The Empire of Evadrin

Introduction   The Empire of Evadrin is one of the oldest and most powerful nations in known Ehldaron. It has existed at least since the beginning of the fourth era, although some historians claim that Evadrin is even older and that its origins have can be traced back to third era. Should that be true, then that would make the Empire one of the very rare nations that survived the the “Tearing of the World” that ended the third era.   On “The Tear” continent Evadrin is the nation with the most population, lands, and soldiers, and that has been the case for as long as anyone can remember. It has always worked hard to maintain that position, and in its long history Evadrin has waged many wars against its neighbours: The Theocracy of Dorothel, The Kingdom of Orthond, and Ellorwis, The Realm of Chains. While certainly not all wars they waged ended in a victory for Evadrin, they won more than enough of them to maintain their dominant position. The only nation that Evadrin was never able to beat in a battle was the mysterious Dominion of Thone. It is important to note however that there was never a war between the 2 nations, most battles were merely skirmishes that never grew into something bigger.   The capital of Evadrin is the massive city of Wyminster, and the Emperor rules from the newly built “Laventhorpe Palace”, one of the biggest and most magnificent palaces ever built, and a gift from the Grand Cleric of Dorothel for the alliance between the 2 nations.     Government and culture   Because of Evadrin’s giant army and their skills in warfare it is very easy to assume they are a very brutish nation that simply wants to crush their opponents using these massive armies. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Evadrin has indeed an enormous military that they are not afraid to use, but it is also a nation that relies heavily on politics, both internally and externally.   As an Empire Evadrin has 1 supreme ruler, the Emperor or the Empress. This will always be a member of the Lancaster family. They are harsh and stern rulers, groomed to lead from the moment they are born. None in the empire have ever dared to challenge them for the throne. Beneath the Lancasters are many complex layers of nobles and politicians all trying to gain as much influence as possible. They work together should the need arise, and will stab each other in the back if they deem that the more lucrative option. It is a dangerous and deadly game for everyone that plays it, where the goal is to gain as much power and influence as possible. This system sounds and is indeed very much aimed towards self-interest. However, one cannot put their own interest before the interests of the Empire, and take any action that would weaken its position. Doing so would mean a fate worse than death: years upon years of horrendous torture in one of the many dark dungeons in the Empire. Towards other nations Evadrin behaves in a similar way, they make many alliances, deals and treaties with most other nations, but they are not afraid to abuse their dominant position so that these end up in their favour.   This life of politics is not simply reserved for the ruling class, as all citizens of the Empire are taught how important the political game is. It is seen as a way to rise in stature. The more contacts and influence one gains the higher up the social ladder one can climb. This works both ways however, as even the richest noble can lose his status or end up dead in the gutter should he not be careful.     Magic in the Empire   Magic is another important subject in Evadrin. It is considered powerful, but dangerous. A useful tool, but one that has to be wielded properly. Anyone with magical abilities is required to report that to the authorities, and then they will decide what happens with these people. Often this results in being sent to the army, a local militia where they have to help protect a town or city, or ships that they have to help travel and defend. Should training be necessary, a position will be searched where the magic user can be taught to properly wield that magic. To most citizens of Evadrin this isn’t a strange thing, as the majority of them have to join the army or militia at some point as conscripts. Magic users, just like normal soldiers, will be able to leave their position and start their own life once they have served sufficient time. Additionally, because of this tight grip on magic, all mage towers in Evadrin are in control of the Empire itself. One is free to join these towers, but doing so means that during your stay, and for a period afterwards, you are required to use your skills to serve The Empire.     Religion in the Empire   Religion plays a relatively important part in Evadrin. Many good and neutral aligned deities are worshipped, the most notable ones being Icreas, the God of War; Lox, the God of Order; and Celios, the God of the summer and light. Temples can be found in most cities, and priests and clerics are commonly present. Despite this the power and influence of the clergy in the Empire is very limited, purposely kept that way by the most influential nobles, politicians, and even the emperor himself. This is not a recent development, as the ruling class of Evadrin has always been of the opinion that religion, just like magic, should serve the nation, not the other way around.     Alliance with Dorothel   Dorothel has always been the greatest opponent of Evadrin. The 2 nations fought many wars against each other, and signed many treaties and deals. The last century has not seen any aggression between the 2, although both nations were trying to outperform each other culturally and economically, creating enormous cities and wonders. This changed a generation ago, when Ellorwis launched a brutal assault against its neighbouring nations, which included Evadrin and Dorothel. The former enemies decided to work together against their common enemy, and Ellorwis was pushed back. At this point Evadrin and Dorothel realised how powerful the 2 of them were if they worked together, and shortly after they formed an alliance to become the indisputable greatest power on “The Tear”. Ever since the alliance of Evadrin and Dorothel the Emperor of Evadrin allegedly rules both nations, whereas the Grand Cleric of Dorothel rules the clergy. In practice however, very little has changed, as Evadrin considers Religion submissive to the nation, and Dorothel considers religion far more important. Both leaders are somewhat frustrated by this, but neither wants to risk this fragile unification by acting upon any intrusions that may happen. Not to mention that while the power each leader has over the other’s nation may be small, it is certainly not insignificant. The alliance makes Evadrin and Dorothel by far the most powerful nations on the continent, allowing them to do as they please. This is not something either is prepared to give up. Most, if not all, other nations on the continent would of course love to see the alliance crumble into dust.     