Solar Empire of Arith

The Solar Empire, Solaris or officially the Solar Empire of Arith is a theocratic constitutional monarchy which dominates a majority of the continent of Arith. The Empire is headed by the religious and political head of state, the Solar Emperor, who is the head of the Solar Ecclesiarchy of Erses, also known as Solaris, Emperor of Solar Pyrrhia and directly commands the Western Realm, alongside the King of Silva, who is the head of the Silvan Faith and directly commands the Eastern Realm. The Empire is a constitutional monarchy, with representation for local Lords and land owners in the Imperial Estate.

The foundation of the Empire is during the events of Great Reformation, when Melevor II was commanded by the head god of the now defunct faith of Ceiltean Druidism, Erses, to correct the Faith with various reforms and doctrinal rewrites. This was completed with the completion of the holy texts of Solaris, the Solar Codex. At the time, the Empire was still not formed as the nation was under the control of Melevor II's father, Melevor, who upheld strong Socialist beliefs, being the founder of the Union of Collectivist Council Republics. Following Melevor I's death during the Second Crusade against Pater Carnis, Melevor II inherited the Union with many of his enemies already dead. Within days he had proclaimed himself Emperor and reinstated the ancient order of Pyrrhia. Three days following the proclamation of the Solar Pyrrhian Empire, the state was approached by conspirators from the Free Cities of Alathra, who successfully overthrew the F.C.A. Senate and securing the loyalty of half of the towns of the F.C.A, joining together with Pyrrhia to establish a continental superpower, the Solar Empire of Arith.

Etymology
The terminology of a "Solar Empire" comes from the Solaris belief that the more devout and faithful one is to the Sun God Erses, the more "Solar" - or Holy - one is. The population of the Empire were infused with previously missing faith in religion following the Great Sacrilege which led to the Second Crusade against Pater Carnis. This was the adopted name of the "Solar Empire of Pyrrhia" before the absorption of the F.C.A. on March 23rd in which the Empire was officially renamed the Solar Empire of Arith.

Pyrrhia
The Western Realm is comprised of various different distinct regions which have their own ethnicities, the Ceilteans, the Hongseguoans, the Invictans and the Ceilto-Willowgladians. These different ethnicities descend from the central Pyrrhian ethnicity, which populated the vast stretches of Western Arith for hundreds of years before breaking into different sub-ethnicities.

Western Realm
The Empire has a history spanning long before it's creation. Before the Great Reformation existed the Grand Order of Druids, who propagated the now defunct Ceiltean Druidism, which the Solar Ecclesiarchy was built upon. The Grand Order was established by the ancient progenitor of the Murascaillbach Dynasty, the direct descendant of Erses, Íor Murascaillbach. Prior to the arrival of Íor Murascaillbach on Terra, the population of the world was divided and either had no conception of true religion or gods, and worshipped only material wealth or pagan idols of flesh.

The Age of Heroes
The Age of Heroes was a series of long and protracted wars by the warrior-druids of Íor Murascaillbach against the pagans of Western Arith. Though lasting for upwards of 200 years, the series of wars was finally won by the people who would eventually become the Pyrrhians, known as the proto-Pyrrhians with the annihilation of the pagan temple which stood on the banks of the Saile river, modern day Ceiltean Crownlands. Though by this time Íor was dead by 75 years, his son was the first to truly settle in the lands and reign over peaceful territories.

The druids and proto-Pyrrhians lived a very peaceful lifestyle, living in nature under a loose Confederation headed by the chief of the Murascaillbach Clan. Under this Age shrines and standing stones to the gods thrived, appearing all over Western Arith as a result of Druidic wandering and nomad lifestyles. This would end with the rise of the Free Cities of Alathra, whose harsh policies against bandits would drive the money-making thieves into the relatively unsettled and nomadic West of Arith and into direct confrontation with the proto-Pyrrhains.

Age of Subjugation
War reigned against the bandits and warlords for many decades, but more kept coming into Western Arith, leading to the total subjugation of the proto-Pyrrhians. The natives would be enslaved by their new bandit overlords, forced into endless mining across the iron and gold rich region. The proto-Pyrrhians lived a basic subsistence, with the majority of food, housing and other basic necessities being hoarded by the bandits, who become warlords and began fighting amongst one another.

