The Valantierian Empire

## History of the Valantier

The Valantierian Empire was officially founded in 358 AFL (After Founding of Liria) after their motherland was destroyed in the Event known as the Battle of the Gods. This Empire has historically been the main power of the Cloridean Sea, controlling large swaths of land along its coast. In its thousands of years of existence it has seen its up and downs, though always despite the hardships still persisting. While the whole world crumbles around them the Eternal city of Liria ever stands and so does the Empire.

### The Colonial Age 1-358 AFL

In the Year 1 AFL the now city of Liria was but a fortress at the Relan Straight as a way to regulate trade coming through to the Cloridean Sea and a resupply stop for Valantierian ships going west. Its great natural harbor and strategic position meant from its founding that this small fortress would be important. Over the years the city slowly grew as more merchants stopped to resupply and more services would have to be provided to these Merchants.

By 234 AFL Liria was the Largest City of the Colonial cities and had earned much autonomy. The city had its own local council made up of elected officials, those appointed by the homeland, and wealthy merchants that made the city there home. This group of men were the most powerful group in the city and nominally controlled all trade going through the Straight of Relan. The natural harbor had expanded turning into a truly large port which hosted a sizable fleet to protect the cities interests. Liria was however surrounded by hostile warlike tribes that to the Lirians seemed to want nothing more than to tear down civilization. The surrounding lands tied to Liria were constantly raided by such tribes, these seemingly unstoppable hoards of Barbarians could pillage everything outside of the city walls before breaking against the formidable fortifications of the city. To defend Liria the council formed a standing army made up of citizens of the city and mercenaries to help train the army. In the Battle of Belikros Creek the Army of Liria led by Franos Telios would defeat an army of the Helithorpe Tribe, this victory proved to be the perfect opportunity for the Lirians who would now go on the offensive and would subjugate the tribe and make the colony of Maganio in there lands. This Colony would be used to have a foothold incase of a Helithorpe uprising and as an administrative region for the tribe to report to.

Over the coming years this would continue with more and more tribes, Lirians would lead an army and subjugate tribes which were a threat to them or had valuable lands or resources which would be benefitable to the growing city. Lirian migration to the country side and the daughter colonies helped assimilate the tribes into the Lirian identity. While several revolts had been waged against Liria they were all crushed by the Army. The tribes were forced to give men to the Lirian army and over time these tribes would be officially incorporated into the Lirian Colony, the relatively large manpower pool that the Lirians had at hand would prove immensely useful in the years to come.

#### Philakrates Rise to Power

With the Northern tip of the Ilian Peninsula under Lirian control the city would begin to consolidate its power and prominent families started to be more and more influential in Lirian politics. The Philakrates family stood out above all others, while originally just a merchant family they would slowly increase their wealth and power in the city. Members of the family elected to public office and then appointing there relatives to positions in the Government. This family was incredibly powerful, the most powerful in the city, but it still had competition that prevented a complete take over.

In 316 AFL under the Patriarch of the Family, Karlios Philakrates they would raise their own personal army to gain territory for the family. Karlios had raised and army with his families wealth 7,000 strong and eyed Palithon. The land was made fertile from the Nath Kall Mountains to the East was home to many tribes, these were not the wandering barbarian type but the semi civilized farming type. They lacked many of the advances of the Lirians but had exceptional bravery in battle, like all barbarians do. They could be split into 3 main groups, the Isgian in the Northern part, closet to Liria, the Telkarni in the central part, and the Wilan in the south, some of which also spread into the northern parts of the Golden Coast.

In the Palathoni wars Karlios was able to secure all of Palathon for his family and nominally for Liria. The money that he lost in rasing and maintaining an army was all quickly recuperated in the wars, making him and his family the most wealthy people in Liria. By the end of the war he was 13 years older and had an army of 15,000 men. In positions of administration he placed family members, those most loyal to him, and some local tribesmen that knew the area and the traditions. Karlios forced Liria to bring his conquests into the colony and have him made the de facto ruler of the area. The Old Valantierian Empire started to become suspicious of the Lirian colony as it seemed to be getting ideas of gradure, but with shrewd diplomatic maneuvering an intervention in the colony was prevented.

