Artus Empire

“There’s a lot of discussion about ‘divine right to rule’ or that the Artus line was ‘blessed’ by Enerin to unite the Avonstead.  I think that’s a crock of shit.  It doesn’t matter what anyone else says: the Artus Empire was founded by Estaran soldiers carrying Dhrinragh steel.”

-Fetbar Drakecloak, legitimized bastard of the Drakecloak family

The **Artus Empire of the Avonstead Forest**, commonly shortened to the **Artus Empire**, or **Artus**, is a nation in south western Salbus, bordered by the nation of Aesta to the south west, and the Tholon Dukedom’s landholdings to the west.  The Artus Empire includes many of the Avonstead City-States that have ruled the Avonstead Forest for centuries.  It has a beach line on both the Pelwich Ocean to the south, and the Shelcon Sea to the west.

The Artus Empire is a monarchy, with the current monarch being Emperor Juleel Artus, who assumed the throne in 1,240 AY, bringing the Successor Revolt to a conclusion.  The capital of the Artus Empire is Estary, the ancestral city-state of the Artus family.  Many of the Great Families (the colloquial term for the lines of royalty that ruled the city-states before the creation of the Empire) retain control over their ancestral territory.

The formalization of the alliance between Dhrinragh and Estary in 1,036 AY, known as the Iron Lattice Concord, served as the beginning of the Artus Empire.  From there, under the joint leadership of now Emperor Teelel Artus, Princess Quela Drakecloak, and their liaison Fetbar Drakecloak, the other city-states either fell to open warfare or willingly bent the knee.

Despite the Empire’s relatively brief existence (especially considering several other countries are populated with longer lived races), it has rapidly expanded into the largest nation by landmass on Salbus.  It is recognized as one of the most powerful military nations in the world as well.

# History

## Avonstead City-State Period

The Avonstead Forest has long been a heavily settled locale in Salbus history.  Early during the Age of Sovereignty, several of the Avonstead City-States were founded: Estary, Crusene, Valheim, et cetera.  Many of these settlements shared a couple of basic tenets: they were generally founded by a single warrior (the King in Pelts for Crusene, Baarathel Artus for Estary) that slew some manner of great beast or monster (the King of the Woods for Crusene, a massive chimera for Estary) that then became their heraldry symbol.  Many of these settlements were mostly populated by humans; some exceptions include the shore elf descended Caelfall and the halfling dominated Demaret.

The balance of power between the city-states were always in flux; brief periods of peace would be punctuated by various wars between the various factions.  Many city-states were outright destroyed by their rivals, their citizenry scattering to the four winds.  Things remained this way until the arrival of the Drakecloaks.

## Iron Lattice Concord

The Drakecloaks were a relatively small noble family of Criag Pros, the great dwarven citadel within Mount Lunendale.  They were sent as an expeditionary force to the Dathoril Mountain Range in 1,031 AY, to establish an outpost and spread the power of the dwarven queendom.  Upon their arrival, however, they discovered *vast* veins of precious minerals and metals.  The matriarch of the Drakecloaks, Quella, was ever the opportunist, and saw an opportunity to carve out a place for her family here, far away from the august bloodlines of Criag Pros.  As such, she settled in and founded Dhrirnragh, and sent her half-brother and military commander, Fetbar, to treat with King Teelel Artus of Estary, who had been very accommodating and kind to her expedition on their way to Dathoril.

Teelel Artus had inherited a powerful, wealthy and stable Estary from his mother, and sought to fulfill the goal that many of the Avonstead City-States had: uniting the entirety of the Forest under their leadership.  With this opportunity offered by Fetbar and Quella, Teelel realized it could become a reality.  As such, the Iron Lattice Concord was formalized: Estary and Dhrinragh would form the bedrock of the Artus Empire, with Estary serving as the capital, and the Artus Family ascending to the role of Head of the Empire.  Dhrinragh would be given special administrative and national status: for instance, instead of “Lord” and “Lady”, the Drakecloak line would be given the title of “Prince” and “Princess”.  They would also be granted greater economic freedom than the other absorbed territories.

The most important, immediate piece of the Concord was the production of dwarven quality weapons, made from the materials of the Dathoril Range.  From this, Estaran soldiers renewed their conflicts with their immediate neighbors, bringing them under the control of the newly minted Artus Empire.

Over the course of the next decade, many of the Avonstead City-States fell or surrendered to the might of the Artus Empire, becoming component pieces of the rapidly expanding territory.

Some territories held out during this initial conquest, only to fall later: Crusene was one of these, maintaining their independence until the Day of Madness prompted them to bend the knee in favor of greater military support.

*Many* of the Great Families harbored resentment for their forced subjugation: the Walharts of Valheim in particular *despise* the Artus Family.

