The Solaris Empire

A relatively young nation created from the ruins of the Drangian Kaiserreich, the Solaris Empire now dominates the west and has quickly become a major force to be reckoned with in the world of Vechna.

Structure

The Solaris Empire is a theocracy led by a Lioness of the Sun, the leader of the Solar Faith. Each Lioness of the Sun is believed to be a reincarnation of the very first Lioness, and whenever a Lioness is near death she receives a vision of the body she will reincarnate into, passing on the details to a council of High Priests so her reincarnation may be found and the Empire's rule continued.
Beneath the Lioness of the Sun is the council of High Priests, who are religious officials drawn from each of the Empire's ten provinces. Each High Priest represents the interests of their province, and the council is responsible for putting forth decisions to be made by the Lioness.

Culture

The Empire's ten provinces are extremely varied in geography and culture, but all of its subjects are united under the Solar Faith, a religion centering around the worship of the sun and to a lesser extent the stars.

Assets

Gold coins in the Solaris Empire are referred to as Sol. These coins bear the likeness of a Lioness of the Sun on one side, and an image of the sun on the other.
Silver coins in the Solaris Empire are referred to as Mond. These coins bear the image of half-crescent on one side.
Copper coins in the Solaris Empire are referred to as Kessel, or Drachen (Drachens plural). These coins still bear the image of a curled dragon, a holdover from the Kaiserreich.

History

The Solaris Empire was founded only recently in the aftermath of a violent slave uprising that saw the Drangian Kaiserreich destroyed. In the years leading up to the rebellion, large numbers of Solarians enslaved by the Kaiserreich had begun preaching and spreading the word of the Lioness of the Sun, Valentia Dietrich, who had been declared an outlaw by the Kaiserreich. After Dietrich was captured, she was set to be publicly hanged in Drachenstein before a vast number of slaves to restore draconic rule. However, Dietrich survived the hanging, and was able to escape, rallying the slaves to rise up against their masters.
Valentia Dietrich and her followers led the Solaris Rebellion, slowly managing to convert more and more slaves to the Solar Faith and forming a unified front. Many priests who practiced the Solar Faith in hidden and secluded temples began to train slaves in the restricted tenets of war, inspiring thousands to fight for the Solar Faith and becoming paladins of virtue. However, the rebels faced numerous defeats against the Kaiserreich until the Battle of Sunfield, where Valentia Dietrich and her High Priests killed Ynarrys the Great, one of the Kaiserreich's eldest and most feared draconic lords. With the death of Ynarrys, the rebel forces were slowly able to take the upper hand and after fifteen years of the most violent fighting ever seen since the Great Northern War, the Drangian Kaiserreich was toppled.
Following the establishment of the Solaris Empire and consolidation of power, Lioness Valentia Dietrich died in the year 457 declaring her reincarnation would be "born of two kinds, thrice-cursed yet loved by the Sun, her hair touched by the Lord of Day". After her death, High Priest Eckart Hielscher would command the Second Crusade of Light, aimed at driving out the many internal threats to the Empire that remained such as the Old Believers and remnants of the Kaiserreich. Eckart Hielscher's reign as regent was unpopular; he revoked several social reforms Lioness Valentia Dietrich had attempted to institute, a key one being the Law of Goodwill which gave temples the obligation to provide food and shelter to faithful Solarians in need. However, the High Priest's 23-year reign secured the Empire's borders, and saw the deaths of all but one of the draconic lords that remained in the world, effectively ending any hopes of the Kaiserreich's restoration. High Priest Hielscher also brought about many land-owning reforms, entirely abolishing the concept of lordship and serfdom by allowing all citizens to own land.
In the year 480, the new Lioness of the Sun Irmgard Alvarado was formally instituted as the Lioness of the Sun and anointed by the Council of High Priests. Under her reign, the last of the draconic lords - Frindanth the Pale - was killed. Additionally, Lioness Irmgard Alvarado reinstituted the Law of Goodwill, and expanded the Golden Temple of Hellesherz. In the year 487, she attended the meeting at Rowarin alongside the leaders of the Khormchaks and Rurikid Principality to form the Western Pact against the Magdar Kingdom, and in 489, commanded the Third Crusade of Light against the Magdar forces. The Third Crusade ended in disaster for the Empire with the Massacre of Drowsy Deep, which saw 30,000 Solarian troops killed. Lioness Irmgard Alvarado herself was nearly killed in the fighting, but succeeded in leading 10,000 survivors back across the Sylnorin mountains to the safety of the Empire's borders. 
Then, in the year 499, the Hollowsoul Curse struck the Solaris Empire. In the present day, thousands of Solarians have perished from the Hollowsoul Curse, with the healing magic of the Solar priests ineffective at stopping the spread of the curse. The resurgence of magic in recent years has seen some clerics succeed in briefly halting the progression of the curse in the afflicted, but this has not managed to make any meaningful reduction in the number of victims afflicted.
Severe persecution of Solarians in the Turov Principality led the Empire to attempt to protect the faithful, which in turn led to the Turov Principality declaring war against the Solaris Empire. A series of bloody battles and skirmishes have occurred along the western Gränslandic border, and there are fears that the Empire's war with the Turovs may lead to the Empire declaring a fourth crusade against "paganism".

