Empire of Andvar

The Empire of Andvar is the dominant nation on the continent of Arvinder, taking up most of the southeastern region. It is ruled by a noble aristocracy, which is headed by the imperial monarchy. Andvar is the homeland of the Holy Communion, a religion that worships the angels of Luminium. It is divided into eight main duchies, one of which is ruled by the royal House Vardyn, who are descended from the legendary hero and Saint, Kryxus.

## Government

### The Emperor

The Emperor is the highest authority in all of Andvar, and all lands within the Empire belong to him. He holds absolute power, and is able to create and abolish laws, and is responsible for upholding them. It is the Emperor's duty to maintain peace and justice within the realm, and his administration is in charge of managing taxes, diplomacy, and other national affairs.

The Emperor is typically referred to as His Imperial Majesty, or whilst being spoken to directly, as your Imperial Majesty, or simply your Majesty.

The position of Emperor is traditionally passed on to the Emperor's eldest son, though he may appoint a different heir at his discretion. All forms of inheritance are conducted in this same, patrilineal manner.

#### The Imperial Council

The Emperor is advised by the Imperial Council, which includes the Lord Financier, the Warmaster, the Lawmaster, the Imperial Spymaster, Grand Magus, and the Emperor's Hand.

### The Noble Houses

Due to the vast size of the Empire, the Emperor is incapable of ruling all his lands. As such, the Empire employs a system derived from the ancient feudal customs of the old nations that it is composed of. Within Andvar, there exists a noble elite responsible for the governance of the lands of the Empire. The noble families, or houses, that compose this group can be divided into two main categories: lordly houses and knightly houses.

Lordly houses are gifted with the power to pass judgement over crimes and settle disputes within their lands, which knightly houses are not allowed to do. They possess what is known as the right of pit and gallows, which affords them the privilege to imprison or execute criminals. The leeway they had in their judgments is considerably reduced from days of old, as the watchful gaze of the Holy Inquisition often casts its eye upon them to ensure they are following the standard laws and punishments set down by Imperial legislation.

Both lordly and knightly houses are responsible for ensuring that taxes are collected from their subjects, and in days of old, were capable of raising armies of their own. However, the nobles of the present day have these powers far more limited, only being allowed to raise their own personal guards, whilst men who would be feudal levies for them in the past are sent to join the Imperial Army.

Within the lordly houses, three distinctions of rank can be made. Lordly nobles may be dukes, counts, or barons.

## Religion

Main Article: Faith of the Holy Communion

The Andvari's predominant faith is the Faith of the Holy Communion, which teaches practitioners to revere a pantheon of angels, who they believe were created by the one true God, the Maker. Angels are given prayer, but are not worshiped, with Communion doctrine stating that the Maker is the only true deity, with the angels being the instruments who he left to guide his followers since withdrew from the world. The angels are opposed by the devils, who scheme to corrupt men to wickedness, and the demons, who are chaos incarnate and wish to bring about the destruction of all that is good. Furthermore, the gods of other religions are viewed as disguised devils or demons, paganistic falsehoods or falsely elevated saints. Saints are not prayed to, and are merely venerated or on rare occasions, invoked.

The Communion is also responsible for the creation of knights, who swear holy vows to defend their liege lords, the faith, and the innocent. Any knight is capable of dubbing another man a knight, though typically it is granted through lavish ceremonies, where the knight is anointed with the seven holy oils, and charged by a priest to uphold the Seven Holy Virtues, each of which are embodied by an Archangel.

## Society

The Andvari are a patrilineal society, with sons always taking precedence over daughters in most matters of inheritance and responsibility. The class divide runs deep, with nobles living apart from commoners, with most of the general population recognizing highborn superiority and accepting it as fact, with commoners being made to treat their overlords with respect and deference that is not necessarily always deserved. Typically, peasant children are taught the craft of their parents, whilst highborn children receive educations in reading, writing, history, courtesy, and mathematics, with boys being trained in combat and tactics, whilst girls are trained in acceptable womanly skills such as singing and needlework.

Generally speaking, Andvari have a great respect for chivalry and honor, especially when related to combat, are somewhat disdainful of intellectual thought, and generally suspicious of magic practitioners. Tourneys are popular amongst both nobles and commoners, either for the sport of competing in them or the distraction from their work.

## Economy

The Andvari use a system of coinage for their currency, which goes as follows, smallest to largest: Shills which have the head of the Emperor during the time they were minted on one side and a hammer on the other, Copper bolts (arrow, worth 10 shills), Silver stars (seven pointed star, 10 bolts), and golden crowns (crown, ten stars).

Andvari trade in a variety of commodities, possessing an abundance of natural resources such as wood, stone, and precious metals, with their southern regions providing plenty of fertile farmland. Most labor is obtained from peasants, who are required to give a certain amount of what they harvest to their lords, while the rest they can sell or keep for themselves. Slavery is completely illegal, and no labor is obtained from it, despite the similarities serfdom shares with it.

## Geography

The nation of Andvar takes up the majority of the southeastern portion of the continent of Arvinder. It is bordered to the west by the countries of Dunbrach, Arrateo, and Vortierre, and to the north by Rhatnheim, with its borders ending at the Mountains of Rhatnheim. To its south is the Summer Sea, across which lie the deserts of Otrag-Vakh. Andvar has a range of temperatures and climates, ranging from the snowy fields and forests of Elderbrand to the dry, warm climate of Felcaster.

### Orbany

Main Article: Orbany

Orbany is a region bordered by the Dragonridge Mountains to the west and the Maker's Fingers to the northeast, ruled by House Von Erring of Hiegendorf. Its center is made up of a lush and beautiful vale, filled with rich green fields and forests. Dotted throughout the mountains are a number of valleys, some rich, some stony. The vale has two main rivers flowing through it, which split off into several tributaries which keep it well watered. It is bordered to the north by Elderbrand, the northwest by Wilden ,southwest by the crownlands, and southeast by Stormhold.

### Wilden

Main Article: Wilden

Wilden takes up the northwestern portion of the Empire, and is bordered to the northeast by Elderbrand, the east by Orbany, the southeast by the crownlands, the south by Racshire, northwest by Dunbrach, and southwest by Vortierre. Most of Wilden's landscape is dominated by the vast arboreal forest called the Elderwood, which is filled with a large number of animals and ancient trees which provide the locals with vast quantities of animal products and timber.