The Halmorian Empire

Halmoria

The geography of the lands of Halmoria lent in great part to the emergence of the Empire, and its expansion. Vast fertile hills coupled with a river fit for travel and trade, as well as mountains rich with ore, the Halmorians were almost destined to succeed. The capitol city is a grand sweeping place of magnificent architecture and tall buildings, made possible by their expert use of arches. Various aqueducts bring snowmelt from the mountains and supply the city with fresh water. The aqueduct system is also used in the vast farm lands of Halmoria, with man-made irrigation freeing the Empire from the fickle whims of nature. Roads of expert make crisscross the land and connect the various cities of the Empire promoting trade and allowing quick troop movement in times of war. Halmoria has stretched as far as Kalimvar in the west but have ventured no further for fear of the military juggernaut. In the south the remains of the Kutaran Empire stand ready to defend their lands to the last. To the north the empire encompasses the former lands of Valka, and their eastern border is dominated by large swathes of coastline.

A Brief History of Halmoria

By Classus Reginus

Formative years

Halmoria at it's beginning was nothing more then a simple farming village, much like the dozens of others that inhabited the area at the time. The town was run by a series of mayors and lords who power was maintained simply to protect the village from outside threats. Halmoria as a village prospered, being built both on rather fertile land, and near the Finarii river which promoted trade. Halmoria's prosperous nature brought both fortune and woe to it's early inhabitants. While the villagers of Halmoria lived in relative comfort most of the time their keen success brought unwelcome issue, such as raiders and others who sought Halmorian wealth.

As a necessity the Halmorians formed a militia to protect themselves, the militia was formed by the young men of Halmoria and was equipped by the blacksmiths that called the village their home. As the years passed and Halmoria grew more prosperous the village became a town, beginning to resemble more an urban center then a farming village. The Halmorians extended their influence to the lands that surrounded the original site, promising protection to other farming hamlets for their loyalty and a portion of their crop. Thus over a century or two the name Halmoria changed from the name of a single town to the name of fledgling nation.

The kingdom of Halmoria was officially established with the writing of the Codex un Halmorii which established the laws of the land and defined it's original borders. The western most border being the bank of the Finarii river, and it's eastern border being the coastline. Halmoria also extended as far north as the Broken Ridge mountains and as far south as the edges of the lands of Kutara, a nation powered by it's rich iron mines. However it did not extend as of yet into the Carphasian region, a large tract of coastline to the south east.

The Imperial Restructuring

While the Codex un Halmorii established a basic governmental structure, it lacked a true definition for the leader of the nation. Since it was written by several of the mayors of the more prosperous towns in the nation neither wanted to give the other more power, thus at first Halmoria was more like a conglomerate of city states then a truly united nation. This changed in the year 1 IY (Imperial Year) when the first emperor of Halmoria, Emperor Justinous Dimorii took power through a quick and decisive campaign against his rivals which lasted a scant half year. Justinous made few changes to the Codex itself and little changed for the people, his most notable achievement in fact is simply his rise to power, and unifying the city states under one supreme leader.

The empire of Halmoria as it was now called remained relatively stagnant, yet productive, for the next few generations. It wasn't until Emperor Farus Dimorii took the reigns of power that major changes began to take place. Farus restructured the military to be a professional army, he rationalized this based on the growing frequency of raids by wandering marauders and more frequent incursions into Halmorian lands by soldiers of Kutara. The army drew recruits from the young of the empire each serving a predetermined term with the option to re-enlist. The formation of the Legions transformed Halmoria from a fledgling nation into a true power on the continent.

More changes came with Farus's descendents. Solias Dimorii, Farus' grandson ordered the formation of the first guilds which have since become the prominent business force within the Empire. Solias also standardized the gold coin as the baseline of the Halmorian economy.

Rise of the Nobility

With the inception of the trade guilds many men became very rich, and with wealth came power. Soon the men who had amassed such power began to wield it, manipulating the throne for their own needs. The wealthiest proclaimed themselves nobility, claiming to be above the common man.It was not until Emperor Gracus Dimorii took power in 536 IY that the Ancient Institution of Nobility was challenged. A strong willed man, Gracus held that the Power of the Imperial Throne should be unquestionable by all subjects equally. Gracus even went so far as to attempt to empower the lower class in order to dis-empower the noble class. Those who have held power for generations, however, rarely give it up easily and Gracus was assassinated in 561 IY. The man who took power after Gracus did far worse to the nobles however. A Duke of considerable influence and renown in his efforts towards the internal workings of the Empire and a political beast, the nobles rather hastily raised Alphaeus to the throne, believing themselves safe in the knowledge that a noble, much like them, from good stock and breeding and of superior intellect would do nothing but empower the nobility. In the early years of his rule, he demanded the construction of many foundries and other such industrial monuments, and the nobles pockets grew larger whilst the Empire as a whole grew to become the center of military technology. To consolidate his power after several similar assassination attempts to end his rule like his predecessor, and to make sure his line would have lasting power, Emperor Aphaeus I executed many of the noble heads in a ruthless streak and forced the rest to swear fealty to him. Though many nobles were slain and as a cause of this, many houses could not withstand such blow and crumbled, and the nobles finally got their wish - individual noble houses gaining more power through the blood of their compatriots.

