Ah, the beauty of not having eaten anything other than a bowl of goldfish crackers on top of being sleep deprived.
Have some fun with the first part of the work of Chun Res, the man who wrote the Codex Imperius and managed to compile in that volume the full breadth of Imperial history. Truly I applaud him.
Warning in docs this thing is like two paragraphs over three pages.
If there are any misspellings or missing spaces/punctuation I will fix them later but again, I haven't eaten real food all day and I have like no sleep. Btw my hands were shaking as I wrote most of this. Lol. The things I do for you guys.
Spoiler
My compatriot Razkell Lurinius has already spent many years and many pages recording what little is known of the Fall so I shall not put shame to his work by dwelling on it here. Rather I urge you to read his delightful Treatise on the subject. So we shall here discuss what occurred immediately after the Fall.
The first known collection of men appeared at The City in the Clouds, deep in the heart of the empire of the Shang-Tau. For here we find the oldest structures and the most history collected. Next I have been led to believe was the settlement based out of the Great Pyramid itself. This group was led by a cruel tyrant who named himself Drake, Lord of the Jungle. He reached out his corrupting wrath in an effort to conquer and rule the lands around him. Quickly he subjugated the High Jungle, next to fall was the North Plains and the North-Western Marches. His forces never ventured far enough north to stumble into the frozen realms lorded over by Frostholm. His largest challenge in these early days was the attempted vassalization of the City-upon-the-Alfurin. Several times his forces tried to cross the half moon of mountains that protected it, Eventually they crossed in the month of Malyas in the first year. Once they secured the pass did the self proclaimed King Drake the First enter. There he found the immense valley and the City held against him. For by this time the Old Lord Tyrannous had awoken the Captain and forged him into a god.
The battle was short yet decisive, thirty of Drake’s men lay dead while only two on the other side were wounded. These two wounded were given godhood and became the Lords Alec and Atua. Gods of the Hunt and Navigation respectively. Tyrannous left the Captain and his two new gods to protect the city and raise an army while he pursued Drake back over the mountains. Tyrannous found himself locked in battle at Gaia’s Pass and forced south. While he could have won he did not intend to risk himself. Fleeing south he reached the foothills of the High Mountains and took shelter in Triumvirate. In this day we now know the city as bearing the name High Town, the seat of Empire.
Drake held his forces at the pass for the remainder of Malyas as well as through much of Junos before pushing south after Tyrannous. During this time Tyrannous had united the warring factions of Triumvirate and created four new gods. He also fashioned the guardsmen of the settlement into a somewhat respectable fighting force that managed to hold the walls with enough zeal to push Drake’s forces back as far as the jungle itself. Tyrannous managed to establish contact with the Captain after his newly built army returned to Triumvirate. He summoned the Captain as well as Sandra Grimlock, Queen of Sandolin, a fortress buried in the mountains north of the City-Upon-The-Alfurin.
These two leaders met with Tyrannous within Triumvirate in the month of Julnar until the end of the month . On the fourteenth day the three leaders signed what would become known as the Pact of Realms, the precursor to the Imperial Charter. Unified, Tyrannous trained their forces and equipped them with arms befitting a proper army. He organized mines and forges. In the month of Augorus Drake advanced his army south towards Triumvirate. They were halted at the narrow strip of land between the thick growth of the North Marsh and the Half-Moon Mountains known as Gaia’s Pass.
The difference between the two armies was stark. Drake moved up a force of infantry, armed with crude spears and clubs, armoured with thick plates of woven grass. Tyrannous commanded the first proper army to have ever walked the surface of Royan. Armed with steel tipped spears, steel swords, and armoured in the golden sheened Divinium alloy that Tyrannous had devised. They formed a bristling golden wall of spears and blocked the pass. When the two armies clashed victory went very clearly to one side.
Tyrannous had won the first military engagement with the troops that would form the core of the Imperial Guard. By the middle of Decembros Drake had been pushed back to the sloping sides of the Great Pyramid. The dense jungle prevented Tyrannous from using his newly designed and built siege engines. He was forced to utilize only infantry in the assault on the Great Pyramid. On the 15th of Decembros the final assault was launched, spearheaded by the Lord Talcung. Legends claim Drake was slain by the axe of Talcung. The truth of the matter is unknown, I asked the Lord Talcung to clarify on this matter and all he gave me was “Let men believe what they believe, I will not speak either way on the matter. It was three thousand years ago in the middle of a battle, I will leave the outcome up to your imagining.”
On the 25th of Decembros the army had returned to the city of Triumvirate. From that day through the month of Anber the gods present and the leaders of various cities and groups in the region gathered and debated. By the close of the year did all members sign the newly drafted Imperial Charter. On the first of Januaros the leaders voted an Emperor to the throne. The Lord Talcung was first to sit upon the Throne of Empire and rule as its leader. He ordered the construction of three of the greatest structures on the Empire. The first was the fortress of High Town, built around old Triumvirate only the uppermost layers are composed of the old city. Second was the Black Gate, a massive wall that plugs the only gap in the mountains of the Impassables. The Third was Talcung’s personal fortress, Frostholm Castle.
