Vrinian Empire

The Vrinian Empire was a powerful geopolitical entity in ancient Alethustria. Its only known living citizen is Ashara, who survived the empire's fall and the intervening millennia by placing herself in a stasis pod.

Description
The Vrinian Empire seems to have spanned much of western Lyvernus, covering much of the present-day Niyaha Desert. However, Ashara's pod was located near present-day Bastion, south of the desert and east of the Spine of the World, and Vrinian artifacts have also been as far north as the Ravenridges. The empire was extremely magically and technologically advanced. It also had access to a wealth of material resources, such as large deposits of mithril and adamantine. These materials, now vanishingly rare, were affordable in large quantities on a student's budget, allowing arcane experimentation to flourish. Ashara has speculated that the reasons that these materials are so scarce in modern Alethustria may be that they were overconsumed by the Vrinians. The empire's mages and arcanists were in the employ of an organization called the Arcane Studium, closely tied to the imperial family. The imperial family and the mages of the Studium both resided in the empire's walled capital, although many smaller settlements and farms existed in the outer regions. Even so, the imperial family was able to exert a large amount of control over the commonfolk, arranging the marriages of all arcanists in an effort to prevent the potential for them to prioritize their spouse over their duty to the imperial family. Possibly as a result of the arrangement, many courtships were rushed into marriages in a matter of weeks. This practiced resulted in many "horror stories," in Ashara's words, although some marriages managed to find love. Same-sex marriage was permitted in this system, as Ashara and Tinariel were engaged under this practice, although with the intent of denying such couples the potential distraction of children. The imperial family also seems to have some sort of religious authority, considering that the appropriate style for a ruler was "Your Holiness."

History
The Vrinian Empire existed thousands of years ago, predating the Mage Wars and the Era of Dragons. As a result, much of its recorded history and knowledge has been destroyed, living on only in the memory of Ashara. Because date-keeping has changed considerably since the empire's fall and Ashara did not have a sense of the passage of time while in stasis, it is unknown exactly how long ago the empire fell. Near the end, the imperial family commissioned the Arcane Studium to create beings out of mithril and adamantine, animating them with the souls of the dead. These beings became known as the warforged, and the imperial family and archmages of the Studium planned to enslave them. While there was opposition to the project, mainly from Ashara, the warforged project went ahead and Imperial Enchanter Paisodos forced Ashara to work on it to punish her for speaking out. At first, the warforged were successfully forced into submission, and many were produced. Paisodos had a villa filled with them, including many inactive ones kept on hand to replace any of his "servants" who "broke." However, this state of affairs did not last. The warforged were able to break free of their servitude and began a bloody rebellion against their oppressors. The rebellion began on the outskirts of the empire, quickly killing the residents of less defended farms and villages. At first, those in the capital ignored the rebellion, assuming they were safe within the city's walls. However, this was not the case, and it is presumed that, with the exception of Ashara, the Vrinians were wiped out entirely. It is unknown what became of the warforged after their rebellion. Considering that they are unheard of in modern Alethustria, it is likely they succumbed to one of Lyvernus's later calamities or went into hiding for millennia. Some relics of the Vrinian Empire have recently been discovered by Atemcestari archaeologists, although before Ashara provided her assistance, they were unable to translate most of the writing on a recovered tablet.