Three Ecclesia operate within the Empire, including the influential Ecclesia of the Heartlands. Each Ecclesia sends a representative to the Holy Council, a small priestly council set to advise the emperor on template matters. Leading that Council is the Imperial Pontiff- the high priest of Avana that manages the Temple of the Blood in Haduz (where all emperors are buried) and sits on the High Council as personal religious advisor to the emperor and their family.
Avana also mimics the peculiarities of Pakrayan religion in the use of "temples of the state"- priesthood positions tied more to administrative functions than to an actual physical location. All of these temples of the state are managed and manned by the Imperial School. The Imperial School is a crown-funded organization of religious universities (most notably the University of Ofranen outside the capital city of Reven). The Holy Council manages the University teachings and direction, keeping their philosophy in line with state policy.
Also present in Avana is the Orthodox Inquisition, dedicated to the removal of heresy. Originally its own organization but recently brought into the fold as a function of the Imperial School, the Inquisition is a martial order that is given virtually unlimited legal powers in Kaluta and substantial leeway to arrest and imprison in the rest of the Empire. The Inquisition has many independent connections to the Perpetual Conclave, and is something of a 'compromise organization' belonging to both the emperor and conclave alike.
In terms of veneration, the Imperial School and Avanan heartlands often worship beatified emperors as ancestors as well as the Southern Gods and Orthodox ancestors. Emperor veneration is a form of local culture, patriotism, and an expression of civic loyalty. Popular emperors include:
- Emperor Kinigar the Laughing King, creator of the first empire, patron of those seeking to create and lead, those who seek mastery of hedge magic, and those seeking the impossible
- Emperor Kaydren the Hammer, conqueror of the South, destroyer of Heresy, Father of Orthodoxy, patron of those seeking purity, greatness, and order
- Empress Ruzina the Crownless, purifier of heretics, philosopher-queen, humble and wise; patron of those seeking wisdom, scholars, and those praying for loyalty
- Empress Tanara the Magician, conqueror of kingdoms, student of the esoteric, warrior-mystic; patron of mystics, seers, and strategists
- Emperor Suram the Undaunted, who led the charge against the Kobold invasion in person; patron of those seeking protection from Kobolds and Ederstone
Foreign Relations
Avana is respected by all Orthodox nations. Many resent the Empire for its domineering and meddling, but all maintain friendly relations. The Holy Republic of Pakray is a historic rival of Avana, though currently reduced in size and influence enough to make tensions irrelevant. Ralev to the Northeast is also a rising star capable of challenging Avanan dominance, but lacks the centralized authority and political connections to serve as a threat just yet.
Agriculture & Industry
Statistically, most of the empire is rural and agrarian. The heartlands of Avana are a breadbasket of rice and maize, supported by a massive canal system and by magical enrichment by the best Druids and Bards the empire can acquire. Large cities are also present here, producing their shares of textiles, manufactured goods, and the like. Aristocratic estates also produce cash crops such as cotton, pepper, cinammon, and sugar. The mountain ranges within the empire are not unproductive themselves, sustaining large flocks of sheep and goats as well as rocky potato farms and lucrative mines and quarries. The river systems sustain massive lobster-flocks, herded for their meat and caparaces and sometimes bred for war or hauling goods. Logging
Ezanay also grows wheat and includes cattle and horse ranching in the grassy highlands. Kaluta produces some of finest lobster herds and breeds on the continent, and the valleys and bogs are quite good for the rice grown there.
Trade & Transport
Large guild halls dominate most towns and cities in the empire, catering to a robust middle class of artisans, merchants, and professional lower gentry. Artisans, professionals, and merchants have increasingly collectivized in the past century despite attempts to keep these associations localized. This has led to the rise of the Professionals Junta, a coalition of town and urban middle-class assemblies that work together to set prices, build infrastructure, make corporations, and lobby within the imperial government. The Junta also works to enforce guild membership and regulations and prevent outside artisans from practicing their trade without entering their guild.
Education
Most education is done via temple schools, which provide one to two days a week of education for children under the age of seventeen to provide literacy, religious teachings, and martial skills. Children or adults that become shrinekeepers can then, with the recommendation of their priest, apply to one of the three universities of the Imperial School. They can then become Imperial Priests or Doctored Priests with an Imperial Diploma demonstrating sufficient skill in theology as well as a specialty in law, strategy, mathematics, natural science, medical studies, philosophy, social science, or engineering.
University is the best chance at education for commoners, but aristocrats typically receive tutoring from university graduates to augment their studies. Some go on to university themselves -typically gentry that could use their diploma to get a profession- but most are simply tutored until the age of 20.
Founding Date
120 ME/1156 ME
Type
Geopolitical, Empire
Demonym
Avanan
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Power Structure
Feudal state
Economic System
Mixed economy
Currency
Asalay Dungeon Coinage: Gold Dragons, Silver Eagles, and Copper Bulls
Major Exports
Food, lumber, manufactured goods, iron goods, dyes, alcohol, sugar, cinnamon, pepper
Major Imports
Adamantine, glass, precious metals, textiles, wool, leather, olive oil, wines
Judicial Body
Local justice is handled either at the Temple, in courts of religious law, or by Sheriffs in the civil court. Urban centers typically appoint Judges for large civil court structures intertwined with city government. The Royal Arbiters, appointed by the Monarch, handle high crimes
Official State Religion
Location
Official Languages
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
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