Avalonian Republic
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The Avalonian Republic peacefully arose more than five thousand years ago with the death of the last Avalonian Emperor and the end of Augusta dynasty. After more than two thousand years of autocratic regimes punctuated by periods of civil strife and crises of succession, the Avalonian people were tired of submitting to the Imperial Throne at Civitas Avalonis. In the last centuries of the Avalonian Imperium, dramatic social liberalization occurred and parliamentary rule had slowly subverted imperial authority. In the year 76 BAE, the Avalonian Republic was officially established. The old Senate was incorporated into a new parliament, which included a House of Citizens, and a Prime Minster was elected from by the combined Parliament to head the new republic. Since that time, the Avalonian Republic has endured within and on the towering Olympic Mountains on the island east of Thule. A century after it's establishment, the Avalonian Republic became aware of the growing power of the Empire of the Alfar to the southwest. Foreseeing an inevitable conflict with the Elvish empire, and perhaps realizing that they were unable to directly challenge the Alfar, the Avalonian Republic chose to isolate and hide themselves from the eyes of the rest of the world. The treacherous territory that composed the heart of Avalonian Republic often deterred most would-be adventurers or fools from entering the Republic's realms. The Council of Archmages, along with the Mechanicus Corps installed modified Haze Fields as extra security from hostile mages, soldiers and skyships. Seen from afar, the Olympic Mountains appear as nothing but lifeless snow-capped peaks. For five millenia, the Avalonian Republic managed to avoid conquest by the Empire of Alfar. As luck would have it, the Alfar never made it to Thule. However, the preparations and precautions established by the early Republic would not be test until more than five thousand years later during the ravages of the Necromantic War. During the war, the eastern island was mostly ignored thanks to its remote location as well as the modified Haze Field maintained by the Archmages. The few Necromantic expeditions that did manage to penetrate the mountains never returned back to report on their discoveries. But now, with the rest of the world in a state of chaos and disarray, and a bold, adventurous young Prime Minster residing in the Parliamentary Residence, the Avalonian Republic plans to step on to return to the world stage for the first time in over five thousand years.
Racial Characteristics
God-Blooded (orig. Alfar Asgar), Avalonian Human Mix (25 points)
Modern historians, anthropologists and archeologists generally accept that the current Avalonian people are a mix of the original inhabitants of the ancient empire of Atlantis and ancient humans from Lemuria. Whether the people of Atlantis were minor deities or partial deities is a matter of much speculation. The prevailing theory is that several bands of the original inhabitants of Atlantis managed to escape the great calamity and reach the shores of Thule, where they traveled all the way to the Olympic Mountain range. Somehow, this last remnant of Atlantis managed to discover the vast Underdark Lightfield within the mountains. There, they found a band of humans residing within the Underdark. How these human ended up there is a mystery to this day. Many citizens believe that it was the doing of the Old Goddess Altrea, although there is no general consensus among scholars and experts. Whatever the origin, there is no doubt that Avalonian civilization is at least as old as Alfar civilization, with the Republic and the Imperium comprising more than than 7000 years of history. Avalonians are on average much tougher and stronger than the average human and also possess longer lifespans. Although they aren't nearly as long-lived as the Alfar, the average normal lifespan of an Avalonian can reach a little over 300 years. Avalonian mages are also particularly gifted in terms of the potency of their magic. The notion that these abilities are the result of "divine" blood has been generally accepted by Avalonian society even today.
History
Main Article: General Avalonian History.
Pre-Imperial History
Historians have typically estimated that the survivors of Atlantis landed on the shores of Eastern Thule and established civilization some three thousand years prior to the establishment of the Republic around 3200 BAE. Through the intervening years, the Avalonian civilization thrived in the Underdark Lightfields within the Olympic Mountains, eventually becoming a city state with the expansion of the city of Asgarth. Eventually however, in 2952 BAE, one of the few dates historians are certain of, a schism occurred, and a large number of Avalonians headed towards the surface to find new opportunities. One group discovered the Olympian Valley, near the peak of Mount Olympic. Within decades the settlements within the valley quickly expanded to become Civitias Avalonis, the city of Avalon. For the next several hundred years, both city states existed in a cold war state.
Imperial History
This period in time, starting with offical establishment of the Imperium 2511 BAE, represented the beginning of an age of reason for Avalonian civilization. Much of the superstition during the pre-imperial times was replaced with reasoning and rational logic. The old Elder Polytheism gave way to a brand of Uristism. Scientific discoveries abounded during this period and there was a strong undercurrent of magical and physical exploration. However, there was a great deal of chaos underlining the supposed order of imperial society. Fickle, ineffective monarchs dotted the historical time-line, leading to several political purges and more than a few succession crises. This was as much an age of strife as it was an age of reason.
During the period, the Imperium expanded the territory under it's control, expanding towards the hillsides of the eastern coast of the island and establishing a new settlement, Nova Atlantia, towards north of the capital city. Airships, crewed by curious adventurers and scientists mapped out the boundaries of the continent of Thule, encountering new races and civilizations.
Republican History
The Republic, established
The Early Republic
The new Republic started in much the same mood as the old Empire had ended. Art, music, culture and drama entered a new golden age. This new upswing in cultural production were key to the overall production of a new republican culture. Science and magic continued to innovate at an exciting pace with discoveries such as adamantium casting and the invention of primitive firearms resembling the Alfar Arquebus. New derivatives of the old RUNTRAN magical language streamlined magic, slowly transforming it into a semi-logical science.
