OP: Mesrane
Co-OP: Acroticus
An empire teeters on the brink of death . . .
The Aurysian Empire, pride of mankind, who's armies shook the world and shattered foe after gargantuan foe, is sick with the rot of an impending death. For well over a century, the Fyran Dynasty descended from the great conqueror Armas Fyran out of the West crafted a legacy as the most powerful family in all of Tormel. Whilst the Fyrans thrived, the empire did as well, and no lord or king no matter how distant or powerful dared challenge the might of the Aurysians. The great continent of Aurys, conquered a century and a half before by the great Armas, was quite enough for the Fyran emperors, who fought foreign wars to ensure that affairs in the east and south were as they wanted them. The great houses prospered, the treasury overflowed with coin, and the smallfolk enjoyed stability and good harvests.
Such invincibility could not and did not last, however. Starting with the horrific reign of the lunatic Emperor Rortas, the empire began to meet a steady flow of major challenges, both exterior and within the empire itself. The 2nd and early 3rd centuries AF were filled with emperors good and bad, but the domain of the Fyrans was kept afloat and remained powerful still, even if the decades of prosperity in Aurys began to slowly slip away. The bastards of Emperor Joras returned to claim the throne thrice in a century, struggles in which loyalist forces fighting for the reigning emperors triumphed-but wars which sucked ever-increasing funds out of imperial coffers. Corruption began to seep into the Warden's Council, the advisory body to the Emperor.
The 4th century BF only accelerated the decline, as the Grey Hand Invasion proved the largest single threat the empire had ever faced. The death-cult was only narrowly defeated by the boy-emperor Sorras, who's treacherous death a decade later at the hands of his trusted advisor Yahris'ek lifted Eamas Mad-Eye to the throne, who's reign of terror and negligence struck a harsh blow to the empire's stability. After brutally murdering half of his own dynasty because he believed them disloyal, Mad-Eye was overthrown via a rebellion of the great houses, and was killed along with the sorcerer Yahris'ek.
The emperors who followed Eamas were not much better than he, each leaving the empire in a steadily worse state than they had found it. Corruption and bribery became almost an open secret in the Warden's Council, who's members schemed for power and influence over increasingly weak emperors.
Orayn, who ascended the throne in 393, provided some relief in a long line of incompetence and negligence among the recent Fyran emperors. When half the realms of the empire seemed on the verge of secessionist revolutions, he kept the Aurysian Empire together. Unfortunately, Orayn was a mediocre emperor when a great one was needed. He held the empire together through his thirty-one year rule, but he required harsh tax rates and tyrannical measures to do it. Simmering unrest, especially among the peasantry but also among the nobility, plagued his reign.
Following Orayn's death, his son Sorras III ascended the throne. In his short reign of three years, he maintained the extremely high tax rates of his father, but with considerably less skill. Peasant rebellions plagued the countryside and talk of independence is running rampant again. Sorras was killed abroad fighting the warlord Zakhir in the Ancient Cities, who was on the verge of subduing the last of the southern city states to form a new empire under him. He has since succeeded in this goal, and now his massive armies and enormous fleets seem primed to turn to Aurys next.
Most troubling however is the situation in which Sorras has left the empire. He fathered two children, the eldest of whom, Parrdas, was being tutored in the East and has since gone missing. His whereabouts are entirely unknown, and theories range from his death to that he is simply not interested in the throne.
This has put the empire into a difficult-if simple-position. Sorras' second child, a girl named Hyrra, is just four years old and widely known to be both a cripple and of slow mind. Most worrisome for (most) of the lords of the great houses is that the current Chancellor and Regent-in-Waiting as appointed by Sorras, Dilan Klover, is a cruel and sadistic monster of a man who many believe will bend Hyrra to his will during his regency and quite possibly take the throne. That the White Riders, who serve the Emperor as bodyguards and messengers, are also commanded by a Klover has created serious concern that the Klovers might soon come to dominate the imperial capital of Daerryn.
It is now 427 AF, and the Chancellor prepares to call representatives of the great houses of the empire to the capital to discuss the way forward. Corruption in the Warden's Council is rampant, and the imperial treasury is a mess of debt and deficit. Secessionists rediscover their voices lost under Orayn, and cry out for their respective realms to separate themselves once and for all from the empire. Archbishop Morris gathers to him a holy army, intent on purging the empire of heresy. Zakhir of Gargoram looks on the disunity and smiles, knowing full well how weak his next target has become. Truly, the Aurysian Empire has reached a dire time in its history.
In these days of lies and war, any ambitious house may wish to forge an eternal legacy of blood and steel.
Well, welcome to The Crumbling Giant, a fantasy character RP in the spirit of Game of Thrones and/or If at this point you still ask So what do I do?-then allow me to further explain your role.
