Inverus
A Powerful People
Inverus has seen three forms of governance to this point, with the central culture and identity of its people surviving through every turmoil. The Inverani take some pride in standing as the oldest nonelven nation (over some debate on the topic), and see themselves as superior to the rest of the mortal realm.
That zeitgeist of superiority has propelled Inverus to cultivate the strongest military on Vequist by most estimations. They were the first to hire a professional military, the first to scale manufacture of military goods and produce consumable weapons--the famous Inveran Pilum-- as a response to pressure from the surrounding tribes, which allowed them to conquer their way to Herske's border.
History
Early History
Inveran Monarchy
The Inveran Monarchy was founded in 955 RC on the 42nd of Cuiggan by [FOUNDER NAME] after the defeat of a neighbouring clan by his own, and he was crowned its first king, under the name [NAME] Antelius. His son would take up the crown in 912 RC when Antelus fell ill and became too sickly to carry out his duties. A few years after [NAME2]'s son assumed the throne in 881 RC, a coup d'etat in 876 RC by the head of a recently-conquered clan changed the tone of the monarchy significantly, and the ensuing power struggles engulfed most of the middle years of the monarchy, only ending in 830 RC with the ascension of Quentin Verius Clementine. Clementine passed the throne to his son, Markus Verius in 801 RC, at the time known as Severion, but retronymed Peractius.
Severion passed multiple incredibly unpopular laws preceding the final revolt that felled the monarchy. These laws inlcuded a tax on brothels, stricter monarchal control over agricultural activity, and increased regulations on alcohol, which drove powerful and plebian alike to arms in 783 RC. The clash between the reolutionaries and the monarchal forces lasted a full year, a result of the massive resources of the monarch, before the royal milita was overwhelmed in 782 RC on 14 Seachtin.
In the time between the monarchy and the Republic of Inverus, factional infighting and regional powergrabs and secessions nearly broke the back of the common land and culture considered Inverus. In the 3rd year of something of a central stratocracy/regional kratocracy mix-- in which thousands were killed in a combination of factional/governmental disputes and lawlessness born of the lack of clear jurisdiction-- a council was called by Archgeneral Therus which included representatives of the known regional powers and the stratocracy, as well as representatives from non-powered free states. The council came to agree on the shape of what would end up as the Republic of Inverus, which was drawn up properly on 18 Attand and codified on 12 Ikthun of 779 RC after some modifications.
Republic of Inverus
The first Senate of the Republic of Inverus was called on the 20th of Ikthun, 279 RC, preselected from members of the council, which officially passed the constitution and the first set of laws for the Republic. The First Senate also outlined the rules and budget surrounding the election that was to follow at the 5-year mark from the codification of the Republic.
The Second Senate was the first elected government of Inverus, inaugurated on 15th of Cuiggan 773RC, 6 months less 5 days from the election the prior year, setting the timing that would remain tradition throughout the epoch of the Rpublic of Inverus. The second year of the Second Senate saw the inception of the Inveran permanent military, called the Agmen Inveri. The act that created the Agmen was a result of the recent breach of the casual military that made up the defense, and occasional conquest, forces of Inverus to that point. The breach led to a near-sack of [the capital] as well as the burning of much of the surrounding rures by the Dalveroth, a neighboring house which was nearly as powerful as Inverus had been at the peak of its monarchy.
The Agmen Act took nearly 3 years to ramp up training and drafting enough to replace the as-needed soldiers who tended their fields by day. At the end of those three years, a second election was called, obedient to the laws of the Republic of Inverus, which the presiding members of the Second Senate swept near-unanimously. The following year, during the inauguration of the Third Senate, primarily a reinauguration of the Second, the first campaign of the Agmen Inveri was announced. Thus commenced a 12-year war against the Dalveroth, during which the Agmen claimed a casualty rate of only 10% in total, a stark contrast to the rate of the casual military before them, and while their advance was slower than perhaps desirable, there could be no debate about the strength of this new force, and the lack of challenge posed by the forces around them.