While the suffering of the proto-Pyrrhians was immense, it would only get worse as the Four Piglins (Pestilence, War, Famine and Death) struck the region igniting a 15 year-long series of events which included multiple famines, droughts, bandit conflict and widespread plague scourging the lands. During this time many of the already small proto-Pyrrhian population perished either due to hunger, sickness or death at the hands of bandit warlords who fought throughout the lands for dominance. The so-called "15 Years of Death" was thought to be a plight inflicted by the minor spirits, Ymis and Rhadohir on the bandits as a punishment for the maltreatment of the proto-Pyrrhians, though had the unintended consequence of killing many of the proto-Pyrrhians, who were thought to be immune to the sickness. The catastrophic event ended only after the organisation of a widespread rebellion by the proto-Pyrrhians spearheaded by Melevor and the establishment of the city of Pyrrhus.

Thus was unified that great race of men, longed disunited and spread across the large areas of Western Arith. Long had they been oppressed and mistreated by their brutal overlords, which collectively as a people they vowed would never happen again.

Old Pyrrhia
With the creation of the city of Pyrrhus and quick development thanks to the direct oversight by Melevor, it was not long before an official Pyrrhian nation-state had been formed. The new state embarked on a campaign to consolidate its position through forming friendships both on the continent of Arith, and also around the world. Before the start of the First Great Alathran War, Pyrrhia had officially signed treaties with the Kingdoms of Arith, the Federation of Arith, the Fossores Republic and the young Arcadian Altanate. With the declaration of war upon the Federation of Arith by the Kingdom of Elyria and the formal creation of the Alathran Entente, Pyrrhia joined the war on the Entente's side. The war, infamously, was very short and created the circumstances by which the decision was taken by the leadership of the state to enact scorched earth policies in order to leave the city with nothing to be taken by the enemy, believing that if they had let the city be captured this would violate their vow upon the establishment of the city. This left the city of Pyrrhus in disrepair and created the ruins that the city is today.

A year following the desolation of Pyrrhus and the end of the First Great War, there were very few people left in the city of Pyrrhus and so the decision was taken by the joint Kings of the Union of Unity-Luton, Gbhm2 and HawlMGamez, to conduct an invasion of Pyrrhian territories to take the land for themselves. The situation looked bleak for those few remaining Pyrrhians, though mercenaries from the Kingdom of Elyria helped repulsed the invading force and win the war for the Pyrrhians, preserving the city from foreign conquest.

Ceiltea
Following the victory at Pyrrhus the decision was made by Melevor to relocate the Pyrrhian people to a new area in the West. After embarking along the then roadless Arith, after many deaths and many days of walking, crossing rivers and hills, the Pyrrhians arrived at the land which would become the four provinces of Ceiltea. The High Kingdom of Ceiltea was marked with the foundations of cities, though fairly unremarkable, the Ceiltean High Kingdom saw the settling of Ard Saileach, Doire, Carrig and the now defunct town of Rafferty.

Throughout the countries tensions began to rise over the election of Prime Minister Dedrich Collins, who stood on a basis of Ceiltean Conservativsm and the centralisation of the state by reducing regional autonomy with his party the National Conservative League, in opposition to Lord Ronan Carrig, the man who founded the city of Carrig. Carrig stood for regional autonomy, and founded the Carrig Defence League, a local militia which would seek to defend the rights of the region that Carrig was in. In response to the creation of the CDL, a National Conservative backed militia named the National Ceiltean Army arose, as tensions between the two sides of the political dialogue got worse.

Beginning with small skirmishes the now aptly name "Troubles" included various bombings, gang shoot-outs and murders, although all events took place outside of the capital of Ard Saileach, which was revered as a holy place by the Ceiltean Order of Druids due to the presence of the neutral High King, Melevor. During the Troubles Melevor spent most of his time looking to the development of Ard Saileach, building the walls of the city and the beginnings of both the Palace of Kings, and the Ceiltean National Parliament.

The end of the High Kingdom would come about with the publication of Melevor's book "Wealth: A critique of Alathran elitism", which led him to be placed under house arrest, and inevitably caused the January Revolution, out of which the Collectivist Charter was created and the Union of Collectivist Council Republics was born.

Union of Collectivist Council Republics
Following the January Revolution, the Union of Collectivist Council Republics was established as a federal, but centralised, totalitarian dictatorship commanded by Melevor and his "National Collectivist League".

Governance by the National Collectivist League was harsh, regulating the political life of the nation severely, as the League was the only permitted political party. Economically, the country was forced into isolationism due to the hostile stance it had received from much of the world which saw it as a direct threat to their own economic power with the establishment of Socialism, which the Union had vowed to spread internationally. The economic isolation of the U.C.C.R. grew a culture of economic autarky, which has survived into the modern Empire, as while the Empire has returned to international trading and normalised economic relations with the rest of the world, it remains the foremost producer of i's own needs.