Granting Independence to the Lothlorin Region   Settled about 2 centuries ago, Lothlorin Island was originally meant as a new province of the Empire that, like every region, was under direct control of the Emperor. The Astleys were supposed to handle local governing, but report everything of note to the Emperor and execute his or her command. However, since the Lothlorin Region was a big island off the Empire’s mainland coast, it was always more separated from the Empire than the other provinces. Initially there was a lot of support from the mainland to help settle the island, but over time that support faded more and more as other matters demanded more attention. Despite the lessened support the Lothlorin region still had to send most of their gold and resources to the mainland and over time resistance in the region against the Empire grew.   This discontent on the island lead to Barnaby Astley, grandfather of the current ruler; Wynne Astley, to start negotiations with the Empire for Lothlorin independence in the year 450 of the Fifth Age. Initially the Empire gave little notice to these demands, but it quickly became clear that the Astleys had somehow convinced both public opinion and many in the ruling class to side with them, against the empire. Pressure on the Empire grew more and more, and after more than a decade of negotiations; in the year 461 of the Fifth Age, partial independence was granted to Lothlorin.   Lothlorin would become a principality, free to make their own decisions and rule themselves, but everything they did had to be reported to the Emperor, and reasonable amount of gold and resources still had to flow back to the Empire, albeit in the form of trade routes rather than tribute. While this was not what the Lothloriners had dreamt of, it was still a great victory, as nobody expected the empire to ever willingly give up land. Granting independence to Lothlorin was the greatest loss of land and people the Empire had seen in its entire known history, something many within the Empire are still unhappy about.   For now Evadrin and Lothlorin stay public allies, but scheming is still happening in both nations. The Empire wants to pressure Lothlorin enough so that it becomes once again part of the Empire, the Principality wants to show the world that they are a proper sovereign nation that does not need, or want, a giant nation looming over them.     Ellorwis and Orthond   The relationship with the Kingdom of Orthond and The Empire of Evadrin has always been a difficult one. Orthond is the only nation that is able to rival Evadrin on land it controls, and both nations have very different ideas and cultures. The Empire considers the Kingdom to be primitive, uneducated, and unrefined, whereas the Kingdom considers the Empire to be controlling, opportunistic, and untrustworthy. There has been no aggression between both nations since the Dismal march, but there is still a lot of tension between them.   Ellorwis, The Realm of Chains is one of the biggest threats to Evadrin, if not the entire continent. Ruled by extremely wealthy slavers that are rumoured to be practicing blood magic, Evadrin has always wanted to completely destroy Ellorwis. It has not proven easy however, and many clashes between the 2 nations have ended in a draw. Despite the military prowess of The Empire, Ellorwis is not afraid to use horrifying tactics and dangerous magic to defend themselves. A few centuries ago The Realm of Chains somehow managed to get their hands on a few dragons and was even able to tame them. There were at least 4 dragons that were known to exist, although it is believed there are a few more children as well. The dragons gave Ellorwis a massive advantage, and for a while it was able to take over a significant portion of territory of the Empire. However, thanks to a sneak attack from a general in the Imperial army, the dragons were pulled back to the homeland. The general and his entire army were decimated, but it allowed the Empire to take back the land that was lost. Territory has been gained and lost time and again in wars that followed. A generation ago, In the year 456 of the Fifth Age, Ellorwis launched another massive assault attacking both Evadrin and Dorothel. This time however both nations decided to work together to repel the invaders. The battles were long and difficult, but by working together the Evadrin-Dorothel alliance managed to kill one of the dragons, and severely wound another one. This surprised Ellorwis, and fearing that more dragons would be killed they were once again recalled to the homeland, allowing the combined forces of Evadrin and Dorothel to clean up the remaining army. Ever since Ellorwis has stayed quiet, but many fear another attack. Most people within both Dorothel and the Empire hope that sooner rather than later an attack is launched to kill the dragons and destroy the Realm of Chains. However, neither the Grand Cleric or the Emperor seem interested in fighting the dragons on their home turf. Instead, they keep a constant watch for danger.     The Elves and the Dominion of Thone   A few Skirmishes and small battles against both the elves and the dominion have taken place, but the territory of both nations is too far away for the Empire to start a full on war for it. Most of the battles that occurred were either simple mistakes that resulted from confusion on both sides or, and far more seriously, attempts of the Empire to show of their military prowess as an intimidation tactic, something that has failed horribly in both cases.   These attacks are why the elves are extremely untrustworthy towards the empire. Because of their long lives many of them actually remember a few battles that happened, and it is not something they will ever forgive. The Empire mirrors that distrust, as the Homeland of the elves is one of the few places on the Continent they have no influence whatsoever. Interestingly enough, the Empire distrusts, if not hates, the Dominion of Thone for the same reasons. It knows nothing about what is going on in that region, nor is it able to get any kind of influence on the leaders there. Unlike the situation with the elves, it is completely unclear what exactly Thone’s sentiment about the Empire is. This is something which makes the situation even worse than the one with the elves.