The Istvani Empire

Based of the Eastern domains of what once was a great united empire, the Istvani have lingered trough ages , survived countless foes and rebound more times than it receeded. But the passage of time has been cruel and unforgiving, they have become but a shadow of their ancestors, clinging to their titles, their ways and relics.

Their domains are vast and wealthy despite being mostly mountainous, surrounded by provinces they once ruled. To the east they border the Anatol empire trough the provinces that remain of the dominion of the once house Saburnikos. To the north they border the Despotate of the Bress, the Tsardom of Galburia and the Despotate of Drazhún. Near the far Beylik of Sahil and the Emirate of Larmán lies the Island of Helenos, being the easternmost domain of the Istvani.

The White Palace of Istvanopoulis

The busy markets of Istvanopoulis, one of the biggest cities in Zentravalk

The empire is a veritable melting pot of peoples and cultures. One can find humans from each corner of the world, elves of moon and the wood, dwarves of the high peaks of the Halvedain League and the low hills of Galburia, goliaths from the Varangor and the Asker, and many more. The culture varies from region to region, ranging from cosmopolitan queerness, to religious devotism, to militaristic stoicism and all the points in between.

At the top of the imperial hierarchy lies the emperor, but the morass of titles, noble and imperial chains of command from the old maronni republic, empire, and the various reforms and medieval patchworks that make the bureaucracy leaves the outsider wondering if this system was made to torture anyone trying to understand it. The rule of thumb is that the major imperial houses have vast power within their regions and varying degrees of influence with one another. The current emperor is Ioannes Palailogos III , head of his imperial house which resides in the capital of Istvanopoulis.

The empire is tremendously wealthy and advanced, keeping many knowledges and institutions of old, as well as many magical instruments and sites. Diplomacy is used both as sword and shield, keeping enemies at bay or destroying them sometimes even before they can become a threat. However, infigthing has proven deadlier than any foe, and many times the Istvani houses have fallen onto infigthing.

Praise to Lathlander is sponsored by the empire and put in a pedestal, as well as heavily controlled and dictated on how it must be done. The Istvani base their rule on being chosen by the god of light, so any challenge to religious dogma immediatly becomes a challenge to imperial authority. Due to this unfortunate quirk, many wars of religion have been waged over the smallest of details, and the blood of many has been spilled over what others deem pointless arguements.

Praise to other good deities is permitted, though never let to outshine Lathlander. The empire´s education and piety leads to a peculiar mixture of warrior, scholarly and priestly traditions intertwining in the nobility and soldiery, as well as the external influences from traders, mercenaries or travelers that melt with the milennial Istvani way of things.

House Palailogos:

Emperor Ioannes Palailogos III

The house of rulers, leaders and traders, amongst the oldest yet very recent in their rise to power. With its originis dating as back as the Maronni Republic as local administrators, house Palailogos remained a minor house handling taxes, book keeping and local laws, until a fateful day in which they were sprung into greatness.

During the events of the Calamity, one by the name of Níkos Palailogos commanded the defense of the walls of Istvanopoulis, as every other figure above him in rank was murdered, laid low or was otherwise missing. Centuries later, the grown Palailogos house would take over the reigns of the empire after the excecution of Empress Alina of Salonikos. From that day onwards, the chain of Palailogos emperors has laid unbroken, though many times challenged.

The house holds domain over the center of the empire, its surrounding regions and the domains that once belonged to house Saburnikos. This split position is held together by the capital of Istvanopoulis, the empire´s jewel and most important possession. Its impregnable walls have washed enemies like waves against rocks, their libraries have seen generations of scholars turn youths into educated leaders, and its docks hold the largests of fleets, including the biggest floating vessel in the world, the Tessarokonteres.

These boons have made house Palailogos rich and plenty, but also threatened from all sides. Administrators must haggle every cent of power in the courts, diplomats and agents scour for friends and foes abroad and captains look for mercenaries to fill the ranks of the army that never has enough men.

When it comes to war, House Palailogos relies on a core of professional troops and hired mercenaries. The relics of the empire are used sparingly, for many of the techniques required to make them or repair them have been lost to time. The Tessarokonteres could bring entire nations to heed, but it lies anchored over the docks, with sometimes its compliment of wyverns flying out, but never with the last imperial dragon. It is house Palailogos that has the secret to the Siphon´s fire, a hellish flame that burns for weeks even when submerged underwater, and is rumored to have brought low red dragons, yet they fear to use it, lest it fall in the wrong hands.