Some ten Senates passed without significant event, though the territory of Inverus expanded to some thousand miles, claiming the land up to the Poenam mountains to their West and North. These lands were fairly easy to claim as the land there is rocky and was difficult to farm, but kept the Inveran spirit strong. The Sixteenth Senate saw the discovery of the metal deposits in the Poenae, which allowed the scaling of their military force to one with functionally absolute power in the region surrounding Inverus. The significant size and equipment of the Agmen allowed Inverus to sweep the regions around them, even as those regions expanded with their borders. In the 4th year of the 20th Senate, the Inverani reached their near-term potential as the militarys expansion in number taxed the supplies of their population, economy and land. In the same year, increasing casualties as training times for recruits and draftees decreased led to revolts against the draft and the military might of Inverus stagnated, tamped down by the anger of the people, and Inverus' borders remained the same for 150 years, as the republic lost the desire to expand.
In the inaugural year of the 50th Senate, the Republic began amassing an army anew, as its growth overfilled the cities and began to crowd out farmland needed to support the population, intent on conquering their East as far as they could manage. Over the course of the next 37 years, the Republic of Inverus expanded their reach to the West and North, until their ambitions for expansion were stalled when the front ran into the relatively well-organized Herskan front as expansions met. After a series of difficult skirmishes and a phyrric victory by the Inverani, both nations turned their attention away from their shared border and the Republic turned its sights to the South, across the river Triva.
Late History
Inveran Empire
The Inveran Empire was founded directly from the ashes of the Republic of Inverus when Agrevis Lentis Tribunus led a revolt against his fellow Senators in Inverus, which led to the capture of 40 of the 70 and the death of twelve. Of the remaining Senators, seven fled out of Inverus into what is now Walzbin and the other eleven were granted clemency for their loyalty to Agrevis. The Senate was reconstituted under the direct command of the emperor.
War with Herske
After the inception of the Empire, and the completion of the conquest of the Transtrivius (now Walzbin), and out of fear or respect for the Elven nation of T'hërquell, the Inveran Empire began to set its sights on the East. The shared border with Herske was seen as both a liability and a limit on resources so the Inverani took to hatred of Herske.
Over the next decade or so, there were a series of smaller conflicts and skirmishes across the border, as Herske began to turn their sights Westward as they ran out of space to their East. These skirmishes increased, on whole, gradually in intensity until the border was functionally an unofficial warzone with neither side willing to commit real forces, but encouraging civilian guerillas. In an ambush during the last year of skirmishes, the Herskovite guerillas killed the Legat Quinius Marus Loquax, the son of the 2nd Emperor of Inverus, which ignited the simmering hatred into bloodlust.
On the next month, within two days of the news reaching Inverus proper, the Senate, under immense pressure from both the populace and the Emperor passed the declaration of war against Herske on 7th Ennaoid 264 RC. The Agmen officially went on the march the same day, though in fact portions of it had been mobilized under imperial orders the day the Emperor learned of his son's death.
In the first decade of the conflict, Inverus experienced losses on a scale never seen by the nation before, losing one tenth of their population over that time. The level of magical augmentation of the Herskan forces was unprecedented in Inverus' prior conflicts, and while their military was formidable, it had niether large supplies of magic nor training against those forces. After the first fifteen years, a sort of ceasefire was called, though there were still battles during that time, both Herske and Inverus had been deeply wounded and needed time to restock their militaries, both in supplies and personnel, and devise strategies to mitigate further losses.
Over the next 250 years, the momentum of conflict was maintained by small advances and losses in territory along the border, taken as victories and slights respectively by the Inverani after the bitter beginning of the war. These small changes in the maps along with technological and strategic innovations kept the Inveran spirit for the conflict up, and allowed the Agmen access to much greater resources and support than previously possible in the far reaches of the Empire.
The Coilleskog
In the first year of the Coilleskog's discovery, much of the land eaten by the Forest was Inveran land, which began to shut off contact from their southern half, the Transtrivius. This weakened their economy and supply of troops greatly, on top of striking fear into the Emperor and Senate of the further expansion of the Coilleskog to the point of Inveran extrinction. Within only four years of learning the Coilleskog existed, Inverus and Herske came to agreement on a peace treaty, ending the war that had functionally enveloped the continent to this point.
