Epochs of the Empire: Volume I, the Prophetic Era

[VIROS 2915]

EPOCHS OF THE EMPIRE: VOLUME I

THE PROPHETIC ERA (1378-1482)

 

AS AUTHORED BY 

 

HIGH PONTIFF JAMES II 

 

SIMON BASRID KCS PL, IMPERIAL ARCHCHANCELLOR

 

Foreword

When my personal friend, Archchancellor Simon Basrid, presented me his outline for the Five Epochs of Empire, I was not surprised—he is a wise man, who knows the value of history. I was surprised, however, when he asked me to co-write the first chapter. Though I am educated in the history of our people, I have never claimed to be an author. Simon, however, pointed out that as the Keeper of the Holy Scrolls, I was uniquely qualified to chronicle this time period. The epoch in question is the Prophetic Era, the first half of which is recorded in our divine scripture, and the majority of which occurred during the lives of the latter two Exalted. Moreover, by God’s own providence, my ancestor Cecil Virosi served as scribe to Ex. Godfrey during this time. History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.

 

The era covered herein is the very nativity of our people and of our faith—though humanity was born at the dawn of time, it was reborn at the dawn of empire. However, aside from the Scroll of Gospel, this era was very ill-recorded; those who live in history too often do not know they are making it. With the unwavering support of innumerable imperial scribes, the Imperial Everardine College, and the Imperial Family itself, we have covered the Prophetic Era in the most detail ever recorded. Thus, in recognition of her noble devotion to the cause of history, the Archchancellor and I would like to dedicate this first chapter to Her Imperial Highness, Elizabeth Anne, on the occasion of her sixteenth birthday. May she live a long, happy, and—for the sake of future historians—very well-documented life.

 

HISTORIA VITAE MAGISTRA,

High Pontiff James II

 

Ex. Godfrey’s forces mass before the gates of Salvus’ capital, Kingston.

 

Abstract

The Prophetic Era is the first epoch of the imperial tradition, defined by the invention of the imperial title and the restoration of a united, orthodox humanity after a millennium of factitious paganism. The era begins in 1378, with the coronation of Ex. Godfrey as the first Holy Orenian Emperor, and ends in 1482, with the overthrow of Alexander I ‘the Unready’, at the time the ninth emperor. The Prophetic Era is the most poorly recorded of the five, as scholarly traditions were weak and many records have been destroyed or revised over the centuries. The primary characteristic of the Prophetic Era is the immediacy of the prophets Ex. Godfrey and Ex. Sigismund to everyday life. During this period the Exalted were not distant religious figures, but living or recently-dead political titans, with close relatives drawing authority and acclaim from their bloodline. The legitimacy of empires in this epoch rested in every way upon their connection to the prophets.

 

Background

Record-keeping from this time period is scant, but an order of events can be established. Some decades before the prophet Ex. Godfrey’s arrival, St. Daniel of Al’khazar ruled as King of Oren. Guided by God, he abdicated his throne and traveled north in pilgrimage. Thus, through a succession of regencies and revolutions, the ancient Kingdom of Oren fractured into three smaller kingdoms: the Kingdom of Hanseti in the north, the Kingdom of Renatus in the heartland, and the Kingdom of Salvus in the south. Renatus inherited the bulk of former Oren’s institutions, and was eventually led by Reynard Lycian, a seneschal in waiting for a true king. Now was the arrival of Ex. Godfrey—the future emperor appeared Renatus’ capital, Arethor, where his prophetic status was announced by the angel Eshtael. Cowed by the angel, Reynard Lycian gave over the crown of Renatus. The prophet, with the might of God behind him, effortlessly conquered and united the fractured kingdoms of humanity into the Holy Orenian Empire.

 

Synopsis

The Prophetic Era covers a span of 104 years, nine emperors, and two interimperiums (periods during which no Empire existed). This is the volatile, uncertain birth of a united humanity; the millennium prior, the race was disunited, factitious, and religiously heterodox. The era is named as such because of its two most salient figures: Ex. Godfrey and Ex. Sigismund, who are the last two prophets of the Canonist faith. Today, because of their shared religious importance, these prophets are rarely described in opposition to each other. And indeed, during their lifetimes, the two men respected each other, though the former was unaware of the latter’s prophetic status. However, they came from very different backgrounds, and had very different rises to power. It was not immediately apparent that Ex. Godfrey and Ex. Sigismund were even prophets of the same religion. Consequently, before Canonism was revealed in its modern form and their respective revelations were clarified, the supporters of the two Exalted often clashed violently over matters of culture, religion, and claim to the imperial throne. The factions in this recurring centuries-long conflict can be roughly divided as such: 

 

• Claimants through Ex. Godfrey: The Order of St. Lucien, the Exodites, Lucienists and Imperial Traditionalists, the Kaedreni, the House of Horen, and the Kingdom of Aesterwald
• Claimants through Ex. Sigismund: The Jolly Ruskan Band, those who remained during the Exodus, Ruskan Orthodox, the Raevir, the House of Carrion, and the Kingdom of Ruska.

