Vir Sidus Empire
The Strength of the One
House Overview
Head of House: Currently disputed
Spouse: -
Vassals: Formerly all Imperial territories, now significantly reduced to a pocket in the northwest
Heir: Potentially Princeps Darius Firebrand
Liege: N/A
Succession: Eldest Child
Military Strength: Severely diminished, the Remnant Empire can still rely on highly disciplined, well trained soldiers
Goods: -
Wealth: -
Motto: The Strength of the One

Background

This page covers the Vir Sidus Empire and Remnant. See here for the page on the Imperial Colonies of the West.

The Vir Sidus Empire was once the world’s richest, most glorious and powerful nation. Now, shattered and laid low by the invasion of Qatunax Melkete and the plague they brought with them, the Imperial Remnant dreams of the past, and may yet still strive to reclaim its former glory.

The Empire was founded nearly two thousand years in the past by the mythical first Emperor Darius in his effort to unify humanity and defeat the Sidhe, it soon spread throughout much of the known world, from the great Imperial Heartland across the Ergonian Mountains into what is now called the Civilised West. For over a millennium, the Empire ruled this vast domain before their undergoing a series of highly damaging crises, both internal and external, which shook their foundations to the core.

Following a limited return to stability, in the mid-14th century Emperor Anastasius ordered the seemingly mysterious withdrawal across the Ergonian Mountains, abandoning the West. Though the reason was never disclosed to their former colonies, it was one derived out of necessity – restive client states, repeated rebellions and migrations by tribal confederations along with a terrible series of diseases had nearly destroyed the Empire, and the Emperor recognised the need to consolidate, reorganise and radically change the way their domain was structured.

Emperor Anastasius refashioned the Empire into a strong, tightly woven state that engendered a fanatical devotion among its population to the person of the Emperor and its sprawling state institutions, both civil and military. Unfortunately, the new, expanded state was extremely expensive and after a break of three centuries, once more prone to renewed internal warfare. A series of massively destructive civil wars followed the Empire’s foray to destroy Marinor in the mid-18th century, closed by a shaky peace won around the Emperor Nikandros and aided especially by the Pentarchy, a long-standing series of client city-states in the south of the empire made up of five polities – Camthi, Tyras, Abdera, Orchomenos, and Fufluns, each with multiple subjects also ostensibly allied to the Empire.

Unfortunately, the Emperor’s still living enemies rebelled once more following the initial invasion by the Qatunax peoples. This fragmented the Empire at a crucial period of time and led to its subsequent dismemberment in the early 1870s.

During 1874 and 1875, Princeps Darius Firebrand, son of the late Emperor Nikandros, captured territory back from the Qatunax west of the Ergonian Mountains and established the Imperial Colonies of the West. This new outpost away from traditional Imperial territory may be the key for renewed Imperial strength.

History

ImperialParade.jpg

Legionary Lancers and Infantry of the XIV Legion parade through the streets of Matera after victory over the Kingdom of Marinor, 1752 IE

The Modern Empire:

As the War in the West raged across the Ergonian mountains, the fragile Empire was pounced upon by a new people – the Qatunax. Crossing through the Cloudspine Mountains on the south east border of the Empire, this group of new, related Kingdoms tore through the helpless and underdefended province with ease, digesting them and creating brand new states.

Checked for several years by the Hypanis river, distracted by infighting and laid low by plague, the Empire was divided on its response, with some wishing for an accommodation with the newcomers and others calling for counter-invasion. In the end, nothing was done – political gridlock caused the Empire to look for lower hanging fruit. However, during the terrible winter of 1870, the Qatunax crossed the frozen Hypanis in force and began a spearhead assault that utterly broke the Empire for what may be the last time.

A number of Emperor Nikandros’s defeated enemies from the civil wars of twenty years before rose up to form their own successor states as Despots or Princeps, joined by other disaffected generals and governors. Interestingly, none claimed the title of Emperor, in contrast to nearly all previous rebellions. Some of these states chose to submit to the Qatunax while others fought them and were largely swept away, their peoples enslaved or massacred. The Pentarchy in the south was able to mount a spirited defence, joined by some of the adjacent provinces of the Empire along the edge of the Great Salt.

Though the Qatunax were defeated in multiple large-scale battles and many more skirmishes, more often than not the Imperials were divided, which facilitated the Qatunax’s strategy of divide and conquer. This allowed the Imperials to be defeated in detail. Notably, this also resulted in the destruction of the Temple at Henius, an important religious site in the Eastern Church that was defended by three Legions whose commanders refused to work together and were thus destroyed one by one. The Rape of Henius, as was called, also resulted in the death of two of the Emperor’s children, scions of the Church and defenders of the Temple.

The barbarians’ drive quickly brought them to the gates of the Imperial capital at Asterrea, where they were let in by the traitorous Consul of the Palace, the Emperor’s Chancellor, who had been promised a high place in the new order. What followed was one of the most vicious sackings that the world has ever seen. It is unlikely that true figures will ever be known, but the city of two million that had been the capital of the Empire that Darius Firebrand founded now laid in ruins. A month of butchery extirpated its population - either simply murdered, sacrificed to the strange gods of the Qatunax, enslaved or driven to serfdom at the new nearby “high capital” of the Melkete. Emperor Nikandros and nearly all of his court laid dead, including the Consul of the Palace who’d let the enemy in.

However, his son Darius was away with a significant body of soldiers. The Remnant Empire was established, a new state that while small, offers some hope of the re-establishment of the broader state – someday, perhaps.

Kingdom Relations

Aequor Maris : -
Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License