Empire of Caerleia

Banner of the Golden Dragon

## Etymology:

The Name Caerleia is a form of the Name Caelus, -the ancestral progenitor of the Caerleian People- who travelled across the world to Ciaria and established a Kingdom there. Notably, it is made up of Caerl, the word for Caelus in Caerleian, and the 1st Declension Feminine Nominative -eia.

## Introduction:

The Empire of Caerleia, or Imperium Caerleiae, was a Feudal Monarchy situated in the Fields of Ciaria south of the Dragonspine Mountains. It used to be ruled by Imperator Lucius Artorius. The Imperium as it was formally known, was formed from a rich history of Heroes, Villains, triumphs and betrayals, and legends that cling to the Caerleian imagination to this day. This Article shall serve as a simple guide to the ins and outs of the Caerleian Nation, its History, Culture, Government and more shall be laid out in this Document.

## History:

### Prelude: The Very beginning.

Thousands of Years ago, long after the Gods created Valeon and Mankind, the World existed in a state of warring tribes, bickering and fighting over meaningless disputes, and denying any form of progress or order in the World. Disgusted by this, Eivus, the King of the Gods, decided to start again, intending to intervene directly in the Chaos of the World, and in doing so, eventually bring it to Order. As such, he sought to create an Avatar on Valeon.

To achieve this, he impregnated the Priestess Arta, a member of the Suladii Clan of unparalleled virtue and Wisdom, and from her was born Caelus. The progenitor of the Caerleian Race, and the first King of Old Caerleia.

### Chapter 1: The Life and Times of Caelus.

As the Son of a God and of the most virtuous Woman in the World, Caelus grew to become a prodigy among men, easily out-competing his peers in the fields of sport, rhetoric, philosophy and all other physical and intellectual challenges, he was the pride of Eivus, and the envy of the Suladii.

Despite his success at Home, Caelus knew he was destined for greater things, and as soon as he came of age, he set out from the Suladii Tribe’s lands in search of Glory.

On the way he battled with various Demons, Monsters and Villains, winning each with Honour and Magnanimity, until he found himself in the Kobals inhabited lands of Ciaria.

As he travelled through it, he was brought into the Court of Arvina, the Queen of one of the Kobold Nations, her Realm was being terrorized by a neighbouring state, led by Zhragozor. After leading Arvina’s Armies to several victories, Caelus confronted Zhragozor in person, easily defeating the Kobold Tyrant and seizing his lands.

Afterwards, Caelus married Arvina, unifying their Kingdoms into the Old Kingdom of Caerleia, where Caelus would spend the next few years subjugating the surrounding Kingdoms and consolidating them into Caerleia, distributing their lands to his 17 Sons who would form the basis for the Great Houses of Caerleia. They were: Artus, Amthrilus, Lucus, Longinus, Leolinus, Bedeurus, Geraintus, Gaius, Lamorus, Galan, Anseian, Gerin, Ivonus, Angelus, Rosillus, Gerus, and Berenus.

Caelus ruled wisely and competently, conducting himself dutifully as the son of Eivus, and he oversaw the building of Caerleia into a true Nation-state, the first Civilized Nation. It was a Golden age of Art, Culture and Military adventurism.

But all good things must come to an end, as Destiny had called Caelus to new Lands, he had planted the seeds of Civilization in this world, so it was time for him to move on to the next. In his 100th year of Life, Caelus gathered his sons in the Castle of Prydhann and had them swear an oath, to keep their Caerleian virtues, be friends to the weak, and the mortal enemies of all evil! All of the 17 Lords accepted the commitment dutifully and piously, and with that, Caelus moved on to the next world, sailing across the Eastern Sea to civilize new lands in the name of Eivus.

### Chapter 2: The Great Regency Period.

After the departure of Caelus, the 17 Lords were entrusted with their portions of the Kingdom, since Caelus was merely absent from Caerleia and not dead, the period that followed his departure east is known as the Great Regency, as the 17 Lords, and the subsequent Great Houses that sprung from them ruled Caerleia in his absence.

