Abenese Empire
Abenea is a land of harsh divides and tenatious citizens. In every way that its villages and countrysides are cold, stubborn, and severe, the insides of its palaces and temples are warm, opulent, and hedonistic. The wealthy Magistrati rule in isolated palace-cities, studying in their own universities and worshipping in their own palatial temples. Outside these walls, the Empire's nonmagical citizens work the frozen ground, raising food for the Magistrati's feast-tables.
Structure
The Empire is ruled by an assembly of eight powerful spellcasters called the Prosveteni or, to foreigners, the Enlightened Circle. Each member of this council represents a different school of magic.
In theory, these High Mages cooperate democratically to decide what is best for Abenea. In practice, a complex system of bribery and coercion ensures that the council's decisions serve the interests of the most cunning council member. Unsurprisingly, these decisions rarely relate to the needs of Abenese citizenry.
Membership in the Prosveteni is the highest position to which any Abenese citizen can aspire. Thus, the noble classes of mages, the Magistrati, are constantly occupied with preventing common-folk from learning magic (and thus becoming eligible), while raising their own status. At the same time, they create and oversee powerful magical orders to impress the magical superiority of the Abenese Empire upon the rest of the Realms.
Other Castes
There are three classes of citizen in the Abenese Empire, and each lives in a completely different way from the others. The Magistrati are the nobility. Only those who can use magic may become Magistrati, and the child of a Magistrati who cannot perform any kind of magic does not share their parent's rank, and are usually exiled or abandoned to cover the parent's shame. All Magistrati aspire to join the Prosveneti, and are constantly embroiled in a web of conspiracies and scandals to raise their status. Higher-level Magistrati often control a cadre of lesser mages who "donate" their own magical energy in a tradition known as Circle Magic. By channelling their power into the circle leader, they enable that mage to perform feats of magic impossible for an individual. Conversely, the circle leader can use circle magic as a way to sap their rivals' magical energy, limiting their capacity to surpass the circle leader. Most of Abenea's population are Drimani - the Sleeping Ones. These are the merchants, artisans, builders, and workers of Abenea. Because a Drimani who can use magic is considered eligible for nobility and is thus swiftly suppressed by existing Magistrati, the Drimani as a whole are considered a nonmagical class of people. If a Drimani can use magic, they typically work very hard to keep this ability secret, or to excise it. The Drimani survive in the harsh Abenese north, and are a hardworking, determined society. The last class of Abenea are the Nitz - the Nothings. The term refers broadly to the slaves and the homeless of the Empire. Slaves are mostly owned by Magistrati, but it is not unheard-of for a wealthy Drimani, or one favoured by a Magistrati family to own slaves. Due to the terrifying magical power wielded by the Magistrati and especially the Prosveneti, attempts by other nations to end the slave trade in Abenea have been unsuccessful.Culture
Abenese culture is defined by magic - either the perfection or the lack of it. The Magistrati are powerful spellcasters, taking spellcraft and enchanted technology to levels unheard-of in other nations. No school of magic is barred, and those deemed culturally distasteful are simply performed discretely. Any Magistrati will vehemently deny that the longer-standing members of the Prosveneti are liches, but other answers for their unprecedented magical prowess and longevity are difficult to find.
Among the lower castes, magic is a source of fear. It is the powerful magical force of the Magistrati's inquisitors and enforcers that keep the Dremani and Nitz from rising up. A member of these castes who shows magical potential is usually either executed or subjected to horrific experiments, with the aim of removing the individual's connection to the Arcane. These experiments usually end in death.
History
Legends say that the Abenese Empire once stretched from the Maryan Free Marches to the Starless Mire and the Maznah Desert. Ancient ruins of Abenese design have been found across Primus, but the details of the Empire's supposed reign have long been forgotten.
Some Abenese groups believe they were driven back by usurpers who were jealous of their power, and long to reclaim the Empire's former glory.
Demography and Population
The Magistrati are composed nearly entirely of humans. A common cultural belief among the Abenese and especially the Magistrati are that humans are the species most-suitable for channelling the Arcane, and that other races are by nature inferior as spellcasters. This conspiracy makes it extremely difficult for non-humans to succeed as Magistrati.
The common classes, and especially the Nitz, on the other hand, have a much wider variety of species among them.
Technological Level
Abenese technology far outclasses its neighbours, due to the Magistrati's mastery of the arcane. No school of magic is banned in Abenea, and so it is not limited by the ethical objections to necromancy, fiend-summoning, soul-channeling, and other forms of so-called Black Magic.
This technology is kept strictly in the hands of the upper classes, further hobbling the Dremani's potential to rise up against their oppressors.
Foreign Relations
While the Abenese Empire is not currently at war, its relations with the other Nations of Primus are strained, as its neighbours disapprove of Abenea's ongoing slave trade, and its cordial relationship with the Archfiends of Baator.
Education
Dremani may be educated in basic mathematic and reading, enough that they can work as artisans, merchants, and other suitable positions. Subjects considered less pragmatic, such as history, literature, and the arts, as well as magical studies, are limited to the Magistrati.
Education in Abenea is limited to Abenese citizens, lest foreigners discern their magical secrets. It is also rare for Abenean students to pursue foreign education, as other nations are believed inferior especially in terms of arcane mastery.
Type
Geopolitical, Empire
Capital
Alternative Names
The Thrice-Blessed Empire of Abenea
Demonym
Abenese
Government System
Magocracy
Power Structure
Feudal state
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Related Ethnicities