Tens of Thousands of Lirian settlers began to move into the fertile lands of Palathon, and with lands made vacant due to Karlios's war meant that they had ample room to settle and prosper. Cities would be built and forests cleared, roads built and dams constructed, this all helped turn this into a civilized land. This would not however come unopposed using their remaining the original inhabitants staged one last revolt against the Lirians. The War in Palathon would be the bloodiest yet, 10 years after originally being subjugated the Palathoni would arm themselves once more and led by Gregorius Nath the Isgian, Telkarni, and the Wilan would loot, burn, and pillage the colonies of Liria. This war would last 5 years and by its end most of the Palathoni had been killed or enslaved. Those who remained would live to see their culture destroyed, people slaughtered, and lands inhabited by strangers. Over time they would become a minority in their own land, over time however they would intermarry with the Lirians and the two would become one in the same.

### An Empire Rises

In 358 AFL the homeland of the Valantier in a mysterious event known as the Last Battle of the God was destroyed and the Colonial Empire they made crumbled with it. The Colonies all became independent and made war and treaties with each other. In Liria the powerful Philakrates took control of the city in an event known as the 5 Day War. The son of Karlios, Relthan Philakrates took over the city and with the vast family fortunes of Palithon he was able to take complete control over the Colony. Soon after Relthan would declare himself Emperor of the New Valantierian Empire. This brass claim was a surprise to all of the Colonies but was largely ignored and seen as a non threat to them and there interests.

Even before Relthan took control of Liria a cult now known as Aegalism was brewing under the surface of the Colony. Relthan had converted to this cult and it was spreading throughout the colony, and now with Relthan in control he made it the official religion of the Valantierian Empire. He also did this to unify his Empire under a new vigorous religion and to legitimate his take over as an overthrowing of a barbaric heathen ruling class. The Aegalis, the head of Aegalism proclaimed Relthan and his descendants the ruler of the Empire by holy mandate.

#### The Winmilrsip War 364-367 AF

In 364 after many years of securing his rule and making a new efficient bureaucracy Relthan would go on the offensive to push his claim of the ex Valantierian Colonies by force in the Winmilrsip War. Winmilrsip was an ex Valantierian colony south of Liria at the mouth of the Agomani River on the Agomani plain, the most fertile and flat part of the future province of Talith. It was where the silver mines of Talith would sell there goods to the wider world. The capture of the city would secure the rest of the Agomani plain and with it all of Talith. The war would last 3 years and would end in a Valantierian victory. The plain and the coast were controlled and settled by Valantierians, but the rugged interior was still largely inhabited and run by tribal peoples. Under Winmilrsip these people had large amounts of autonomy and were largely left alone to do there own governing. Rethlan didn't want any trouble from these tribals and wanted them left alone, a yearly tribute was all that he asked for, and was agreed to by the tribes for now.

#### Ebosi War (372-380)

After the War in Winmilrsip had been won the lands secured the Peninsula of Ebus was next on the chopping block. The Peninsula was at one point was attempted to be colonized by the Old Valantierian Empire, however the tribes of the region collectively known as the Ebosi was successfully able to fight of the invaders. These tribes were not like the tribes of Palithon or the Talith highlands who had large walled settlements but were semi nomadic people. They made houses, farms and villages but nothing to the scale of the other groups. The Ebosi had long ago formed a *confederacy* that would meet annually to settle any disputes between the tribes and would meet in the case of an outside threat and show a united front against them.