A united culture began to flourish under the Union, as the leadership of the state wished for brotherhood and unity between the different ethnicities which had come together to form it. Under the Union the country had grown both territorially and economically, with the incorporation of Willowglade and the expansion of Ceiltea northwards, and the further development of towns such as Carrig, Doire and Melevorgrad (now Solar Pyrrhus).

Great Reformation
The Great Reformation started on March 12th 2022, following Melevor the Younger, son of the current Leader of the U.C.C.R, Melevor the Elder, being able to make communication with the highest god of the Ardaithe Pantheon of Ceiltean Druidism. Melevor the Younger, alongside various Ecclesiarchs and other fanatics and zealots, such as Drakkalon Metellus formed the Sect of the True Flame, which sought to bring about the commandments and correction of history told by Erses onto them. The commandments and historical corrections which Erses had laid out to Melevor the Younger were codified in the Solar Codex, an easy to read, and accurate history of all of existence.

The Solar Codex brought about major doctrinal and historical changes to the Grand Order of Druids, which more orthodox and conservative elements of the Order, most particularly the Grand Conclave, rejected as nonsense and often caused doctrinal and religious debates at the Grand Conclave, where some supporters of the Sect were seated, at the Grand College of Druids, where many students had flocked to the zealous movement, and among citizens of the Union, as the schism was creating further religious identity within the Union.

The Sect was on an upwards trend prior to the Great Sacrilege, but following the event in which Ra'thra displayed meat of sacred Ceiltean Elks on the Liathdruim, the meeting rounds of the Grand Conclave of Druids, the popularity of the Sect surged both for their violence, but for their clear action towards practitioners of The Temple of Pater Carnis, many of whom were burnt at the stake during vigilante justice by the Sect.

Second Crusade against Pater Carnis
While the Union was officially a secular state, Melevor retained his historic and religious title of King of Kings of Ceiltean Druidism, and a religious man. The Leader was outraged when Ra'thra appeared before him and the assembled Grand Conclave of Druids displaying sacred Elk meats, and so began discussions immediately with the Grand Conclave, the Ecclesiarchs of the Sect - including his son - and Tartarus of the Silvan Faith, who had previously declared a crusade against Pater Carnis.

Reaching a unanimous decision, a crusade was declared on March 16th 2022 against The Temple of Pater Carnis. In the time during the preparation of the crusader army in Melevorgrad the Sect of the True Flame grew in popularity, recruiting many of the incoming crusaders to their beliefs, holding rallies in public squares, recruitment drives, witch hunts against Pater Carnis practitioners and publicly teaching both pyromancy and Solar magic.

On March 19th 2022, following heavy skirmished on the peripheries of the Union with hired mercenaries who had eventually backed off due to the withdrawal of Eldia from the crusade, the crusader armies left Melevorgrad, embarking to the slopes of Mount Xeno where the temple was situated. Reaching the location the armies quickly assembled a hastily-built fort which stood between the temple and the ruined city of Xenoarcadia. From this temple a large banner with a yellow sun on it was flown by the Sect of the True Flame, which would come to be the Imperial Banner of the new Solar Empire.

Prior to the siege Melevor the Elder called upon the defenders to give up their arms and to surrender to avoid bloodshed, promising amnesty for all those who left the temple behind. This call was not heeded due to the influence and fear inspired by Ra'thra on the defenders, who felt forced to stay or else Ra'thra would enact dark magics upon them. The fighting in the temple would be short, as the poorly armed and low morale defenders were quickly subdued, though fighting broke out in the entrance chamber in a counter attack which led to the fatal injuring of Melevor. In the end the crusader armies would be absolutely victorious, wiping the practitioners of Pater Carnis from Arith as Ra'thra escaped to an unknown location.

During the battle Melevor was fatally injured, and upon victory being secured was carried back to the hastily-built fort overseeing Xenoarcadia. Under the large flag which flew over the fort he passed away from his injuries, officially naming his son, Melevor the Younger his successor. In the days prior to Melevor the Younger's ascension to leadership of the Union two of the major individuals upholding the National Collectivist system were mutually eliminated by one another. First Secretary of the National Collectivist League, Dedrich Collins, was murdered by remnant forces of the Carrig Defense League, while Ronan Carrig was burned at the stake by overzealous members of the Sect. This gave way for Melevor the Younger to eliminate one further obstacle to his dreams of a religious Empire replacing the Union, the Folkscommissar of State Security, SaturnDevouring, who took poison upon hearing of the Leader's intention to burn him at the stake for heresy and calling Erses a "false idol".

