Tibor Imperia

Also known as the "Old Western Empire". Ruled most of the western half of Noefra throughout the bulk of the 3rd Age.

History

Founding

After the War of Blood, the Noefran continent was fractured among many small states scattered throughout the land, the survivors of that genocidal blood rage. By 2200 BC, the population had recovered enough that the nations began vying for supremacy once again. The next century was one of constant warfare, where nation fought nation and kindred fought kindred. Spurred on by religion and devotion to the newly-born gods, each of whom contested for worship and for power, the Wars of Unification (AKA the God Wars) devoured generations of young men and women of all races.

Out of the fire of conflict, two nations consolidated. To the west of the Great Eastern Dustlands arose Tibor Imperia; to the east rose Quan Pei. Staring across the wasteland, the scar left by the War of Blood, they realized that further conflict would cause utter devastation to both sides. And so they came to a treaty, known as the Unification Treaty of 2103. The border was placed at the eastern edge of the Giant Spine Mountains where they gave way to the waste, but the waste itself was considered neither side's territory (in part because the dragons claimed much of the area as well, and no one wanted to contest their claims).

The first capital of the western empire was at Divina Lux, befitting the empire's strong religious devotion. But within the next hundred years, the capital of Imperial Center was constructed in the center of the continent, in the middle of what is now Lake Coy'in. There it would remain until the War of Souls shattered the empire.

Unification Emperors

Records of the first four hundred years are spotty; emperors came and went. Collectively, these are known as the "Unification Emperors". Adherents of the Imperial Cult identified three separate notable emperors during this period:

• Emperor Kai'tser, the "first Emperor". This is the name attributed to the man who enacted the Third Wish. Of course this was centuries before the birth of the empire and his soul was erased as part of that wish, so...
• Empress Rai Gaena, the Uniter. The first historical figure. The leader of the nascent empire at the signing of the Unification Treaty. Records indicate she was better at military strategy than running an empire.
• Emperor Naer Gaena, the False. A figure of derision and evil to the cult. Said to have attempted to sell the empire to the East, but who was stopped by the first of the Priest Emperors.

Priest Emperors

These hybrid religious figures/civil authorities ruled the empire for nearly four hundred years (from ~1600 BC to 1286 BC). Under their reign, the empire turned even more religiously oriented. Old Imperial was standardized as a language, and forms of worship were standardized and heresy punished severely.

The Biblia Dynasty and the Western Golden Age

In 1286 BC, the first Biblia Emperor, Empress Lysandria Biblia, took the throne. She shed the trappings of the church, proclaiming religious tolerance. Under her reign and those of her successors, the technological, magical, and economic growth of the empire radically expanded. Contact was made with both Soefra and Oelfra, and trade routes were strengthened across the Dust to Jinse (as it was now known).

Aurum Dynasty and the fall begins

But nothing lasts forever. The last Biblia emperor died childless, and his cousin, Lord Sorvan Aurum, took the throne in one of the most corrupt sessions of the Imperial Senate on record. Sums of money sufficient to buy entire duchies were thrown around as bribes; assassins and poisoners plied their art. Sorvan didn't last long before being assassinated by one of his brothers, who was killed in retribution. The throne staggered between weak and corrupt rulers. Dark magics and corruption abounded. In 943, Sapientum Korvan developed soul compactification, using souls as fuel for magitech. Within a century, Grand Sapientum Iorda began his research into soul fusion, a horrific act that led to the creation of the dragonborn race. Around this same time, the Jungle of Fangs was ceded to the masters of the Fanged Kingdom, ostensibly as "reparations" to the ancient aelvar race.

The subdivisions and satrapies of the empire grew restless and disconnected, disaffected by the enormous sums of money going into the capital and being spent on frivolities while infrastructure and security were neglected. The fringes started being raided by bands of "monsters", something not seen for generations. The last emperor, Emperor Chryseum Aurum, was a puppet of the magitech factions.

The War of Souls

The unveiling of the dragonborn to the Imperial Senate proved the last straw. Terrorists of the People's Faction sacrificed themselves to detonate the largest concept bomb in recorded history. Imperial Center and the surrounding 20 miles were swallowed up as if they never existed, along with much of the imperial elite.

The nation degenerated into magical warfare. Factions vied for power, concept bombs were detonated with abandon. For two hundred years these wars (collectively the War of Souls) flared and died. While there were decades of peace in some areas, death and horror abounded.

Legacy

Much of western Noefran culture and society still owes its origins to the empire. The common language is an offshoot of Old Imperial (as the imperial language is now known). The pre-Cataclysm nations all claimed to be the rightful heirs to empire (despite all of them being at best far-collateral branches). The calendar and religion was standardized; the coinage is based almost entirely on Imperial coin regulations. Much of the scholarship is still written in Old Imperial; references to imperial phrases and ideas are still in current use (although most don't know their origins).