 

The nature and identities of these groups will become apparent through the synopsis.

 

Lucienist and Ruskan forces meet prior to the Battle of Mt. Augustus.

 

Early Prophetic Era (1378-1431)

The Prophetic Era begins in 1378, with the coronation of Ex. Godfrey as Holy Orenian Emperor. This is the first instance of the imperial title in the history of the world; divinely inspired, the prophet consecrated the Throne of Man to God, instituting the Empire as a permanent fixture in humanity. Ex. Godfrey began his rule by instituting feudalism. His nascent Empire was large, but disorganized—what passed for ‘government’ was usually local, traditional rule by family elders. However, galvanized by the arrival of a prophet to rule them, the common folk were uncharacteristically obedient to the new emperor’s central authority. Accordingly, Ex. Godfrey divided their lands amongst the landless, powerful families of humanity’s major cities. He assigned these families noble titles according to their status, and organized them in a hierarchical system of fealty, whereby each lord was sworn to a superior lord. Ultimately, all were sworn to the Emperor. The key elements of Ex. Godfrey’s reign are as follows: 

 

• The creation of the Empire and feudalism;
• The founding of the House of Horen, relation to which became a repeating theme for future imperial claimants;
• The conquest of the elven Princedom of Malinor, and conversion of its lands into the Kingdom of Kaedrin under St. Peter Chivay;
• The introduction of the Raevir people into wider humanity, by swearing of the Raev into the Empire, with the future Ex. Sigismund as its lord;
• The restoration of the Temple of the True Faith by conferring the title Pontifex on Prince-Archbishop James;
• The revelation of the third book of the Holy Scrolls, the Scroll of Gospel, by God to Ex. Godfrey.

 

By the time Ex. Godfrey was assumed bodily into heaven in 1414, humanity’s ambition was boundless. The prophet’s eldest son and successor as emperor, Orian I ‘the Black’ became obsessed with equalling or surpassing his father. To achieve this, he sought to fulfill  the prophecy of the final Exalted recorded in Ex. Godfrey’s Scroll of Gospel. He then encouraged the heretical worship of him and his father as incarnations of God. After nearly conquering the world in a cruel bloodbath, Orian had a fit in 1420—which he called divine revelation. Abandoning his empire, he drained the imperial treasury to create the largest fleet in history. With this, and the majority of the Orenian population, and the entire imperial court and military, Emperor Orian departed to Aeldin in an event called the Exodus. Notably, Orian’s lord of the Raev, the future Ex. Sigismund, did not depart with the Exodus. The future prophet instead made pilgrimage to the Greywynn wastes with St. Theodosius, where he would recover the Holy Scrolls and learn of his status.

 

The Exodite Fleet prepares to depart for Aeldin.

 

Orian was succeeded by his son, William, who was called ‘the Weak’ by his contemporaries. His epithet may be unfair considering the hand he was dealt—William was a third son, unlikely to inherit, and he inherited very little indeed. His new Empire had no money, a severely depleted population, and a violent international reputation, thanks to Emperor Orian. Almost immediately, Garth Hightower, the King of Salvus, defected. He was followed shortly thereafter by the bandit lord of Galahar, Marcellus Blackmont. Finally, the Empire’s Adunian minority betrayed it in favor of the dwarves of Urguan. William was criticized for his almost immediate surrender, but it likely saved millions of lives. In 1426, he abdicated the title of Emperor in favor of King of Oren, and divided his lands. Thus satisfied, the world’s war of vengeance against humanity ended.

 

William’s abdication marked the First Interimperium, and thus initiated the conflict of imperial claimants that would plague humanity for the rest of the Prophetic Era. Humanity was divided in five parts: the Kingdom of Oren, led by King William; the Apostolic Kingdom of Savoie, owned by the Church; the Kingdom of Galahar, led by Marcellus Blackmont; the Kingdom of Adunia, created from former Kaedrin and led by King Artorus Elendil, an Adunian vassal of Urguan; and finally, the Kingdom of Salvus.

 

Middle Prophetic Era (1431-1463)

In 1431, the lord of the Raev reappeared from his pilgrimage. Ex. Sigismund found that his people had been granted to the Apostolic Kingdom of Savoie, appropriately a fief of the Church. The prophet led the Church on an imperial reconquest of humanity, similar to Ex. Godfrey’s—but, unlike his predecessor, Ex. Sigismund met a much more organized resistance. Many still favored Ex. Godfrey, or claimed descent through the House of Horen, and so rejected the new prophet. Nevertheless, by God’s grace, Ex. Sigismund reconquered and reunited the Empire, freeing it from the yoke of subjugation by foreign races.  Despite his successes, the dying will of Ex. Sigismund in 1447 was to dissolve his Empire. Religious chronicles depict this as a misunderstanding of his final clairvoyant vision, while secular accounts consider it a political play by the shrewd Raevir. The key elements of his reign are as follows: 

 

• Ending dwarven subjugation of humanity;
• Transforming the Temple of the True Faith into a nascent Church of the Canon;
• Revealing the fourth and last Holy Scroll, the Scroll of Auspice;
• By divine mandate, permanently abolishing caesaropapism, which was state control over the Church.

