FrivYeti/BagrashNorth
Back to the age of Bagrash Kol
Contents
The North: Grand Empire of the Sorcerer-King
Thirty years ago, it began to grow. It has expanded in fits and starts, ever-growing despite the legions of magical force that have been thrown against it. Heaven shakes at its power, and the world trembles as he directs it. He is Bagrash Kol, and the North is his complete domain. Numbering over forty million people, it is a bastion of power in the world.
The Empire of Bagrash Kol
Unlike the Dynasty, whose power derives from their heredity and the Mandate of Heaven, Bagrash Kol has reshaped the Empire into what could generously be called a meritocracy. Kol has divided his Empire into administrative districts, not unlike those of the old Shogunate, each of which contains roughly one million people and is controlled by a governor whom is specially chosen by Kol himself. These governors are made responsible for any problems that occur in their domains, and five of the fifty-one governors that Kol has appointed have already been executed at one time or another - one for corruption, and four more for failing to reach Kol's extremely high standards.
The governors appoint directors to cover their domains - anywhere from fifteen to twenty of them, depending on how territories have been rearranged, each overseeing an area of around fifty thousand people - a town, neighbourhood, or tribe. The position is not one that is greatly desired. As a rule, directors tend to suffer high casualties, with harsh penalties leveled on them by their superiors (who are themselves trying to show Kol how seriously they take his authority) for every misstep or error. Beneath the directors are a small array of bureaus, each governing around five thousand people and covered by a single manager and an office full of workers. Any departments are arranged entirely under the authority of given managers, with each worker covering a different aspect. Kol's bureaucracy is as expansive as that of the Realm, it is merely arranged in a different manner.
Justice in the Empire is harsh and all-encompassing. Each director appoints a single magistrate, with authority to level any and all punishments necessary - usually fines and corporal punishment, but occasionally indentured servitude or execution depending on the magnitude of the crime. Aside from indentured servitude, there is no slavery in the Empire, and drugs of all kinds are illegal. There are no appeals, but Kol's secret agents often investigate magistrates randomly, executing any who abuse their position. The ultimate effect is a nation that is efficient and safe, both things missing in many places in the world, but also harsh and unyielding. Any attempts at rebellion are crushed out of hand by Bagrash Kol himself, whose castle appears over the offending area and wipes it out of existence. Kol's authority is what all of his governors rely on to oppose any unrest.
Faith is straightforwards. All worship goes towards Bagrash Kol, as the Sorcerer-King who will reshape the world, and to the gods that he has created or appointed. The Sorcerer-King is a divine figure, approaching the rank of a Primordial creator in his might. Any other sort of worship is opposed with terrible force, and cults are rooted out wherever they are found - leaders are executed, and other members pressed into indentured servitude and carefully watched.
The Metaphyiscal Nature of the North
For all intents and purposes, the North is changing. The Terrestrial gods of the region have been forced out, or forced to bow their knee and accept Kol's domain as law. With a handful of exceptions, the Celestial gods have no power or authority in the Empire - Kol weaves his own custodians as he reshapes the land to suit his needs. Fate moves in the North as Kol wills it, and the Eye of Autochthon filters destiny - in his hands, even the Loom itself can only react, not alter, the tangled webs of fate that are woven.
Kol's control of the North expands slowly, whenever he can force the obedience of local gods. Using the Eye, he takes mystical control of the dragon lines of a nation or landscape, tying them into his empire and taking them away from the world. As of yet, no one has figured out how to undo this transmutation, but the effects seem to be minor. Exactly what Kol can accomplish with this control is debatable. Certainly, his control of terrain seems more total within his empire, but as the limits of the Eye aren't known this could be as much a political concern as a physical one.
Territories of the Empire
Bagrash Kol controls the North. From his seat of power in the flying city-castle of Eligius, through the ancient cities of Gethemane and Whitewall, to the barbarian tribes that pay him allegiance and the city-states of the Northwest, the entire Direction is his. The only nation not yet absorbed is Cherak, which still pays nominal tribute to the Realm, and their ability to hold out is likely not to last.
Westerly, Kol's empire stretches to the Nine Duchies of the coastal Northwest. A year earlier, they rebelled against the Realm and attempted to join Kol's expanding empire, but were crushed before the Sorcerer-King could accept their fealty. Now, with their dissenting elements crushed, they represent one of his first failures in years. However, his agents continue to spread into the Duchies, and if war breaks out with the Realm, it may take place here.
Kol's eye, however, is focused to the East. His forces have spread around the great nations of Halta and Linowan, bordering Sijan, Greyfalls, and the Confederacy of Rivers in general. Agents of the Sorcerer-King bring their focus to bear against all four nations, trying to bring them into the Empire's fold.
