The Cordelian Empire

A vast empire that influenced most of the world of Cordelia. It collapsed roughly 500 years before the start of the main Rude Tales of Magic campaign, and its downfall is the focus of the Come At The King campaign.

The empire was started when Cordelia Ranchero, a mere acorn farmer, decided that it was her destiny to become an empress. She roamed the land announcing to everyone that she now ruled them, enforcing it with a troop of drunks she called her Peacekeepers that forced them to pay tribute to her. She died at the age of 52 from melting, leaving her few-hundred mile empire to her son Cordelio Ranchero the Thick. His daughter, Bellyass the Wise, realized that they could use the taxes they were gathering to support the empire rather than just hide it in a room. She also banished the number 52.

Ultimately, the last of the Ranchero family died after being "locked in a river," but the empire continued and kept the name Cordelia out of habit. In their absence, several families, races and orders controlled the throne over the years through assassination and power plays. The Empire continued to expand, conquering and absorbing lesser countries and kingdoms as its wealth and influence expanded. They established much order around the land before the empire ultimately collapsed for any number of reasons. Its influence still echoes in Cordelia and its civilization, but it holds little to no power in the modern age.

## The Fall of the Empire

While the exact reason for the empire's collapse is unclear, some blame is put on the fact that Emperor Nog Romansky had an affair with a beautiful bugbear Hammerhair and collapsed the empire trying to cover it up. This is why the terms BA and AA (before and after affair) are used to track the calendar year.

Another theory is Elvira Romansky had him assassinated, but it is difficult to prove since she went missing when the empire collapsed. Another is that the empire simply became too large to maintain. Its fall led to a half-century of anarchy.

While many of the details are covered during the Come At The King campaign, few people are left alive to remember the details.

## Trivia

* Cordelian coins bear the face of the emperor on both sides. Newer coins are created in the image the latest emperor.
* Payola was considered the capital of the empire during the peak of its power.
* While many of the emperors were humans, many races served as the emperor. There was only one known loxodon emperor, Scenticles the Bold.
* The terms Before Affair and After Affair were used to track the year, even before the year 0 BA. Nobody knew what the titles referred to until it happened.
* With the anarchy involved in the fall and death of the last royal calendrix Archipelago Mamamia, exact dates and details surrounding the empire's fall may be entirely inaccurate.
* The title of emperor was so ancient and powerful by the end of the empire that it possessed a supernatural element to it. Naming a person the heir to the throne bestowed actual power over the kingdom and its forces, which could be transferred whether the heir was willing or not. This power transferred over whenever the current emperor died or became somehow unable to rule. This compels any guard within the empire to instinctively respect and obey the emperor, but it is not absolute.