At first, the 17 Sons and their sons ruled wisely, and for the good of the people, working together to build new infrastructure, host lavish games and pay for public welfare from their fortunes, they also finished conquering the Ciaria Region around the Dragonspine Mountains and established outposts on the Mysterious Island of Ryttanis. It was a direct continuation of the Caelian Golden Age established by their father and continued for the next hundred years.

During this time, the Dwarven Stronghold of (insert Land name here) was also peacefully brought into the Kingdom as a Freehold. Where both Humans and Dwarves would work together to Civilize the World. The introduction of Dwarven Technology and Engineering was a great boon to Caerleia as massive works of Construction and Infrastructure sprung from this alliance, and Dwarven Craftsmen, Blacksmiths and other experts moved to the Cities to make their fortune, it was at this time that Caerleian Steel was known to be the finest in the world.

During the latter half of the Golden Age, a large deposit of Iron was discovered in the Dragonspine Mountains and the rights to Mine there were sold to a Dwarf named Dzulikus Marrvanis, who founded in conjunction with the Arsenal of Marrvania, which supplies the Caerleian Legions with the finest quality Weapons for years to come.

However, as much as the Golden Age was great in its achievements, the undeniable fact of life was that Good times breed weak men who bring back dark times, and indeed, the Caerleian Golden Age was at an end.

Starting in 268, when one day as people went about their business, the sky suddenly darkened and the air grew cold, and then from nowhere, in the far distance, a mighty falling star came to earth, though it glew like a gem, it’s core was blackened and rotten, and it came down with a horrific shriek that deafened the ears. A week later, a second falling star fell to the west, to a much smaller degree.

Months passed like normal, but ever since the falling of the Meteors, more and more bad omens came from the Temples, as people began to catch a strange disease with bizarre symptoms.

The Disease was described to have the following symptoms: Loss of sight, rotting of skin, progressively increasing weakness and soul and body, and eventually death. And a strange side effect that turned men into beasts, removing all but their base instincts. The disease came to ravage Caerleia, killing nearly half of its population of ten million and crippling the Economy and Military, the Freehold closed its doors to the outside world, and people sought answers.

Some worshipped the source of this disease as a demonic god and sought to spread the malice to others, while some more enlightened fellows saw it as the wrath of evil itself, which threatened to spread to the whole planet.

The heads of the 17 Great Houses came together for one last time until the Artorian age and agreed on drastic measures to contain the disease, now known as Skulk. First, a Nationwide lockdown of all infected was enforced, making it a criminal offence to break curfew and enforced by the Legions, Second, the Skulkoid Cult was declared as Heresy, and all members were hunted down and either killed or deported from Caerleian borders, and third, a nationwide curfew was established to prevent people from being out after dark, as it was believed that disease spreads more easily in the darkness.

The Skulk claimed millions but eventually, the disease began to die down, and soon, Caerleia returned to a state of normalcy, but only on the surface, as the rot of Caerleia had only just begun.

### Chapter 3: Madness and Demons.

Caerleia had escaped the Skulk plague mostly intact, though many of its frontier territories were lost, the core remained stable. People returned to their normal lives, but a new scourge had begun to seep into the minds of Caerleians, commoner and noble alike, the scourge of decadence.

Over time, the safety and security of the Caerleian city had made the Caerleians soft and weak, unwilling to forward the far-off goals of Eivus and having little respect for the contributions of their ancestors, the consequences of this showed themselves in the form of the nobility, once proud and pious servants of the State, were now nothing more than petty self-serving warlords who merely cared for wealth and prestige, concepts like Honour and Duty had long since vacated their minds as they feuded with one another for resources and power, some even considering crowning themselves as King despite the Regency status of Caerleia.

It was in this environment that one: Carus Garin Lutherius lived, reigning supreme in arrogance and cruelty among the petty Lords of Caerleia, he used his power and influence to usurp and nearly wipe out the Clan of Garin from which he claimed descent. As you might expect, the Knights and other Lords were none too happy to see this usurper claiming to be their equal, the nobility in their blood overpowering the apathy of their characters, a Coalition of Lords was assembled to dethrone and punish Carus for his evil attack on the sanctity of the Caerleian order.

