The Lunalian Empire
Scattered and weak; the world still shaking in the after-quakes of the Shattering the greater houses of what was once a great elven empire struggled to achieve some sort of order through the chaos that surrounded them.
It is said that why the shambled houses struggled to try and rebuild, recover, take count of their dead and protect those that remained that six children of the greatest houses of the age, Tarveren, Nobuyama, Kawagera, Suzuran, Ito, and Honda were visited each by an animal companion sent by the now absent gods. These heirs would sneak away in the dead of the night to journey with this animal companion; to Tarveren came Enfir's wise buck, to Nobuyama the Azur Cardinal, for Kawagera came X'in's fox, Suzuran was met with Kaleos's wolf; young and curious, and to Ito came Fen's old and thoughtful wolf. Last was Honda, who was lead by Lotherentian's lion.
The six met in what would become a sacred grove in the heart of a great city many hundreds of years in the future; each of the trees that surrounded them having drunk deep the souls and prayers of the people in the time before the world was broken, and here the six were posed a question.
No living elf today knows what occurred in this grove, what they say, heard or did; but when the dawn rose over the spine of the world the children of the noble houses returned home and with a great show of force five of the six threw their full support to the House of Suzuran to lead the people into the coming future.
With the combined power of all six houses there were few who could even imagine contesting them in the damage of the cataclysm and in a few short decades they coalition of nobles had succeeded in reuniting, reconnecting, and beginning support lines to almost all corners of what had once been their empire in the Ultany sea.
And thus is was that Mindol'ahl Suzuran was named the first Emperor of the Moon and the Lunalian Empire was formed; born under the watchful eyes of the twin moons above and nutured by the spirits of the elvish pantheon.
Structure
The Lunalian Empire at its core is built around a system of 5 levels of heirarchy (though the previous Empress made great changes to part of this circle with the abolishment of slavery and serfdom).
At its most simplest form the five rings are as follows:
The Jade Lily-
The inner ring which refers to directly to the Emperor's own family (not the Emperor's House), as well as the Jade Council, which is a court composed of no more than 33 nobles representing the greater noble houses and acting as a council and advisors to the Emperor.
The Pearl Rose-
In the second ring there exist 33 Greater Houses, the families and clans who control the most resources, land, wealth, and power within the Empire. These houses are the peak of power within the society and are responsible for providing soldiers in times of war, maintaining their own active military, collecting taxes from their provinces and overseeing the daily going on of their realms. (There are currently only 28 Great houses, while five seats remain empty)
The Garnet Tulip-
Within the Third Ring there exists the 66 Noble Houses, families and clans that control either a single province independently or exist as vassals under a liege lord (one of the greater houses) ruling over a province at their discretion. These houses have military responsibilities to the crown as well and for the most part are the most active in terms of attempting to grow and change their position. These houses often come into conflict with each other legally or militarily as they work against each other to solidify their positions within the Empire. Within this ring there also exists a space for Landed Admirals/Captains of the Lunalian Navy; the special title of Marquis is awarded to such military commanders who have served and earned great rewards from the crown; while they might not have a province of their own these lords and ladies have earned the same power and influence as a house within the Garnet Tulip and while aboard their vessels or on land they carry the same weight as one of noble rank. Notably there are currently only 53 Noble houses.
The Jet Chrysanthemum-
In the fourth ring there exist 99 Lesser Noble Houses, these houses are lower in tier than the 66 or the 33, often having been created by the 66 or 33 themselves as a reward for some exceptional service. These houses are also often in control a single small or isolated island instead of in control of provinces on any of the main islands; though not always the case. They are often small in numbers, power and wealth; but tend to have fierce loyalty among the civilians who live under them. A handful of these houses struggle and strive to rise in power to earn a place of recognition among the 66; as such some of them constantly compete with each other over territory and resources to earn the boon of the Emperor and lift their houses into the high tiers. Foreign dignitaries who choose to live and serve their nations as representatives to the Lunalian Empire are treated similarly to nobles of this rank and are afford the same customs and protections. Currently only 79 houses exist within the empire of the 99 alotted spots. Notably, members of this rank ring are not able to bestow titles upon others that would be recognized throughout the empire as a whole.
The Obsidian Rose-
The final ring of nobility within the Empire exists for those who have been awarded noble titles such as 'knight' or 'samurai' within the Empire but who do not own any actual land, or as some may be awarded land by their lords, without a proper -house- or clan. These titles are often worn by an individual person and are not hereditary likes the other noble clans; as such the title and rank is not extended to other members of the allotted person's family. Some of these people do govern land, normally directly for a sworn lord who bestowed their title to them; collecting taxes, managing militia and dealing with legal disputes as a representative for the ruler of a province. Notably only members of the Greater or Noble houses can award titles that are recognized at this rank throughout the Empire. Within this rank there also exists the survivors of old houses that have been abolished or dissolve, destroyed through war, or exiled in shame; people who bore a noble crest and lineage in a time before but for whatever reason their family no longer exists within the rings of society. These pariahs are able to carry some weight depending on their location and are often still treated like titled warriors or lesser nobles by the lower classes.
The Void-
A rather derogatory word that has fallen much out of favor in the last three hundred odd years since the abolishment of slavery and serfdom within the Empire; this are that exists outside of the five rings of hierarchy originally was meant to refer to everyone else, civilian, serf, tradesman, trader, sailor and slave who did not directly exist within the bloodlines of one of the noble houses. Since the previous Empress abolished serfdom and outlawed slavery more and more rights are being attributed to these people and now more than ever they are able to challenge a noble who is mistreating them or their kin; often members of the Lesser Noble houses were once from the void who earned power either locally through hard work, or obtained their land as a boon from the Emperor themself as a reward for dedication; notably only the Jade Throne is able to lift an unnamed family into the rings of society, and this is something that the Jade Council leans in on heavily in terms of advising the Emperor.
Culture
At it's core the Lunalian Empire was constructed around the belief that without cohesive control the people will be doomed to die; as such there is a strong emphasis on laws and matters of order, even more so than the much smaller Solaran Empire in Aldabryn.
The Lunalian Empire follows strong the Elvish pantheon with each minor town or beyond containing a sacred grove tended to by clerics, priests or even just dedicated locals; unlike the Jaralian Empire where church and state are wholely separate and occasionally at odds with one another the Lunalian Empire is interwoven with the faith at every level.
The empire is a heavy mix of isolated island states that might never directly interact with the outside world and large provinces that are rich with international trade. Presently the empire enjoys lucrative trade deals with many different dwarven and gnomish kingdoms around the realm; though there is also some bad blood.
In particular with members of the thriband races and the Iron Brand; many elves alive today are refugees of the Iron Brand's conquest of the south eastern isles and tensions between the thriband and the elves have never been higher. Also after the failed war against the Kitsune to try and conquer the last vestiges of their islands that they have been unable to access the fear of shape shifting Kitsune has never been higher among the capital; there is a general paranoia and fear for people who are not trusted locals.
In the ancient past the premier enemy of the Empire, the forces of Jaralism and Warden have become stable if tense trading partners, with several provinces of the northernmost isles still under human control since the Shattering.
Public Agenda
In recent years the public agenda of the Empire has been to solidify their position and move into a position to counter the aggressive expansion of the Ironbrand Empire; as well as conquer more land so that they can properly place their refugees flooding into the capital, or find a way to better distribute their population.
Assets
While the Empire has control of some of the most nutrient rich farmland in the world thanks to the volcanic ash that rains over the islands regularly it has become the leading global producer in olives, grapes, rice, and many other desirable crops; many of which are famed for their oil.
Beyond this the land also bares with it many rare and exotic animals whose pelts are often sought by collectors. The islands of Ultan are also famous for their silk worms, Ultanish silk is some of the finest in the world and many people all over (especially Gerame where the silk is considered a mighty prize) seek to import as much as they can afford; which help off sets the over all lack of mining infrastructure throughout the nation as they are able to afford the import of heavy minerals or purchase from dwarven kingdoms within their hold thanks to the lucrative trade they are able to carry out.
The main islands also have access to one of the only known of Elven owned and operated mine, the 'Tresshallmya' which is the largest Jade mine in the world.
History
Founded in the year 167 of the 4th age (Separation), the Empire is currently in the third generation of its first generation; still lead by The House of Lilies.
Over the course of the next five hundred years the first Emperor worked tirelessly to reunite the land and connect all the scattered tribes and islands to consolidate their power and means of communication.
This involved more war with the remaining human controlled provinces in north western Ultan that was eventually resolved with a truce shortly before the death of the first Emperor roughly around the year 1130 of the 4th era; at which point Mindol'ahl Suzuran was succeeded by their daughter Hayako. Mindol'ahl Suzuran had passed away during the Fester, a terrible plague that rippled through the islands through the years of 1120-1130 believed to had been an ancient primordial pathogen that had been locked underground and reintroduced into the airstream by a particularly violent volcanic eruption.
Hayako then went on to rule for almost as long as her father and under her lead much of the Empire was changed as during this time the empire used slavery for much of its building, including that construction of the Rainbow Bridge that connects the major islands of the empire together. She also abolished the systematic suppression of the civilians and serfdom while outlawing slavery; it would take many centuries to weed out those dissidents who would refuse to follow the new laws, but cut out they were mostly by the end of her life.
The Empire lost its Empress at the year 2134, just five years before the Krystal War, at which point her great-grandson ascended to the Jade Throne, Rashiro Suzuran.
The War of the Krystal which ravaged much of the world had comparatively left the Lunalian empire alone and through the chaos that the rest of the world took fully onto itself the Lunalian empire was able to make up for lost ground and grow into an economical powerhouse while the young Emperor became little more than a figure head to the Jade Council.
Though with the recent military failings; the inability to push the Ironbrand out of their land and the failure to gain access to the hidden Kitsune cities the council's control of the emperor has begun to waver and many are worried about the tumultuous climate the has seeped into the politics of the capital.
Founding Date
4e167
Type
Geopolitical, Empire
Capital
Alternative Names
Eastern Empire, Moon lands
Demonym
Lunalian
Leader
Ruling Organization
Leader Title
Head of State
Head of Government
Economic System
Mixed economy
Location
Neighboring Nations
Related Species
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