The Golden Age

The Golden Age was a time of great prosperity and glory. With the darkness of The Age of Blood behind them, people began to thrive and live again. Soldiers returned home, mothers embraced sons, and there was an unprecedented population boom. Emperor Sylra married a human woman who became Empress Alexandra Vereth. Sylra was visited by Odeus himself one night, Odeus spoke saying: “Sylra my child, my son of sons, you have united our peoples by virtue of your unique position between worlds. Son of Elf and Man, it is your divine right to unite all folk, and keep them safe. But beware son, do not fall victim to the vices of men. But also beware the workings of the Low Gods to taint the High Elves. Decadence, privilege, they breed beauty with a sickened core. Beware my son, and go well.” Moved by this, he swore to maintain his empire for the good of all people. And on this oath Odeus bestowed upon Sylra his staff as a symbol of his right to rule. Ordained by the Father of the Gods himself. When Sylra showed the Gold Council, they bowed in reverence. Thus the staff became the symbol of the royalty. The holder of the staff held the throne. For 105 years Sylra ruled the Aerean Empire,  and in his rule he worked to stabilize the world through his empire. Unity was his first concern, and he reached his goal through years of meetings and talks with folk of many different cultures and creeds. He also created unity by hunting whatever forces Moraphan left behind. The next Vereth Dynasty members were Elluin, Aeson, Calen, Elyssandra, Lindir, and Voronwe. Elluin kept her father’s legacy intact by commissioning many statues made after his death. She also worked to uphold the legal and cultural cornerstones of the Empire. Aeson was a warrior. He reformed the military which had stayed mostly the same since his grandfather’s reign. Under Aeson the Empire thrived and was safe, Aeson even sent expeditions to the far corners of the world to search for new lands. No attempts were successful as far as they knew. But nonetheless Aeson’s reign was heralded as some of the Empire’s greatest years. Calen was a weaker Emperor than his father. He participated and saw to the corruption of the Empire. Soon the council and politicians saw to the dissolving of many freedoms citizens once enjoyed. The income and class disparity increased exponentially as landed lords and ladys were given more and more control. Calen was out of touch and greedy, but his daughter Elyssandra was next in line and she hated the Empire her father had made. Elyssandra became Empress of Aera after her father’s death and quickly went to work dismantling the systems of corruption her father had built. She was popular amongst the people for this, but the council members and politicians despised her. She ruled the longest of all the Vereths, leaving behind a legacy of great stewardship and a fair but righteous brand of rulership. Lindir was next in line. He followed his mother’s footsteps best he could, but in a skirmish with a Hobgoblin militia in Alea he caught an arrow in his heart and perished on the battlefield. Voronwe’s rule was short and sad. Ruling for only nine years before the Medz Rebellion, and his death. A provisional government was put in place as the Gold Council tried to hold the Empire together. The rebellion was crushed but the damage had been done, with no other heirs the Staff of Odeus was passed to the first emperor not of the Vereth Dynasty. In 5157 BGC the Elves split from the Empire, seeing the Golden Council as incompetent. Tol Ador and it’s colonies became independent. Next split Alea, seeing themselves as culturally and ideologically different from the Empire and were given independence in 5130. The Emperors who followed varied in quality, but the pure power of the Empire’s economic superiority kept it afloat. One Emperor sought to conquer the Asterus Isles. War was declared on the Minotaurs in 5000. The Minotaurs of the island fought back hard and the war was over within 5 years, the Empire signed a treaty with the Minotaurs, giving them favorable trading deals and freedom from tariffs. The final two-thousand years of the Golden Age was filled with small conflicts, kings coming and going. And the end of the age was marked by Sarasarada leaving the Empire in 4021 BGC.