## Discovery of Syravel

An Aestan born sailor by the name of Jean Perevault led an expedition where he “discovered” the continent of Syravel.  Given the Empire’s geographic location on the far western portion of Salbus, an immediate effort to settle the new, seemingly empty continent began.  In an effort to ease the administrative burden of governing both the Empire proper and the lands of Syravel, a new administrative body was created: the Perevault Protectorate, placing the colonies under the control of a satrap.

## The Day of Madness and the Successor Revolt

In 1,209 AY, when the Day of Madness occurred, the Emperor of the Artus Empire was Maartel Artus: a young and very inexperienced politician.  He has assumed the throne at the tender age of 15 after his father and mother died at sea in a freak storm.  This allowed an undercurrent of pro-human sentiment, always present in the Empire to some degree, to become overt and violent.  However, it was tempered by the presence of several key administrative figures (such as the Drakecloaks).  That is, until the Day of Madness.

Like the rest of Ramunda, the Empire was rocked by the Day of Madness: the Divergent Legion was run ragged attempting to slay or otherwise contain the multitude of creatures endemic to the other planes roving in Empire territory.  This only served to inflame the pro-human sentiment further, into full, extremist levels.  Maartel, fully inoculated into this extremist rhetoric (as using non-humans as a scapegoat allowed him to push off blame for his failures as a sovereign), instituted a mass forced exodus of every cambion individual in the Empire.  This eventually led to the creation of Asphodel in the Nihil Grasslands, when these displaced cambions met with cambions that managed to escape from the plane of Tyranny.

As Maartel grew more and more megalomaniacal, his son, Juleel, began to stage a coup to replace him.  Alliances with several younger members of nobility, non-human members of the Empire, as well as outside settlements (including a marriage alliance with Kalaba Viivo of the village of Laal Entheas, which eventually led to the birth of his daughter, Frenosta Artus) led up the Successor Revolt.  The civil war was waged for a year, eventually ending when Juleel, now leading a large portion of the Divergent Legion, stormed Estary and slew his father in the throne room with his own hands.  The seventeen year old Juleel, now hardened by battle, took over as Emperor.

## Juleel’s Reign

Juleel Artus’ reign has been marked by stability and the mending of wounds, but the undercurrent of pro-human sentiment has been difficult to completely extricate.  The Walharts, major human-first proponents in the Empire, have grown more and more antagonistic to the new reign.

Juleel was also a changed man after slaying his father: while still in tremendous shape, even in his sixties, there is a deep, spiritual exhaustion to the man that many can see.  One of the few things that bring him genuine joy is his daughter, Frenosta, who is shaping up to be a phenomenal Empress in her own right.

As of 1,283 however, the Empire has undergone several suspicious attacks: the Day of Carving was interrupted in Dimshade by an extremist anti-royalist organization known as the Dirt Roads, that attempted to slay the visiting Frenosta.  In addition, an old foe from the Day of Madness, Estival Helianthus, returned to wreak havoc.  Both of these incidents were resolved by the adventuring party known as Team 3.5.

# Geography

As of 1,283 AY, the total area of the Empire is 439,000 square miles.  It encompasses the vast majority of the Avonstead Forest, as well as the southern reaches of the Dathoril Range.  Various patches of grassland are sprinkled throughout, with rainforests on the southern beaches.  Estary also commands the tiny island of Caiete.  It is also bordered by the Shelcon Sea and Pelwich Ocean.

# Government

The Artus Empire is governed by the Everglade Council, who ultimately serve the current Sovereign of the Empire.  Administrative decisions made by the Council are considered law throughout the Empire’s borders.

The Iron Lattice Concord has to be accepted by an individual settlement to be considered part of the Empire.  The Concord does provide the individual settlements a great deal of authority to deal with matters the way they chose: provisions include providing soldiers for the Divergent Legion and taxes paid to support the Empire as a whole.  These settlements run the gamut of the city-states (like Crusene, ruled now by a Lord/Lady) and religious communities (like Dimshade, ruled by the Warden of Starlight).

## Military

The military of the Empire is the Divergent Legion: a conglomerate of soldiers from all over the Empire.  Most are required to serve in the Legion for at least three years: during that tenure, one will be sent all over Empire territory, with the goal of strengthening bonds between the various communities (and encouraging movement to settlements more suited for the individual).

# Demographics

## Religion

Primary worship in Empire borders is Enerin, the Great Governor; as a result, there are also a large percentage of worshippers for Enerin’s children: Tarin, the goddess of trade, Exaire, the god of personal glory and battle (especially in Dimshade), and Kotune, the goddess of love and sexuality (especially in Arborro).

Crusene has a worshipper base mostly for Tasphine, the goddess of creativity, as well as Orthabe, the goddess of spiders.

# Culture

## Sport

Pigball is a *massive* phenomenon throughout the Empire.

## Symbol

The symbol of the Empire as a whole is that of the Artus Crest: a chimera rampant.  Most Divergent Legion soldiers have patches signifying the settlement they hail from by having the chimera “hold” the symbol of their home settlement.