Rommulite Empire

"I am ruler of the Rommulite Empire. I am highest of the fifth circle mages. I do not bow to the memory of the old Gods - they bow to me!"

Maximillius Firebrand, 5th Circle Mage

From city-state to Empire (0PR-300PR)
The Rommulite Empire arose out of the ashes of the period of ruination, gradually evolving from a band of power hungry survivors seeking to bend the will of their scattered fellows with the use of their newly fledging magical abilities into one of the only two dominant civilisations upon the continent of Varia.

By 50PR, the Rommulite Empire held much with which to tempt the allegiance of any Arcana-Supreme, and much with which to wreak terror and awe into the hearts of those not equally blessed with arcane might. Over the fifty year period and with little difficulty, what began as a combined effort from less than a hundred experimenting nomads quickly gained the momentum to evolve into a city state of nearly two thousand Arcana-supreme with twice that number in slave and servile common-folk.

This city state, based out of the Red City, had easily become the largest power in the western reaches of Varia, and rapidly expanded outwards over the following two centuries; taking advantage of the apparent lack of external opposition by subjugating those common folk now within imperial borders through monumental feats of arcane engineering and brutal dictatorial regimes reinforcing Arcana-supreme beliefs. By 300PR, all but a few of the hundreds of royal lineages dating from before the period of ruination had been eradicated, erased, or altered to incorporate Arcana-supreme ideals.

The First Enemy (250PR-450PR)
Although the Rommulite Empire had enjoyed several centuries of unopposed expansion across western Varia, they were not the only gradually expanding empires based upon arcane might. To the east, another Empire had begun to rise from the uncertainty of chaos: The Bennite Empire.

Although both empires shared much by way of governing and ideology, negotiations between the two factions were strained at best. An initial peace spanned from the first encounter (around 250PR) to nearly 300PR, but the peace was broken just short of the end of 299PR, leading into the longest series of wars ever experienced in Varian history.

During the early centuries of the war - which lasted from 299PR till the demise of the Rommulite Empire through 700PR, the Rommulite Empire continued to expand mostly unopposed, and succeeded in subjugating all of the southern desert peoples who now make up the Sellederre Empire. During this time, the Rommulite Empire also expanded to the far reaches of the north, conquering the entirety of the Iron Valley and much of the Razor Mountains. However, progress to the east was faltering. Although a large expanse of land-mass, and central sea still separated the Rommulite and Bennite Empire, neither side would permit the other to travel unhindered between. Through powerful scrying and evocational magic, the central portions of Varia were roiled and twisted through long-distance magical strikes. Entire bystander civilisations were destroyed, decimated, or lost.

First Defiance of the Common-folk (450PR-460PR)
One kingdom trapped between the seemingly everlasting wars of the Bennite and Rommulite empires sought to, and succeeded, in founding a unified group of central kingdoms, which acted as an act of defiance against both empires. Although the small band of kingdoms posed no threat to either Empire, they provided a great deal of hope and cause for the common peoples across the continent of Varia. The surge of rebellious spirit provided adequate cause for the warring Empires to adopt a temporary ceasefire, in order to pacify the defiant lands, and so within four years of it's founding, the Central Lands were all but destroyed in a single short-lived battle at Fenlack Ridge, it's land being divided among the victors.

Knowing death for himself and his kin was certain following defeat at Fenlack Ridge, King Asamothe Valorthgar urged his family into hiding. He, and all but his youngest son were captured and publicly executed as a demonstration to demoralise the already broken peoples of the Central Lands. Although individual pockets of resistance remained under the guise of the Order of Shadows, this public execution immediately quenched the spirit of resistance within the majority of common folk.

Golden Age of Magic (460PR-699PR)
Technological and magical advancements spurred by the need of an ever-lasting war with the Bennite Empire continued throughout the centuries following the defeat of the Central Lands. With borders spanning half of the continent, the immense population of the Empire allowed for the recognition and appropriate training of truly spectacular individuals who otherwise might have spent their lives farming turnips. Such prodigies often went on to later lead lines of equally remarkable successors, resulting in a gradually elevating pool of the elite within the elite. During these two and a half centuries, the boundaries of magic were pushed so far that entire cities were forged from magic so powerful that their buildings might never be fully destroyed. Subsequently, the capital of the Empire was moved to one such location: a fortification in the Razor Mountains.

By the end of the seventh century, mastery of the fifth circle of magic had been achieved by a select few, and many predicted that the sixth circle of magic would be achieved within the first half of the next century. This allowed for such wonders as teleportation, permanency, and many communal and alteration spells that allowed lesser non-magical subjects to serve as semi-competant support soldiers within smaller battles - the latter of which is still used today in the training and augmentation of the elite Silver Shields of the Sellederre Empire.

Although the Order of Shadows continued to resist the Rommulite Empire through sporadic bouts of guerilla warfare, the resistance would be better defined as a series of faltering retreats between hideouts, with a single pyrrhic defeat in the capture and subsequent destruction of Ironkeep in 601PR.