Over the next hundred years, the Coilleskog completely cut off the Transtrivius from Inverus, sparking its development into the modern state of Walzbin, and even began to close the border between Herske and Inverus, significantly decreasing conflict between the two nations as people fled the areas near the border for fear that their homes would be overrun next.
Modern History
Within the past 200 years, Inverus has been waning in power, as Herske and Azendale have improved their relationship and Azendale has come into its own as a power in Vequist,
Politics
Structure
The current Inveran Empire is divided in power between the Emperor and the Senate. The Senate is heavily reliant upon the Emperor for funding, miltary power, and elections. Inverus is also split into 4 provinces excluding the nonprovincial Greater Inverus District, governed directly by the Inveran government.
Provinces
There are four provinces within the Inveran Empire, controlled by a Lexitor who serves as an executive of whichever province they are appointed to. The governors each maintain their own group of advisors and generally have executive power over their Agmina Civiliae, though they still answer to the laws passed by the Inveran government and most executive actions can only last for a few months before being subject to imperial review.
The provinces are as follows:
- Teledus, the province nearest the border with Herske
- Brylus, the province South and slightly East of the GID
- Vetticus, the middle province
- Stelea, the Southeastern province, formerly something of a jewel of the empire
The provincial system functions not just as a way of easing the burden of governing such a vast territory directly, especially with the capital on the edge of the empire, but also as a way of rewarding generals or long-serving Senators for their loyalty.
The Senate
The Senate has been composed of 70 Senators since its inception, carried over by sheer force of tradition into the age of the Empire. The elections are held in Inverus proper, reserved for those denizens of Inverus who are Citizens, which includes all those born in Inverus proper, as well as a defined border outside Inverus which shifts with the rules around citizenship as the decades go on. There are two branches of the Senate, 13 representatives of the commoners, the Voci (sing. Vox), and 57 regular Senators, the Patricians, with two rotating heads of the Senate, the Monitori who preside over the meetings and act as fauxecutives over the legislature. The Senate is the body which controls the budget of some governmental bodies, as well as nominally controls the laws of the Empire, though they answer directly to the Emperor on that topic.
The Monitori were formerly both the organizers of the Senate and heads of the military and retain some vestigial amount of their power over the military. Most of their responsibilities revolve around the civilian interaction with the military, setting up military celebrations, organizing drafts and recruitment campaigns, controlling the military police, as well as being the ones to make formal declarations of war.
The Emperor
The powers of the Emperor have fluctuated by emperor as the limitations on the power of the Emperor have been ill-defined on the edges and poorly enforced where clear. The Emperor has the daily control of the military, as well as broad powers over elections and final powers over the laws passed by the Senate. The Emperor also has primary access to financial power in the government, with broad discretion over spending and taxation, though often plans that are unpopular are passed off to the Senate.
Demography
The Inveran Empire is slightly larger than the Kingdom of Herske, with approximately 4.7 million inhabitants within its borders. Of those inhabitants, only around 1 million are considered Citizens, with the rest ruled as subjects. The majority of the population resides around 5 population centres in the Empire, the major of those being Inverus and Talorus (part of the Greater Inverus District), with the two southern cities of Vellitans and Illius competing for the third place.
Composition
Inverus is comprised primarily of Dwarves, though a significant population of Humans has historically resided, and remains, inside the borders of the empire, and some Rock Gnomes have to made their way to Inverus to marvel at the achievements of the empire and contribute to its further development.
Inverus also has a relatively low rate of sorcerorship and wizardry, with the magic in this land, where it does exist, coming from gods in the form of clerics or paladins, with the occasional warlock and rare artificers used to bolster the military might of the Agmen.
Culture
Inverus has a rather nationalistic and warlike culture, with strong emphasis being placed on service in the military, and a significant amount of the empire being veterans of some sort.
