Bvari Empire

## Overview:

The Bvari Empire was a civilization on the southern continent. The Empire was a large one, with a mostly desert climate and covered in dry fields and sand dunes. The Empire was headed by the Emperor and his appointed noble families. The empire was and still to this day a very influential player in the region and is impacting people today with its culture.

## History:

The city of Bvaria rose to power in an unknown year. We do know that the city is the landing site of the First Men in the Southern Continent. The people in Bvaria grew rich from trade with countries to the north, trading the Bvari carpets and spices for the northern building materials. In the year 25,000 AE, a rival city state about 300 miles from the city of Bvaria declares war on the Bvari. In response, the Bvari send their soldiers and conquer the city easily. The city was sacked, its leaders crucified, and their people enslaved. The Bvari grew in wealth, and realized that if they gained the lands of the entire Southern Continent, they would become extremely wealthy. So, they sent out their armies to the west and east. The west was easily brought into the fold early on, but when the troops reached the east, they ran into trouble. They were forced to face the more organized and advanced city states in the east during the 200 year conflict known as the War of the Dunes. This war was mostly won through besieging cities and cutting off their supplies. This process went on for 200 years, and ended with a strong Bvari hold on the continent.

The Bvari then began to institute their own leaders in these newly conquered cities in the east, and began constructing new cities in the west. The empire reigned for the next 3,000 years in freedom and prosperity. Until, finally, the War of the Sunset began. The war began when a noble Bvari woman named Aiyv Laydena was attacked by the heir to the Empire. This woman, in response, rose an army and marched on the capitol in rebellion. The nobles that joined her cause were known as the "Insurgents" and the ones who sided with the royal Emperor Biyv were known as "Loyalists".

In the end, the Insurgents overwhelmed the capitol and slaughtered the majority of the loyalists, and the royal family. Those loyalists that surrendered were allowed to live on, but were stripped of their nobility, and replaced with other "more deserving" families. The Bvari Empire's throne was destroyed, and a new one was forged. The capitol was renamed to "Sodono", which means Sunset in the new language that Queen Ayve spoke. It would be years before the rest of the empire spoke it, but her language was what later came to be known as the Summer Tongue.

The Loyalists began to try to integrate into society in the new Sunset Kingdom. However, life was difficult for them. Eventually, in 18,231 AE, these remaining Loyalists gathered up there households and fled to the east, where they set up a new city called New Bvar. This city declared itself independent from the Sunset Kingdom, and was ruled by a group, called the senate made up of members from the old Bvari noble houses.

This city reigned until the year 17,100 BE, when the War of the Short Summer began. The former nobles of Bvaria declared their intentions to take back their former homelands. When this news reached the Sunset Kingdom, the king sent his son, Prince Vyme, to deal with the trouble makers. He rode for the city, and sneaked in through the sewers while everyone was asleep.  Once inside, Vyme began the slaughter: Known as the Starry Slaughter.

All of the city's inhabitants were slaughtered that night, except one noble family, their guard, and their servants. The party of about 300 people fled the destroyed city and fled as far east as they could. The massacre left no man, woman, or child alive. The city was burned. Vyme was forever known as Vyme the Vengeful.

Once far enough east, the survivors built another city, named Dyvini. They established laws prohibiting the speaking of any language other than Bvari. They forced everyone to have at least five children. They tried to preserve their culture.

## Appearance:

The Bvari are known for their golden brown hair, caramel colored skin, and golden eyes.

## Geography:

The geography of the Bvari is one similar to northern Africa. The empire stretched across the majority of the Southern Continent, and had dry, brittle fields to the west, sandy stretches of land to the east, and the Summer Sea to the north, which allowed the empire much trade to the rest of the nations of the region. The capitol city of the empire was named Bvaria, and was the center of trade, culture, and civilization for the entire continent. The River of the Sand is a major waterway going from east to west across the middle of the continent, which gave the empire the land it needed to farm and sustain life.

## Religion:

The Bvari were a people with a polytheistic religion. Little is known of the specifics of their gods, but it is known that the faithful worshiped in large temples in the center of their city. They worshiped the god of the sun and the goddess of the moon. The religion had no official texts, so there is little record of it, but many paintings that have been found have shed more light on the religion, and there are many references to the religion in ancient plays.

## Politics:

The Bvari Empire was an empire ruled by the wealthy. The royal family ruled from the Emperor's palace in the capitol: Bvaria. The Emperor selected certain wealthy families from the empire, and would grant them lands and household guards. The emperor would still have ultimate control over these household guards, but they were ordered to keep their assigned families safe from harm. Most of these noble families married into the royal family multiple times, and had varying degrees of loyalty.

## Culture:

The Bvari had a very unique culture. The people of the empire were very liberal on women's rights. Traditionally, the heir of the throne went to the oldest child, be them male or female. Their foods were very spicy, they have a plant called the Dragon Pepper, which was known to sometimes burn off taste buds, if eaten in mass. They often held snakes as pets, and even included some snake venom's in their dishes. They often were called a war like people, due to their large military, but in reality, they engaged in very little warfare: with only small border conflicts between the time of its founding after the War of the Dunes, and its fall in the War of the Empress in 21,220 BE.