Kel'tan

The Kel'tan (or Phoenix) Empire is the dominant power in Soefra. A mageocratic theocracy centered around an "immortal" Phoenix Emperor, it has become decadent and insular over the last 250 years.

It occupies the Solar Highlands region, but has client states to both east and west.

WIP facts

• Founded by Pyderi fab Pwyll, a surviving member of a collateral branch of the Aelvar imperial line after Moon's Fall and the sundering of Soefra from Noefra.
• Same family has ruled. In fact, the emperor is actually the son of the first emperor, preserved through magic. The name "Kel'tan" means Immortal Phoenix and is the dynastic name.
• All of the nobles are related to the current emperor, often along multiple lines.
• Strongly stratified society
  • Emperor Hafgan ap Kel'tan [HAF-gan ahp kel-TAN], born during the last days of the Aelvar empire and preserved through significant spells. Rumored to be failing around 251 AC. He has had countless wives, concubines, and descendants over the millennia of his reign. But anyone who threatens his reign (including by growing popular or too powerful) is destroyed.
  • Pure-blood nobles (all bearing the title of Prince or Princess).
    • The Emperor's advisors are the 7 most powerful mages in the land, known as the Archmagistrate and the members given the title Archmagos.
    • Regional governors (heads of coalitions of noble houses) are the Ardhri [ARD-ree] (roughly High King).
    • Each of the noble houses is led by a Ri [REE] or king.
    • Adult members are known as Prince or Princess, with "Phoenix" prepended to those within a certain number of generations of the Imperial line.
  • Pure-blooded commoners (those who can't trace their lines to the emperor) -- these are the "free people" or yeomen and have some rights.
    • Commoners are also arranged into Houses, with the same basic structure as the High Houses of Noefra:
      • Led by a Housemaster and/or Matriarch
      • Day to day operations handled by the Taniste [TAAN-ist].
      • Male adults are titled aer, females tlyssau.
      • Those not yet formally adults are unproven.
  • Magebred -- these are those whose genetics have been altered by magic. These belong to nobles. Two classes: Greater and Lesser. Greater magebred can be taught wizardry, while lesser cannot legally be instructed in the secrets.
    • Gwerin magebred -- "half-breeds". Greater. Treated almost like pure-blooded commoners, as long as they don't show obvious signs of their alterations. The bulk of the magebred populace. Workers, etc.
    • Chaudeekar overseers. Greater. These are the highest of the non-gwerin types and act like it.
    • Sena'ka legions. Greater. Bred for war and guarding. Heavily indoctrinated from birth.
    • Kaua spies. Lesser. Spies, secret agents, and messengers. Live in large flocks that owe allegiance to a noble family. Often fanatically loyal.
    • Udaaka artists. Lesser. Kept as artists, singers, etc. Treated like decorative objects.
    • Beast races. Those who are even less humanoid. Field slaves.
• The empire controls 3 Portal Network endpoints: one in Kel'tana and one near each of the eastern and western edges in Kel'blaen and Kel'afon. Access is strictly restricted to the reigning nobles of those areas and the access procedure is highly obfuscated.

History

Founding and Golden Age (3900 BC - 2650 BC)

Not much is known outside the empire about this part of history. The empire expanded and controlled all of Soefra; it also saw the creation of the various beast peoples.

Decadence and Retreat (2650 BC - 1 BC)

As time wore on, the Emperor (and thus the Empire) turned inward, growing more and more obsessive and involuted. In 2550 the Empire withdrew from the Great Rift due to internal politics. The client states of Dusk and Dawn were formed and (in the later years), the rebel state of Two Moons broke off from exiled nobles and magebreeds.

The emperor became more and more reclusive and his decrees both more sporadic and stranger; the Archmagistrate assumed much more power.

Cataclysm and Degeneration (1 AC - present)

The Cataclysm and attendant disruption of magic (especially arcane magic, the lifeblood of the empire) hit the Phoenix Empire hard. The Emperor became a total recluse, appearing only once in a generation. The Noble Houses became much less interested in the outside world; the client states are almost entirely cut off and doing their own thing. Most of the dynamic, motivated people have moved out to the client states, leaving the Solar Highlands populated by the deeply tradition-bound and those delighted by infighting.

By 240 AC, the signs of the Emperor's degeneration have become unmistakable (although none dare say so openly for fear of the enforcers). It's widely rumored that the magics keeping him alive were broken by the Cataclysm and that he is dying. What happens when he dies is...uncertain. What happens when the immortal passes on?