Following the elimination of the final Old Guard of National Collectivism, Melevor the Younger consolidated the position of the Sect by officialising it as the new state church, the Solar Ecclesiarchy of Erses, completely disbanded and banning the former Grand Conclave of Druids and Ceiltean Druidism. From here Melevor the Younger would pen letters for important dignitaries, officials within the Union who supported him and religious representatives inviting all to come to the renamed Palace of Kings on March 20th 2022 for his coronation.

Proclamation of Empire
During Melevor the Younger's coronation as Melevor II, he not only was crowned King of Kings of the Solaris Faith, but also as Solar Emperor of the newly established Solar Pyrrhian Empire, which would replace the Union of Collectivist Council Republics. The new Empire was established as a theocratic absolute monarchy, with Melevor II as the absolute monarch and religious leader of Solaris. The proclamation of Empire additionally established and renamed institutions, the state currency, anthem, the new flag of the Empire and abolished all National Collectivist directives and laws.

The name of Melevorgrad was entirely forgotten, and referred only as "Solar Pyrrhus" in the proclamation, indicating the position of the new state that the name Melevorgrad would entirely be forgotten and never recognised as the official name of the capital. Various individuals attended the coronation of Melevor II, such as Leuvis George Krieger, Arctan1, Zephyrus, Izzy Blu, Drakkalon Metellus, Theil, Grimurian and Arthur Carrig among others.

Eastern Realm
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Geography
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Ecology
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West
The entirety of the Empire resides in Western Arith, with the largest and most populous region being the Crownlands, also known as Ceiltea. The Crownlands is between the two rivers of the Saile and the Darach and is covered mostly by forests and plains. There is a small plain to the east of Solar Pyrrhus along the coastline which leads to the ruins of the town of Rafferty and the internal border between the Crownlands and the County of Willowglade. South of the Crownlands is the Duchy of Hongseguo, which is comprised mostly of forests, rivers and mountains. The region is the County of Willowglade, which is characterised by its sand beaches and many islands, but which is undergoing terraforming to turn the lands green and lushous. The Ceiltean Crownlands and the Duchy of Hongseguo are separated administratively by the Darach River while the city of Hongseguo is settled on the Hongse River.

The Empire is home to many different forests and different types of plant life including dark oak trees, birch trees, oak trees, jungle trees, bamboo and large mushrooms of both brown and red varieties. While Ceiltea formely had a jungle (which had been cut down to make way for mass farms) and now has only, a dark oak forest and a birch forest, Hongseguo has only birch and dark oak forests. The over-abundance of dark oak nearby, with Solar Pyrrhus being on the site of a former dark oak forest, has led to the wood being highly popular for furniture and buildings within the Crownlands, and throughout official government buildings in the rest of the Empire. The fauna of the Empire includes the diverse range of cows, pigs, horses and parrots, with other species such as wolves being introduced from the lands south of Hongseguo as pets.

East
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Administrative Divisions
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West
The Empire is divided into different administrative duchies, with even more internal counties and baronies. Within the Ceiltean Crownlands the County of Doire and the County of Carrig exist, though the Count of Carrig has been granted the additional title of Duke of Ceiltea, to oversee the overall development of the Crownlands.

The Empire is administered through different duchies, the current two being the Crownlands - or Ceiltea - and Hongseguo.

East
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Religion
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Solaris
Religion is one of the most important factors within the Empire, as it is a theocracy with a church which has it's teachings taught at school, and enforced by the Solar Inquisition. Potential reformers or atheists or other denominations are pursued by the Solar Inquisition and often burned at the stake for heresy. The Empire is the sole nation which follows Solaris, and contains many of the holy sites of the religion, such as the Solar Capital of Pyrrhus, and the Solar City of Armenelos, where the Kiln of the Flame of Creation is tended to.

Pyrrhians have a superiority complex due to their religion, believing that their people was directly created and chosen by Erses to guide the world into an age of peace which would last millennia before the beginning of the Great Consumption. They believe that their Emperor is a divine monarch, not only receiving blessings from Erses or having a mandate from the Heavens, but that he is a direct descendant of the Solar God, and so he is treated with complete reverence as the highest figure in political and religious life.

Solarians practice their Faith in large churches, chapels and cathedrals, with often public ceremonies for the cremation of dead bodies, honouring them, the burning at the stake of heretics, or the baptism of new-borns or newly converted individuals in blue flames after consuming Elixir of the Sun.

All other religions within the Empire are banned or suppressed, though some that are able to co-exist with the Solar Ecclesiarchy have been permitted to exist in one form or another, after being co-opted by the Ecclesiarchy and used as examples of remnants of Erses' influence prior to Terra straying from His vision.