Religion
The major god of Inverus is Bell, the god of war and honourable combat. Temples and altars all over military encampments, or castra are dedicated to Bell, as is the temple closest to the Imperial palace, and Bell defines much of their high-level policy. Serving as secondary major gods, Jove and Alvira, the gods of the sky and light/divination respectively, also occupy spaces close to the capitol square of the government and Alvira especially serves as a significant influence on the daily lives of the common people.
Augury
The Inverani have a unique way of petitioning the gods for guidance, using animals and birds, not as simple sacrifices, but as direct message bearers of the gods themselves. There are two types of augury, avian augury and vulgar augury. Avian augury consists of the cleric or clerics involved encamping themselves upon the temple of the god whose voice they wish to hear for one week and noting the flights and patterns of different types of birds and consulting a library of information they had kept in the past for reference to determine the will of the god.
Vulgar augury is rather more involved, with as few as one, but often up to seven animals of the same type (usually of a type related to the specific god) blessed and ritually slaughtered and their organs read for signs. These signs include such things as tumors or overall health given a certain age of the animal involved. These auguries are generally thought to be more effective, but take more time to select the correct animal and, in times of crisis can strain food supplies if done too liberally.
The Hearth and its Maidens
The Hearthmaidens are a group of women, generally volunteered from high-class families, or sometimes middle-class families as a means of increasing their status. Hearthmaidens dwell in a special temple near the Fons Inveranorum, where the sacred fire of Inverus lies, with at least one maiden on duty at all hours to ensure the flame is not extinguished. In cases of weather extreme enough to extinguish the rather large bonfire, the Hearthmaidens are to each take a branch from the hearth and carry it with them inside the Focitect until the storm passes, passing the light to another branch if theirs runs low during that time.
It is believed that the Hearth in the center of Inverus keeps the Empire strong and signals the blessing of the gods, particularly Alvira. If the Hearth is extinguished, the Maiden on whose watch it failed is executed at the temple to Alvira and the remaining Hearthmaidens perform a weeks-long rite to reconsecrate and reignite the Hearth to win back Alvira's favour. In the past when the Hearth has been extinguished, dark times laid ahead for Inverus, even as it was being revived, often lasting for decades. In the event that the Hearth is left fallow for more than a week, it is believed that a chain of events would begin ending in Gai herself reawakening and swallowing Inverus whole.
Holidays
Laurel Day
Laurel day is the day on each year the first Emperor was crowned with a laurel wreath, and consists of a triumph held in every city across the Empire in the Emperor's honour. The festivities also include augury, and often several days of games known as the Lauread lead up to the event, concluding with honours for the athletes on the day.
Day of the Broken Crown
A celebration of the day the monarchy was forced out of power and into exile, a celebration of the rise of the Senate and the will of the people, however outdated that might be in the modern Inverus.
The festivities include a change in dress, the adoption of a sash worn over the usual garb of each adult, purple for men, yellow for women, and a special plume for the military which is used in the parades held during the celebrations. Outside of the parades, which are treated as Triumphs, the Vocis of the Senate make remarks, assuring all Inverani of their committment to staving off despotism, a speech now concluded by remarks from the Emperor.
Traditions
Triumph
The act of triumph comes after major military victories of the Agmen Inverani, including over rebellious factions within the empire itself, wherein the victorious regiment is paraded down the Sacred Way. There are several large banquets sponsored by the Emperor and formerly the Senate throughout Inverus, with the major one occurring at the centre of the Sacred Way, the Fons Inveranorum, the centre of the city, believed to be the centre of power for the entire Empire. The general over the legion is treated as a god for the day and given a replica of their standard, seen to some as the anointed of Bell, and often end up running a successful campaign for Senator in the coming years. The rest of the regiment is given golden swords and all are given laurels which are leafed in gold and have preservative magics cast upon them that they may be with the soldiers for eternity.
Altares
The altares are burnt offerings to the gods given before each dinnertime meal from the plates of those about to eat, as a way of pleasing the gods to gain favour for themselves or their houses. The altares are often the best parts of the dinner, but can be whichever the offeror believes to be the most fitting piece of their plate.
Vibrion (Ꝟ)
Sangens (ꞩ)
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