Ithafa Empire

Also known as the ruined lands, this vast steppe and coastland used to be one of the earliest human trade empires. Unfortunately, their history is one of unbound greed and hubris, leaving haunted cities and barren flatlands. Today, it is home to pirates brave enough to bargain with the ghosts of the country's past, and the Genasi who've made desperate attempts to restore the land.

## Foundation of the Empire

### Kinesi exodus

It all started with the conquest of Alexios. Arriving in Orridacia, he did not like the way of life of the people he found there. Perhaps he saw their greed already. Regardless of why, the people scattered, fleeing south through the jungles of Myawat but finding no safe harbor there until they came up to a great rocky wall. Desperate for a home, many dared the climb and upon the wall they found what they were looking for: fertile uninhabited lands. Uninhabited, except by the Numans.

### First Numan contact

When the first Ithafans climbed up onto the plateau, the Numans took pity on them. They used their powers over the elements to aid the humans where they could. Just enough rain and sunshine lead to good crops. Gentle winds and warm summers, for a good century life was idyllic. But Numan aid would be more than just a quick head start on the path to civilization. The Numans took a liking to the humans' energy, their ambition, their inner fire. Especially Vusala, a Numan of fire, aspired to raise these little humans to greatness.

### Foundation of the Church of 4 fires

Also sometimes known as the church of Vusala. There were 4 fires that were the foundation of Ithafan civilization. First was the growing fire. It gives all plants and animals the energy to be born, to grow, and to reproduce. To become better and greater. It encourages Ithafans to grow as a person but also to be ambitious and to always expand your vision. Second was the roaring fire. It is a fire of passion which encourages to let go of inhibitions and enjoy life to the fullest. This fire would be lit at festivities. It was also a fire of battle though, inspiring Ithafan warriors to fight recklessly like berserkers, like a fire spreading across the battlefield. Next was the smouldering fire. At first this was an inspiration for thoughtfulness and the peace and quiet of a warm home. Later this turned into a reminder that you can start the greatest fires from just a few smouldering embers, just like the Ithafans started from nothing but a few survivers of conquest. Last was the inner fire, also called the fire of life. It represents the inner soul of the Ithafans, and that if but a single inner fire burns, Ithafa never dies. Worship of other elements would be added later, but even then, the fire always remained central to Ithafan religion.

### Foundation of the Alliance

Civilization grew rapidly with the aid of the Numans. Various coastal cities formally joined hands in the treaty of wind and water, establishing an alliance that will very quickly become an empire. The treaty of wind and water was signed to create a unionised effort to start colonization of the Korcinmir. This started with the building of chapels to Oloku and Umo, Numans of water and wind respectively. They took a bit more convincing than Vusula, but after seeing how quickly Ihafa rose with the help of just Vusala, they were intrigued and decided to aid the Ithafans. Oloku gave calm waters whenever a ship would set sail, and Umo made sure those ships always had strong winds in their sails. With this, the Ithafan navy became unrivaled and sailed across the Korcinmir with speeds unrivalled.

### Crowning of the first Emperor

As islands were settled, communities built upon them quickly. So quickly in fact, that seperate cultures and identities started to form. The Alliance was worried that these communities might want to break free from Ithafa at some point. So, they wanted something that would unite Ithafa and all its colonies under one banner for eternity. A symbol they could all look up to. An emperor. To fill this role, the Alliance chose admiral Kalashaba, head of the Ithafan navy. It couldn't be any city leader because for starters they could never agree to pick one without the alliance falling apart. On top of that, to tie the colonies to the Ithafan mainland it couldn't be someone who never went to the colonies. Kalashaba though spent his whole life navigating the Korcinmir, was friends with many community leaders, and he was a devoted practicioner of both the church of the 4 fires and a worshipper of Oloku and Umo. Later legends would also tell he was the first child to be born on the Ithafa plateau. This did line up with his age so it's not impossible but is of course hard to verify. He was crowned first emperor under the decree of the empire's new motto: *Vosan ye Olokumo*, By Fire and Good Weather.