Politics
The political life of the Empire is much more free than that of the former Union of Collectivist Council Republics, though is currently limited to the Upper House of the Imperial Diet, the Imperial Estate. The Empire's religious head and head of state is the Solar Emperor who has a deciding factor on all laws or items passed by the Imperial Diet, and will continue to do so even after the creation of a Lower House, though is benevolent and doesn't often get involved in the affairs of the Imperial Diet unless it directly impacts the Faith.

Solar Emperor, King of Kings, Voice of Erses
The Solar Emperor is the religious head of Solaris, and head of state of the Empire. He brandishes the additional religious titles of King of Kings and Voice of Erses. The Solar Emperor is the absolute and theocratic monarch of the Empire, but delegates lesser duties and the running of Government to an appointed Archchancellor who oversees the Imperial Diet in the name of the Emperor. The Emperor maintains direct control over the Solaris Faith, and through this control has more control over managing the Empire that at first sight. The Emperor is revered as a divine monarch, as a direct descendant of the Solar God himself, Erses and so is treated with the respect that is deserved as a divine being by all those in the Empire. To become any title of nobility or religion it is required to swear fealty and obedience to the Emperor.

Archchancellor
The Archchancellor is the head of the government, and oversees the Imperial Diet, and more specifically the Imperial Estate. The current Archchancellor is Drakkalon Metellus, a childhood friend of Melevor II, and an Ecclesiarch of the Solar Ecclesiarchy. Under the watchfal eye of Metellus the Imperial Estate has been formed and entirely dominated by his personality and zealous faith in the Emperor. The Archchancellor acts as both the head of the government, and as the key advisor of the Emperor, sitting in the Consortium Solaris alongside other Ministers, Ecclesiarchs and key individuals of the Emperor's court. The Archchancellor directly oversees the Imperial Estate as the current sole legislature of the Empire and acts as the speaker of the House, bringing order when necessary.

Consortium Solaris
The Consortium Solaris, also known as the Court of the Solar Emperor is the inner council of the Emperor. The Consortium consists of his key advisors in all matters, such as the Archchancellor, High Lord Ecclesiarch of the Inquisition and Ministers of different Imperial Ministries. The Consortium takes court in the current and temporary residence of the Emperor, the Palace of Kings.

Government
The government of the Empire is headed by the Archchancellor, appointed by the Emperor. The government consists of Ministers and their respective ministries and staff. The government consists only of two Imperial Ministries as of March 23rd 2022, those being the Imperial Ministry of Foreign Relations, and the Imperial Ministry of Labour. Policing activities are enforced through the Solar Inquisition, which is handled through the Solar Ecclesiarchy, and Army activities are enforced through the Exercitus Solaris, the official Imperial Army, and so respective ministries for these are not required.

Imperial Diet
The Imperial Diet is the combined legislature of the Empire, which consist currently of a single House, the Upper House called the Imperial Estate, though there are plans for a second and more representative Lower House. The Imperial Diet was created and assembled on the order of the Solar Emperor Melevor II, advised by the Archchancellor Drakkalon Metellus, to give voice for the rising nobility and clergy of the new Empire.

Imperial Estate
The Imperial Estate is the current sole legislative body of the Empire and comprises both local and regional nobility, alongside higher members of the clergy such as the Proper Priesthood and the Ecclesiarchs. On a local and regional level, Dukes have control over their Counts and Barons, though in the Imperial Estate each lord of a settlement, despite town size gets an equal say in the affairs of the Diet. The Consortium Solaris are also able to attend meetings of the Imperial Estate, alongside the Solar Emperor, though the appearance of the Emperor in the Estate chambers is not common, only appearing when he has direct input, or is making a speech in front of the nobles and clergy of the Realm.

Foreign Relations
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Arith
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Gaushan
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Prospit
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Moria
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Ashina
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Koganon
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Economy
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Demographics
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Culture
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Official Languages
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High Pyrrhian
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Low Pyrrhian
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Recognised Languages
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Common Alathran
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Ceiltean
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Sport
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Gallery
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Duchy of Ceiltea

 * Solar Pyrrhus, the Solar Capital is officially within the borders of the Duchy of Ceiltea, but is not subject to control by the Duke of Ceiltea, Arthur Carrig. The Solar Capital is entirely controlled and managed by the Solar Emperor.
 * Carrig, the seat of the Duke of Ceiltea, Arthur Carrig, and an industrial settlement.
 * Doire, the seat of the Count of Doire, under the Duchy of Ceiltea, Theil, a residential estate.
 * Udrosgrad, the seat of the Count of Willowglade, under the Duchy of Ceiltea, Grimurian, a fishing and farming settlement.

Duchy of Hongseguo

 * Hongseguo, the seat of the Duke of Hongseguo, TigerOpps, an industrial settlement.