The Grand Imperium Arcanum

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 * "From the ashes of destruction shall rise a new power of order and prosperity, and all within shall rejoice or perish in shame!"
 * - Among the first public announcements delivered by the Council of Magi

Magic
The people of The Grand Imperium Arcarnum know that there are two kinds of magic: The divine, which comes from the New Pantheon; and the arcane, which comes from the Old Gods. As the majority of divine magic is highly beneficial to everyday life, and has not yet been obviously misused, most commonfolk are highly appreciative of divine spellcasters. Arcane magic, although beneficial to daily life in many ways, has a dark past lingering from the old Rommulite Empire, as far as most commonfolk in the empire are concerned, making it a more complicated topic:

A divide exists between the people of The Grand Imperium Arcarnum: There are those of who view arcane magic as the ultimate ascension and assertion of power, and there are those who are distrustful of the arcane arts and of imperial magic in general. The division of opinion has existed since the defeat of the magic-centred Rommulite Empire, and has continued in most commonfolk regardless of any mediation efforts. The degree of division of opinion varies across the Empire, with some places holding little more than minor gripes or moans. Even in the most remote and docile of villages however, it is evident that trouble is brewing...

Social Classes
Those who are not commoners may be broadly split into one of three categories: The spirit which fuelled the collapse of the old Rommulite Empire still burns strong, and many people resent The Grand Imperium Arcarnum for having become to similar to the Rommulite Empire. Unsurprisingly, this means that all three non-commoner social classes are rapidly losing the support of the commonfolk across most of the empire.
 * 1) Nobles, for whom imperial politics might represent either a restrictive or entertaining force;
 * 2) Imperial soldiers, otherwise known as a musketeer, who are considered above minor local laws and are therefore treated with a high degree of caution;
 * 3) Arcanists, or those who posses some form of arcane ability. This last category is of significant interest, as from a political and nobility standpoint, they may be viewed as superior to their non-magical counterparts. However, from a commoners viewpoint, they are likely to be treated with distrust or disdain.

Day-to-Day Life
Regardless of their origins, the people of The Grand Imperium Arcarnum are left mostly to their own devices, working freely in whatever trade they choose to work. There are very few laws which hold true across the whole Empire, with the exception of the banning of necromancy, and treason against the Empire, the punishment for which is death. Because of this, most commonfolk seek guidance from their local lord or sheriff regarding the law, and a common-sense approach is mostly taken. This has kept crime to a minimum across the empire, though it does mean that crimes may be judged subjectively rather than objectively.

Traditionally, the empire has not enforced any means of drafting soldiers, however, many of the lands within the empire operate under a feudal system. This means that a large proportion of soldiers fighting across the empire do so as a means of service to their local lord, rather than out of choice. The rewards for serving in the local and royal armies are mostly based around prestige and financial gain, while the rewards for serving at an imperial level is a literal ascension to a position above most local laws. However, most commonfolk would consider imperial soldiers to be almost akin to traitors to their countries, and many imperial soldiers therefore find themselves without a true homeland within the empire.

Temperament
The people of The Grand Imperium Arcarnum are mostly peaceful, and are interested in raising their children in peace and prosperity. On an alignment scale, the majority of people would be considered either Lawful Neutral, True Neutral, or Neutral Good. As such, few regions accept cruel rulers, and the majority of lands within the empire are open for all to travel through freely. Furthermore, the good prosperity experienced by the majority of lands within the empire have allowed most cities to employ strong social care systems, promoting a great deal of altruism among its citizens.

In recent times, war with the Sellederre Empire has resulted in a huge decrease in production and population, resulting in food and produce shortages across the empire. This, coupled with the reduction of protection from those soldiers who are now fighting on the frontier, has lead to crime-rates rising and a greater degree of selfishness and caution among the citizens of many denizens. Discontent among commonfolk, and a rise in banditry and desertion threatens to shift the balance of alignment towards True Neutral, Chaotic Neutral, and Chaotic Good.

Notable Traits
The people of The Grand Imperium Arcarnum as a whole share only two notable common traits: First, due to the traditionally revered status of spellcasters within the old Rummulite Empire, the older noble houses present strong arcane bloodlines. Second, the huge battles that were fought in the destruction of the old empire have resulted in many fortifications being infused with lead so as to be somewhat spell-resistant, or otherwise hold stores of hoarded magical artefacts.

