Encyclopaedia of Aquila: Amon

*Encyclopaedia of Aquila, volume* X

**Principate of Amon**

*"Hallowed be the land of divinities old and new."*

**Introduction**

**The Principate of Amon**, usually known simply as **Amon** and sometimes the **Amonid Empire,** is a sovereign nation located in the extreme southeast of Aquila along the northwestern coast of Apus. It is a notoriously isolationist state, largely eschewing contact with the outside world partly out of the desire to preserve their culture but also due to its extreme geographical circumstances; situated entirely within The Empty, Amon's closest neighbor is the United Provinces of Occa to the north. The distance between Apus and the rest of the charted world is often underestimated by travelers due to the gross scale distortions inherent to most modern world maps. The Principate's population is distributed among three geographical regions: the city proper where the Imperial Palace, Senate, and vast majority of citizens are located; the fortress island of Ostrakos where the Praetorian Guard make their home; and finally the remaining lands claimed by the citystate, which includes the surrounding coastline and portions of the inland desert.

**History**

Founded centuries before the fall of the Aquilan Empire, Amon is one of the world's oldest surviving polities, initially conceived of as a remote sanatorium for the Mad King's family and most trusted generals. Upon discovering that the island was already occupied by the indigenous peoples of Eukryptos, the Legion sent to conquer it established a fortress upon the nearby isle of Ostrakos, under strict advisement not to provoke the natives. Shortly thereafter, the King entered his long period of dormancy, leaving the Ostrakos legionnaires stranded. Undeterred, the contingent's ambitious legatus declared Ostrakos and the nearby coastline an autonomous colony of the Empire, setting about the establishment of a permanent settlement and beginning trade with the natives. Her name was Kore, and she used her authority as ceremonial *princeps* (a title sometimes bestowed upon particularly distinguished Imperial warlords at the time) to declare the colony an official vassal kingdom, taking the name Magnametor and claiming the title of Princess to rule Apus in the Mad King's stead. Her loyal soldiers, meanwhile, were christened as Praetorian Guards, taking their name from the King's own elite servants.

The Aquilans initially had great difficulty in communicating with the native peoples. All that could be ascertained for several months was that the name they gave their home was Eukryptos, and what the Imperials had long believed to be an unremarkable solitary island nearing the boundaries of the explored world was indeed a continent of its own - and one which had eluded even the most adept navigators for centuries longer than the previous frontiers of Aphelion. The continent was dominated by a harsh and unforgiving desert, whose fringes were abated only at the far northwestern reaches. This fertile coastline had remained a sanctuary for life and progress over the millennia as a result of the rich soil bequeathed unto it by the nearby volcano, a now-dormant monster which in ages past devastated the entire continent apart from the luscious coast, whose once-barren lands were greatly enriched by the ensuing blanket of volcanic ash. This land was the cradle of the tenacious Eukryptan civilization; they called it Amon, which translates loosely to