Rethlan had his eyes set on the conquering the peninsula, it was the bridge which would allow him to move further south and conquer the other Old Valantierian Colonies. The first step in conquering the peninsula was the colonizing the mouth of the Ebus river, the fortress which was made here was named after the river it was made on, Fort Ebus. The Grogosi tribe which called that area home saw this as an act of war and attacked the fort. In the Siege of Fort Ebus the Grogosi were driven off by the Valantierians. This was all the excuse that Rethlan needed to invade. In 372 AF Rethlan's chosen heir, Tharkus led an army of 40,000 to Fort Ebus and then waged a slow logistical war against the *Ebosi*.

Tharkus was the nephew of Rethlan and had shown much military competence and ability to sway others to his side. He was raised on the stories of the might of the Old Valantierian Empire and how they were the successors to that legacy, he believed it his duty to restore the Empire which rightfully belonged to them from the petty usurpers in the south. To this end he had no qualms with waging a brutal was against the Ebosi.

From Fort Ebus, Tharkus would move against the Grogosi, he slowly and methodically waged the war against them, this was not a glorius way to wage war, Tharkus did this to ensure that he would not be overstretch and be ambushed. To this end he destroyed villages, secured supply lines, built roads, and fortresses while on the advance. This was a slow war but it was the only way he knew to effectively fight a tribal society like this.

The was was progressing slowly but in a decisive Valantierian favor. The Grogosi and there lands were destroyed, with thousands of refugees fleeing to the other tribes. With the news of the destruction of the Grogosi many tribes began to submit to Valantierian authority. Although the Jatalines and the Oblites refused to submit and would continue to fight. The two tribes would assemble an army 30,000-50,000 strong and attempt to counter Tharkus, but in the battle of Veni forest they would be defeated and forced to fight a guerilla war. Said war would stretch out for 5 years of constant summer campaigns into the Ebus peninsula but eventually the Ebosi would submit.

The tribes that decided to continue to resist were forcefully broken up and relocated, the Jatalines were sent to Northern Palithon and the Oblites were sent to southern Palithon. The long journey was a hard one were many died and when they eventually got to there new homes they were broken and placed in a foreign land. The two tribes would never be a threat again and would be assimilated into Valantierian culture. The tribes that had submitted were allowed to stay, live relatively autonomously, at the cost of tribute and one young man from every family to serve in the Valantierian military.

### The Empires Rebirth (2534-2660 AFL)

#### Alexios the Great (2534-2563 AFL)

Under the Reign of Emperor Alexios Philakrates II the weakened Valantierian Empire would rebound in power and influence once again.

#### The Lirosian Renaissance (2640-2660 AFL)

##### Stranburg Colony

After the humbling of the North the region of Stranburg was aquired as a colony to prevent any further expansion southward. Stranburg itself was a lightly populated region of the Kleines Peninsula that was home to wide open forests and dots of civilization. The wood from these forests would help build the imperial fleets and in building any future settlements in the region.

The region was populated by a group of people known as the Caulridian, they were not very advanced and payed lip service to whoever controlled the region. They mostly minded themselves as long as they were left to themselves. To Lirios this would not do, he would need a loyal population to help keep control over the region. To reach this end he would deport tens of thousands of Caulridians from the coast to the province of Ulta where they would be forced to live. The Caulridians would of course not come peacefully and would attempt to put up a fight in the Stranburg war. The resistance would be swiftly crushed and Valantierian authority would be forced upon the region with many remaining being deported. In their place many of the veterans of the army would be given land in the colony and the urban poor of Liria would be settled there. A sort of caste system would be temporarily be created as the urban poor would work on the veterans lands until they would be given land of there own once they proved worthy of it. This system was abused by many land owners but the majority would be forced to let them go. Valantierians would over the following years would become the majority on the Coast while the locals still held the interior, ever distrustful of the colonists

The city of Thalisia would be refounded by the colonists in **XXXXX** and would become the local administrative hub of the region. The city was originally founded by the Old Valantierian Empire until it would be drowned in the event known as the Battle of the Gods.