 

Now, with the death of Ex. Sigismund and the dissolution of the Empire, humanity entered the Second Interimperium. The stage was thus set for the primary conflict of the Prophetic Era. King Henry, Ex. Sigismund’s nephew, ruled as King of Oren. Though High Pontiff Regulus had codified the doctrine of the Exalted in 1455, nominally giving Ex. Godfrey and Ex. Sigismund equal status as prophets, many humans rejected one or the other. Thus, Henry dealt with a sectarian and ethnic conflict in his empire: 

 

• The Waldenian people, represented by the Order of St. Lucien, who practiced Lucienism or Imperial Traditionalism. These folk were the intermingling of Hansetian and Kaedreni blood, and many worshipped the House of Horen as a divine bloodline, considering Ex. Godfrey as the incarnation of God. Many outright rejected Ex. Sigismund’s prophetic status.
• The Raevir people, represented by the Jolly Ruskan Band, who practiced Ruskan Orthodoxy. This group recognize both Ex. Godfrey and Ex. Sigismund as prophets, but rejected the worship of men as divine. These considered Ex. Sigismund's House Carrion to be better claimants, believing Orian and William had effectively tainted House Horen’s claim.

 

Eventually, Henry was beset by a combined army of Urguan, Malinor, Krugmar, and Alras, organized together under the Treaty of Zion—and the Lucienists abandoned him at a key moment. He was slain, and Ex. Sigismund’s youngest son, Francis Carrion, sought to succeed him. Unfortunately for the Carrion prince, anti-Raevir sentiment was at an all time high, and the Waldenian camp now had the favor of the Zionists and the Church. The Carrion prince at first attempted to falsely coronate himself as King of Oren without the approval of the High Pontiff—but soon repented and avowed the title. Nevertheless, the Church was incensed. On the order of Bishop John of Darfey, the Decterum Order slew King Francis and his entire court in a tragedy called the Franciscan Massacre. Leadership of House  Carrion now fell to St. Tobias.

 

In this key moment, St. Peter Chivay returned from Exodus at the head of an Aeldinic host, and lent his aid to the Waldenian cause. The ninety-year-old King of Kaedrin’s claim was strong: of all the belligerents in this war, he alone was personally crowned by Ex. Godfrey. Greater still, a spiritual apparition of Ex. Godfrey appeared before the Chivay host at the base of Mt. Augustus, whispering St. Peter’s name.

 

Thus forces of House Carrion were surrounded at Mt. Augustus. Led by St. Tobias, and with the aid of defectors from the orcish tribe of Azog, the house won a narrow victory against combined Chivay and Zionist forces. Despite his success, St. Tobias saw that the Raevir people were still at a massive strategic disadvantage—more so, even if they could hold out, he would rule a rump state while the rest of humanity went on without his kin. Upon hearing of the apparition of Ex. Godfrey, St. Tobias knelt in surrender. Thus St. Peter took the imperial throne in 1456. The hallmarks of his reign were:

 

• The invention of the first imperial state army;
• The temporary abolition of the High Pontificate, and resumption of caesaropapism in retribution for the Franciscan Massacre;
• The restoration of the Exodites to the body of humanity.

 

The apparition of Ex. Godfrey appears above St. Peter Chivay’s armies.

 

Late Prophetic Era (1462-1482)

However, once again, humanity had pinned its hopes on a singular, titanic figure who drew their claim through personal connection to a prophet. St. Peter was succeeded in 1462 by his quarter elf nephew, Robert I ‘the Quadroon’. Far more diplomatic than his uncle, the emperor’s unassertive nature and elven ancestry earned him the disdain of his Waldenian officer corps; simultaneously, his toleration of pagans angered the religiously orthodox Raevir. His own marshal, Vibius de Sola, launched a coup against him in 1467. He was replaced by the third son of St. Tobias Carrion, Boris, thus restoring the Throne of Man to the House of Carrion. In the chaos, however, the Waldenian people seceded and formed the Kingdom of Aesterwald.