Because of the diverse range of natural resources available across the empire, a wide range of strong trades and crafts are available in most areas, meaning that it is significantly easier to find specialist items within the empire than in most places in Varia.

Religion
The Grand Imperium Arcarnum is built upon similar foundations to its predecessor: the Rommulite Empire. As such, the Old Gods are seen as beings of great threat and despair, to be shunned and resisted wherever possible. This is sometimes seen as an oddity because it is thought that arcane magic comes from the Old Gods, but it is not. Importantly, scholars of The Grand Imperium Arcarnum tend to teach that the Old Gods did not surrender their arcane magic willingly. Instead, they teach that it fell to the common people when the Old Gods died, and therefore it is perfectly acceptable to shun the Old Gods and still practice arcane magic.

Although this view is not necessarily uncommon upon the world of Varia, because of the destruction wrought by the Old Gods during the period of ruination, there are few places that shun the Old Gods more than The Grand Imperium Arcarnum. Because of this, huge temple complexes devoted to the New Pantheon exist within every major city, and often multiple temples may exist within even the smaller towns. Additionally, clerics are revered amongst common folk from both a pragmatic and existential perspective.

698PR to 730PR
Following the destruction of the Rommulite Empire in 698PR, the majority of living spellcasters across the western portions of Varia found themselves on the losing side of a great war. With their infrastructure and command destroyed, some retreated into seclusion or switched sides. Most, however, refused to kneel to any who were not of arcane blood or students of magic, and thought themselves above the laws of lesser usurpers. At this point in history, the New Pantheon had not yet arrived, and so divine magic was not yet available. This meant that there was not even a bridge of dissimilar magic connecting the two sides of the way. Therefore, most of the remaining spellcasters retreated to the Red City, last bastion of magic, and home to all of arcane capabilities. It was thought that a last stand against the forces of Robert Lorliath, leader of the opposition, would occur and decide the fate of magic once and for all. The last stand never occurred however, for Lorliath vanished, and with him all form of organised resistance to magic. From the Red City, the spellcasters watched as their lands were divided according to old boundaries and names.

Formation of the Council of Magi
By 730PR, political movements and discontent among the spellcasters of the Red City lead to the formation of the Council of Magi, the primary purpose of which was to extend the concept of a new empire: The Grand Imperium Arcarnum. This council fielded some of the greatest minds of the early eighth century, and they were not afraid of using subterfuge to regain their lost empire. The taste of defeat to the common people were still fresh in the mouths of most spellcasters of the time, however, and they knew that whatever approach they adopted would require both patience and support.

The Council of Magi started as a seemingly altruistic group, demonstrating the beneficial powers of arcane magic whilst simultaneously promoting their idea of a Grand Imperium Arcarnum. Within fifty years, The Grand Imperium Arcarnum was a common name known to most folk within the Western Kingdoms, and although it was still little more than a network of spellcasters dotted around the lands, it had gained enough support to have a political impact.

Gathering the Five Kingdoms
In 810PR, Liore-Adre, under the rule of Queen Aceline Undoi, willingly accepted rule from the Red City as a means of reintroducing magic to the common-folk of the land. By 850PR, both Aulendoff and Lotheradd had done the same, but for different reasons. Lotheradd joined for the arcane protection it thought that the empire could provide, while Aulendoff joined as a result of political pressure and subterfuge from both Liore-Adre, and the Council of Magi.

With three kingdoms at its disposal, The Grand Imperium Arcarnum continued to grow as a political power, gathering its strength and carefully negotiating profitable trade deals with the dwarves of Stone Peak, the Iron Valley, and the Sellederre Empire. Early in 915PR, The Grand Imperium Arcarnum launched a huge assault against the then-free kingdom of Vensera, which had once been a part of the Rommulite Empire. The assault, designed as an example against the remaining independent kingdoms, resulted in the destruction of two of the three grand cities within the borders of Vensera, and the complete collapse of its economy. By the end of 915PR, both Vensera and Eledore had pledged their allegiance to the Empire.

