Archothirian Empire (Aurora)

Archothirian Empire "Impero Arcotiriano" "Imperium Archothirium" "Aftorekras Arkhothirio" "𐎠𐎳𐎠𐎽𐎭 𐎧𐏁𐏂"
Flag of the Archothirian Empire.
Map of Archothirian Dominions.
History
Location	Northern Zalora
Allies	Rocova - Non Agression Treaty and Trade Relations Belsegallia - Non Agression Treaty and Trade Relations Veletia - Trade Relations
Government
Type	Constitutional monarchy
Ruling House	Malphasamael Dynasty
Head of State	Jophiel, Charun and Eisheth Malphasamael
Legislature	Council Of Royals
Military	Archothirian Imperial Forces
Socio-cultural characteristics
Motto	A.E.I.O.U. ”Achothiria Est Imperare Orbi Universo.“ ”It is Archothiria’s destiny to rule the whole world.”
Capital	Panthiri
Official languages	Archorian
National languages	Archorian Rolamtinu Elladan Aecyrinid
Races	Beastfolk Clockworks Cloud Fae Dwarves Elementals Elohim Elves Gnomes Hybrids Humans Illusionals Merfolk Orcs Shadowlings Sheseirim Triclops
Religion(s)	Fracturalism (Imperial Religion) Kpherism Siddarthism Shamanism Pattermajism Bashonastrism
Demonym(s)	Archothirian; Archian (more archaic and less used)
Population estimate	37.7 million
Currency	Erpyon

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The Archothirian Empire, also simply known as Archothiria (ɑɹkoʊθɪɹɪən; Archorian: Impero Arcotiriano) is a thaumaturgical empire based in northern Dracoris. Archothiria borders with the Novus Daemonica Empire on its north, the Tsardom of Veletia on its south, and the Oskbaric Ocean on both its east and west. The Empire's territories are highly diverse in both terrain and biome, and almost all of them are characterized by a varying degree of highly anomalous and magical characteristics, such as the extreme tundral-tropical temperature variations of the Winter Litoral, the floating islands of the Emunian Plains, and the paradoxically warped landscapes of Hoopuni. As such, a very large percentage of Archothirian fauna and flora are infused with and make use of magic. As of the current age, the Archothirian Empire spans a total of approximately 563.000 square toors, and has a total population of 37.7 million, currently making it the most populous empire in Aurora, as well as one of the most territorially expanded.

The Empire traces its origins back to the AngeloDemonic Wars of Unification of the first century, when the Elohimian Order and the Sheseirim Domain, now united under the single ruling dynasty of the Malphasamaels in the AngeloDemonic Unity, conquered the other nations that had emerged in the area after the Fracture, bringing them all under a single banner. The Archothirian Empire was then officially founded in Anno 106 with the New Archian Imperial Constitution (Archorian: Nuova Costituzione Imperiale Archiana), that created the first institutions, laid the inner workings of the newborn Empire's government and administration, and established its first laws. The document, known as the Archothirian Constitution in the current age, is still in use almost a full millennium later, although it has gone through significant additions and changes since it's first ever draft.

The Archothirian Empire is inhabited by a wide variety of races, most of which originated from their ancestors who "fell" in Aurora's plane of reality following the Fracture. The only exceptions are Humans, who were already living in the area before the Fracture, and the Cloud Fae, whose mobile cloud hives first reached the Empire's territories in the second century. All races within the Empire share equal status with one another, and over the centuries have thoroughly mixed: most communities and settlements within Archothiria are highly cosmopolitan and diverse, although certain races tend to be more prevalent in different States of the empire. In recent times, as the Archothirian Empire put an end to it's nearly millenary period of isolation, new races like the Lightfolk and Belsedori have started to possess a token presence in the form of merchants and other travellers, mostly not on a permanent basis yet.

Etymology

The etymology of the name "Archothiria" derives from the fusion of two ancient Elladan words: "arkho", an ancient term that had a double meaning of superiority and universality, and "thirio", meaning "beast " or more generally "creature". Thus, the literal translation of the composite word "Arkhothirio" would be "of all creatures", and pairing it with the Elladan term "Aftorekras", currently translated as "Empire" or "Dominion", would make Archothiria the "Empire Of All Creatures".

However, it should be noted that all three Elladan terms derived from even older terms, whose etymology is still highly uncertain and disputed between scholars, due to their pre-Fracture origins.

Geography

The territory of Archothiria is located in northern Dracoris, centered around the Gulf of Aladreven and encompassing most of the Dragon's Eye Peninsula. Imperial territory also extends to cover three large islands in the Oskbaric Ocean relatively close to imperial shores, known as Hoopuni, Bashert and Zreiman. A portion of the empire's territories are situated below the waters of the Interria Sea, connecting the underwater city of Caenunoch to Archothiria's mainland, while another smaller portion is located above the terrestrial surface, on the floating archipelago of Aumeniel. Overall, Archothiria controls a total area of about 563.000 square toors, 2500 of which are located underwater and 500 are floating above the surface.