Demography and Population

The Solaris Empire is the most populous nation in the world of Vechna, with millions of citizens living across its ten provinces. Humans comprise a large majority of the Empire's population (35%), followed by dwarves (20%), kobolds (20%), elves (15%), and half-elves (10%).
The largest population centre of the Solaris Empire is the capital city of Hellesherz, with a population of 70,000.

Military

The military forces of the Solaris Empire are largely composed of citizen soldiers. Those who can afford arms and armor are able to volunteer their service on a military campaign, historically motivated by faith.
However, the elite military forces of the Solaris Empire are often members of the clergy: paladins, warrior priests, and particularly pious knights. Many of these elite forces, called warriors-of-faith, belong to different militant wings of the Solar Faith, such as the Poor Brothers and the Blades of the Setting Sun. These militant wings of the Solar Faith are the only groups officially allowed by the Solar Faith leadership to freely teach the restricted tenets of warfare to their members, and include martial training alongside religious teachings
At the height of the Solaris Empire's military strength - prior to the Magdar War - the Empire's total military forces numbered close to 110,000, with 80,000 citizen soldiers and 30,000 warriors-of-faith. After the disastrous Massacre of Drowsy Deep which dealt a crippling blow to the Empire's military strength, the forces of the Solaris Empire are estimated to number at around 60,000, with 50,000 citizen soldiers and 10,000 warriors-of-faith.

Religion

While the Solar Faith is the dominant religion in the Solaris Empire with close to 95% of its population worshiping the Sun, regions near Jomne and Gränsland hold sizable populations that still worship the Ievigtrú and Rodnoverú pantheons. The "pagan faiths" are tolerated in the Solaris Empire, but efforts have been made in the past to convert these populations to the Solar Faith through peaceful missionaries and other projects.
However, worship of the Old Faith is strictly forbidden in the Solaris Empire due to the belief that the Ancients worshiped by the Old Believers are in fact negative aspects of the Old One. The Primal Curses and the predicted fate of the First Races coincides with the Solarian Promised Day, when the Old One will return and attempt to destroy all life on Vechna. The Second Crusade of Light killed or drove out thousands of Old Believers who had been accommodated under the Drangian Kaiserreich, and in the present open worship of the Old Faith can be deemed heretical and is punishable by exile or death through "cleansing by fire and light".

Founding Date

450

Type

Geopolitical, Theocracy

Alternative Names

The Empire

Training Level

Semi-professional

Veterancy Level

Experienced

Demonym

Solarian

Leader

Irmgard Alvarado

Head of Government

Irmgard Alvarado

Government System

Theocracy

Power Structure

Unitary state

Economic System

Market economy

Major Exports

The lands of the Empire are extremely fertile, and the Empire is the primary exporter of common agricultural goods such as grain and barley. The warmer climate of the southern provinces also allows for luxury goods such as wine and spices to be produced in amounts greater than anywhere else in the world.

Official State Religion

The Solar Faith

Subsidiary Organizations

• The Blades of the Setting Sun
• The Solar Faith

Neighboring Nations

• Karadzic Principality
• Kingdom of Jomne

Notable Members

• Irmgard Alvarado