Carus was no fool though, and he recognised the precariousness of the situation he had put himself into, as such, he called upon what loyal retainers he had, and a far-off, unknown tribe of barbarians that had wiped out the ancestral Suladii long ago. The Khakurians were a race of pale-skinned, light-haired men who were often clad in red cloaks and fought under the banner of a white Eagle. These Khakurians were known as mighty warriors and often fought as mercenaries for foreign Kings, and recently had been expanding their Lands out of their traditional territories. It was these Khakurians that Carus invited into his Court, led by Vriticus, the King of the Aldii.

Together with the Khakurians, the Caerleian coalition was smashed, and the Khakurians were let off the leash to ransack and pillage Caerleian lands, especially the Domain of the House of Artus, whose members were either killed in the Coalition wars or massacred by the Khakurians under Carus’ orders.

However, what goes around comes around, and as Carus prepared to seize all of Caerleia, Vriticus betrayed him, and usurped his Lordly throne, proclaiming him the King of the Barbarian Kingdom of Karelien. The Khakurian invasion had begun.

### Chapter 4: The Khakurian Yoke.

The Khakurians migrated to Caerleia in droves, establishing dozens of petty Kingdoms and Lordships under their tyrannical lord Vriticus, and it was the people of Caerleia who paid the price, as the Khakurians took hundreds of innocent Caerleians as slaves, and killed and raped hundreds more, among them Artorius, the last son of the House of Artus, who was enslaved by a Khakurian Lord called Lovicus. For years Artorius suffered under the Khakurian yoke, subjected to indignities beyond Human decency until much later.

Meanwhile, despite this existential threat preparing to sweep all of Caerleia under the rule of Barbarian overlords, the Caerleian people and lords returned to squabbling and feuding with each other instead of fighting against the true threat. But there was resistance. Enlightened men who saw the Khakurian scourge for what it was began to rise and form local militias to resist the Khakurian threat, some even winning victories against them, among these were the Knights of Artus, who since the massacre had lived under the protection of the Leolinus Clan, and now fought to protect it’s borders.

Meanwhile, the Khakurians entrenched their rule and promised to cease their raids so long as the Caerleian lords paid tribute to King Vriticus to keep him away. People like the Knights of Artus urged the Lords to reject this offer, and at last, unite against the Khakurian menace, but, too weak to recognise the necessity of violence to defend what right, the Caerleians chose subjugation, and paid tribute to Gold and slaves to the Khakurian King. and the Knights of Artus were made into outlaws for their resistance and were chased through the land by Khakurian Barbarians and Caerleian Legions, their countrymen.

### Chapter 5: The Rise of Artorius.

The Khakurians established their court at the Castle of Caer Wynt, renaming it to Karwit in their Barbaric tongue, it was there that Artorius, last of the Artii laboured, subjected to humiliation and indignity, he hoped desperately for a way to end this, to end the Khakurian menace once and for all. It was at this moment that he was visited, the Spirit of Eivus offered him a deal, in exchange for taking the mantle of Caelus and ruling over Caerleia as its Commander, Eivus would bless his life to be fortunate like no other. Artorius was conflicted. He had no real desire to rule, but if it was he who the Gods chose to rule over Caerleia, then it must be fate, and so, Artorius accepted the deal, and chose the path of duty, to save Caerleia from the Khakurians and from it’s own Demons inside.

With Divine guidance, Artorius escaped Khakurian captivity as his captors feasted after torching yet another Caerleian village, and Artorius narrowly evaded capture by Vriticus’ barbarian soldiers using the cover of night to escape. Eventually, Artorius returned to Caerleian-controlled lands, knowing well not to return to his ancestral home just yet, and entered the court of Leolinus, where he was given the job of rounding up the Knights of Artus, with the Lord of the Leolinii not knowing yet who Artorius was, merely seeing him as the son of a petty noble asking for a job.

Artorius accepted the task and rode out with his Legion, encountering the Knights in the Hills of Llanzalia, but instead of capturing them, he approached them alone, revealing himself as Artorius Caelus Artus, Prince of Caerleia and the last Lord of the Artii Domain, showing a pendant passed down from Artus himself as an heirloom as evidence. Artorius then told the Knights of the indignities he suffered under the Khakurians and proclaimed that God willing, he would destroy them all as retribution for his Family’s murder and the damage done to the Caerleian Nation. Inspired, the Knights swore loyalty to Artorius, adding another 20 men to his party, who would serve him loyally for the rest of his life.