The name of the colony would not keep the name of what the natives, but would be called by all in the Empire as the *Lakrista* colony. Named after the fabled name of the region in the old Empire. The people of the colony viewed themselves as Valantierians but the people in home provinces knew them as Lakristi.

The colony a few decades after it's founding would be lost to the Empire during the Crisis of Valantierian Succession. Lakrista would be carved up by Flawmen, Niedersen, and the North. Flawmen would take the lions share of the colony including Thalisia. The small garrison that remained in the region had decided to surrender to the invaders instead of risking the destruction of everything that they had worked for. The Lakristi would forever be hungry for independence, seeing themselves oppressed by barbarian overlords. In Flawmen especially where the Kings in Gofenrode control over the region was weak.

### The Empires Stagnation (2660-2777 and onward)

#### Crisis of Valantierian Succession

See main article: *Crisis of Valantierian Succession*

After the unexpected death of *Lirios II* the Lords of Ulta and Palithon flew the flag of rebellion and claimed the throne of the Empire while Dalmatius Mitrotis would declare his own empire in Halvich, Leon Ulixes would declare Independence, and the Balanites would finally attempt to make a state for themselves.

The War would truly start when Palithon under the rule of Simon Anastrout with an army of 40,000 would march on Liria and attempt to take it. Thanks to the valiant efforts of Viator Miriador Philakrates in the siege of Miriador Keep would hold off Simon for 4 long months until an army could be brought to fight Simon. The army was the Army of Northern Liria from the the border of the North, it was 30,000 strong and had assembled 20,000 more on the march down to Miriador Keep. Viator would take command of the army and would lead the counter attack against Simon. In the Battle of Dryriver Viator would defeat Simons host of 40,000 in a surprise attack and would kill 12,000, forcing Simon on the defensive. Simon would continue to resist until 2663 when he was finally caught in another battle, the Battle of Gelion Heights where Simon would be captured and his little rebellion would be crushed.

The Rebellion in Ulta would be led by Narxious Nicolatis at the head of the Army of Ulta which was 37,000 strong, his cousin, Loukas Nicolatis would remain loyal to the Empire and would defect to Imperial side with 6,000 men under his command. Loukas would lead an effective campaign to halt any attempts by Narxious to invade into Anifa. The Army of Anifa would join Loukas bolstering his forces to 18,000, doing all he could to fight Narxious and keep him occupied. The Balanites would use this time well and under the Brilliant command of Verden Jacobsen with an army of 20,000 he would conquer Ulta out from under Narxious in 5 months and crush his army in the Battle of Mydsmy where 30,000 would be slaughtered by Verden. He would leave behind 5,000 men to keep control of Ulta as he would move north to conquer Anifa, Loukas would attempt to fight Verden but after a skirmish with Verden's scouts was convinced to fall back and assemble a larger force. Verdens' advance would be stopped by Brisham for teh winter, in the next year he assembled 7,000 more men and after a short siege Verden marched into the city victoriously and would push Loukas back all the way back to Ebus, Verden would have kept going exept a peace between the Balanites and the Empire had been signed.

Dalmatius Mitrotis when the wat broke out would attack the surrounding provinces and conquer them relatively swiftly, declaring himself the Emperor of the Mitrotis Empire and would essentially attempt to recreate the Kaljic Empire.

#### The Viator Shadow Goverment (2674-2688)

*Viator Miriador Philakrates*, after seeing the disaster which Maximin got himself in he decided he had to do something or else this little boy would run the empire into the ground. Viator would influence the government secretly or openly as he was appointed Cystolin, and he greatly expanded the powers that position held. While doing his best to administer the Empire and keep it together after the loss of half of it to the Balanites he would also give his branch of the family high positions in government and the inheritable title of Duke of *Upper Palithon*. The Anastrout's were furious that there traditional title had been given away so freely, to statisfy there rage they would be given lands in Upper Palithon to rule over and some influential positions in court.

