Empire of Ravenia

The Empire of Ravenia is one of the oldest human nations and propably the strongest. It is home to several millions of humans and hundrets of thousands of dark elves. The city of Ravensburg itself is home to around 2 million, with that, being the greatest city in the world.
==History==
===Tribal times===
Most of the ground now controlled by Ravenia was ruled by the human tribes of ancient times. It is believed that, just like now, Ravenia was home to the largest population of humans in the world, some would even say that it was the birth place of mankind in general. Tho these claims are a bit too bold to be true, there are signs of the existance of the so called Bannate of Bovorsland (now part of the Grand Duchy of Bovorsland and Harttal). This claim is even given more ground thanks to preserved High Elf books about the Southern Expansion. As it seems, the Bannate broke apart before they actually fully conquered it. In the end, as all of the world knows, the High Elves brought down all tribes and small nations the humans of these times built (note: only little evidence is given to the existance of other nations in Ravenia, but there were many tribal based civilizations)
===Elven rule and rebellion===
High Elves soon enslaved the humans of Ravenia as they did to nearly the whole Old World. Tho, the met a problem. The human native population was growing faster and faster. The elven settlers there were so or so in lesser numbers. The High Elves decided to start conscripting humans into the army, which soon showed as a grave mistake. With rebellions rising, the High Elves began walking the road to their doom. Under Commander Arald Kessler, a human soldier and vivid leader, the humans of Ravenia rose up. The High Elves were beaten back, but the Commander lost his life. Under his son, Hasso, Ravenia became a kingdom and soon started their march to victory against the center of the High Elven Empire, the Plains of Eldor, in the western part of Altwalt.
===Coalition against the Empire===
With the western flank secured thanks to uprisings there, King Hasso marched to Altwalt, joined by the Dark Elves and King Harold of Southern Altwalt. The campaign was bloody, but ended in victory. The suriving High Elves were killed. Dark Elven units found a liking in this and form special units to hunt all High Elves (which would later lead to the Scatr`vonor). With the final victory and the death of King Harold, King Hasso anexes Altwalt and declares the Empire of Ravenia, as the only heir to Harold was female, she was given to the second emperor, Karl, who claim his father`s throne just a few months after the victory, as Hasso died of illness. It was this time that the humans began the counting of their callendar.
===Modern times===
The Empire of Ravenia is regarded as the largest empire in existance, and the most developed. Thanks to the liberal stance on non-humans, the afirmation and preservation of what little magic is left in the world and the simple fact that it has, thus far, never lost a war, made the empire what it is today.
==Social sturcture==
The Empire has a regular feudal social sturcture, with non-humans having equal rights as humans. All tho the common man has no saying in the government, save of the regional one, the enlightened absolutism gives many rights to the commoners. Even tho lords and knights have more, they are punished for crimes against their servants, in most cases. Unlike other nations, mages have a good possition in society, being gifted several magic schools. 
==Royal Military Forces==
The Army of Ravenia is the mightiest in the world. A disciplined and ruthless force, ever vicotrious, they are feared amongst all. Ravenia has the biggest number of Knightly Houses known to man. Millitary commanders, mostly high borns, are well educated in tactics and strategies. Beside the well disciplined army, Ravenia possesses a quite potent navy, no as powerful as the army, but never the less, a force to be reckoned with. With hundrets of thousands of soldiers, hundrets of ships and a wide arange of weapons and armor, the Royal Military Forces of Ravenia have become the main military arm of humanity, aiding with their Death Korps allied nations in times of trubble.
==Known noble and knightly houses==
The wast empire contains several greater and lesser noble houses, propably more than any other nation, as well as many knightly houses, tho falling on second place behind Valeris, which is by some the birthplace of chivalery. This is a list of several houses of Ravenia:
===House Krieger===
The Royal Imperial House of Krieger, formed by King Hasso has ruled from the first year to this day. It is propably the biggest reason of the success of the empire. The members of the house are quite intelligent, reasonable, yet at times extremly brutal. Beside giving Ravenia emperors, they also had many knights, millitary leaders and formed powerful alliances by marriage. Their sigil is the imperial eagle. The house holds the Principality of Hedonia, the Principality of Sudstarnd in the southernlands and several lesser keeps or holds issued to other family members, as well as holdings of thier cadet branche.
===House Krieger-Harner===
The House of Krieger-Harner was formed around the 1st century of the human callendar. It was formed by marriage between House Krieger and the Hoebreh house of Harner. House Harner was loyal to the old crown of Hoebreh, yet, the bastard brother of Lord Jorhan, Peter Harner, who was legitimised by their father long before the war, decided to turn on his family. He gave himself at the service to the Empire, who recognised him as the rightful lord, murdered the rest of the house and gave a thirdborn of the Emperor to wed his daughter, thus giving birth to the house of Krieger-Harner, which is seen as a cadet branche of house Krieger itself. After the conquest of Kessex and rooting out of most of its families, the house of Krieger-Harner, as it`s holdings were in the north of Hoebreh, right next to Kessex was given half of that, now dead, kingdom. Today they rule over the Archduchy of Ketlen and are seated in the city of Narvhold, which holds one of the larger mage schools in the empire. Thier sigil is half of the old house of Harner and a mirrored half of the imperial eagle.
===House Tarbner===
The House of Tarbner is a house also spawned of House Krieger. It was formed by the bastard son of the Emperor Franc II, Janos Tarbner. Janos was close with his half brother Emperor Harys III, to who he was an advisor and general, even later given the title Marshall of the Realm. After the incursion of the Darkness on Sileria, Janos was sent as leader of the Ravenian forces to help purge the land. Tho it was only a small incursion, it had taken a great impact as it hit several villages and the capitol. Many nobles as well as the Silerian royals fell. When Janos won, Sileria became an Archduchy of the empire, with house Tarbner ruling it from that day to the end of days. The coat of arms of the house is a black eagle on a white field, in contrast to the one on house Krieger`s coat of arms.
===House Alawer===
An ancient house which once ruled over the Kingdom of (Southern) Altwald. The founding date of the house is unknown, but the oldest known ancestor, and propably their proginator, is a man known as Aegor the Stern. Alawers ruled over their kingdom all untill the death of king Harold, when his daughter, as his only heir, married the King of Ravenia, Hasso. All of Altwald became part of Ravenia, thus forging the Empire of Ravenia. As for the heirs to the house itself, the new emperess gave the castle of Greenstone, as well as the new Archduchy of Altwald to her second cousin, Ser Gendry of Kranefoot, a proven warrior and commander during the war with the elves. He was a young man, the youngest Archduke at that time. Lord Gendry was given the lady Carolina of Glewisig as his wife, as the knightly house of Glewising was on the brink of extinction, with all males dying during the war. The coat of arms of house Alawer is the old sigil of the Kingdom of Altwald inside the coat of arms of house Glewisig.
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