Post by RoaE Staff on Jun 4, 2012 0:43:44 GMT -5
Historical -- Full Scale Conflicts -- Seven Factions -- Choose Your Own Destiny
[/center]The year is 410 C.E. -- and from the Atreos Mountains in the far west to the Blessed Isles on the eastern edge of the continent the Amoraean Empire rules the known world. For over five hundred years the Emperor of Amoraea has held dominion over countless nations and civilized peoples, controlled by a far-reaching bureaucracy and held by its formidable armies.
Or so it was once.
Internal strife and civil wars have left the Empire weakened and divided. The once-vaunted Phalangists of Amoraea, who had once conquered the world, exist in name only as second-rate frontier troops or as quasi-mercenary forces loyal only to whomever supplies their next month's wages. The borders of the Amoraean Empire, protected only by the remains of the Phalangist Corpus and by local auxiliaries, have begun to decay under the onslaught of horsepeoples from the northeastern steppes and desert tribes from the Sahal desert in the southwest.
And then there were the Northmen. Ten years ago now.
In this year fierce, foreboding omens came over the land of Amoraea. There were excessive whirlwinds, lightning storms, and fiery dragons were seen flying in the sky. These signs were followed by great famine, and on January 8th the ravaging of heathen men fell upon our country. --Brother Theodoros, Ellista Abbey Chronicles
In the depths of winter a vast host of barbarians from the Untamed Lands crossed the northern frontier of the Empire, surprising and overrunning the unprepared border garrison. Making their way south along the valley of the River Rhodanos, the Northmen killed and pillaged all before them, finally laying siege to the port of Bardicum at the river's mouth. It was there that they were at last faced by the Imperial Army, led by the Emperor Gaios IV Atreides himself. When the battle was over, the Emperor lay dead, along with his entire force. The Northmen, with none left to oppose them, swept through the Amoraean homeland and ultimately sacked the capital of Amoraea itself.
Never before has such terror appeared in the Empire as we have now suffered from a pagan race. . . .The heathens poured out the blood of saints around the altar, and trampled on the bodies of saints in the temple of God, like dung in the streets. --Brother Theodoros, Ellista Abbey Chronicles
Ten years have passed since then, and the Empire as it was is a distant memory. The former provinces of the Empire have gained autonomy, and the Northmen still control a large portion of the former Empire of Amoraea's lands. Now, nine distinct factions vie for resources, land, and control of these shattered lands. From Hjallstaat, the Northmen territory to the north - defined by its rugged terrain and the peoples' fierce longships, to the Theocracy and legendary navy of the Blessed Isles in the southeast. From the tribes and sheer manpower of the Cisalpine Region to the northwest, to the clans of Yamatai to the far east. From the Senate of the remnants of the Imperial Legions of the Amoraean Empire to the northeast, the democratic peoples and mighty cataphracts of Archaea to the south, and to the endless dunes and camel riders of Ismaea & Tingitanaea.
Every single one of these nations has dreams of creating an Empire, of molding the entirety of these lands in their own image. Each of these countries has both the ability and the willingness to carve its own swath of conquest through these lands, and the only question is... Who will be able to take advantage of this opportunity? Who will be able to reunite these shattered lands, and who will the new superpower of this era be? Alliances are fleeting, and you never know whose dagger might lay in your back in the 'morrow. While wars may be won by Generals, Empires are forged from shrewd diplomacy. Both are needed to advance your own nation in these times. Play as anything from an Amoraean Senator to a Daimyo from Yamatai. The possibilities are endless in Remnants of an Empire. Hope to see you there.