Now, in the year of 1003PR, only two of the old kingdoms once a part of the Rommulite Empire still remain outside of the control of The Grand Imperium Arcarnum: Loegria and the Iron Valley.

Wars
The Grand Imperium Arcarnum is currently at war with two enemies: First is the Sellederre Empire, in a full scale war being conducted along the South-Eastern border of The Grand Imperium Arcarnum. Huge numbers of soldiers have been moved from around the empire to engage in this war, and although the war has raged for around a year, the death toll is expected to have reached the tens of thousands. Small battles related to this war have occasionally occurred along the South-Western borders of the Empire in and around Lotheradd, but such skirmishes are rare owing to the difficult natural terrain needing to be crossed in order for attacks to be launched by either empire through that route. Mostly, any skirmishes along the west of The Grand Imperium Arcarnum happens at sea.

The second enemy of The Grand Imperium Arcarnum is within: The forest kingdom of Loegria, once a member of the old Rommulite Empire, still resists the rule of Grand Imperium Arcarnum through guerilla warfare. However, this war has raged for nearly a century, and is treated with mild indifference: Neither side is of significant threat to the other: The Loegrian force is too small to greatly disrupt the empire, while the effort required of imperial forces to destroy the resistance within the forest is too high to warrant the potential reward of gaining the loyalty of a fractious and poor kingdom whose only known export is lumber. It is thought that the kingdom of Vensera, still resentful of the empire for the destruction it wrought in 915PR, secretly assists Loegria in resisting the empire, though this has never been confirmed.

Ruling the Empire
Recently, the Council of Magi has taken a four key measures to increase the extent to which it governs its citizens:
 * 1) It has trained and implemented a secret police network to seek out traitors and traitorous plots.
 * 2) It has funded and trained the formation of a non-magical military organisation which answers directly to the Council of Magi rather than to any single kingdom or land. This imperial organisation, known as the musketeers, is equipped with the latest military technologies, and are known to be further augmented with magical artefacts.
 * 3) Arcane agents of the empire, known as Inquisitors, now patrol the lands. These agents deal the law of the empire to any who might be treasonous, and often work in conjunction with the secret police to first root out, and then punish any who would resist the will of the Council of Magi.
 * 4) Lastly, the Council of Magi have become increasingly insular, being composed of increasingly more powerful spellcasters known to already support the ideals of the council. What few independent dignitaries still sit upon the council all agree upon the intense and terrifying levels of power clearly present within the room.

The Five Kingdoms
Five kingdoms exist within The Grand Imperium Arcarnum: Aulendoff, Eledore, Liore-Adre, Lotheradd, and Vensera. Each kingdom is ruled at an independent level such as through kings, queens, or elected government. The leaders of each Kingdom in turn pay their allegiance to the Council of Magi in the Red City. Although the majority of laws within any one land are decided at a national level, it is not unheard of for imperial representatives to overturn or amend national laws in favour of those that are more beneficial to the empire as a whole.

Politicians
Any noble wishing to pursue a successful political career must make two considerations: 2. The second point of consideration is the origins of the politician in question. If they are not of magical heritage, or a student of the arcane, their ability to ascend beyond the royal court is severely hampered due to the high arcane elitism present within the predominantly arcane-ruled Council of Magi. However, if the politician is to be accepted by his/her own people, they might wish to remain unconnected to magic, for many of the common folk are still distrustful of the arcane. Thus, a paradox is presented in which not having magic is beneficial in the early years of a politicians career, while the latter years are almost certainly easier for those with strong arcane skills. As a result, a great deal of nobles publicly hide any magical abilities that they might possess until such a time as they might be required.
 * 1) First, they must determine whether they are of an imperial, or a royal standpoint. In some kingdoms, such as Lotheradd, there is little difference which side they choose for both sides are known to hold similar values and goals. In other kingdoms, such as Vensera or Eledore, where the people are likely to resent the Council of Magi, this matter may not be so simple. As such, royalist nobles in these kingdoms are more common, and tend to promote movements which are less beneficial to imperial agents.

Commerce
The Grand Imperium Arcarnum is self-sufficient in most goods, owing to the diverse range of climates available across the empire. Also, as the empire has grown in strength, it's neighbours have become increasingly distrustful of the empire, making trade relations difficult to maintain. Good trade links do exist, however, between the empire and the dwarven kingdom of Stonepeak, with whom the Empire exports huge quantities of excess food supplies; lumber; magical artefacts; cultural art; and mercenaries in exchange for worked metals such as weaponry and jewels; technologies; and ales.

