Ravessus, The Fallen Empire
The Mother Empire
Ravessus is often heralded as the Mother Empire as it rise and fall gave birth to many great nations. Once, stretching all the way from Korinthos and Silus in the South to the Valklema Empire in the North from the World Scar in the West to the Kitaru Empire in the East, when this mighty nation fell it begat many children. Now, three great legacies are left to represent its great culture. In the North, the Dracan Empire reigns, holding in its power everything North of, and including, Avalin and Mashad. Korinthos, in the South, controls itself Aegea, and the Desolate Lands to the East. Finally, the great empire of Valklema stands alone, isolated behind great mountains and frigid cold in the far North. Few true Ravesians remain, scrounging out a living among the corpse of the once-great empire. Those who claim to be true Ravesians often live in Ravessus itself, maintaining the dregs of cities that survived the great fall and nursing grand ambitions of a reforged empire, a revival of greatness. Grand aqueducts and broken roads span the empire still, the bones of a once-great empire and it is rumored that many of their secrets remain untouched in vaults beneath their once-grand cities.An Empire of Progress
It is no secret to the dabbler in history that Ravessus was in an age unto itself, having progressed to a point far and above any other nations of its time. Their mastery over metalwork, construction, science, the arcane arts, and war was second to none. The empire of Ravessus was, by all accounts and purposes, an empire of great progress. Much of this progress is seen in the design of its cities and the contraptions, though broken now, that inhabit them. For all of its progress, though, it led to its own downfall. Nobody is exactly certain what lead to the fall of Ravessus though some speculate it was due to a debauched monarchy or that the empire simply stretched itself too thin. Others posit that that in its great progress, the empire found and studied things it should have left alone, unleashing great monstrosities and plagues upon itself. Others believe that Ravessus collapsed due to internal hardship and war. The facts remain uncertain, but elements to all of these theories may be true. The land is haunted by the spirits of the Ravesians who were consumed by fell experiments, signs of war within the country are apparent to the casual onlooker, and a strange disease haunts the undomesticated lands of the empire.Modern Ravessus
Ravessus today is mostly uninhabited. Ravesians have managed to reclaim several cities, namely those of Jeresus, Baalrea, and Aelia. The capital, Virolamium, remains uncleansed. The undomesticated lands are overrun with specters and other monstrosities, demanding that those who travel through these parts do so stealthily or in a caravan equipped with sacrosanct weapons to combat the evils that inhabit the land. Currently, Ravessus is largely untouched by outside empires, though several have attempted in the past to reclaim these lands for their own. One thing remains certain, the land is a bounty of untouched secrets and unclaimed resources. The empire that manages to domesticate this country would become quite rich.Structure
Holy Emperor - Great Leader
Dictator - Great Leader (elected in times of war)
Senator and Legates (legati) - Elected officials (Generals, Diplomats, Administrators)
Ravessian Guard (now called Shades) - Highly skilled warriors, personal bodyguard of the emperor
Various other military positions
Merchants
Farmers and Craftsmen
Slaves
Culture
Roman Analog
Sacri imperii magnam - A grand and holy empire.
"The Ravessians signed their own death warrants. I heard that the emperor was consorting with demons and devils. I heard that he had a child with one and that the child was a devil from birth, pitting factions against each other until Ravessus consumed itself in the power struggle. A trader in Jeresus told me that they heard howling coming from Virolamium that sounded not-quite-human, but also not-quite-monstrous."
- Hadriana, Trader on the Midnight Road
110 AH - 625 AH
Type
Geopolitical, Empire
Capital
Alternative Names
The Mother Empire, The Fallen Mother,
Demonym
Ravesian
Head of State
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Power Structure
Autonomous area
Economic System
Market economy
Neighboring Nations
Comments