Calamaran Empire

The Court of the Anchored Throne

*"Calamar represents stability, order, and freedom. When our empire controlled all the seas, ships were free and safe to travel from Izir to Shavhan without ever being in danger" - High Admiral Sebestien Canarro*

The Calamaran Empire is a navally powerful nation that was once the largest empire in the world, but has shrunk significantly in the last century. The Empire became powerful under the guidance of Ulgard Greenblood, a dark ascended who became the focus of the Calamaran religion of Navicism.

The heart of the empire is Isla Calamar, and the great city of Calavierus.

## Background

The Calamaran Empire ruled the Shattered Sea unopposed for over a thousand years. However, within the last century the rise of charismatic pirates, the arrival of the Tyrranean powers, and the death of the Calamaran’s patron god has caused their dominion to falter. Nevertheless, these seafaring imperialists are far from weak, and still have the largest combined navy on the Shattered Sea.

The Calamaran Empire is an authoritarian regime; ruled by the Emperor and the Church of the Sea King. They control all aspects of the government, and their ideology states that no cost is too great to pay for victory.

The Calamarans are one of the most important players in the worldwide slave trade, ferrying slaves from Shavhan to Izir.

## Cities and Provinces

The Borders of the Calamaran Empire are constantly changing as they fight a war on many fronts However, their main provinces mostly remain consistent. These are West Calamar, East Calamar, and the Central isles. Calamaran territory is mostly within the Shattered Sea.

West Calamar is home to Isla Calamar itself, and the capital city of Calavierus. The large uninhabited isle of Scathyro dominates this region of the sea, and is a large border between Isla Calamar and Portuqa. The Scathyran Canal has been built across this isle, and is currently controlled by the Calamaran Empire.

The hub of East Calamar is Porta Pyrus, one of Calamar's main strongholds of power, and where trade is conducted between the Calamarans and the Izirians. This region is quite close to Svoldia, and is prone to storms.

The Central Isles contain many small fortresses, port towns, and trading outposts, but there are no islands substantial enough to support a full city. Within this region, the Calamarans often fight with the Savage Islanders.

## Politics

### The Monarchy

The Calamaran Empire is a monarchy, ruled by the Emperor upon the Anchored Throne. The Throne itself is seen as a cultural artifact, and is crafted from the debris of the many ships destroyed during Calamar's conquest of Portuqa.

The Emperor is the absolute ruler of the Calamaran Empire, and is considered to be the chosen of the Sea King. Currently ruling is Emperor Ramazan I of the Eldranador dynasty, who is by all accounts a sickly old man who rules with an iron fist.

### The Theocracy

Beneath the Emperor are the Court of the Anchored Throne, priests and devotees of the Sea King who run the more mundane affairs across the empire. These theocrats are referred to as "lords", and perform the same function as an aristocrat would. They are usually incredibly wealthy, and are exclusively male. The Court is structured in quite a classist manner, with new lords being chosen from the upper class. In Calamar, faith is a good way to accrue wealth, though poor people are unlikely to be inducted as priests.

#### Dukes

In the Theocracy, a duke controls an important region of the Calamaran Empire, and is a highly ranking noble, second only to the Emperor, the High Admiral, and the Sacerdeus.

When the Calamaran Empire controlled the whole of the Shattered sea, there were many dukes. Now, there are only six. The six dukes are as follows:

Duke Tarquin Eldranador, an illegitimite son of the Emperor, has been granted the position of Duke of Isla Calamar.

Duke Salvador Abello, ruler of Portuqa. Though Nothindria have gained a significant foothold on this province.

Duke Zeno Vhassilo, ruler of Nochegardia, who is known for encouraging the use of dark magic and necromancy.

Duke Burkin Omerris of Ticaretto, a lazy and overweight nobleman, but a shrewd businessman.

Duke Ibrahim Iskerro of Tormentisto, who is related to the pirate admiral Ali Iskerro, with whom he has a fierce rivalry.

Duke Steraco De Vivarro, presumably still the ruler of Turkhana, though the situation on the isle is unstable and it is frequently besieged, not to mention this duke has gone missing.

#### Mardeus

members of the theocracy who devote themselves heavily to the Sea King, and are gifted with powers in return, are given the title "Mardeus". These priests are a religious authority and are considered to be the true voices of the Sea King. They don't tend to intervene in the running of the empire, but are often sent into battle or to new colonies to bring luck to the Calamarans, and to utilise their divine power.

An individual called the "Sacerdeus" is the leader of the Mardeuses. His word is divine law, second only to the Emperor. A person becomes the Sacerdeus after recieving a prophetic vision from the Sea King.

#### Harbourmaster

A position of authority within the theocracy is that of Harbourmaster. Being a naval trading empire, controlling an important harbour is an influential position within Calamar. Across the empire, Harbourmasters act as treasurers and control trade tariffs. The most influential of these is the Harbourmaster of Calavierus, the nation's capital. They have some authority over other harbourmasters, and are considered to be in charge of money and trade in the nation.

#### Admiral

Admirals are important people in the Calamaran Empire. They lead the military and are in charge of all operations by military vessels. The High Admiral leads all other admirals, and is in charge of the whole military.

### Lords across the Water

Calamar is an expansive empire with new colonies settled and battles fought all across the Shattered Sea and beyond. Therefore it is inefficient for the Emperor and his court to control all of this. Therefore, if a ship or group of ships are far from the centre of the empire, the highest ranking military officer within a certain distance is considered the "Lord across the Water", and basically has complete autonomy, as long as they act in what could reasonably be considered the best interests of the Empire. "Lords across the Water" are usually admirals or captains sent out to invade, colonise, or fight a war, and without the gaze of their emperor upon them they can perform many daring deeds, or horrifying actions. Some of the biggest war crimes in history have been done by Calamaran captains who have gone mad with power. These captains usually "discover" incredible wealth and claim new lands, and return to the Empire as heroes.

### The Grand Cazadores

In 20.58, Emperor Ramazan I created a martial police force called the Grand Cazadores, an institution created to crush dissent and remove troublesome individuals. This was in response to the rebellious attitudes of the Calamaran citizens, and aristocrats, which itself was a response to the emperor's harsh wartime laws such as forced conscription and increased taxes. The Grand Cazadores is a voluntary institution, however, members of it avoid military conscription, and it is a decently well-paid and comfortable job, meaning lots of people sign up, especially those who enjoy the prospect of bullying their fellow citizens. The Cazadores are well-equipped, and have the authority to do basically anything for the general purposes of preventing revolt. They even have the authority to exert force over the nobility, if they have reason to suspect them.

## Slavery

The Calamaran Empire are slave traders. Though their slave trade is not quite as extreme as that of the Izirian Confederacy, they still use slaves for a lot of their manual labour, and for some other purposes.

Calamarans usually enslave any captured enemies from their conquests and wars, and often stop at islands they've subjugated to enslave a large amount of the population.

Calamarans do not enslave their own men. However, a lot of their women are slaves, though they are not used for manual labour. Most wealthy Calamaran homes will have a female slave to cook, clean, and perform other servant tasks. However, worse than this is how female slaves are used at the infamous Calamaran brothels and "pleasure boats".

The cruel slavery that the Calamarans partake in is the main reason they have so many enemies.