The Rakastani Imperium

The island now known as the Rakastani Imperium
first became home to the Rakasta in 237 SR when the catfolk arrived from
another material plane. Refugees fleeing from ancient slave-masters whose
identities have been lost to time; they were pursued by a clan of Rakshasa
slave hunters sent to bring them back. They lived there in peace for over a
century before their hunters finally found them. The Rakasta expected to be
returned to their former masters, but to their surprise, the Rakshasa hunters
had other plans.

Rather
than returning the escaped slaves to their masters, the hunters chose to
enslave the catfolk themselves, becoming the new rulers of their island home.
Their leader set himself up as the first emperor of the Rakasta, and the
immortal fiend reigned for over six hundred years before a slave named Cho
Calish led a revolt that killed the Rakshasa emperor's sons and sent him
fleeing to the lower planes.

In
the aftermath, the suken priesthood cast a mist around the island to obscure it
from their former masters and prevent their return, though a cult of Rakshasa
loyalists remained secreted on the island. All travel and exploration beyond
the Rakastani mists and surrounding seas was forbidden. The samurai took control
of the island and a navy was formed to further dissuade visitors.

Eventually,
the Rakastani navy ran afoul of the Firbolgs, causing a series of skirmishes
that eventually resulted in a treaty of peace between the Firbolgs, Searians,
Kæri, and Rakasta. The peace lasted for centuries, though the vast majority of
the Rakasta remained secluded on their island. The peace ended with the reappearance
of the dragons in 2279 SR, when the near destruction of the Rakasta and looting
of their cities resulted in their apparent disappearance as the mist
surrounding the island grew thicker, spreading farther from the islands shores.

The
catfolk disappeared into legend for nearly 400 years until they finally reemerged...
this time as conquerers once again in service to their Rakshasa masters. The
Rakastani Imperium was reborn, the mists cleared, and the War of Sword and Claw
was initiated as the catfolk attempted to move south onto the continent of
Ceilar. They were pushed back, but the Imperium remains as a threat to the
northern lands of Seawn.

The
animosity of the Rakshasa towards Seawn was elevated during the Third Incursion
of Kaos, when a revolt in the city of Mizu led by Cho Sokai, descendant of the
leader of the first slave rebellion. The Rakshasa shogun of Mizu was returned
to Baator, and as a result, a score of Rakasta ships escaped to the mainland
where they were accepted as refugees by the Searian Grand Duke, eventually
settling along the easern shore and forming the nation of Cho, actions for this
the Rakshasa have never forgiven the humans to their south.

The island of the Imperium consists of
an inland desert surrounded by rainforests and, to the south, tropical mountains.
It is ruled by the Rakshasa emperor and his sons reborn from the depths of
Baator, his fiendish shogunate. The suken priests and dervi monks of loyalist
Rakasta help to keep the slaves in line, however over the last centuries, since
the revolt in Mizu, the grip of the Rakshasa has become tighter as they have
had to quell one attempted revolution after another.