In this RP, you will take control of a house, be it one of the nine great houses of the empire (Ten, if you count the Fyrans) or one of their vassals. We have made the decision here to predetermine the name, culture, religion and geographical location of the houses. Yes, this means the house you portray is not entirely original, but the personalities of characters and the function (or dysfunction) in your family is entirely up to you, along with how you portray such personalities. That, and of course the politics of your house. Religion will play a role here, as the head religious official of the majority religion possesses considerable power. Culture as well, and its important to keep in mind that in this world and in this empire, cultural ties are quite important and hatred stemming from them is quite likely. Not that a Cyrish and Torrish lord couldn't work together, but nobody really likes the Kaarinites or the Redlanders all that much, and they don't exactly love the Cyrish and the Torrish. Again, this doesn't mean that ethnic barriers can't be surmounted, but everyone does prefer their own kind. Multiculturalism is not a thing here.
I've set out spoilers below which will hopefully describe the major facets of the RP in greater detail. If you're still confused after reading them, telegram Acroticus or myself and we will do our best to set you straight.
Warden's Council and White Riders
The Warden's Council has a function similar to that of a Privy Council or the Small Council from GoT. They advise the Emperor in all matters, but also possess extensive executive authority to carry out imperial policy. Some positions of course hold more power than others, but it's always good to have an ear in the capital.
The White Riders are similar to the Kingsguard, although there's a hundred of them and they have duties other than just protecting the Emperor and the imperial family. They run messages, preform executions, sit in on other lords' courts, accompany diplomats, and serve as a highly elite bodyguard force in war and peace. Some of the more tactically astute are even given command of armies.
Warden's Council
Chancellor-Plays a role akin to the Hand of the King from GoT. He is the Emperor's right-hand man, he holds nearly the power of the Emperor in the monarch's absence, and it's in his job description to lower himself to the day-to-day administrative duties whilst the Emperor paints with slightly broader administrative strokes. Even so, the man who sits in the office of Chancellor is undoubtedly the most powerful man in the Empire save the emperor himself, and is typically appointed as the designated regent as well. Currently filled by Dilan Klover.
Imperial Exchequer- Like a treasurer or Master of Coin, the Exchequer manages the empire's finances. He makes loans, gives loans, pays interest for them, carries out the collection of taxes set by the Emperor and generally keeps track of anything having to do with coin. Currently filled by Forras Sundley.
Imperial Consul-The Consul is essentially the empire's chief diplomat, and must be a master with words. Most of his time will be spent abroad lobbying for the empire's interests in foreign courts. During peace this mostly is involved with economic concerns, but during a war it's also his job to strongarm other rulers into doing what the Emperor wants them to do. In times of internal unrest, he may well be sent around the empire to speak on the emperor's behalf and see imperial will carried out by the great houses of Aurys. Currently filled by Jaymes Irving.
Imperial Spymaster-Exactly what it sounds like. The Spymaster excels at intrigues and plots, spinning them on a whim in order to better catch those plotting against the emperor . . . or those plotting against himself. Many spymasters have betrayed the Fyrans, so the position always carries more inherent risk than any other on the Warden's Council. While the Spymaster's network of agents is considerable, it should be noted that he is most effective inside the capital itself, and much less so outside of it. He does not have a dozen agents in every village, and he is NOT omnipotent in his knowledge-gathering. Currently TBD
Imperial Admiral-Relatively straightforward, he is in charge of the royal fleet, sixty ships strong. He is the supreme imperial authority on the waves and during wartime becomes the overall commanders of all the realm's fleets, answerable only to the Emperor or in his absence the Chancellor. Currently filled by Lord Tritan Ander
Imperial Marshal-Also pretty straightforward, the Imperial Marshal commands the 25,000-strong army of the Crownlands during peacetime, as well as the city guard of Daerryn. His position as the overall imperial land commander is more ambiguous than the Admiral's role, as if there is a lord known to be a greater commander than the Marshal, then the latter will most likely not take command of the combined armies of the Nine Realms. Currently filled by Telerius Ryder.
The White Riders
The White Riders are a centuries-old order sworn to the service of House Fyran. Created and adopted by Emperor Tarmos, the order maintains a constant strength of 100 men, most of them knights. They serve as the Emperor's justice, preforming executions, serving as his messengers throughout the empire, and first and foremost, an elite bodyguard unit for the imperial family. Not all of them are expert swordsmen, but each man is an expert with one weapon or skill of war (mostly swords, of course). They serve the Emperor-or are supposed to serve him-with the utmost loyalty, leaving his service only when death takes them. For a White Rider to betray his Emperor, as has occurred on two previous occasions, is one of the most heinous crimes in the empire and punishable by beheading-at least.
There are a hundred White Riders, but obviously we're not going to fill a hundred slots, so there are ten slots for players to take as well as the captain. All save the Captain are of equal rank, and should probably not be younger than twenty-five. Experience counts for a lot among them.
Captain of the White Riders: Aedan Klover
White Rider 1: Ser Lionel Blackwood
White Rider 2: Ser Carl Mannik
White Rider 3: Ser Adolin Ryder
White Rider 4: Ser Boyd Irving
White Rider 5:
White Rider 6:
White Rider 7:
White Rider 8:
White Rider 9:
White Rider 10: