The Fall of the Empire

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The Background of Empire
There was a time when all the lands from the frozen north to the hot jungles of the south were under the control of one family: The Varin Dynasty. The country they ruled was known by many names: The Eternal Empire, The Varinian Empire, The Empire of Aeristan, and The Aeristanian Empire. Most comonly, people called it simply Aeristan after the capitol city.

The Varin family's origin is long lost to history, though some myths and legends remain. The legends speak of the Epic Hero, Antonin Varin. Antonin traveled the land slaying monsters, ending evil, and commiting heroic deeds. The most famous tale speaks of Antonin facing a thirty headed hydra by the banks of a river. The spot where Antonin slew the Hydra is rumored to be where Aeristan sits to this day.

Antonin's family continued to build the city up, adding territory and conquering foes over the generations. The present size of the Empire, with the exception of modern day Kelsea, Iolanthe, and Balcora , was achieved some three hundred years before the Fall. The expansion to Iolanthe, and the expulsion of the Arakandi from their territory, followed some 150 years before the fall, and the push across Craglands to Balcora about 75 years after that.

Trouble Brewing in Aeristan
In the year 1433 ICA (Imperial Calendar of Aeristan), the Emperor Corolan IV died of acute stomach pains. The greatest healers could not help him, and his death was quick and painful. With the Emperor's death, his only living child, the ten year old Helene, was crowned Empress Helene I. Corolan IV's cousin, Grand Duke Richard Volantis, acted as Regent for the young girl.

With no children of his own, Grand Duke Volantis was quickly about the task of finding a consort for the young Empress, for the Imperial Lineage was at stake. Many powerful families from around the Eternal Empire proposed their unmarried sons, from ages eight to thirty, for the girls hand. But things were not to go simply. Whichever family married their son to the Empress would gain a large amount of influence over the Imperial Heir (which fell to men over women). The Great Families of the Empire knew this, and machinations began.

The East Wind Brings Fell Tidings
Midway through 1437 ICA, with Empress Helene now at age 14, her Regent arranged a marriage for her to a member of the powerful House Candraed, Lords of Du Lac. While the young Consort was on his way to the Capitol, a short and safe journey by the standards of those days, he was set upon but "bandits" who slaughtered his entire retinue.

House Candraed threw imprications at many who had vied for the Empress' hand; their threats were made worse when the Empress was engaged not two months later to a member of House Arodes. Grand Duke Volantis feared that a quick engagement might encite Candraed, but the production of heirs was paramount, and Arodes' land was far enough away to mitigate the fears of many of the other suitors.

Unfortunately, the Gods had other plans. While the ships of House Arodes sailed north and west, escorted by a large portion of the Imperial Navy, a fearsome and unseasonable storm blew out of the East and wrecked most of the fleet. The Young Arodes' flagship managed to survive, but he limped home to regather his strength.

The tidings of the loss of the Home Fleet flew accross the Empire on Black Wings. And the Houses of the Empire began to feel the leash of the Throne slackening.

Opportunists Herald The Downfall
By 1438 ICA, the territories in the far North, the South, and the Southwest have stopped paying their Imperial Tithes. The lords feared to stop paying their fees to the Temples, but the Varin Armies were spread thin and lacked central command.

Many argue over where the rebellion truly started, but the exact location hardly matters. The far flung reaches of the Empire were thrown into dozens of conflicts. The Armies were hard pressed to contain any of them, let alone all of them. A large portion of the West Fleet vanished into the fog one night in 1439, further emboldening the Lords of the West.

Grand Duke Volantis did his best to coral his young cousins wayward forces, but there was not much to be done. House Arkanian and House Arsevac, cadet branches of Imperial House Varin had expended large amounts of the Imperial treasury and forces in their expenditions to the Southeast, and could not be counted upon to reinforce other parts of the Empire. They both had troubles of their own.

Blood Hits the Snow
In the cold depths of the Winter of 1441 ICA, the respect and fear surrounding House Varin were worn away. Assasins came in the night to the Royal Palace. Who sent them is still not known, but the outcome is recited in common rooms still. Empress Helene, a beautiful blonde girl of 18 summers, was found dead in her private garden. Her throat was cut from ear to ear, and the Imperial House Guard knew nothing of what had happened.

Grand Duke Richard vowed to find the killer, and called for closest Imperial Heirs to be recalled back to Aeristan where they could be somewhat protected. Once again, his noble intentions failed.

1441 ICA was the last of that calendar, as the slaughte of those of Imperial blood began. Within three months, the dozen Lords and Ladies most proximate to the Throne had been murdered. Some were killed openly by the Houses who had given them Guestright.

The next year was marked by the Conclave as 1 AFE (After the Fall of Empire). The land was in open war. The next seven decades were marked by constant struggle to chip off part sof the Old Empire and form them into new Kingdoms. The more ambitious Nobles made claims at the Imperial throne, though the last legitimate claimant was the Scion of Arkanian, and he was too far removed to be considered a legitimate threat.

The Empire in Pieces
Major powers emerged across the land, and new Kingdoms, Duchies, and Republics took what they could. The idea of a unified Empire is a shadow over a century gone. The only part that remains of the rule that the Varins enforced is the hegemony of the Conclave Gods. 110 AFE sees the lands of Aeristan somewhat at peace, as the Unification Wars, Civil Wars, and Succesion Wars have died down. Thirty to fourty years of peace have prevailed.

However, something stirs in the hearts of the nobility. They feel like there is a greater destiny for their houses. Great Houses begin to plot, and small Houses plan how they will weather the brewing storm. Even the commons feel the tension.

The Land Cries Out For A Leader. Kings they have, but many speak in growing whispers that an Emperor Must Rise.