Malthusian Empire

The Malthusian Empire was a wide-ranging empire based in the Malthusian Peninsula, a subtropical land of myth and deep history, where the major faiths of man were united into a vast pantheon, and powerful men, blinded by hubris, reached for the thrones of the gods. At its greatest, the empire extended into the chill reaches of Northward, south into the lush rain forests and salt-marshes of Pythos, and west into the edges of the Khandor Steppes. Along with the riches it dispersed to its far-flung borders, it spread its religion and stratified social structure wherever it established hegemonic colonies.

History

In the Malthusian reckoning, the empire was founded by the Council of Firsts, agents of power for the seven clans of Malthusia, in the first year. The Firsts elected the greatest soldier of Malthusia, Xero the Tusk, to lead the budding empire, after his successful campaign against the Grassmen of Lesser Khandor, when he led his massive ranks of elephant-borne cavalry through the interior of Ehlonna, and into the heart of their lands. He annexed the Black River Basin, and along with "one hundred barges of the riches of the Grassmen", and one thousand Khandorean slaves, he brought the Pelorite pantheon to Malthusia, himself a newly-converted follower of Heironeous, and the gods of the Grassmen were tied into the Malthusian pantheon. He was installed in the largest palace in Malthusia, Xanytium, which became the jewel-like capital of the empire.

Over three hundred years, the empire waxed and waned, and reached its pinnacle in the year 314 MR. There were twenty-five Firsts, millions of Freemen, a massive standing army, and countless slaves spread out over the three colonies and homeland. International trade with dozens of other cultures, as well as with allied elves and so-inclined dwarves, thrived, and the Malthusian Empire prospered. Farland Hans, from the fringes of Northward, introduced the beginnings of a new form of devotion, pilgrimages, and gradually even the poorest of Freemen began traveling, and Dyon of the Many Angles founded the first school devoted to magical teaching, the Academy of Xanytium, and magical practitioners proliferated, becoming advisors for Firsts, and even powerful leaders themselves.

In 314 MR, Rymswan rose in the west, in the interior tribal territories in deepest Ehlonna. She was a warlock, and raised a massive barbarian army, and marched on Malthusian villages and fortifications, and laid waste to the trade routes connected Khandor with Malthusia, and allied with the elves of the southern coast. A long campaign ensued, and Devilkin and her armies were destroyed or disbanded, but the Malthusian Empire was economically ruined, and a general distrust of magic became rampant, leading to the Sacking of the Academies, and the establishment of the Magician's Code. The templars left for Xanytium, leaving empty houses of worship, and a dozen Firsts vacated their halls and followed suit. Widespread trade and travel slowly dissipated, and by 356 MR, the empire was effectively finished.

Culture

Religion