The Collapse of the Rommulite Empire (699PR-701PR)
Although many assumed the Order of Shadows to have been defeated once and for all after their penultimate defeat at the siege of Ironkeep, and ultimate defeat at the battle of Guninhelm, it was not so. Leaderless and dormant, small groups of the order remained scattered across the Empire, searching for their new leader. This proved to be a difficult task, as although many competent leaders ranked among the order, without a notable bloodline connection, no new surge of rebellion could be inspired. In 699PR, however, a new leader emerged: Robert Lorliathe, a distant relative of King Asamothe Valorthgar.

Robert Lorliathe emerged seemingly from nowhere, appearing from the ruins of the Central Lands with a great army of tens of thousands of well equipped, veteran soldiers who were reported as being well-versed in the act of fighting powerful spellcasters. How such a force arose is unknown, though news of it's arrival unsurprisingly spread like wildfire among the commonfolk of the Empire and brought into being a resurgence of the Order of Shadows.

Robert Lorliathe's army progressed rapidly across the eastern stretches of the Empire, growing rapidly as it progressed and defeating all magical resistance with apparent ease. Although the Rommulite Empire fielded an exceptionally powerful army of magic wielding spell-knights, they were unused to battling serious non-magical opponents and continually underestimated their opponent. So efficient was the army that many theologians believe it to have been blessed with anti-magic artefacts by an unknown divine entity.

By 700PR, Robert Lorliathe's army had reached the Iron Valley, where it rapidly captured the series of fortifications known as the Iron Shield. Meanwhile, uprisings lead by the Order of Shadows in the central and southern parts of the Empire met surprising success. Within less than a single year, the Rommulite Empire had been forced into full retreat. By the end of 700PR, the entire southern lands of the Rommulite Empire were overthrown by the desert folk who claimed cultural unity as the Sellederre Empire, while the centre of the empire was all but abandoned.

During the early months of 701PR, the Rommulite Empire prepared for a counter offensive from it's stronghold in the razor mountains. Although it had been defeated in battle at every front, magic had resulted in relatively few casualties, meaning that the arcane might of the Rommulite Empire - condensed though it was - could still be considered to be as strong as it had ever been. Furthermore, an experimental school of magic had allowed for the creation and summoning of many powerful allies, chiefly among them being the apparent living dead.

In a single day, outside the walls of Greymount Castle, the bulk of each army met and clashed in a deadly duel to decide the fate of Western Varia. Many died upon that day, including the famed mercenary Methros the Black, but the ultimate victor was Robert Lorliathe, whose silver lance broke the living dead into flames, and whose blue and silver banners seemed to protect all who stood beneath them.

With no notable force or hope of victory, the remaining spellcasters either surrendered or retreated to their old capital: The Red City, to await a final stand which never arrived.

Imperial Control
As the Rommulite Empire was vast, stretching across half of the continent of Varia at it's height, the way in which it was ruled had to be equally vast. That said, the command of the Empire was largely unchanged throughout its history, being at it's core a group of elite rulers who debated, deliberated, and decided amongst themselves all matters of import across the Empire.

This group, or council, or Arcana-Supreme numbered between fifty and five-hundred members throughout history, and was highly heirarchal in nature. An individuals influence within the council was based entirely upon their magical ability, as measured by the complexity of that members most powerful arcane spell. The groupings of such spells provided the basis for current groupings of modern magics, such that those spells now considered to be of level one power were once considered first circle magics.

In theory, the council governing the Rommulite Empire would always be lead by it's most achieved member who held mastery of the most advanced circle of magic at that time. As the collective discovery of the next circle of magic might take a century or more to achieve, however, the reality was that although a single individual might lead the council, dozens more might hold mastery of the same circle of magic as that leader, and therefore be of a similar power. In such instances, those individuals were often expected to retire from politics, or otherwise remain at a lower circle of magic. Therefore, the structure of imperial command might be represented by a pyramid: many younger spellcasters of the lower first and second circles of magic, and far fewer higher ability members. At the height of its power, the Rommulite Empire officially held mastery of five circles of magic - though, importantly, individuals throughout history had exhibited magic that would now be considered fifth level or greater, most notable of which being permanency, which had most certainly been used by Lantos Lionsword in the creation of Unvargoth.

Regional Control
Similarly to the current Grand Imperium Arcarnum, the Rommulite Empire ruled individual provinces as semi-indipendant states, each with its own individual laws and expectations. Unlike the modern Grand Imperium Arcarnum, however, the rulers of these provinces bore no relation to their original rulers - who were instead kept as minor officials entrusted with only the most minor decisions or commands. Instead, an individual province might expect to be ruled by a single or collection of foreign arcana-supreme, whose task would be to farm the region for strategical and luxury resources, and to discover and train any individual with latent or active arcane abilities.

Local Leadership
An unfortunate consequence of the aloof management of the common lands across the Empire was that ultimately, at a local level, no real official leadership existed. Therefore, so long as resources continued to be farmed, and arcane students produced for training, villages and entire towns might be free to govern themselves much as they wished. Often-times, therefore, members of rebellious groups such as the Order of Shadows were easily able to assume unofficial command of entire regions for short periods of time without being noticed. Further, this allowed for the continuation of many ancient non-arcane noble lines which otherwise might have been lost to history.