Artorius returned to the Leolinii and explained that the Knights of Artus were not rebellious and that they were merely protecting their Lord's estate. A faint of course, but the Leolinii fell for it nonetheless and pardoned the Knights.

Later, Artorius spent time performing various acts of Herorism, gaining a reputation as a brave and loyal commander who placed his priority on the welfare of the Nation first, repelling many Khakurian incursions, which at many points nearly got him dismissed, but he narrowly avoided removal from Command.

Eventually, it got to the stage where Artorius was in charge of most of the Leolinii’s Legions, with the Knights of Artus at their Core. And Artorius could finally begin the final stages of his plan to unify Caerleia into a single Nation.

One day, Artorius ventured into Khakurian Lands, to the long-since ruined Castle of Prydhann, it was here that Eivus told Artorius that he would find the ultimate symbol of legitimacy for his quest, but before he could even enter the Castle’s vault, he would have to enter the Castle first, which was a greater ordeal than expected, as in the years since Caelus’ departure, various seals and spells and guardians were made to surround the Castle. Artorius skillfully defeated all these trials and entered the Castle that Caelus called home all those years ago.

At its heart he entered the Throne room of the Castle, and beside it stood the spirit of Caelus himself, who using Astral projection was able to communicate with Artorius, he said that the Crown and Throne of Caerleia were his and that Artorius was the new Ruler of all Caerleia. He asked if Artorius accepted this Duty, and once again, Artorius accepted, and in the Spirit and Name of Caelus, Artorius was Crowned as Imperator of all Caerleia, the Head of the Clan Caelus, and the first Emperor of the Caerleian Empire.

Setting out from the Castle he was confronted by a Khakurian Warband, but they were dispersed the moment they saw him carrying the Dragon Standard of Caelus himself, recognising him as a Divine prodigy, they didn’t dare challenge him, and so Imperator Artorius Caelus Artorius returned to Caerleian occupied land, and began marching on the Keeps of various Lords, demanding their submission to him.

As he marched, Caelus drew a greater and greater army of commoners, privates and officers alike, and with this army, he conquered his rightful realm. Some resisted and some submitted, but the result was the same, Artorius in short order had united Caerleia by sheer force of will and determination.

Now as Ruler in both name and station, Artorius ordered the assembly of ten Legions numbering a hundred thousand men and deployed them along the border with the Khakurians.

Declaring all Khakurians in Caerleian territory to be exactly what they were, invaders, Artorius crossed the border to recover what was lost. Opposing him were hundreds of thousands of Khakurian warriors and Vriticus himself. But Vriticus had aged greatly since the two last met, and so Vriticus too had fallen to the decedent brain worm and decided to preemptively attack Artorius in a pitched battle in the fields of Tutobria, the Khakurians were vicious in their attack, but under the calm Command of Artorius and his Knightly officers, the Legions held firm, and after drawing the Khakurians in through their weakened centre, enveloped the Khakurians, killing 80,000 Khakurian warriors in a single day. And only taking prisoners to rest their arms.

The defeat was decisive enough that the Khakurians fled Caerleia as cascadingly as they did when they came, and those who couldn’t escape were captured and ironically enslaved for the good of Caerleia, divine justice at last.

Critics himself fled across the sea, abandoning his Barbarian Kingdom of Artorius recaptured Caer Wynt after a short siege and declared Caerleia liberated, however, he didn't declare the war over, he declared the death penalty for Vriticus and announced a punitive campaign into Khakuria itself to hunt the villain down and bring him to justice.

And so Artorius prepared for the final campaign to bring justice to the animals who long ago oppressed his people.

For the campaign, he assembled his 10 Legions, as well as 300 Ships, and at the beginning of Spring, he departed, landing in Khakuria a week later and butchering all the Khakurians he came across, sacking the Aldii and burning their homes to ash in the hunt of Vriticus.