Of renown is the emperor´s personal guard, the Englivovarangoi, half giants of the lands of the Varangor wielding the best axes and donning the best splint mail. They are used frequently as the emperor´s authority, for they heed to any order and are quick to deliver death to the enemies of the empire, or any one who wrongs the house of emperors.

Istvani Siphonator

House Hadrianos:

Chargning Kathapractoi

Assigned to defend the northern borders since ages forgotten, descendants of emperor Hadrianos the builder, they have weathered every storm the empire has faced, and claimed the heads of dozens of its enemies.

Time, however, is unstoppable, and whilst the house of stone has remained, it has evolved to fill the cracks of age. The small cadre of humans descendant of the noble emperor and their high rule over a mostly human and high elf citizenry , with some mountain dwarves descendant from the Laugrim clan. A late addition has been the goliaths from the Tsardom of Varangor, which the house recruits by the hundreds to bolster their armies.

Varangor goliath under House Hadrianos serivce. The best of the lot are generally picked for the Englivovarangoi under the Emperor´s service

The seat of power of the house is in the great city of Hadrianopoulis, a port fortress in the center of the empire. Most of its domains, however, are in the northern border with the Tsardom of Galburia and the Despotate of Drazhún. From the port city they receive their varangor mercenaries, train them in the Istvani order of battle and ship them to wherever they are needed. The cities of the north are almost without a fault fortresses. Whilst relations with the Galburians have improved, the house of stone remains untusting of their ancient enemies.

House Hadrianos is not known for its riches, spending most of its wealth on its armies. Their nobles are renown captains in land and sea, on foot and on horse, as well as skilled battlemages and priests. Of the three main houses, they are the first to suggest a violent solution to most problems, on the belief that the hard power of martial superiority can be used to weather any crisis, even when figthing outnumbered as they are used to.

When it comes to battle, the house of stone employs hardened, well trained warriors all around, preferring to close in on melee where their superior weight, skill and armor shines the most. Varangor mercenaries kitted in splint mail and tower shields resemble the legions of old, a veritable wall of death that few enemies can match. Human peltasts and dwarven crossbowmen provide ranged support from walls or hills, and complements of battlemages delete any formation that could pose a threat, whilst heavy cavalry hammers the flanks and rear of the enemy.

Of renown are the Kathapractoi, monstrous muscular horses prodcuts of alchemy and magic, which are then encased in the heaviest armor alongside the rider and become a slow, but relentless thunder. Their lesser companions, the Kathepainos, follow the same concept, only that they are an infantry force, as there are few bucelarius horses and many nobles with the money to afford the heavy armor.

Amelia of Salonikos, Head of her house

House Salonikos

Born of the followers of Arván and the descendants of the wood elves who rebelled against the Ancient Istvani giants, House Salonikos is a temple to the memories of the world, back when its beauty reached every corner. Much like the rest of the empire, they have lingered for milennia, slow to adapt, but surprisingly flexible for people who have seen the first days of the world.

The Imperial House Salonikos is comprised mainly of high elves and humans. The vast majority of their servants are humans, with large swathes of wood elves descendant of the Normand and hill dwarves from the ancient Leromer clan. Some of the blood of the ancient giants still lives in the human peasantry, and every now and then a half giant is also born.

As early as the early stages of the empire, House Salonikos was known for its presence in politics, religion and the magic arts. Almost every emperor had at least one trusted elven advisor, the early cults of Lathlander, Sune, and Selune were led by them, and not only were they the founders of many schools of magic, they were some of the first highly skilled mages to join the empire. To this day, the term "Saloniki" is used to describe an elven imperial bureaucrat, noble or cleric. Still, they have learned to always lend the top position of any high organization to humans, for they have learned how much the fear of mortality and competing against ageless beings alters the mind of ambitious mortals.

Alexandros Salonikos, Patriarch of the Basilica of Lathlander.

House Salonikos avoids military confrontation whenever it can help it, however, there are enemies that cannot be convinced, and allies that cannot be helped only with diplomacy and subterfuge. In battle, house salonikos has most of the best mages, sorcerers and priests in the empire, as well as some druids and rangers. The arvanites are fearsome warriors adept with the longbow , the short glaive and the hook sword, experts in guerrilla tactics in forest and mountain. When the rare need for large battle arises, they preffer to utilize the forces of the wider empire, but if this is not possible, the dwarves and wood elves of their domains have been honed into a sizeable militia.

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