 

Boris I ‘the Desired’ ascended in 1467, and passed due to plague within the year. His successor was his father, St. Tobias I ‘Rosebud’, who had not been chosen initially due to his age. Though Emperor Tobias was able to negotiate Aesterwald back into the fold of the Empire, his plainspoken nature and open embracement of his Raevir heritage earned their ire. His own Grand Knight, Maric Varodyr, eventually raised the Waldenian homeland in rebellion. While St. Tobias seemed likely to recapture the rebelling territory, he was intercepted by the rise of an Undead threat in the dwarven capital. Though the Carrion emperor successfully repelled the incursion, his second youngest son, Yakov, was turned to their side as a warlock. St. Tobias abdicated his throne in 1480 and sallied out to slay the monster. He did not return from this encounter until twenty years later. In the meantime, his youngest son Alexander inherited.

 

Alexander I ‘the Unready’ represented a type of monarch which should be familiar by now: the mild-mannered, unexpected heir of a far more successful emperor who had failed to prepare him for succession. Alexander was ill-fit to handle the palatial intrigue into which he was thrown. Though decades prior Ex. Sigismund had shrewdly consolidated his Empire by placing sons and grandsons upon royal thrones, by Alexander’s time this created countless Carrion claimants and cadet branches, who coveted Alexander’s throne and undermined his rule. When his own lord marshal, Varon Kovachev, seized Alexander’s personal fief of Karovia and proclaimed his own petty kingdom after a devastating loss to rebel forces, the young Emperor yielded to internal and external pressure. He surrendered to Maric Varodyr’s Aesterwaldian host—which was still in active rebellion when Alexander had ascended—dissolving the Empire and taking exile in 1482. Alexander sired two children: the oldest, Karl, later became founder of Haense. 

 

With Alexander’s passing, the Prophetic Era came to an end: William the Weak had long ago delegitimized claims through Ex. Godfrey’s House of Horen and Alexander the Unready had now done the same to claims through Ex. Sigismund’s House of Carrion. St. Peter’s claim, which was personal and rested on an apparition, was similarly doubtful. A new institution would be necessary to legitimize future empires.

 

Society

Prophetic Era society unambiguously emphasized lordship, warfare, and courtly culture. Consequently, the era was dominated by military orders: the Teutonic Order in Hanseti, the Order of St. Lucien in Aesterwald, the Order of the White Rose in Kaedrin, the Decterum Order, the Order of Lion, and so forth. Additionally, aside from the more commoner-focused Raevir, one will find little record or mention of any individual from this period unless they were a noble scion of one sort or another. Even those commoners who rose to prominence were promptly ennobled—in part due the unrestricted power of lords in Ex. Godfrey’s empire to confer nobility.

 

Political Philosophy

The philosophy of the Prophetic Era is more aptly described as a lack of coherent philosophy. Before the arrival of Ex. Godfrey, humanity had little in the way of government or organized religion. Disputes were settled ad hoc by local elders, and kingship was mostly titular. After Ex. Godfrey established the Empire and instituted feudalism, there was still little administrative structure. Although vassal lords nominally owed loyalty to their liege, rebellions and civil conflict were common, and thus thrones rarely passed from father to son. Governing, then, was usually interpersonal. Lords made informal backroom deals with their allies, or political strongmen came to power through force of charisma. In this era, there was little to no institutional authority: political and religious offices generally conferred little power of their own, and instead waxed and waned with their holder’s political relevance. 

 

Religion

Religious customs in the Prophetic Era were diverse, but doctrinally unsophisticated. Before Ex. Godfrey, churches of the True Faith existed, but with no governing authority, and religiously confused commoners often worshipped idols of angels and saints alongside the Creator. While the High Priests kept the two existing Holy Scrolls, they were often taught alongside pagan texts, and were mostly unknown to the public. Even after Ex. Godfrey reestablished the authority of the High Priesthood, the nascent Church struggled to assert its authority—particularly because the Houses of Horen and Hightower kept a monopoly on Flexio, the language of the Holy Scrolls, but also because Emperor Orian actively encouraged the heretical worship of emperors as divine. The Church’s struggle to assert itself doctrinally is most demonstrated in that, until Ex. Sigismund, the scriptural commandment against intermarriage between humans and other races was not even observed in the Empire. 

 

Structural Failures

Ultimately, the failure of the Prophetic Era was in its lack of institutional structure. Without a consistent, orderly succession, no lord was safe from the ambition of his vassals and neighbors. Similarly, nominally religious human kingdoms allied with foreign races and pagans against their coreligionists. Without a strong cultural taboo against foreign interference, vassals repeatedly defected from their emperor in order to ally with outsiders against other humans, as the Adunians did with the dwarves of Urguan.

 

Culture

Unique to the Prophetic Era, one’s loyalty was generally owed to an individual or military order rather than a culture. Fashion was dictated accordingly, with banners and drab tabards commonplace, alongside feudal smallclothes and simple garb. Likewise, a man’s rights were at the mercy of whatever feudal master to whom he was sworn. Due to the weakness and impermanence of state and clerical institutions, elevation in Prophetic Era society operated on a system of patronage between individuals. 

