Kelpeater Empire
The First Colonial Empire on Waking Materia; The Promise Kept
Author's Note. Due to a WorldAnvil error, half of the article disappeared magically, so that's why the sentences are so fragmented! It will be fixed soon.
Also known as the Kelpeater Dominion or the First Extraplanar Empire, sometimes simplified to the Dominion or the First Empire, the Kelpeater Empire was a multi-continent spanning theo-necrocracy under the Colonial Gods, chief of which was the God-Emperor Inum'indiron'aravaut. Their arrival on Waking Materia marked the plane's First Age of Man, marked zero years I.M. (Intra-Merantha) on the standard Yasnan Calendar.
The Kelpeaters originated from the faraway plane of Lorgain, a relatively advanced world nearer to the multiversial hub of the Eridún Crux. Their demonyms were Kelpeater, Thaulan or sometimes Alanthian after their capital city.
Though highly authoritarian and with a tightly-controlled culture in many respects, the First Empire was a cosmopolitan, multispecies alliance, more diverse than any other point in Waking Materia's history, indeed more diverse than most planes outside the inner Eridún Crux region. The alliance is named after the Kelpeaters because they were its progenitors.
Nearly all of the Dominion was annihilated by the The Deluge. Empyreal survivors lucky enough to be on the unaffected, upland fringes of terrestrial Materia were either assimilated into other cultures or began new ones increasingly divorced from Kelpeater culture. Much of the knowledge that remains of the empire is blended irreperably with hyperbole, outside folklores and simple mistellings.Description
See also: Imagery of Alanthan'aravaut (External)Kelpeater architecture was generally geometric and brutalist, with Ina'ut and his various puppet royalties favouring colossal ziggurats, pyramids and other polygonal structures for their bases. They appeared to exalt artifice over nature, preferring their buildings to stand out among the surrounding valleys, jungles and inland seas of young Waking Materia.
As the plane was still a waterworld even before the The Deluge, massive canals and aqueducts were built to feed the generally centralized settlements. Plant life was common and robust even in the most metropolitan areas, providing much-needed shade from the heat and readily-available fruits and vegetables in all seasons. Lakes and inner seas were often converted into massive, floating farms for their coveted Thaulan kelp. Exceptional breeders and biomancers, the flora and fauna created by the Empire spread and sometimes intermingled throughout Materia, leaving it difficult to know which species are truly indigenous.People
See full article: Sapient Species of First Age Materia
The Kelpeater Dominion included dozens of sapient species from several planes, spanning the distance between Waking Materia and the Eridún Crux. Most common were the core species of Kelpeater society, the Ula'thau'la, followed by other common Lorganite people like Meranthic humanoids, the Aikyo, the Aselu and the Ghent. As a disapora traveling between planes, they also accumulated subjects of various origins. As new markets developed around the Dominion's resource hunger, various species from Materia's neighbouring planes in the Silurian Eighth joined.
Government
For more on Kelpeater government, see full article: Alanthan'aravaut.
For more information on individual godlords, see the full article: Colonial GodsThe Kelpeater Empire was a true necrocracy and an absolute monarchy, ruled unquestioningly by a heirarchy of immortal Lichlords, called Šaru'um ("Great Lords"), at the summit of which was the Šar'šara'ani ("Lord of Lords"), the Reiver King, the Balancemaker and Face of the Dominion, Inum'indiron'aravaut (Ina'ut). The lesser Lichlords were the only members of Alanthian society allowed some freedom of action, but even then only within Ina'ut's general directives. Much of the lower castes operated out of fear of disobeying the Military, the Military operated out of fear of the Šaru'um, and the Šaru'um operated out of fear of the Reiver King.
The Kelpeater Empire had a heavily structured society, with colour being an important cultural method of signaling rank, caste, occupation, et cetera. For example, any scarves or hats you might buy could only be "below" your rank (determined by several factors on the linear colour gradient). They had been able to do this without issue on Lorgain, but ingredients for making high-quality dyes were not so common on Waking Materia, and so a feverish and sometimes violent market for dyes developed around the young Empire, culminating in a series of conflicts known as The Dye Wars.Modern Legacy
Of course, an empire of such collossal scale as this has left a substantial mark on dozens of Modern cultures, even through the The Deluge and nearly four thousand intervening years.The Yasnan Calendar
The arrival of the Kelpeater Dominion would mark the transition from Materia's "Dawn Era" to "The Early Era" or "The First Age of Man" (often shortened to simply "The First Age". Their arrival is therefore designated I.M. 0 (zero years Intra-Merantha) on the Yasnan Calendar.
Kelpeater Genes
Modern Meranthic Peoples on Waking Materia often have a tiny, vestigial, second pair of arms, for most barely more than a second pair of scapulas on their upper back. This is due to a small amount of remaining Ula'thau'la genetics on the plane. Though easily hidden, they are a fool-proof way to identify a native of Materia as the Kelpeaters never spread this far outward into the Silurian Eighth.Remaining Infrastructure
Nearly all of the Empire, which spanned much of central Materia, was destroyed by the The Deluge, however some of its outermost peripheries remain. Intact Dominion ruins are intensely sought-after due to their technological advancement and overall historical importance. Any towns or cities with visible Empyreal lineage tend to host thriving industries centred around archaeology or treasure hunting.
The Shadowvein Portals
Perhaps the most precious of these discoveries are the shadowvein portals: permanized magical pathways through the Duskscape that make use of its anomalous properties to travel the distance rapidly, turning months-long journeys into a matter of days. Historians agree they were controlled by the Colonial Gods, however there is disagreement on whether the Lichlords created them or discovered them. An unknown number of these portals remain. Several are rumoured to be guarded by the Dragon Knights of Tallarax; what little writing remains of their activities suggest they guard the shadowvein portals so that no one, not even themselves, may use them. At least one portal remains in the possession of a surviving Lichlord, the God-Sultan of Furia, Lakodalmas; if the Dragon Knights seek to liberate the gates from his clutch they have been so far unsuccessful. Though she herself cannot traverse the Duskscape as Material Gods are banned from doing so, Asphodel's cults were thought to have wrested control of one or more shadowveins from the Colonial Gods during the chaos of the The Great Fractionation. They are rumoured to still control at least one, likely hidden in an ancient Asphodelite holdout like Skandavat or Kintyria-Mors. As with Lakodalmas, it is unknown how the cults have kept the portals away from the Dragon Knights.
Profile: A Kelpeater ishka'ri warrior with their vestigial arms grown to full size.
Illus. Chase Conley
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