The Old Western Empire

== Background ==
The Old Western Empire was a powerful multicultural nation present in the folktales and founding myths of many cultures on the western continent. It is unclear how long it stood for, but ruins dot its former territory and its effect on the development of the west was evidently profound. The collapse of the Old Western Empire coincides with a period of turmoil and migration, and the foundation of many contemporary cultures can be traced back to this time.
== Geography ==
The Old Western Empire's heartland lay on the west coast of the Sea of Hope, and the most ancient ruins come from this area. During this time, the western coastline of the Sea of Hope appears to have been much more densely populated than today, and some have suggested that the underground irrigation networks used by the Azir in Calai sustained these large populations. The empire would eventually grow to encompass the entire coastline of the Sea of Hope, forming the economic heart of the nation.
Ruins from the empire and ancient folk histories suggest that the cultures that inhabited the Big River floodplains all the way to the Old Coast were also part of the Old Western Empire. The empire appears to have also had at least some port colonies along the old coast as far as the Norhwestern and Southwestern peninsulas, and evidence exists that they may have exerted control even hundreds of kilometres inland as well.
Overall, the Old Western Empire encompasses much of the Western and Central Savannahs, bridging the highlands along the Big River. The borders roughly align with the continents denser forests and steppes, where aggressive tribes and nomads—respectively—likely halted imperial expansion
== Politics ==
Little is known of their politics, although some of Calai's political traditions may stem from the Old Western Empire.
== Interactions with Contemporary Cultures ==
Most of what is known from the Old Western Empire is through their interactions with contemporary cultures. Tribal groups ranging from Othenia to Gwanoi have legends about a powerful nation. Contemporary storytellers from Irinoslwen tell tales the tales of Old Gods of Stone from around the era in which the Old Western Empire has existed. The ancient tribes of the West Continent have large disparity im their impressions of the empire in question. The tribes of ancient Othenia and Irinoslwen appear to have had a very antagonistic relationship with the empire, and some historians suggest this is because the Nolstell River was a prime target of imperial expansion. The imperialist attitudes of the Old Western Empire is thought to have caused the sundering of numerous cultures along the great Nolstell river. On the other hand, the Sahnavey of Gwanoi tell tales of prosperous trade with the empire that came to an abrupt end in a period known as "The Great Strife".
The Calai directly descend from five ethnic groups closest to the capital of the Old Western Empire, taking their own name after the word for west in the empire's mostly extinct langauge, Calai. They worship the Great Uniter, who they believe to be founder of the empire. However Calain historians do not know the true extent of the empire, before reunification believing it to have been solely confined to modern Calai's borders.