Daeh
The Daeh Empire was an Elyr Empire state that persisted during the Withering and is responsible for many of the traditions and habits found in Modern Hell, ranging from their caste system to the custom of nursemaids to the prevailing military culture. In its youth it was ruled over by a mage council but most of its history it was overseen by a violent Empress, Niathra.
Structure
The Empire was ruled by Empress Niathra who held extensive power over all affairs. After she took over, she kept the original Mage Council as "advisors" though they realistically held little to no power.
Culture
During the Mage Council's era of rule, political involvement was highly encouraged and considered necessary for any respectable Daehman. After coming of age, you were expected to align yourself with a social club. If one was in a social club, there were less likely to loiter, get involved in crime, or be a burden on their family. They also would gain access to business opportunities, culture, political events, and other resources that would benefit their standing.
Following Niathra's rise to power, political involvement became much less acceptable and the social clubs became heavily regulated to prevent dissidents.
During both eras there was a reverence for families and children. Elyr had low fertility rates but during the withering death was common. Further more, Elyr children took 50 years to reach adulthood, making the child mortality rates higher if only because there were more opportunities for them to die. As a result, children were protected and parents with children under the age of 50 were exempt from military service.
During the Empress's reign, military service became the cultural epicenter. Rather than join a social club, young adults were pushed to join a military branch. Individual battalions began to fill the social niche of the social clubs before, with members partaking in social activities together outside of their military service when given the opportunity.
There was also a great deal of value placed on one's magic quotient. This became especially important during the rule of Empress Niathra as most of the conquered commonkin, who they called Lesser Daehmans, had significantly lower magic quotients than the native Greater Daehman elyr. In cases where a commonkin and elyr had a child together the child's classification, and thus level of citizenship, was determined by their magic quotient.
Public Agenda
Under Empress Niathra, the Empire's primary objective was "conquer to survive". With the withering, their resources and population dwindled. They did not have enough people to tend to their orchards or work their mines or staff their palaces and public buildings. They turned their sights on their Commonkin neighbors, conquering them and bringing them in to preform all menial labor all while absorbing Commonkin's resources. Aggressive expansion and militarization became the norm.
History
The Daeh Empire was founded during the Withering by a group of elyr refuges. They had come from different kingdoms which had collapsed due to war, famine, and plague and sought to make a new elyr state. They were led by a group of mages who constructed the capital city in a ravine using magic. They were the architects of Daeh and arranged its system of using magic to produce plant life and water to keep their people fed. Due to their fear of disease, they became isolationist and avoided keeping livestock.
The mages went on to found the twenty-five noble houses, passing their positions in the council on to their descendants. Daeh was able to endure for several centuries until a plague tore their their people, killing mostly their children. The mage council became the subject of public scrutiny due to their inability to stop the spread. On the other hand, their appointed general Niathra was growing more popular after she successfully defended the country from invasion. Using that public support, she swiftly overpowered the mage council and took control of the country as their Empress.
Afterwards, Niathra began to turn Daeh into an empire military state, including forced labor for the conquered people and mandatory military service for her citizens. The Empire began to suffer a slow decline after she contracted moratia and began dying. Unable to defend her lands, the outer reaches of Niathra's empire collapsed. When she finally passed, Daeh was fragmented due to infighting between the nobles, her generals, and her children.
Disbandment
After the Empress's inevitable death by Moratia, the Empire quickly collapsed due to infighting between her many children, council members, and generals.
Demography and Population
During the age under the Mage Council, Daeh was predominately made up of elyr. They accounted then for over 98% of the population. However as The Withering grew more intense and took more lives, their population dwindled. The population expanded only after the Empress took power and began taking control of the neighboring commonkin. The population grew at first simply from force assimilation of the new Lesser Daehmans, but not long after the elyr population began to recover thanks to having their needs tended to by the second-class citizens. By then, the population consisted of 20% Greater Daehmans and 80% Lesser Daehmans.
Foreign Relations
During the era of the Mage Council, Daeh's foreign relations were loose and weak. They mostly kept to themselves and avoided prolonged contact with their commonkin neighbors. They saw no point to forming ties with the other kingdoms near them and saw themselves as self reliant with their abundant magic.
Naturally, this changed when the Empress took over. Neutral and isolationist policies were replaced in favor of aggressive and invasive war campaigns. They had few allies, though even the Empress knew she had to make at least some. She favored oni clans, often coaxing them into a subordinate role by naming their leaders as her generals. She frequently married her children to these generals to strengthen their ties and reaffirm their loyalty.
Laws
Crime
Daeh held many common laws against things like theft and murder but they also had an extensive list of laws pertaining to political crimes during Niathra's reign. Protest, sharing of texts that could "slander" the regime, and meeting with the intent to express displeasure in current affairs were all punishable offenses.Property
Property was all owned by the Empress during Niathra's reign. Nobles and Greater Daehmans could "lease" land in a system that was more akin to paying property taxes but if you caused trouble or if she needed your property for anything you would be expected to surrender it back to her. Naturally, Lesser Daehmans could not own property. Everything they had, including the clothes on their back were state owned and dealt out as the government saw fit.Employment
All intellectual and military careers were reserved for Greater Daehmans under law, while all labor and menial jobs were reserved for Lesser Daehmans or Greater Daehmans who committed a crime.Enforcement
Enforcement of the law was overseen by the military who acted as police, judges, and executioners.Punishment
Punishments depended on the crime and who committed it. Lesser Daehmans were to be executed for any and all crimes they are found guilty of. The purpose for this is body matter was used as the primary source of fertilizer, not to mention it kept the Lesser Daehman population under control. On the other hand, Greater Daehmans may be punished through fines or forced labor for most infractions. Executions for Greater Daehmans were reserved mostly for political dissidents.
DISBANDED/DISSOLVED
Demonym
Daehman
Leader
Ruling Organization
Leader Title
Head of State
Head of Government
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