## Empire Era

### The Korcinmir communities

Ties with Korcinmir communities were tightened and the islands and the mainland enjoyed a flourishing trade. The Korcinmir is a perculiar place, with vastly different natural resources on each island, many of which can be found on one island only. Healing herbs and spices but also minerals and rare fish. Worship took place in a slightly more tribal manner, with big bonfires and ritual dances. As long as the Korcinmir communities worshipped the 4 fires, it was their own choice on how to do so. Over time, the empire would ask more and more tribute of the communities, which most were happy with. The calm waters and good winds meant that goods were transported through the Korcinmir in record times, meaning any small island had access to all of the bountiful resources the empire had to offer.

### Saltanar conquest

Saltanar would give Ithafa its first real challenge. Where the Korcinmir was mostly uninhabited, save for a few species of agressive wildlife, Saltanar actually had some people living there. An age of bloody battles would ensue. The empire took manpower on top of tributes from the Korcinmir. Eventually, peace came and trade started. Saltanar being mostly an infertile dessert, Ithafa saw the opportunity in trading food. With fertile lands back home and salt, sugar and other preservatives to be found in the Korcinmir, the Ithafans were eventually welcomed in Saltanar.

### Peace and lavishness

For a long time Ithafa stayed as it was. After Saltanar the people wanted peace so no efforts to expand were taken. Nobility in the mainland cities became more concerned with collecting luxuries from their empire, largely in the form of good food. The ruling class, including emperor Mukar at the time, became fat, lazy, and disconnected from the population. This time saw the divide between church and state thinnen, with the nobility commanding the church around to produce as many goods as possible for them, draining the land. There was discontent to be certain, but the clergy did as they were told.

### Akkabad campaign

Eventually though, the Emperor's gaze became set on Akkabad. He had heard rumors of treasures of a lost civilization hidden below the sand. Those would make a fine addition to his collection. He wasn't going to get them himself though, by the 4 flames of course not that would require effort. So in his stead he sent his son, Akkas. Akkas had other plans though. His ambition and his inner fire were strong, much stronger than his father. He went to Akkabad, but he would not return to Ithafa. Akkas spent some time exploring the land, sending some goods back to his father to keep him appeased. More importantly though, Akkas was making allies so that eventually he could call Akkabad an independent nation. Years later, a civil war would break out in Akkabad which would mark the start of Ithafa's fall.

## Ithafa crumbles

### The tyrant emperor

Ithafans don't let go easily and there were many attempts to take back Akkabad from Akkas. Emperor Mukar died shortafter Akkabadian independence. His son, Akkas's brother Almat, would become the next and final emperor of Ithafa. In an attempt to take revenge on his brother and to take full control of the empire he installed mandatory military service. This is something the empire had never seen before, their army had always been a professional one. This created not a stronger grip on the empire, but more discontent and more civil war. To keep control, the resources on Ithafa platea had to be exploited even more, until nothing but a barren landscape was left. This thoroughly pissed off Oloku and Umo who no longer gave calm waters and strong winds. Losing the power to traverse his empire easily, Almat started losing his grasp even more rapidly.

### Hubris strikes again

If the gods would no longer grant him power, Almat saw no other choice than to become a god himself. With the aid of the strongest clergy who were loyal to him, because there were dissenters within the church too, he tricked Vusala and trapped her to perform a ritual which would transfer Vusala's power to Almat. And this worked. Vusala died in the process, but her powers were taken by Almat. The only problem was that Vusala was a demi-god and Almat a mere mortal man. He could not contain this power. The flames burst forth from him, engulfing the church and the city it was in, in a sea of fire, creating a place now known as the Blackened Citadel. Enraged by the murder of their sister, Oloku, Umo and many other minor Numans destroyed all other cities on the Ithafa plateau overnight in the Ithafan calamity. Those who perished haunt the crumbling remains of their cities as ghosts.

### Forgiveness of the Genasi

What little of the clergy that survived begged the Numans for forgiveness, and for a chance to redeem themselves. They would live a humble life without any aspirations for empires or conquest, and they would start healing the land that their fellow Ithafans destroyed. Surviving the calamity, the Genasi's souls were already touched by the elements. Some felt a constant burning, others that of drowning but never suffocating. The Numans made them embrace these elemental powers, and turned them into the Genasi we know today. A Numan must still connect a Genasi to their element, even today, so there is always a Numan in the mountain of a thousand storms both to aid the Genasi in their quest to heal the land but also as a reminder of the hubris of their ancestors lest their ambitions would show again. This ends the reign of the Ithafa empire, leaving nothing but haunted cities and tribes of Genasi on the Ithafa plateau.