Knighthoods
One way in which the imperial command mitigated the rise of top tier circle of magic users was with the formation of knighthoods. In this way, individuals of similar arcane power to the highest member of the council governing the Empire might be removed from politics and therefore be removed as a potential threat as leader. Knighthoods were seen as a single collective political entity within the Empire, being second only to the highest council mage. Their word was as law, and often they served as the first and most powerful hand of the council.

Military Might
The Rommulite Empire was one of two large empires which eventually carved the continent of Varia into two distinct territories. It is impossible, therefore, to account for the entirety of the Rommulite Empire's military might across it's entire history. At any one time, however, it is estimated that between one in every twenty individuals within the Rommulite Empire's borders were considered arcana supreme, and were likely therefore engaged in some degree at some time with military matters. At the Empires peak through the 7th century post-ruination, this represented almost one million arcana-supreme, at least one quarter of which could be considered battle hardened, trained for war and within prime fighting age.

Soldiers
Unlike modern armies which favour trained but otherwise mundane soldiers, the Rommulite Empire relied almost exclusively on arcana supreme battle mages. During the rise of the Empire, these arcana supreme soldiers were likely similar in many regards to their mundane peers today owing to the relative primacy of magic during that time and the practicality of sword and shield. It is likely that during this time, battalions of armoured soldiers would primarily use sword and shield in close combat, bolstered by magical preparations and arcane ranged warfare. However, as the complexity of magic progressed, the soldiers within the Rommulite Empire relied more and more upon spellweaving and less upon mundane weaponry and armour.

During the golden age of the Rommulite Empire (460PR-699PR), the soldiers of the Rommulite Empire might be split loosely into five groups:

Knights
The elite of Rommulite society, any knight would possess a similar or comparable mastery of complex magic as the highest member of the Rommulite council. Indeed, it is probable that many knights were placed such because their powers exceeded those of the highest member of the council, but through either a lack of interest in politics or other external circumstances, their candidacy for council leadership were never considered. At the height of the Empires power, its knights were devastating. A single knight might feasibly be able to cast between one and two score spells before becoming drained.

Modern groupings of arcane abilities might therefore place knights as being a combination of highly skilled sorcerery and magnus.

Support Infantry
These soldiers made the bulk of the Rommulite military force and at the height of the Empire were mostly between first and third circle mages specialised in transmutation and enchantment. Their role involved the drawing of enemy fire and the augmentation of more specialised offensive soldiers.

Flying Infantry
Contrary to the name, not all of these soldiers necessarily possessed the ability to fly. Instead, these soldiers were skilled in moving swiftly - whether through a series of dimension door portals, teleportation, or flight. Their role consisted of ensuring the continued possibility of rapid retreat of nearby soldiers if required, and the scouting or breeching of enemy positions.

Tactical Support
These individuals fulfilled the role of modern day siege weaponry, having focussed their studies on improving the range and accuracy of their spells. These soldiers were almost entirely offensive in battle, therefore, and often played the pivotal role in arcane battles.

Guardians
Guardians were the arcane equivalent of modern day guards. Their role consisted primarily of counter-magic and the design of fortifications to resist magic. Otherwise, they played a relatively small role upon the active battlefield.

Tactics
Rommulite tactics consisted mostly of blasting enemies from range where possible, and fighting from behind arcane shield where not. Subsequently, they relied heavily upon magic within the battlefield. As communal augmentation became more readily available, some non-arcane soldiers were recruited for menial soldiering purposes or for the use of decoys, though such soldiers constituted far less than 1% of the overall army at any one time.

This combination of tactics proved ineffective during the Liberation war (699PR-701PR) owing to the protection from arcane might which Robert Lorliathe's soldiers were considered to possess.

Trade and Commerce
Owing partially to a highly developed mastery of transmutation magic, and mostly to a severe lack of potential trading partners, the Rommulite Empire was considered to be wholly self-sufficient and engaged in very little international trade. Instead, local trade across the entire Empire sufficed, resulting in the relocation of huge quantities of raw and processed resources to meet various local demands.

The way in which resources could easily and quickly be moved through the use of magic resulted in very few dedicated non arcana supreme traders, and also ensured that no non arcana supreme trader could ever become truly wealthy from trade. This had a cascading economic effect in that it ensured that almost all valuable resources were controlled by arcana supreme, thereby further widening the power gap between the common folk and their arcana supreme social superiors.

Diplomatic Relations
The Rommulite Empire's rapid expansion and subsequent clash with the rival Bennite Empire meant that the Rommulite Empire never truly forged alliances. Instead, lesser kingdoms were considered future conquests, to be dominated at the next available lull in the imperial Rommulite and Bennite war. This resulted in no small amount of resistance and warlike preparation by the so called "future conquests", which eventually lead to the formation of the Central Lands, a resistance lead by King Asamothe Valorthgar incorporating all of the unconquered lands at the time of it's formation (450PR).