First Selkie Empire

The first Selkie Empire, or the original Empire of All Seas, was a brief but expansive empire that dominated Western Samvara during the late 200s ME. Founded by the druid Ahavu Jikitha, a princeling from the Kingdom of Marsham who seized control of the Khilaian Isles in 275 ME, the empire truly flourished under the leadership of the brilliant commander Kova the Conqueror between 281 ME and 305 ME.    While Ahavu had been a servant of the monarchs of Marsham and had weaponized the selkie federation to participate in the War of the Five Deserts, Kova conquered for the glory of selkie-kind. She conquered Marsham, the Kingdom of Empria, the Kingdom of Maruva, and the Empire of Shenerem. The empire tightly controlled the coasts but left much of the territory under the control of satraps - rulers who obeyed local custom and law, but were part of Kova's clan.        When Kova died between 302 and 305 ME, the empire fell into chaos. The Khilaian council split the empire into administrative regions governed by members of Kova's clan, each with one of her children as a ceremonial heir. This did not last long. Shenerem rebelled and gained independence first in 306 ME - there, the Voshiva tribe conquered the Shenek heartlands and overthrew the local satrap, a respected semi-Pratasa druid. Not long after one of Kova's companions, a commander named Tasaha, murdered the regent and child-heir of selkie Maruva. The ruler in Pritinam fell under siege by a Kima City coalition, which slowly chipped away at the selkie interior there. The general in command of Empria, Ruanaki Salanahi, allowed local partisans to murder Kova's husband and local heir to better set himself up as a sovereign monarch. Ruanaki built a sizable kingdom for several decades, but this state collapsed during its first succession crisis after his death in 339 ME. In Terminar, the selkie commanders fought each other and divided the region into microstates. The sacred isles themselves ousted Kova's clan in 400 ME. Marsham would remain under selkie dominion until a series of palace coups in 438 ME. Arashoka was directly governed by Kova's clan until 450 ME, when they fell to a palace coup. Marsham's colonies would remain direct selkie holdings that flew the banner of the selkie empire until 500 ME, each led by a member of the line of Kova - but these dynastic threads faded quickly over time. Without power over the sacred isles or major kingdoms, the clan simply lacked the power to compete with major sedentary realms.    The First Selkie Empire is mostly a historical footnote long since forgotten by most normal people. The Second Selkie Empire, built by Milen the Conqueror, was inspired by this historical moment.    This is a history stub