Empire of Asevia

As one of the oldest civilisations to be founded upon Esria, the Empire of Asevia, referred to in later texts as the Asevian Empire, was an empire that sat at the easternmost reaches of the continent of Eliya. It was formed by the humans native to the land and Vandrylian elves who had journeyed from Arcadia in search of a new home, who would eventually become the elves of Elyn Vyr.
For the majority of the period during which the Asevian Empire existed, and especially after the calamity caused by the elves who had settled within it, Asevia itself was a scorched and barren land previously thought by the rest of the world to be entirely devoid of life. 
It was the birthplace of dragonkind and the only part of Esria in which they were native to the land.
== History ==
=== Early History (102 A.E - 1079 H.E) ===
==== The Age Before ====
In the early years of the Arcane Era, Asevia was a lush and beautiful land, enriched by the grand rivers that made their way through the landscape. Upon this incredibly fertile soil, made even more so by the volcanic fields to the north of the country, the very first Asevians made their homes. 
With huge, flat expanses of little more than long arid grass, they were quick to expand into the territory they had, and by the time of the Arcane Era, they had established multiple settlements in the shadow of mountains.
The earliest Asevian society was tribal in nature and highly centred around an elective system, something that would persist for more than a thousand years. They were not without internal conflict, with fighting between tribes a primary method of establishing dominance, but for a long time they enjoyed lasting peace and prosperity.
Some time around 41 A.E, elves from the distant Arcadian shores of Elyn Vandryl began to arrive in Asevia, unable to stand the growing industrialisation of their heartlands. They were delighted to find such untouched lands, barely scarred by the local populace that was steadily growing there, and soon set about making a new home for themselves within the deep forests. Although this would take some time and effort, especially with regards to gaining the trust of the native Asevians, they would eventually come to find a deep spirit of cooperation moving forwards.
==== The Fall of Elyn Vyr ====
Before long, the Vandrylian elves living in Asevia had begun to forge a new identity for themselves. They had grown fond of the Asevian culture that they had found, and were becoming more and more influenced by it by the day. They had made their home in a city that they called Elyn Vyr, so named for the Asevian word for sun, and by 264 A.E it had become a sprawling elven settlement hidden deep within the northern woodlands and only a stone's throw from the volcanic plains.
They had chosen such a location for the almost miraculous fertility of the soil there, but slowly became fascinated by the burning mountains even further north. After sighting dragons within the smoky horizon, they no longer could suppress their curiosity regarding the potent magic that was sitting dormant there. The elves of Elyn Vyr knew that there was knowledge and power to be gained, and they were more than confident of their ability to handle both, but there was more to it than that.
Some time ago in 41 A.E, during the time that they began migrating away from the Elven Empire, they had asked the mysterious Wayseers to lend them their sight. The enigmatic monks refused politely, offering supplies and good will, but the migrating elves took it as an insult and left feeling spurned. It would be a wound to their pride that they would not soon forget.
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Their arrogance however, would prove to be their downfall. They sought to acquire the power that they had been refused, and to heal deep wounds to their pride that still lingered.
They gathered their greatest magical minds and studied for grand stretches of time, taking decades to master and unravel the secrets of magic itself. Yet still, they could not manifest the sight granted to the Wayseers, and they grew ever more frustrated with every costly failure. Manipulating and delving deep into the most powerful magic was not without great risk, of course.
they hunt and kill little drakes for the power in their blood but don't take into account who sired them
==== Vengeance of the Mountain Tyrant ====
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By the time of the Common Era, it seemed as if Asevia would never return to its former glory.
=== Late History (1080 C.E - 1416 B.E) ===
==== An Awakening ====
With the return of magic in 1381 C.E, Esria had become a world brimming with long forgotten magic and energies that had yet been undiscovered. During this time, the wizards of arcane colleges and the many mages of the world made it their goal to seek out these brand new forms of magic, aiming to both learn and understand them. Emperor Veryon of Asevia was wise to this grand change that world had undertaken, and soon ordered his very own mages to seek out secrets that might yet be their salvation against dragonkind.
Their efforts were dangerous and unprecedented, and many mages lost their lives while seeking strong sources of mana and other such arcane mysteries that lay undiscovered in the Blacklands. In the end, however, one group dared to return with unusual runic slates and carvings taken from the scorched ruins of Elyn Vyr, territory which had long since been considered to be forbidden.
Emperor Veryon was enraged upon their return, threatening execution for the arrogant fools who had dared to tread there, but was quickly subdued upon seeing their discovery. The runes and carvings that they had returned with were brimming with energy, glowing softly and pulsing with a newly returned potency. He was convinced that he had discovered the ancient magic lost within Elyn Vyr, power that would allow him the ability to see the future as the elves once did a thousand years in the past. He would not be as foolish as they had been, however, and he would use the very magic that had destroyed Asevia in order to save it.
His eldest son Sardan was gifted with magic, and he showed a natural flair for using it even from a young age. For Veryon, this made him the only choice, no matter what danger such an unknown kind of magic might pose. After having him study for countless hours, often without a break, he gave his son a small amount of dragon's blood to ingest, taken and preserved from the slaying of a large red drake, and waited patiently. But he would not have to wait long. 
