"Magic is wondrous, terrible thing. Just as magic allowed the Nebezni Empire to last a thousand years, it is the very same that destroyed it in an instant."— Correspondence from Empress Kirana Prismodian, 402 EC
The Nebezni Empire is an ancient historical nation that existed from about 1995 BEC to 922 BEC.
History
The Nebezni Empire was founded in 1995 BEC. Myth holds that it was created out of wholecloth in the majestic Court of Esla. While there is evidence that the court did exist, there is debate about the truth of the legends. In its prime, it reached across most of northeastern
Estana, with its sprawling borders only halted by the
Silent Mountains to the west and
The Wilds to the south.
Vastrei Incident
The Nebezni stand as historical caution against the hubris of overuse of magic, in large part due to the Vastrei Incident, wherein a long civil war among the magical elite spectacularly ended in a massive burst of destructive magic in the center of the empire, creating the region now known as the
Nebezni Wasteland.
Aftermath
The aftermath of the Vastrei Incident was absolute collapse of the Nebezni Empire. The empire was effectively split in half, with those west of the Wasteland cut off from the population centers on the coast and thus resorting to feudalism or fleeing to the care of the
Wights in the Silent Mountains (the remaining mages of whom would eventually become
House Voldr). Meanwhile, east of the Wasteland, the remains of the Nebezni Empire declined under starvation and mass revolts against the magocratic classes. The anarchy eventually settled into a series of remote city-states among the ruins of the once-great empire.
Culture
The Nebezni were legendary for their mysterious, magical high culture. Following The Awakening, their high society was dominated by a class of mages, highest among them a class of Seers who could read the stars to tell the future (or so it was believed until the
The Treatises Arcana were published). Astrology played a large part in their spiritual lives--spawning traditions that are still echoed by
Valeans today.
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