At last, the two met once more, and despite the home advantage, and Vriticus outnumbering Artorius on the field, Artorius held the line and defeated Vriticus’ Khakurian Coalition army with an ambush.

In the proceeding months, Vriticus grew increasingly mad as Artorius systematically took everything away from him, just like Vriticus had before. Having his own sons' heads mounted on spikes and his wife enslaved, Vriticus began to suspect treachery among his own ranks, but by then, any support he had vanished, as the Khakurians realised it was Vriticus Artorius was after, so, Vriticus was slain by his own retainers, and his head was delivered to Artorius.

Though Artorius was disappointed by the outcome, wanting to deliver the final blow himself, he decided that enough was enough, and began to withdraw from Khakuria, leaving behind a trail of destruction equal to the destruction the Khakurians had brought about in Caerleia.

When Artorius finally returned with Vriticus’ head, he was hailed as a Hero, a Great man and the one true Imperator of Caerleia, and for the first time, Artorius was to rule his Empire in Peace.

### Chapter 6: Artorius the Great.

The rest of Artorius’ reign was one of recovery, as he focused his attention on rebuilding the former Khakurian Lands, setting up his court in Caer Wynt, where Vriticus had once ruled, and directing reconstruction from there. He redistributed former Khakurian lands, since appropriated by the Crown to his loyal Knights, who supplemented the displaced Nobility, who were integrated as Bureaucrats into the new Regime.

Artorius then sought to centralise the Empire around him, introducing a series of Laws and decrees placing more and more power in the hands of the Imperator, though the rights and privileges of the Lords were respected, Artorius seized supreme executive authority over the State, and the right to rule any Domain he physically found himself in, he also furthermore guaranteed the rights of Caerleian Citizens, ending the practice of Serfdom for Citizens and supplementing said Labour with Khakurian slaves taken during the recent campaign.

Next Artorius established a Permanent Tax system, previously Taxation was left to the discretion of the Nobles, with Taxation being sporadic and varying in rates, with the Nobility paying nothing, but now, Noble estates were taxed just like the Lands of peasants, though a caveat was introduced where Reconquered lands were exempt for a time. Taxation was made regular by the use of a permanent Tax Office, staffed by many of the former Nobles who were displaced by the Khakurian Invasion.

Artorius then reworked the system of privileges, making it so that promotions and appointments of office were based on merit rather than family lineage, allowing the cream of the crop to rise and serve the Imperator.

The last and most important of the Artorian Reforms was his religious reforms, previously the Caerleian faith was fractured and varied from household to household, but, after a long conference, the practices and beliefs of the Caerleian Faith were standardised and published in the form of the Liber Veritatis, which detailed practices from how to pray and offer tribute to the gods, to church hierarchies, the rights and privileges of priests, and permanently establishing the position of Chief Pontiff as tied to the Emperorship. It also placed Eivus as the Chief God and Patron of the Imperial House and canonized Caelus as a true living God.

Artorius reigned for the next 60 years, living to marry and establish the Artorian Dynasty, whose blood led to the very present.

Eventually, Imperator Artorius would pass away in 382 AC, leaving the Throne to his son and Heir, Prince Aeron.

### Chapter 7: Road to the Present.

The Artorian Dynasty leading up to the present so far has 6 Emperors, including Imperator Artorius I and the present Imperator Lucius I. In Chronological Order they are.

Artorius I ‘the Great’, Founder of the Artorian Dynasty and saviour of Caerleia, Pendragon.

Aeron I ‘the Scholar’ Standardised the Caerleian Language and established many Schools of varying subjects, reestablished relations with the Freehold.

Ovinus I ‘the Unifyer’ Formally reintegrated the Freehold as a constituent of the Caerleian Empire.

Leolinus I ‘the Pious’ Primarily dedicated his life to Faith, and finished the reconstruction of Caerleia.

Ovinus II ‘the stern’ defended Caerleia against foreign Barbarians and began the construction of several Border forts to defend the Frontier, led a very strict lifestyle earning him the nickname ‘the stern’.

Lucius I present Emperor of Caerleia.