 

Women were bereft of any formal rights. Aside from the singular exception of Amber de Stolistes sitting on Ex. Sigismund’s privy council, no woman served in an official capacity throughout the period, though they were often conscripted into forced marriage to cement alliances. However, despite having no legal protections, the tentative order established by the Prophetic Era enabled some women to flourish in spite of their conditions. A nascent court culture emerged, spearheaded by one of the heroines of the era, Ari of Kingston, who was consort to Orian. She is often credited as the inventor of imperial court culture. Similarly, Lorin of Kaedrin, despite her involuntary marriage to a getriatic Augustus Blackmont, had authority enough to write and publish his memoir. She is now considered the first female author in imperial history.

 

The status of nonhumans in the empire varied drastically throughout the period. At the onset of Ex. Godfrey’s empire, the majority of elite nobility possessed some elven or Adunian ancestry. Intermarriage and elven descent were celebrated as superior to pureblooded humanity. This was most likely a holdover from the Harrenite rule of Ezekiel Tarus prior to Ex. Godfrey.

 

However, following the development of the Kaedreni and Raevir cultures, a core human identity emerged that would challenge the mixed-race elite of old. The martial Kaedreni people, champions of some of early Oren’s greatest military feats, persecuted non-humans in all spaces of life. Likewise, Ex. Sigismund commanded a purge of all ancient nobility of elven and Harrenite extraction, after their perceived abuses and sedition throughout the era. Harrenites, those of elven descent, and products of interracial unions were in truth responsible for a majority of uprisings and rebellions to the imperial order throughout both the early and middle period. As result, these groups were often persecuted in the later half of the Prophetic Era.

 

That said, some elves of the empire thrived in service to the Empire. The White Rose’s own Tristin Tresery, a wood elf, and Ex. Godfrey’s personal executioner, the dark elf Darius DeNurem, both commanded great fortune and repute in this time. Ex. Godfrey and Orian’s conquests in Malinor permanently bound the fate of the elven people with the Empire. From this time forward, elves consistently have a unique relationship with the predominantly human Empire, their nations repeatedly appearing as allies, vassals, or colonial subjects.

 

The peace and prosperity afforded in the early Prophetic Era cultivated cultural groups which last into this day. Heartlander culture was monolithic—it tended to be deeply rooted in elven and Harrenite admixtures, and thus lent itself well to pagan practices such as Horen bloodworship. In spite of this, however, a strong chivalric tradition emerged, as the first modern knights were created under the Order of the Red Dragon. The most acclaimed writer of the era, Cecil Virosi, scribe to the Ex. Godfrey, managed to document much of the growing court culture and medieval ethos that defined Heartlander politics and way of life. Farfolk influence in  the empire was limited to Rassidi traders and the curious Oyashiman House Ishikawa, which served under the Ex. Godfrey for a time before dispossessed in the Ex. Sigismund’s purge of seditious nobility.

 

Highland cultures began to take shape in the empire as Hansetians of Hochmeister Mirtok’s Teutonic Order served as the early empire’s premier military force. However, in time, they were supplemented by the Kaedreni of House Chivay, who offered a pious alternative rooted in a more feudal tradition. The overlap between those two cultures brought forth the Waldenians, who stood in frequent opposition to the Raevir. The Raevir, in turn, were brought into the empire by a young Ex. Sigismund after a civil war devastated the Kingdom of Alras, to which they were once a tributary state. They thrived in the feudal system and transformed much of the architectural vision of the empire alongside inspiring greater piety in its tradition.

 

Appendix

Adunia, Kingdom of: A vassal kingdom of Urguan, created out of Kaedreni land as a reward for the Adunian people, who defected from the Empire after the Exodus.

Adunian: A race of people descending from extensive intermarriage between elves and humans in the ancient Kingdom of Idunia, as recorded in the Scroll of Gospel. Also called Harrenites, after their first king, Harren.

Adrian de Sarkozy, St.: One of the mythic heroes of the White Rose who served as its chancellor and Count of Aldersburg. Codified the doctrine of early Lucienism. His daughter’s union with the Ex. Sigismund later established the Sarkozic branch of the House Carrion.

Aeldin: A distant continent primarily inhabited by humans, which has intermittently received Orenian exiles.

Aesterwald, Kingdom of: A Waldenian polity formed in the 15th century after the Vibian Coup by former Lucienists.

Alexander Carrion: The final emperor of the Carrion dynasty.

Alras, Kingdom of: A ascendant multiracial polity in the 14th and 15th century formed by dwarven colonist Syrio Forel.

Arethor: The first seat of the Exalted Godfrey’s empire.

Artorus Elendil: An Adunian royal exiled into the Kingdom of Urguan for who was later granted the land of Kaedrin for his service before being defeated by the Ex. Sigismund.