#### The Valantier Balanal Wars (2678-2740)

##### The First Valantier Balanal War (2678-2680)

See main article: *The First Valantier Balanal War*

The first war after the initial conquest of the Balanites came to a forefront officially because of the persecutions of Aegalits in Balanal but in reality it happened because Viator Miriador Philakrates wanted to reclaim the lands which his friend and family member, Lirios, worked so hard to keep and pacify. Viator would send an army of 20,000 men under General *Loukas Nicolatis* to recapture the province of Anifa and Ulta. Loukas was chosen because he used to be the Lord of Ulta until the Balanites forced him and his family to flee. Many of the soldiers were made up of refugees from Ulta, and Anifa so they were easily convinced to go south.

The war would consist mostly of the Valantierian army besieging castles in in Anifa, the castles themselves were largely controlled by original Balanite families and attempted to resist as long as they could. In the towns however were Lower Valantierians which yearned for freedom from there Balanite lords, they would rebel and open there gates for the army of Loukas to occupy. By the winter of 2678 Loukas occupied much of Anifa and was nearing the former province of Ulta, Brisham was was within the grasp of Imperial forces but the blistering cold forced the army to stay put. Balanite forces under Raldin Holtsen would number 23,000 and during the winter would march to Brisham, losing 4,000 men in the march the army now only numbered 19,000. Loukas's army however only numbered 18,000 as he had to leave men behind to garrison the towns and castles in Anifa. In the spring of 2679 the two forces would fight in the sole battle of the war, the battle of Neochari, it would result in a nominal Balanite victory forcing Loukas back to defend the gains which he had made. Balanal would fail to exploit this victory due to infighting in the Capital of Thalita in the raising of taxes to fund the army. The Balanite army for that reason was halted in Brisham and no progress was made in recapturing the lands that had been lost. Grecal Halkon in 2680 would open negotiations for peace and in late 2680 the Valantierian Empire and Balanal would make peace with the lands that were occupied being ceded to the Empire.

## List of Valantierian Emperors

Relthan 358-

Alexios II 2534-2563

Icorus 2563-2612

Basil 2612-2640

Lirios II 2640-2660

Maximin 2660-2709

Perkilus 2709-2758

Alexios III 2758-ongoing

## Government

The Government of the Valantierian army is a well oiled machine, if it wasn't the Empire wouldn't have lasted for millennia. In the times of trouble and ages where the Valantierian Empire is at its weakest is when the local lords are able to exert large amounts if authority while the central government is corrupt. In its times of ascendency and Golden Ages the local lords work with the central Government, the Bureaucrats are chosen through merit, and the Emperor is surrounded by good advisors. The Emperors are also a key part to the workings of the Empire and as such it is imperative that they are competent and know what they are doing. The Emperorship has always been passed down to a Philakrates, which is a very large family with many cadet branches, the Emperor is the sole authority to chose the next Emperor and there is a very long tradition of choosing the most competent of the family for succession. Though this tradition has started to die off in recent times it still has some sway over choosing of the next Emperor, and to make sure there sons are up to the task they are delegated a province to rule and to gain experience in leadership.

### 2012-2534

The Valantierian Empire has lost most of its land to successor states and is limited to Liria and the surrounding "crownlands". The lords of this land have vast influence over there own demines and can challenge the Emperors' authority. The Empire isn't run by the most capable but by nobles who are put their to satisfy their family. While the lower parts of the court is run by more adequately capable men the higher up is a den of corruption, but if this was ever present then the Empire would have died during this time, the Emperors influence and authority would fluctuate based on the Emperor's ability at the time.

### 2534-2800

The massive reforms of Alexios II cleared the Empire of its scum and corruption, reinstituting the merit based system of ages past. Those most qualified for the position are given it, not based for of their birth, although nobles still make up the majority due to them being able to better able to educate themselves. To administer such a large empire requires Bureaucrats and clerks to record everything and deal with disputes .