Despite this however, the noble caste survived, even if it has never gained the power it once held. As it stands today, Major Noble Houses rule over large swathes of land and Minor Noble Houses head villages. None, it seems, will dare attempt another coups with the memory of what happened the last time.

The Expansion

In 778 IY Emperor Belias II invaded the kingdom of Kutara to the south of Halmoria. At first the Kutarans, who favored the use of fast light cavalry, fared well against the Halmorian invaders whose force mainly consisted of infantry. Halmorian ingenuity and technology however eventually turned the tide in the war. The Kutarans eventually signed a treaty in 793 IY with almost half of their territory lost to the Halmorians, thus becoming the first major expansion of Halmorian territory.

The Halmorian border remained relatively stable until the self proclaimed “Lord” Emperor Alphaeus III took power in 935 IY. His first year in power he launched an attack against the Plainsmen of Ildori. The campaign was short and bloody, with the superior tactics and war machines of the Halmorians quickly crushing the tribes and expanding the borders of Halmoria past the Finarii river. Their first major conflict came when they invaded the northern lands known as Valka. Their they met the Valkshir, a hardy people who resisted fiercely. The war with the Valkshir lasted for nearly a decade until the Halmorians were finally victorious, using the Valkshir's own rituals against them. Next came the Lakoi, a relatively laid back sea faring people who inhabited the Carphasian region to the south east along the coast. Here the Halmorians met little resistance the Lakoi allowing them to install their government with little or no fuss.

Upon the discovery of Eramere and Atalan, Emperor Alphaeus III decreed a new Halmorian colony would be formed. The empire since gained a bountiful profit from the colony, as well as access to what could be untold power within the mysterious city, along with the Obelisk itself, and Atalan became one of the gems of the Halmorian Empire - that is, until the War with Kalimvar. It was soon after this, that Atalan refused some demands of Halmoria and seceeded from the Empire, eventually being abandoned during the Fall of Atalan when attacked from both within and without.

• The Halmoria-Kalimvar War

• The Fall of Atalan

The Resurgence

After being plagued by incompetent and the occasional degenerate leadership, the Halmorian Empire has seemingly been blessed with the rise of Emperor Levistus Alphaeus I, who has come to be known, and lauded as Levistus the Wise. Traditionally trained in the Legion, Levistus took to it seriously, not as a simple requirement of his birth, and showed a keen mind for both tactical, and strategic manipulation. The third son of the previous Empress, he was destined for obscurity, but he carved fame and renown out on the battlefield. His soldiers loved him so, that his older brother then Emperor Asillius II decided to abdicate to his sibling rather face the inevitable assassin's blades. His foresight was better than he could have imagined, as after Levistus took power, the remaining Halmorian nobility was purged, their lands given to Levistus' loyal Imperitors and Praetos. Levistus' next claim to greatness came from his defeat of a Kalimvaran Army, intent on forcing the issue of Halmoria's presence in Eramere despite the rival Empire's retreat from the eastern continent. That swift victory, and a fervently religious ambition has turned the Emperor's eye to Eramere and it's heresies, and some say more importantly, rich resources.

Significant Halmorian Emperors

• Emperor Justinous Dimorii - Reigned 1-32 IY
• Emperor Farus Dimorii - 102-135 IY
• Emperor Solias Dimorii - 172-201 IY
• Emperor Gracus Dimorii - 536- 561 IY (assassinated)
• Emperor Aphaeus I - 561- 587 IY
• Emperor Belias II 765-799 IY
• Lord Emperor Alphaeus III 934 - 986IY
• Empress Laela Alphaeus 998 - 1063 IY
• Emperor Levistus Alphaeus I 1063IY - present

Other Famous Halmorians

• Lethus Daleneius - 82 IY – 141 IY
• Iridessus - early 400s
• Alandra Hertaemus - 897 IY – 968 IY