Augustus Blackmont: A bandit turned nobleman of immense influence and low cunning and repute, noted for the violence of his bannerman and inspiring the tradition of flaying.

Azog, Tribe of: An uruk clan with considerable interactions with humanity - many Azog chieftains served under the Hochmeister Mirtok as his shocktroopers.

Battle of Mt. Augustus: The second and final battle of the Zion War that ended in Carrion loyalist victory and Zionist defeat.

Battle of the Sand: The first battle of the Zion War that ended in Orenian defeat. 

Blackmont, House of: The household of notorious bandit turned nobleman August Flay.

Caesaropapism: The merging of secular and spiritual authority, generally whereby the Emperor is head of the Church. Although it was forbidden by Ex. Sigismund, caesaropapism has occasionally been restored and then re-abolished.

Canonism: The principal faith of the Empire. It is the racial faith of humanity, emphasizing that they are chosen by God to instruct the other races in virtuous living. Canonists revered four prophets, called the Exalted.

Carrion, House of: An imperial house founded by Ex. Sigismund. Members of this house comprise the other half of imperial claimants during the Prophetic Era, along with the House of Horen.

Cecil Virosi: Imperial scribe to Ex. Godfrey. Though little is known of his personal life, his name appears as author throughout court and government documents of the period.

Church of the Canon: The name of the Temple of the True Faith after its reformation by High Pontiff Daniel the Great.

Creator: One of the titles of God, particularly in the Canonist faith, but throughout most religions.

Damien Basileus: A bishop of mild renown who received the Chivay Aeldinic host

Daniel of Al’Khazar, St.: The last successful king of the Old Kingdom of Oren, who abdicated his throne to make pilgrimage.

Daniel the Great, St. High Pontiff: A naturalborn grandson of the Ex. Sigismund who was elected to High Pontiff in the wake of Chivay caesaropapism and codified the Canonist faith.

Darius DeNurem: A dark elf executioner to the Exalted Godfrey of great renown.

Decterum Order: A state banner that emerged under King Henry’s reign. Responsible for the assassination of King Francis and the Franciscan Massacre. 

DeNurem, House of: An old Hansetian household that once ruled the Kingdom of Hanseti as monarchs.

Edict of Three Kingdoms: King William’s instrument of surrender to the coalition powers, which divided the empire into three independent kingdoms: Oren, Galahar, and Savoie.

Elendil, House of: An Adunian household that claims direct descendent to Harren and his claims, renowned for great sedition and rebellion throughout the period.

Ezekiel Tarus: The last King of Renatus before the country passed to the rule of his seneschal, Reynard Lycian.

Exalted: The title of the four prophets of Canonism: Horen, Owyn, Godfrey, and Sigismund. The title is abbreviated as Ex.

Exodite: One who departed in the Exodus.

Exodus: The departure of Emperor Orian and the majority of the Orenian population to Aeldin.

Flexio: The liturgical language of Canonism, in which the Holy Scrolls were written. The Houses of Horen and Hightower once maintained their monopoly on the scriptures by restricting education in Flexio to only the highest ranking priests and government officials.

Franciscan Massacre: The assassination of King Francis in his court planned by the Temple of the True Faith and the Decterum Order.

Furnestock: A coastal duchy in the Exalted Godfrey’s empire.

Galahar, Kingdom of: A petty kingdom at the end of the Exodus.

Garth Hightower: A known indulgent

Godfrey, Ex.: The third prophet of the Canonist faith, and the founder of the Empire.

Grand Knight: A privy council title that charged its holder with maintaining chivalry in the empire. 

Greywynn Wastes: A perilous region in the old Kingdom of Hanseti where the Ex. Sigismund was anointed in prophecy.

Haense, Kingdom of: A Canonist realm formed in the ascendancy of Karl Barbanov’s successors under the reign of John III. Known for harmonizing  the Raevir and Waldenian cultures, it is the merger of the crowns of Hanseti and Ruska.

Hanseti, Kingdom of: One of the three successor states to the old Kingdom of Oren. The northernmost, it was ruled by Mirtok DeNurem in his role as Hochmeister of the Teutonic Order.

Harrenite: See Adunian. Endonym used to refer to Canonist Adunians after the 18th century.

Herendul, Kingdom of: A rump state of the old Kingdom of Hanseti held by the House of Winter after William’s abdication.

High Pontiff: The title of the head of the Church of the Canon. It is the successor of the titles High Priest and Prince-Archbishop, adopted after Ex. Godfrey conferred the title of Pontifex on James I.

High Priest: The historical title of the heads of the Temple of the True Faith. Originally conferred jointly by Ex. Owyn on St. Evaristus and St. Clement, it was eventually supplanted by the title of High Pontiff.

Hightower, House of: The royal house of the Kingdom of Salvus, which was a particular favorite of Ex. Godfrey’s and intermarried heavily with the House of Horen. It was eventually exiled for repeatedly defecting from humanity.

