Difference between revisions of "Dominion"

Latest revision as of 00:27, 14 December 2016

The Dominion is the largest and most successful empire in the history of the world of Sekhar. Modern scholars have difficulty determining how the Dominion managed to survive for so long when it began as little more than a ramshackle, loosely-allied collection of Tretalleri city-states with vastly different objectives. Nevertheless, academics agree that without a doubt, Cilritanë a'Detvida was one of the best state builders to have ever been born because he forged the loose alliances of the Kingship of the Bone Trees into an empire that would last the test of time, civil wars, and numerous revolts.

Geography

At the height of its power and influence, the Tretalleri Dominion's hold extended over much of the known world, so it is almost impossible to define the extents of Tretalleri habitation the world over. Instead, it might be more useful to take a look back at the history of the Dominion and examine its earliest extents.

We know from the first historical texts of the Dominion, the bulk of which are from the work of one Qerodë a'Morra, that the Dominion saw its humble beginnings in the Kingship of the Bone Trees, a relatively small but economically prosperous city-states. The name of the capital of this city-state had already passed from living memory by the time that Qerodë wrote his De'Altyurrë Liannë, Stories of the Past, and as such was named Di'Fieldë Cselvë, the Old City.

The Old City was allegedly built upon the banks of Di'Rodë Reýlinë, near the place where its tributary D'Rodë Di'Elmirtë joins it. Qerodë also noted in his Stories that the Old City had been built just bordering the Forest of Bones, De'Naborra Tâllë and the lands of Di'Garrotë, a largely agrarian city-state that features rather heavily in the early parts of Qerodë's Stories. Numerous archaeological digs have been proposed and attempted in the area, but have thus far failed to uncover any settlements of the kind that Qerodë claims to have been built there.

Another location worth examining is that of the Ivory City, which, after its construction a few centuries prior to the establishment of the Dominion, became the capital of the Kingship of the Bone Trees and the Dominion that came after it. The northmost part of the city, which includes the Imperial Citadel and the harbour district, are built alongside the rodë Reýlinë.

Legend states that the original city was built on top of three hills, and although the slight slope of the land upward in the direction the Citadel supports this, attempts at finding the three hills have been for naught. The entire city is elevated relative to the land around it, facilitating drainage of water out of the city after heavy rains. Despite the elevation, however, the swelling of the river is a perennial problem for the riverbank districts.

The elevation evens out further from the city centre. Only the presence of the thick woods around the city serve to deter large enemy armies, forcing them to take the main thoroughfares that are much more easily defensible. The lack of natural defensive geography contributed to the multiple sieges that the Ivory City suffered early on in its history, both from other Tretalleri city-states and from the Elledŷnnë.

One feature of note about the Ivory City is that it is one of the first locations where intelligent creatures undertook environmental modification on a geographic scale. As the influence and wealth of the Dominion grew, the biggest civil engineering project ever attempted was put into action. In the year Y.D. 271, it was completed. Known to the modern day as Di'Maidnë Vidë, the Grand Shield, the Dominion built a gigantic ring of iron deep under the ground that ensured that arcane magic would not work within the city limits.

History

Rise of an Empire

The Tretalleri Clans enjoyed centuries of relative peace after the fall of the Aeneveri empire as its fragments continued attempting and failing to claw the empire back together from the broken pieces that the Tretâllë had left in their wake. There is archaeological evidence from this time that the Tretalleri Clans were comfortable enough with the peace and able enough to fend off attacks from the ragged remnants of the Aeneveri that large construction projects were undertaken.

Most notable of these projects was a temple to an unnamed god or local deified hero near the fork where D'Rodë Di'Elmirtë fed into the Rodë Reýlinë. Depictions of Tretalleri warriors, with dark clothing, and Aeneveri warriors, with colourful clothing, covered the surface of a wall fragment unearthed at the site.

It is worth noting that the peace and prosperity of the period was largely relative. Without a unified cause, the Tretalleri clans had disagreements and spats with one another, and often these boiled over into blood feuds and inter-clan warfare. Furthermore, even though the frequency of Aeneveri raids during the time dropped off sharply, they did not vanish altogether. However, in terms of large-scale race-spanning conflict, nothing of the sort would happen for at least another century.