Trade also exists between the empire and Sandpoint City, which often serves as a gateway into the Iron Valley, and further north.

Contact has been made between The Grand Imperium Arcarnum, and the Longsea Trading Company, though war with the Sellederre Empire has currently made this trade route exceptionally dangerous. For those who are willing to make the run, however, famed foreign artefacts and huge quantities of gold might be expected.

Tax and Trade
Life for the commoner within The Grand Imperium Arcarnum is not easy. As the majority of land within the borders of the Empire also falls within the borders of one of the five loyal Kingdoms, the local farmer or tradesman might be expected to deliver up to three separate fees of tax: First, an imperial fee collected once a year. Second, a royal fee collected once every season. Finally, should the commoner reside within the domain of a local lord or baron, a third fee may be extracted at the whim of that lord. In exchange for this, the commoner might traditionally expect a strong level of safety whilst travelling within the Empire, without fear of bandits, brigands, or excessively cruel masters.

Borders
The Grand Imperium Arcarnum spans from the south of the Iron Hills, to the northern edge of the Great Chasm; and stretches from the Western coast of Varia to Mount Gregors Mount. Although no official Eastern border exists, there is very little of note east of Mount Gregors Mount aside from the dwarven kingdom of Stone Peak, and hundreds of miles of wild lands home to tribal peoples, magical beasts, and monsters.

The Five Kingdoms
Five kingdoms pay allegiance to The Grand Imperium Arcarnum, those being: Although a sixth kingdom, Loegria, does reside within the borders of The Grand Imperium Arcarnum, it is not a recognised member of the empire, and is currently considered a state in rebellion fighting a guerilla war against imperial forces.
 * 1) Aulendoff
 * 2) Eledore
 * 3) Liore-Adre
 * 4) Lotheradd
 * 5) Vensera

Notable Locations
The empire holds a vast range of natural wonders and odd phenomenon, which can loosely be split into five categories:
 * 1) Vast forests: These forests are not like the usual woods in which a local lord might hunt, or lovers might elope. Instead, these forests represent vast landscapes across which only treetops might be seen. Some stretch for almost a hundred miles from one end to the other, while others are so dark that no light is thought to penetrate the warped leaves of the treetop canopy. Four such forests exist within The Grand Imperium Arcarnum, those being: Low-Wood; High-Wood; Dark Wood; and Robbers Retreat, also known as the forest kingdom of Loegria. Additionally, the northern tip of Fortune's End Forest brushes the southern borders of Eledore.
 * 2) Mountain Ranges: Four mountain ranges stretch across the empire, those being: Low-Peak; Dragonsmoore; Marbletop; and Gregors Mount. Of those, two hold confirmed dwarven halls, and all are thought to hide countless hordes of monstrous beasts.
 * 3) Imperial Defences: Stretching across each of the five kingdoms to the Red City is a system of small forts and towers known as Arrows Watch, a means of rapid warning to indicate danger or invasion. Atop each fort or tower lies a large pile of wood and oil which may be burned as a beacon. Additionally, many of these towers may act as minor defensive positions in times of war, defending the main roads of the empire.
 * 4) Free Cities: Spiral City, although technically within the borders of the empire, is still considered to be a free city. This has come about as an odd quirk of royal borders in conjunction with the very small number of imperial laws, meaning that a city may exist lawlessly yet easily conform with imperial decrees. Spiral City is not a member of any kingdom, any may be considered a state in its own right, with its own independent (and mostly immoral) laws and government.
 * 5) The Great Chasm.jpgNatural Defences: A huge canyon splits the south-eastern border of The Grand Imperium Arcarnum from the north-western border of the Sellederre Empire. This canyon, aptly named the Great Chasm, can be crossed only by four means: By traversing north around the Gregors Mount mountain range; by traversing west either around or through Fortunes End Forest; by crossing the rightly abandoned Dead Man's Bridge; or by crossing the immensely fortified multi-mile stretch of bridge commonly known as The Great Bridge.

Maps




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