Orronian Dynasty
The Orronian Dynasty doesn’t conquer anymore; it regulates. Once an empire forged through steel and spellcraft, it now expands by contract, patent, and politely worded economic coercion. The swords are still sharp, of course, they’re just buried under three layers of paperwork and a suspiciously long waiting period.
At its nominal head sits Emperor Theodore II Orron, a man whose signature carries divine authority. Day-to-day rule is handled by provincial governors drawn from the Orronian Institute of Sciences—graduates trained in governance, public service, and the ancient art of pretending to be loyal servants of the system.
The Dynasty owes its continued relevance not to tradition or might, but to a rather unglamorous fact: it feeds the dwarves. The Bulgorid Holdfast, in all its technological brilliance, has about as much arable land as a stone countertop. In exchange for grain, fruit, and other edible substances, the Holdfast supplies the Dynasty with weapons, arcane innovations, and terrifyingly efficient accounting machines. It's a tidy symbiosis—order and advancement in exchange for not starving to death.
This trade has allowed the Dynasty to present itself as the pinnacle of civilized society. It has paved roads, flowing aqueducts, skies filled with airships, and a national anthem that lasts nine minutes and requires at least one backup choir.
To its citizens, Orronia is the model of stability. To its neighbors, it's a well-dressed meddler with delusions of grandeur. And to its enemies—well, they usually lose interest after the third tariff adjustment.
Still, for all its creaking institutions, the Orronian Dynasty endures.
At its nominal head sits Emperor Theodore II Orron, a man whose signature carries divine authority. Day-to-day rule is handled by provincial governors drawn from the Orronian Institute of Sciences—graduates trained in governance, public service, and the ancient art of pretending to be loyal servants of the system.
The Dynasty owes its continued relevance not to tradition or might, but to a rather unglamorous fact: it feeds the dwarves. The Bulgorid Holdfast, in all its technological brilliance, has about as much arable land as a stone countertop. In exchange for grain, fruit, and other edible substances, the Holdfast supplies the Dynasty with weapons, arcane innovations, and terrifyingly efficient accounting machines. It's a tidy symbiosis—order and advancement in exchange for not starving to death.
This trade has allowed the Dynasty to present itself as the pinnacle of civilized society. It has paved roads, flowing aqueducts, skies filled with airships, and a national anthem that lasts nine minutes and requires at least one backup choir.
To its citizens, Orronia is the model of stability. To its neighbors, it's a well-dressed meddler with delusions of grandeur. And to its enemies—well, they usually lose interest after the third tariff adjustment.
Still, for all its creaking institutions, the Orronian Dynasty endures.
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