Holy Scrolls: The scripture of the Canonist faith, consisting of four scrolls: Virtue, Spirit, Auspice, and Gospel. Also called The Canon.

Horen, House of: An imperial house founded by Ex. Godfrey upon his annunciation as prophet, whence he claimed pureblooded, male-line descent from Ex. Horen. Members of this house held the imperial throne often, and their descendants have formed the bulk of imperial pretenders.

Horen, Ex.: The first prophet of the Canonist faith, and the founder of the human race.

Iblees: The archenemy of God in the Canonist faith, who was the leader of the Daemons before his fall.

Imperial Diet: A  failed late fifteenth century body created by the Vibian regency to name monarchs among electors - not to be confused with the modern Imperial Diet, the bicameral body that legislates for the contemporary empire.

Imperial Traditionalism: A sect of Canonism which revered Godfrey as the incarnation of God and generally rejected Ex. Sigismund as a prophet.

Interimperium: A period in which no empire existed.

Ishikawa, House of: An Oyashiman household of mild renown whose progenitor, Kais Ishikawa, served as Lord Sheriff and companion to the Exalted Godfrey.

James I, Prince-Archbishop: The first modern head of the faith, appointed by Ex. Godfrey. He was originally of the Hightower family.

John of Darfey: A Horen bastard and bishop who ordered the Franciscan Massacre. Was later elected High Pontiff Paul III, then deposed.

Jolly Ruskan Band: A band of zealous cossack warriors inspired by the Ex. Sigismund’s legacy led by St. Wilfriche of Hanseti.

Kaedrin, Kingdom of : A Canonist realm formed after the conquests of Malinor under the reign of Orian I.

Kralta: A Raevir town of great prosperity in the fifteenth century that served as Ex. Sigismund’s first seat of power.

Krugmar, Rexdom of: The historical polity of the Orcish race.

Lucienism: A sect of Canonism promulgated by St. Adrian that initially rejected prescribing divinity to the Horen household. Later associated with the Order of St. Lucien which emphasized pontifical infallibility and the racial inferiority of nonhumans. Related to and often allied with Imperial Traditionalism.

Malin: The racial founder of the elves, after whom their homeland is named.

Malinor, Conclave of: A successor state to the Princedom of Malinor, mostly notable for its participation in the Treaty of Zion. It was led by Darius DeNurem, who took the title Justiciar of Malin.

Malinor, Princedom of: The historical homeland of the elves. Eventually fractured and abolished due to tension between elven subraces. 

Marcellus Blackmont: A petty king of the fifteenth century who was rebuked by the Ex. Sigismund and in turn forfeited his territories.

Maric Varodyr: A noted fifteenth century rebel who served as Emperor Tobias’ grand knight. Rebelled against the empire and defeated his son, Alexander, in pitched combat, before losing his kingdom and turning to the Undead.

Mirtok DeNurem: A mythic Hochmeister of the Teutonic Order who served as the Ex. Godfrey’s predominant military commander.

Order of St. Lucien:  A holy order formed under the Pontificate of Lucien II.

Order of the Lion: A knightly order formed under the Ex. Godfrey, responsible for the defense of the Horen line.

Order of the Red Dragon: The paramount knight order founded by the Ex. Godfrey which encompassed all knights of the realm.

Order of the White Rose: A knightly order and feudal banner which was the possession of House Chivay.

Oren, Kingdom of: The homeland of humanity. Called “the Old Kingdom” when referring to Oren as it existed before the founding of the Empire.

Orian Horen: The eldest son of Ex. Godfrey, who eventually went mad and led humanity on the Exodus. He is occasionally called Horen I and Horen V—two confusing misnomers.

Owyn, Ex.: The second prophet of the Canonist faith, and founder of the Temple of the True Faith.

Oyashiman: A subculture of the Farfolk people of Shona, known for their bushido culture.

Paul III, High Pontiff: See John of Darfey.

Perea, House of: The predecessors of House Sheffield as kings of the Old Kingdom of Oren.

Peter Chivay,. St.:  One of the mythic founders of the White Rose and first King of Kaedrin. After returning from the Exodus, he mended the Zionist anarchies and assumed the mantle of the Holy Orenian Emperor.

Pontifex: The title conferred on Prince-Archbishop James Hightower by Ex. Godfrey, which means “Builder of Bridges”. Because it was granted at the same time that Ex. Godfrey passed over the laurel of the prophets, it is considered to represent the High Pontiff’s inheritance of prophetic authority.

Raev, the: The historical homeland of the Raevir people, which existed at various times as a duchy, march, or barony. Under the rule of Ex. Sigismund, it joined Ex. Godfrey’s Empire.

Raevir: The native people of the Raev. Because of their limited contact with St. Daniel’s Kingdom of Oren, the Raevir were often considered a strange, backwater people by their enemies.