#### 2709-2800

With the ascension of Perkilus after his fathers untimely death allowed him to further reform and centralize the Empire. With the Crisis of Valantierian Succession showed that Governors with civil and military power posed a threat to the Empire and as such they would be stripped of all military command ability and would be able to be removed at the whim of the Emperor.

At the top of the hagiarchy was the Emperor, the supreme authority in the Land, able to pass law with a simple word and wage war. Under him were the Governors, there were 5 in total at this point, one for each province, Upper Palithon, Lower Palithon, Talith, Ebus, and Anifa. They would do the day to day governance of the Provinces and administering justice through the province. The Army of the province was independent of their command but they did have a small body guard to him that could be no larger than 1,000 men which the Governor could use at his whim. It was also his duty to ensure that the taxes of the provinces were collected and sent to the Emperor to then be redistributed to the provinces. A official known as a Keliosk would keep tabs on the governor to ensure that everything was run smoothly and to report to the Emperor to make sure that the Governor was not abusing his office. The Keliosk was well paid and would rotate between a province every 5 years to help prevent corruption.

Under the Province and the Governor was the Heskar (H-e-sk-ar), the ruler of a Heskant (H-e-sk-ant). A Heskant is the land sub unit under a province and the Heskar had the duty to make sure that taxes were paid and to deal justice to his Heskant. Then under the Heskar is the Oligos (O-li-gos), the ruler of an Oligor (O-li-gor), an even smaller sub unit of land and deals with even more local matters. The Oligos is accountable to the Heskar, the Heskar is accountable to the Governor, and the Governor is accountable to the Emperor. None of these apart from the Emperor has any military power and is purely a civil rulers, when there is banditry or some other problem that needs to be taken care of, either the Army of the Province is sent or some local garrison will be sent.

## Demographics

### 2660-Present

After the fall of the southern half of the empire to the Balanites the once great amount of food shipments from Kalvita have been cut off and a new source of food for the Great Valantierian Cities had to be found. Palithon would fill this role, supplying much of the food to the cities and Liria, the first among them. The South also consisted of about half of the Empires population, now the Valantierian Empire only had a population of 50,000,000 souls, though the Agricultural advancements made in the south had yet made it to the northern farmers. The three main groups that remain in the empire were the Upper Valantierians in the Core, Talith, and Ebus, numbering around 23,000,000, the Lower Valantierians in what remains of Anifa, numbering around 2,000,000, and the Palithoni in Upper and Lower Palithon, numbering around 25,000,000.

## Culture

There culture as evolved wildly over its more than 2 millennia of existence but there are some constants which have with standed the test of time and continue on ever prevalent in Valantierian society. Over there history the Valantierians have fought countless enemies which forced them to band together, forging an us vs them dynamic in there culture, vital for forming an Empire. This one simple part has been a contributing factor to the Valantierian Empires longevity and ability to reinvent themselves.

### Early Culture

Being founded by merchants and ambitious men meant that the culture of early The Valantierians was one of individuality and meritocracy. The Large bureaucratic state hadn't been established yet, and nobles didn't lord over there subjects. People were owners of there own land and could associate with who they pleased. Many foreigners saw this individualism as dangerous for cohesion of the little colony and distrusted the leaders, which they saw as upstart peasants.