## Geography

Caerleia is situated in the Green Region of Ciaria, it's Heartland around Caerwynt lies south of the Dragonspine Mountains and is surrounded by steep white Cliffs. To it's north is the Dragonspine Mountains, a range of Mountains named as such due to them taking the appearance of a great beast's Spine. Around the Freehold are Cherry Tree Forests surrounding a single Lonely Mountain, inside of which is a great Mushroom cavern. The Empire is surrounded by the Sea of Departure and just off the Coast is the Island of Rytannis.

## Government

Caerleia operated as a Feudal Monarchy, with a Class of Powerful Nobles with their own Lands and Estates. Each Feudal Domain is more or less expected to run itself in exchange that they follow the Laws of the Central Government, and aid the Empire in times of War. The Empire also has an Imperial Council that advises the Emperor on key issues, itself having some Legislative Authority.

There are also several Departments that oversee key areas of National Affairs, such as Foreign Affairs, the Economy and Commerce, and Defence, all of the major decisions however are signed off by the Emperor.

## Demographics

The Empire currently possesses 23 Citizens as of the Latest Census (6-11-23).

The Ethnic makeup of the Caerleian citizenry varies from region to region, most Ethnic Caerleians are of both mixed Kobold and Human ancestry, while the area around the Dwarven Freehold is almost entirely Dwarven in Blood. Despite this stark difference, the Caerleian Cities are bastions of Cosmopolitanism and Diversity, with people from all walks of life living, working and enjoying the Cities like Caerwynt.

## Culture

The Culture of Caerleia is descendent of the Ancient Veropans, who according to Legend, once built a great Empire that ruled over the known world, but has since fallen. Caerleian is a primarily Clan based, collectivist Culture, with things such as relationships, professions, marriage and more being Family affairs, as such Caerleian families are incredibly tight knit.

Caerleians have a tendency to venerate ancestors and especially Heroes, with people weighing the value of their actions based on what they're venerable ancestors did, it's the greatest dishonour for a Caerleian to die having not measured up to their ancestors' achievements, as such Caerleians have a constant drive to aspire for greatness, that said, since Artorius' Religious reforms curbed this somewhat by stating that the Gods have planned a purpose for all people, and that it's up to said individuals to fulfil said fate.

Caerleia is a primarily Patriarchal Culture, with the position of Head of the Family being handed down by Patrilineal lines, and Women are often tucked away from the eyes of society, and Wives and Daughters are often considered the property of their Husbands or Fathers.

Among these and more, here are some other common Notions of Caerleian Culture:

* Agrarian Lifestyles are highly respected in Caerleian society and it's often viewed as the most Noble profession to be a Farmer.
* Nobility is a separate concept from Family Rank, while Aristocrats hold titles and Lands in the Caerleian Empire, one is not a Noble until they have done something to distinguish themselves as such, for the Noble houses this usually involves some rite of passage that is mandatory for Boys when they come of age.
* Architecturally speaking, Caerleian settlements usually have a motte and bailey set-up, with a Walled town and a inner Citadel at it's centre, all major towns and cities in Caerleia never fail to have a Castle inside the City walls, with the older ones universally having "Caer" at the start of their name, meaning Castle.
* Caerleians are often an aggressively militant and fierce people, as part of their collectivist culture, integrity of one's estate and land is taken very seriously, and Land disputes are often the leading causes of violence in Caerleia, as such, whenever a foreigner attempts to violate the borders of Caerleia, it is seen as an attack on the collective estate of all Caerleians, as such most foreign invaders are met with constant resistance by the Caerleian citizenry.

* Dragon Trumpets are a special type of Trumpet used during the Early regency by the 17 main Lords of Caerleia, they were used extensively in battle to issue commands, but over time they gained a more ceremonial purpose too, they are called Dragon trumpets due to their design to take the shape of a Dragon, but also due to their engineering making them sound like the roar of a fierce Dragon when blown upon.

## Death of the Empire

On December 28, the empire after multiple weeks of discussions and bickering the emperor had had enough so Lucius Artorious the l abdicated the throne and chose Azaroth Amthrilvia as his successor. Azaroth Amthrilvia declared after ascending to the throne that the empire was no more and that it shall be succeeded by the Principality of Caerleiawith he as it's Grand Prince.