Rassidi: A subculture of the Farfolk people of Aahey, known for propagating the Rashidun faith.

Regulus I, High Pontiff: A fifteenth century High Pontiff known for codifying the doctrine of the Exalted and presiding  over the Oren Regency after King Francis’ assassination.

Renatus, Kingdom of: One of the three successor states to the old Kingdom of Oren. In Flexio, Renatus literally means ‘born again’, as the phoenix, which was its symbol. It was the heartland of humanity, ruled by the decadent House of Sheffield and later the traitorous seneschal Reynard Lycian.

Reynard Lycian: The seneschal who held the Kingdom of Renatus after the departure of the King Ezekiel Tarus. Although initially faithful to Ex. Godfrey, he later envied and betrayed him. For this, he was exiled.

Robert Chivay: A fifteenth century emperor regarded as ‘the Quadroon’ for his elven ancestry - most known as the victim of the Vibian coup.

Ruskan Orthodoxy: A fifteenth century sect  of True Faith that rejected attributing divinity to the prophets.

Salvus, Kingdom of: One of the three successors states to the old Kingdom of Oren. The southernmost and most cosmopolitan, it was ruled by the House Hightower.

Savoie, Apostolic Kingdom of: A brief fifteenth century polity that served as the High Pontiff’s royal estate.

Scroll of Auspice: The final book of the Canon that reveals the future of the faith.  given to Ex. Sigismund.

Scroll of Gospel: The penultimate book of the Canon that reveals the history of the faith, given to Ex. Godfrey.

Scroll of Spirit: The second book of the Canon that reveals epistles to the non-Canonist faiths, given to Ex. Owyn

Scroll of Virtue: The first book of the Canon that reveals the law all Descendents must uphold, given to Ex. Horen

Seneschal: A fourteenth century title that faded into obscurity by the fifteenth century that designated a successor to a monarch or regent of a polity.

Seven Skies: The afterlife of Canonism, where the virtuous dead reside.

Seventis, Kingdom of: One of several minor, outlying states that was conquered by Ex. Godfrey. It was devastated by the Plague of Asulon, which many believed was God clearing the way for the prophet’s conquest.

Sheffield, House of: The successor to House Perea as the kings of the Old Kingdom of Oren.

Sigismund, Ex.: The final prophet of the Canonist faith

Silence, The: A period of a thousand years before the arrival of Ex. Godfrey, during which God sent no prophets to humanity.

Silverblade, House of: An old Renatian household of mixed-elf ancestry.

Sixth Sky: One of the Seven Skies. The home of the first man and woman, the Exalted, and the wives of the Exalted.

Tarus, House of: An old Renatian household of Adunian ancestry.

Temple of the True Faith: The original name of the Church of the Canon. It was founded by Ex. Owyn in order to preserve the True Faith during The Silence.

Teutonic Order: A mythic military order forged in the pre-imperial anarchies - distinguished as the first great military order in modern human history.

Theodosius, St.: A sainted companion of the Exalted Sigismund, associated with birds and prophecy.

Throne of Man: The religious term for the imperial throne in Canonism. Ex. Godfrey swore a covenant with God that its holder would always be a human and never a practitioner of magic.

Tobias Carrion, St.: The eldest son of the Ex. Sigismund and eighth emperor of the Holy Orenian Empire.

Treaty of Zion: A defensive pact between the Kingdom of Alras, Grand Kingdom of Urguan, Conclave of Malinor, and Rexdom of Krugmar. The Zionist forces assaulted King Henry’s Oren, eventually leading to his overthrow.

Tristin Tresery: An elven officer of the White Rose who later became King of the Dominion of Malin 

True Faith, The: The name of Canonism before the revelation of all four Holy Scrolls.

Urguan, Grand Kingdom of: The historical homeland of the dwarves, which was an ally of Ex. Godfrey’s and was partially conquered by Emperor Orian before the Exodus.

Varon Kovachev: A fifteenth century nobleman of mild renown who served marshal to Emperor Alexander before declaring independence with his estates.

Vibius de Sola: A fifteenth century fieldmarshal responsible for the Vibian Coup against Robert I.

Waldenian: A Highlander culture born from overlap between Kaedreni bannermen of  old Hansetian extraction.

William Horen:  The third son and successor to the Emperor Orian who surrendered to the Grand Kingdom of Urguan.

Winter, House of: An old Renatian family exiled for its involvement in the Franciscan Massacre.

Yakov Carrion: Penultimate son of Tobias’ who formed a covenant with the Undead to defeat Maric Varodyr - slain by his father Tobias.

Zion War: A fifteenth century conflict between the Kingdom of Oren and an assembled coalition of nonhuman powers that ended in Carrion loyalist victory at Mt. Augustus and Chivay rule.

 

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