### 2536-Present

The Three main groups of the Empire are the Lower and Upper Valantierians and the Palathoni, all three groups are closely linked to one another but key differences in dialect and culture has arisen. The Upper Valantierians are the most Mercantile of the three, traders from the Upper Valantierians sail all across the Cloridean Sea, the original sense of meritocracy is still strong. These people are the wealthiest from the distant trade routes which they all exploit and have the closest thing to a middle class. Many artisans live in the Cities of Liria, Vanavy, and Winmilrsip and sell their goods to the merchants and eventually to the many courts of the Cloridean. The Lower Valantierians are a more martial culture, these men make up the backbone of the Valantierian Military. The flat plains of the south have proved to be a crucible where only the strongest people survive, the hardiest of these groups were the Lower Valantierians. While in the north the adventures men would become merchants or sailors to visit distant lands in the South men who want to amount to something join the army, it is seen as an honorable career which demands much respect. In Palithon the people are diligent hard workers, and humble, they don't make up the bulk of the militaries officers or great merchants, they are however hard workers. Tending to their farms and working in the ore rich Nath Kall Mountains they make up the backbone of the economy. Second to only Kalvita they are the largest exporter of food in the Empire and when war arrives to them they are conscripted for the armies of the Empire. The Palathoni are key to the functioning of the Empire and with the recent push south into the swamps of Franheld on the border of the Golden Coast they again show there worth, draining the large swamps and turning it into vast farmlands.

## Military

### 0-400 AFL

The Lirian colony was small and couldn't afford or man a large professional army, instead they relied on local militias to protect themselves with a small garrison force to help reinforce the militia ever needed help.

### 2012-2534 AFL

After the Disaster in Dragonborn Bay the Emperor and Heir were killed and the collapse of the Valantierian Empire took place, limiting it to only to Liria and the surrounding lands. It was a decentralized time when to raise armies the Emperor had to get his feudal lords raise there levies to fight war.

### 2534-2660 AFL

The Military of the Empire in this period was based around the field army and the local garrisons. The field army was a mobile proffesional army on the pay role of the Emperor with generals appointed by the Emperor. The local garrisons were under the control of the lords who would maintain there own armies for the defense of there realm and thus the Empire. This two part military proved effective for Alexios II up until Lirios II at reconquering the Empire and maintaining it. However in the Crisis of the Valantierian succession in 2660 the local lords attempted to claim the throne of the Empire and afterwards a series of Emperors would strip down on lords abilities to muster armies of there own.

### 2660-2800 AFL

Castles, forts, and Cities were all garrisoned by soldiers payed by the Imperial Government. The local governments send all of their tax money to the Imperial administration which is then parceled back out to the Governments. Each province now has its own field army paid for directly by the Emperor with two generals at its head who each have two month stretches of running the army. The Generals are rotated between an army every 5 years unless actively on campaign and the same two generals can't serve with each other again for 10 years after they've been split. This system was put in place to prevent Generals and there armies from having more loyalty with each other than to the Emperor. The standing armies are needed to wage the almost perpetual wars with Balanal and such professional standing armies are needed and a Unified Centralized Empire to resist the tide of Balanism which seems to conquer all of the land south of the Relan Straight in the West and the Bloody Straight in the East. Both sides would continually bleed each other dry trying to secure the same small strip of land. In total, field armies and garrisons combined, the Valantierian army was 500,000 men strong, these were not all centralized in one place but were spread out the entirety of the Empire, it was unlikley that more than 100,000 men would ever be sent out on one campaign.

## Law of Succession

In modern times the heir apparent is of the Emperors chosing, given the title of Lord of Talith and the Governorship of said province. In the case that no heir has been designated and the Emperor has died the one to inherit is the eldest son. This form of succession has caused some problems in the cases were men claim that different people were chosen by the dying Emperor, such as in the War of the Brothers where Julican Philaktates, Tyfos Philakrates, and Corlius Philakrates. Or the Icorus-Lorcan War, between Icorus Philakates and Lorcan Philakrates

## Provinces

### Palithon (358-2163, 2546-2670 AFL)

Historically the most populous and the second richest province in the Empire it has always been important for the Empire to have a firm grasp on this land. Its high mountains in the east to the vast farmland in the west provide both water and land to farm vast amounts of food, which has been used to feed the whole of the Empire. This land has been long part of the Empire, second only to Lirian region itsel.

### Ulta

Ulta is a wealthy province which has been a bastion if Imperial control on the South Cloridean plain for centuries. It is the second most populus province in the Empire with 80% of it's people before the Balanite conquest identifing as Valantierian, with only 20% being Balanite. The province itself is