The other notables about the rule of the Emperor Elect was the early formations of the then fledgling Empire. He united the Imperial Heartlands officially on Oçtuma 30th in the first Year of Empire. The Heartlands consist of the High Plains, the City-Upon-The-Alfurin, Sandolin, Lord Urn’s keep and the Southern Jungle, the Mid-Plains, the Southern Marches ruled by the Caliphs of the House of Dagher, the North Marsh, the High Jungle, the Great Jungle, the North Plains, and the North Wastes ruled over by Frostholm. He also organized the expeditions into the Ironstone Fangs in Anber. Rounding out his reign was the War With Bitterfields from 3 YE to 5 YE, resulting in the ennoblement of the House of Chevaux and the beginnings of the Wars of Abundance.
From 7 YE to 18 YE the Old Lord Tyrannous was elected to the Throne. He led the Empire to victory during the three Wars of Abundance and managed to keep the fragile Empire from collapsing. During this time he showed himself to be a brilliant tactician, general, and inventor. He invented a vast selection of the Imperial Armory and equipment. He also organized the Imperial forces into the distinct classes of Guard and Army. Amongst his other accomplishments were the expansion of the Imperial borders almost to their present state. He built the Iron City, the Crag Port, Scorpion Mountain, Dragonhold, and Castle Wasteburg. It was he who put the Lord Tembla as Warmaster of Empire, as well as the creation of the position of Imperial Champion. As well as establishing the Imperial Tongue of Old Salterian. Teaching it to every people the Empire absorbed he managed to unite the Empire even in language.
Politically he organized the Senate and assigned its various seats. He also created the Order Templar to act as ambassadors and delegates to foreign powers. He is also credited with the creation of the Shang-Tau Empire in the west, as well as laying the groundwork for the Broken Empire.
Up until now you must understand dear reader that the only full gods present were the Old Lord Tyrannous, the Lords Talcung, Tembla, Treasurer, Warden, Captain, Fisherman, Navigator, and the Grand Master Tomas. As well as the children of Tyrannous and Talcung from Old Earth, Elia, Raudh, Tarn, Tulas, and Raudh’s husband Seyn.
During his reign as Emperor he drastically increased this number. For the Empire he created the Lords Hellstorm, Reaper, Skyfire, Torment, Anguish, Collector, Phantom, Natasha, Silence, Deaf, Blind, and the Guardian. He also blessed the births of the three children of the Navigator; Helm, Alaric, and Laura, the two sons named after two of the Empire’s finest explorers.
For the rest of Royan he made many other gods, for the Shang-Tau he gave them their Immortal Cloud Emperor, as well as Luphares, Steelheart, and Shang-Li. From those four would descend the many gods of the Shang-Tau.
The Vena were given Hurgrama, Rhiksha, Sevama, and their chief god, Grundarum Valcumasta. Tyrannous helped them create the document that acted as the structure for their empire.
The Seyon were given the gods Semna, Somnus, Argyn, Wulst, and they shared their chief god with the Empire, for theirs was Seyn, the god of Sorcery. Seyn and Raudh would together build the vast empire that dominates the south eastern continent of Royan.
The Broken Empire would share many gods with the Empire but would have some of their own. Primarily the Broken Steward, the Night Queen, Ramnusmus, Serytis, and Ravenus. Many other kingdoms of Royan would have their own gods, some were faiths brought over from Old Earth, others were stories and myths gathered and compounded over time until gods were birthed from those faiths.
Tyrannous is credited with shaping the world into a place habitable for man. He has been seen even in the farthest reaches. Every town and village has a legend of him, the Grey Pilgrim or the Wandering Pagan. His accomplishments during his reign as Emperor are enough to fill a separate book. I shall not dwell too much more on them here.
By the time his reign was over he had greatly increased the size of the Empire, given it a well established infrastructure and a booming economy. The Imperial army had been structured into the deadliest force in its day and perhaps even today. He helped draft and establish nearly a thousand pages of laws and rules to accompany the Charter. He left behind a permanent legacy in Imperial architecture as well. He had designed the Walls of High Town, the Citadel at its peak, the High Preceptory, the City-Upon-The-Alfurin, Frostholm, the Black Gate, Last Hold, and Castle Wasteburg.
Imperial Calendar: 396 day year, 13 months. All months have the same number of days as their gregorian counter part, with the addition of 31 days at the end of the year that form the month of Anber.
Months: Januaros, Filmoren, Marçols, Aprilis, Malyas, Junos, Julnar, Augorus, Sultu, Oçtuma, Novoma, Decembros, and Anber.