Sardan was plagued with visions for a number of nights afterwards, often shaking and convulsing violently both in the night and at seemingly random points throughout the day. He was barely able to discern the images he had seen, as the experience was mentally exhausting and deeply traumatic. Every time, he grew paler, physically weaker and had difficulty sleeping even after the visions had long passed. Veryon, however, was overjoyed.
==== Retreat Into Khavos ====
After the burning of Ortyan proved that even the southern reaches of Asevia were no longer safe from the advance of the dragons in the north, the populace was forced to take shelter in obsidian fortresses across the land, the largest of which bore the name of Khavos. The cold depths of these grand structures were empty and unwelcoming, and had been long since left empty since their construction long ago. The people had hoped that they would never need to use them, but now they were prisoners from which they would not escape for decades to come.
==== Sardan, the Seer ====
As the years passed, Veryon urged Sardan to drink more and more dragon's blood, and ultimately gave his son little choice but to surrender more of himself to another grand ritual. He was rewarded with another vision, clearer than any before, but his son was rapidly beginning to lose himself. His memories began to disappear without warning, and soon he was having difficulties moving without assistance. The Emperor, however, did not care. He had glimpsed his greatest desire from across the world, and at once he knew that his efforts had not been in vain.
Sardan had spoken of a lone female dragon wrapped in silver scales, who had devoted herself to the pursuit of a new kind of temporal magic. She was working alone in the frozen lands of Eskaya, isolated and unprotected, but her work was producing powerful magical resonance that she was having a harder time hiding. It was that energy, combined with Veryon's oppressive will, that had drawn Sardan's vision. 
The Emperor wasted no time. He dispatched the very finest warriors that the Legion of Ash had to offer, many of them veterans of dragon hunts, and assigned a young but capable lieutenant named Artoun Dakjian to lead the effort. Their orders were to approach the dragon carefully, to take her alive, but not to allow her to escape. Ultimately they were successful, though not without casualties, and they escorted her to the capital in arcane chains forged specially to suppress dragons. 
Her name was Aelynvir, an argent dragon who had been working for over three-hundred years to create a mysterious orb, a powerful artifact which would be able to gaze far into the future. Until the return of magic to the world, however, she had been unable to complete it. Veryon dictated that she would be completing it from within the walls of Khavos, though he was quick to realise that her good intentions and incredible naivety could easily be taken advantage of. By exaggerating his position as the Emperor desperately trying to save his people from the terrible reign of dragons, he convinced Aelynvir to finish the mysterious orb and use it to help him. In reality, she had simply agreed to become his prisoner. 
==== The Asevian Invasion ====
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When the Asevian Invasion finally drew to a close in 1416 B.E, with the Battle of the Aldmarch Plains marking the decisive conflict in which the Empress eventually lost her life, it seemed as if the Asevian bid to finally find freedom had been dashed against foreign rocks.
==== A Silver Lining and the Beginning of Hope ====
In place of their deceased Empress, the Asevian people were addressed by Sardan. From a great distance, he had put a great toll on his body in order to witness the final days of the invasion, as the final vision he had received before his magic left him was one of hope. On the steps of the grand fortress of Khavos, he told all that the dragons that had plagued their lands would no longer do so.
Hearing of the death of Escha Artaryan may have at first been a blow for the Asevian people, but Sardan allowed all to hear why her magic had left her, and why his own gifted sight was no longer. The Mountain Tyrant had perished, and with it went the cursed, corrupted magic of Elyn Vyr. The Legion of Ash ceased to be, and dragons that had been awakened from the earth fell out of the sky without magic to keep them alive. Even the Empress' own red dragon, a smaller specimen than the Mountain Tyrant, had perished thanks to the efforts of champions overseas.
He spoke of his vision, summoning all of his strength to bring hope to his people. An argent dragon, with scales of beautiful blue silver, spines and glowing eyes like gemstones, had struck the final blow. It had fallen from the sky itself, breaking through the ashen clouds with the light of the sun, as if sent by some higher command. When all seemed truly lost, the lone dragon fearlessly challenged the Mountain Tyrant, several magnitudes larger and more ancient, and won. Sardan had imagined that the final blow was delivered with the hope of every man, woman and child in Asevia whose prayers for freedom were finally to be answered.
In the coming days, the fearsome volcanoes that covered the Blacklands began to calm themselves, though many of the burning mountains in the North remained as they always had been. The skies over Asevia began to clear, and it was not before long that the sky once again could be seen, much to the overwhelming joy of the people below. The sun, the object of their worship for centuries, finally shone once more. 
The curse that the elves of Elyn Vyr had wrought upon their lands had finally been lifted, and unknowingly, the half-dragon Theobold Cagus had completed the mission that his mother had begun in earnest.
== Geography ==
=== The Blacklands ===
Asevia was home to the Blacklands, an entire stretch of the nation ruined and blackened by dragon's fire. Obsidian was a rare material found only in the Blacklands, created by the intense heat and powerful magic of dragonfire combined with the once pure desert sands of Eliya.
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