Avalonian politics was reinvigorated with the creation of new institutions and the reformations of old ones. Despite the excesses of the old Imperial authority, the Imperial Throne was maintained as an institution, although Imperial authority was checked by the new Parliament and the Prime Minister. In 74 BAE, the Odina family became the first and only Imperial dynasty to hold the throne in Republican history. Historians attribute the survival of the Imperial Monarch as an institution to the peoples' favorable attitudes towards the final Emperor. Externally, in addition to sending out new exploration expeditions, the Republic made an effort to reconnect with the people on the Thule mainland and to re-establish diplomatic relations which had long lay fallow. For the first five decades of the Republic, it seemed as if Avalonian civilization was poised to enter a new period of openness and to take a major role on the world stage. Indeed, some believed that the greatness possessed by the ancient civilization of Atlantis, which most consider to have played a formative role in Avalon's past, was within Avalon's grasp.
Contact with the Alfar Empire
All of this changed in 23 BAE when contact was first established with the growing Alfar Empire under the eventual Alfar Emperor, the Lord of Dar Gorath. An Avalonian exploratory skyship encountered an Alfar warship near the northwest coast of Lemuria. By all accounts, the encounter was actually quite peaceful, such as it was. Communication were hampered as the Avalonian explorers did not understand Alfar and the Alfar warriors had a very limited understanding the Dwarvish dialect spoken by the Avalonians. Trinkets were exchanged and somehow the Alfar were able to communicate to the Avalonians that they were approaching the border to a vast Alfar empire. At the end of the meeting, the Alfar made a request of the Avalonians. At the time, no one on the Avalonian ship understood what the request meant. A nearby scribe however, attempted to transliterate the sounds made by the Alfar warrior. Accounts indicate the Avalonians bowed politely and headed back north towards Avalon to report the discovery. It would be thousands of years before anyone in Avalon would make sense of the request. The Alfar warrior had given the Avalonian explorer an ultimatum: Whoever you are, we are coming for you. Submit to the greatness and glory of the Emperor of all of Alba.
News of the Alfar Empire eventually made its way back to the republic, where it was greeted with a combination of skepticism and caution. Most simply did not believe the Alfar Empire was as large as it claimed. However, even if the Alfar Empire possessed only a fraction of the territory and power the warrior claimed, it would be more than an even match for the Republic. After more than five decades, the exploration expeditions were halted and a number of skyships were equipped with Haze Fields and sent out to the nearby continent of Lemuria to keep patrol and look for signs of this new empire. A select number of particularly gifted adepts and masters were also sent to Lemuria to find evidence and acquire information about the Alfar. In the meantime, the Republic accelerated efforts to upgrade and reform the Imperium's antiquated military. The Council of Archmages retreated from public sight in 20 BAE and isolated themselves in the Avalon Tower, and would not re-emerge for more than four decades. At the time, no one at any level in the government understood the Council's reasoning or intentions.
Retreat into Isolation
After more than twenty years, in the year 5 AE, the patrolling skyships near the northern Lemurian coast finally saw what some had dreaded would happen nearly two decades ago. The Skyship Thanatos, overlooking a large coastal kingdom, witnessed a massive siege by an Alfar army. Although they were greatly outnumbered, over the course of only a week, the walls and the army of the coastal kingdom lay in ruins. The captain of the Thanatos took detailed notes on the movements and apparent tactics of the Alfar army. The captain at the time concluded that the Alfar Empire, at the very least controlled most of northern Lemuria. At around the same time, information from the mages sent more than two decades ago trickled back towards the Republic and corroborated the captain's report. The government was in a near panic. Never had the Avalonians encountered a civilization that was capable of threatening Avalon on an existential level. Throughout the decade beginning in 10 AE, more information returned as mages returned from their sojourn on the Lemurian continent. The most shocking news of all was received when Master Wace Mindus returned in 20 AE with a report from his journey to the coast of Mu. The report detailed was incredibly detailed and gave the most realistic account of the Alfar Empire that the Republic possessed. Territory, tactics, magical capabilities, societal observations, approximate demographics, technological capabilities were all covered in the report. (See Excerpts from the Mu Report of Master Wace Mindus.)
While Avalonian technology and magecraft was slightly superior to the Alfar, the leaders of the Republic realized that there was no way for Avalon to win an extended attrition war with the Alfar. Military leaders, however, were confident that Avalon's armed forces could win multiple defensive engagements against Alfar forces of significantly larger size. The only good news was that nothing in Master Wace's report indicated that the Alfar knew where the Avalonian Republic was located. The decision was made in 21 AE to minimize the Avalonian Republic's presence in the world as much as possible. All trade and diplomatic agreements with neighboring powers were severed and the Republic entered a 5000 year period of In 22 AE, the Council of Archmages re-emerged from isolation and revealed an enormous Haze Field generator in Avalon Tower. Constructed with help from the Mechanicus Corp of engineers and scientists, the Haze Field would operate much like the Haze Field on a skyship. However, the enormous size and area covered by the field meant that at any one time, at least one Archmage must maintain the field. Even with four Archmages, it would be difficult to run the magic schools and maintain the field at the same time. A law was passed by the Parliament mandating that the Haze Field would have to be maintained at least during the day and in times of emergency. A permanent Skyship patrol was established to provide early warning to Avalon and to allow the Archmages execute other responsibilities beyond maintaining the Haze Field. In practice however, over the last 5000 years, the Haze field was only ever down for a couple of hours at a time.
Stasis
The 5000 years of history that occurred after this are something of an interesting historical phenomena.