Empyrean Hold

Centered on the capital city of Caer Elvendon (Salamis), the Empyrean Hold is made up of the most powerful lords and rulers of Tentandia. They are the current ruling group of the realm, and the most powerful ruling body of Tentandia since the First Empire. The Empyrean Hold has declared the entirety of Tentandia under its control through direct rule or protectorate status, but the reality of this claim has not been tested. Though no other single political entity can match the outright power of the Empyrean Hold, there are other political, cultural, and religious entities which are powerful in their own right, requiring the Hold to maneuver carefully in the political waters of Tentandia.
The Empyrean Hold first came to power in Tentandia 137 years before the present day, coalescing as a ruling body from a number of disparate alliances and pacts. At this time Tentandia was a splintered realm ruled by petty kings and warlords. A handful of great houses maintained power in far-flung corners of Tentandia, notably House Sunderwall in Denevrod and Band Eldingur, Thunderborn in Jian Orthiad, but no single ruling entity had complete hegemony of the realm. Instead, an alliance of two petty lords held sway over much of Tentandia, led by Petty-King Durmaud and Chieftain Solyse, known as the Tin Shield Alliance. Their rule was cruel and tenuous at the best of times, and the ruling duo relied equally on fear, violence, and chicanery to keep their grip on the realm. With no unifying power beyond these leaders, Tentandia was thrust into a state of uneasy but costly peace.
The Lords Founder of the Empyrean Hold arrived on the northern shores of Tentandia in the Ysnorr province, at the port of Wyndfleot. Still a loose coalition of leaders and rulers at this time, the Lords Founder formed on the rocky beaches of Ysnorr the Empyrean Hold, a new political conglomerate to bring order and stability back to Tentandia. The following years would see the War of the Salt Kings and the Battles of the Three Woods fought and won by the Lords Founder of the Empyrean Hold, securing their foothold in Ysnorr. A period of relative peace ensued, during which the Lords Founder forged alliances with local rulers and warlords against the Tin Shield Alliance. Eight years after their initial landing on the shores of Tentandia, the forces of the Empyrean Hold fought and defeated Petty-King Durmaud and Chieftain Solyse in the Night King's War, gaining hegemony over Tentandia.
Since this victory, the Empyrean Hold has ruled over a period of peace, guiding the realm through minor political and military struggles with neighbors and internal dissension. The current members of the Hold's Council include Lords Albion, Clovis, Graendrek, Nyptos, Salovon, and Winescale, who until recently ruled in harmony. Currently, a dispute between Lords Graendrek and Winescale has waged on, but at the time of writing all accounts point to a near conclusion, and peace once more.

Type

Geopolitical, Empire