It was also during this period, the 3rd Century LD (Leývë Di'Tretallë, Before the Dominion), that the Ivory Throne was unearthed while the foundations for a city-centre were being dug out. The excavators were settlers from a nearby city-state that would later be known as the Kingship of the Bone Trees, though its original name has been lost to history. Again, however, it is worth keeping in mind that much of this knowledge is drawn from oral traditions that were only compiled in a written form centuries after the fact.

Needless to say, the finding of the Ivory Throne ignited ambitions of empire among the leaders of the city-state that discovered it. A city sprang up around the Ivory Throne, which was enshrined beside the city centre and kept under permanent guard. The city was named Di'Ifatallë Cselvë, the Ivory City, at the same time as the leadership of the city-state formally declared its name to be the Kingship of the Bone Trees.

Once the Ivory City was economically established and the move was feasible, the Kingship transferred its capital there. It is believed that for the next handful of centuries, the Kingship would remain relatively small, unable to expand beyond sudden growth spurts that would reverse as soon as the encumbent leadership passed away. Things changed, however, when the man alleged to be the first Imperator of the Dominion, Cilritanë a'Detvida, took power.

Previous rulers of the Kingship of the Bone Trees had sought to expand the kingdom's borders and increase their power and authority. In this regard, the young Imperator Cilritanë was no different. Where he did differ from those that came before him, however, was his dream of uniting the Tretalleri people under a single banner and a single goal—ridding the world of the Aeneveri for good.

Cilritanë, however, knew that he could not accomplish his dream by just expanding his empire. he was, if anything, a consummate politician and recognized that conquest was something that should be approached as a last resort. At this time, the Bone Riders had already been contracted to the Kingship of the Bone Trees for a while, and Cilritanë, seeing the value in having a permanent contingent of skilled cavalrymen, struck a deal to make the Bone Riders an official part of the Kingship's army.

Within a decade, Cilritanë had either subdued—using his superior military—or allied the clans that surrounded his domain. These clans formed the nucleus of his budding empire, and the economic power that they gave Cilritanë was unprecedented. There were challengers to Cilritanë's burgeoning Dominion, but none of them could match his economic strength, nor his burning determination to see his dream to fruition.

The Consolidation

One of Cilritanë's greatest defeats was at the hands of an unnamed tribe that was particularly bloodthirsty in repelling his military. From the beginning it had been clear that no diplomatic solution could be found, and many of his allies already disliked the clan to begin with. Unfortunately for Cilritanë and his forces, this particular clan was well-placed geographically and after a protracted campaign where he suffered small but significant losses, Cilritanë was forced to pull back and reevaluate his plans.

Fortunately for Cilritanë, the border clans were all but ripe for the picking. He was certain that there would be no need for force in dealing with them and that diplomacy would be the best way, even if the border clans were consummate warriors. Cilritanë was, save for a handful of instances, correct.

One of Cilritanë's early policies, before he turned his ambitions to empire, was that of agrarian reform. His kingdom regularly ran a surplus of food, which he leveraged for bargaining with the border clans. The border clans were regularly under attack from the Aeneveri remnants and as a result, had very little time to devote to proper agriculture, so the promise of aid in the form of food was a welcome one. In order to ensure the strength of the agreement, Cilritanë had also promised to send military aid if ever necessary.

With the border clans successfully allied with him, Cilritanë decided that it was time to take his plans to the next level. The next century was filled with political manoeuvres and military campaigns. In the end, Cilritanë managed to forge together the vast majority of the Tretalleri clans into a single unified front.

There were still a few outliers once Cilritanë declared that the Dominion had been born, but many of these quickly followed suit with the other clans and joined Cilritanë when they saw the relative economic prosperity of his empire. Even more were enticed when Cilritanë declared war against the Aeneveri and marshalled his troops to march on the other half of Di'Termalttë to exact revenge on the Aeneveri.

Needless to say, the campaign did not go as intended. For the most part, the Dominion swept through a large part of Di'Termalttë, burning villages and destroying lives in its wake. Winter put a stop to all of it, however, and many of the Aeneveri had retreated south, where the Dominion could not follow.

Disappointed, but still satisfied with the damage that he had done, Cilritanë led the troops back and spent the rest of his life tending to strengthening the bonds that held the Dominion together.

The Dominion Era