Archothirian terrain is extremely diverse, and highly characterized by "natural" and self-sustaining magical phenomena caused by the Fracture. As such multiple different geographical regions, each characterized by different phenomena, have formed: the ash-covered Ethereal Steppes, the bubbling magma lakes of the Foundry Badlands, the coral reefs and snow covered beaches of the Winter Litoral, and the floating islands of Aumeniel are some examples of this. However, much more mundane and "regular" areas are also present, with normal forests, plains, hills and mountains existing alongside magically-charged zones. The Crystalline Alps are the biggest mountain chain in Archothiria, located in the western regions of the empire, while the northernmost end of the much larger Dracorian Range is also present within imperial territory.

Government and Politics

The Archothirian Empire is a highly structured Constitutional Monarchy in which power, limited and regulated by the Archothirian Constitution, is shared between the Archothirian Emperors and the Council of Royals. Executive power is held by the Emperor and Judiciary power is held by the Council of Royals, while Legislative power is shared between the two. Both bodies were officially instituted and formed with the New Archian Imperial Constitution in 106, although the Emperors already partially existed with the Malphasamael monarchs of the AngeloDemonic Unity.

The current High Empress of the Archothirian Empire is the Elohim-Sheseirim hybrid Eishet Baraqiel Malphasamael, who inherited the throne in 1087 after the death of her mother and predecessor Gadreel Penemue Malphasamael. In 1093 she married with her two partners Jophiel Mahishasur and Charun Naberus, that were subsequently crowned and became the empire's current Low Emperors.

Archothirian Emperors

The Emperors (Archorian: Imperatori) are the Heads of State of the Archothirian Empire, holding both executive and legislative power, although the latter is fully shared with the Council of Royals.

As heads of the Executive Branch, the Archothirian Emperors:

• Act as the commanders-in-chief of the Archothirian Imperial Forces.
• Declare states of emergency and publish regulations and executive orders.
• Veto bills passed by the Council of Royals.
• Make executive agreements and sign treaties ratified by a majority approval of the Council of Royals.
• Grant pardons for offenses against the Archothirian Empire, except in cases of Impeachment.

As part of the Legislative Branch the Archothirian Emperors, together with the Council of Royals:

• Pass bills, together with the Council of Royals.
• Regulate inter-state commerce.
• Control the national budget.
• Declare war.
• Oversee and make the rules for the Imperial government and its officers.

The position of Archothirian Emperor or Empress is partially hereditary: the title is passed from the reigning monarch, known as the High Emperor or Empress, to the child or closest relative that they consider most fit for the position, often with the advice of the Council of Royals. Through marriage, the title is partially extended to all partners of the monarch that inherited the Imperial Crown: these figures, called Secondary Emperors, have less power than their primary partner, and act more as their Royal Advisors or Privy Council. However, Secondary Emperors can also act as temporary regents if the inheritor of the crown is too young to properly rule.

Constituent States

The Archothirian Empire is divided into 15 constituent states. Most of these states are constitutional monarchies indiscriminately lead by a king or queen that acts as the administrative leader and representative of the Archothirian Emperors; the rest instead consist of the Imperial Capital State, two free imperial cities, a parliamentary republic and a mercantile oligarchy. The following is a list of all the constituent states of the Archothirian Empire, followed by their capital city.

• Territory of the Imperial Capital (Panthiri)
• Great Elohimian Order (Auphania)
• Holy Sheseirim Domain (Gamigin)
• Papacy of the Black Star (Bashert)
• Free City of Zreiman (Zreiman)
• Order of the Eternal Forest (Theyali)
• Republic of Mangøyne (Mangøyne)
• Chorus of the Constructs (Kurjimin)
• Queendom of the Clouds (Laputa)
• True Alliance of the Beasts (Dimadrel)
• Mixahlasian Sultanate (Fanyamar)
• United Vanghtoran Tribes (Vagbuldhir)
• Kingdom of Thonis (Caenunoch)
• Orcish Shogunate (Uzdrird)
• Thaumathocracy of Illusions (Hoopuni)

Culture and Society

The Archothirian Empire is a highly multicultural, multispecies and multiethnic society that has developed for more than 900 years with relatively little outside influence, as the empire has only very recently began interacting with the rest of known Aurora. While many different species, ethnic, linguistic and religious groups coexist within the empire and maintain their own identities, over the centuries a common imperial culture and national identity organically grew and spread throughout Archothiria. This common identity, the creation of many communal spaces, the deep consideration for the needs of all citizens and in part also the precepts of Fracturalism (the non-enforced but still widely practiced state religion), have essentially acted as a passive counterbalance to the natural centrifugal forces of the empire's profound multiculturalism and diversity: while rebellions and inner conflict have always continued to exist within Archothiria, they became rather rare occurrences, short periods of difficulty within the near-millenary history of this stable nation. In recent times, Archothiria has become famous for its astonishing cohesive capacity" to create shared identity while encompassing diverse peoples.

Social Structure and Gender Roles

Archothiria's social structure does not have a single common center, and instead each culture and group has their own different structure. As such, nuclear families, polyparental families, collective kinships, descent groups and individual parenthood are all existing and widespread structures within imperial society. "Good" parenting is considered very important within Archothirian society: children within all kinship structures have multiple safeguards established by imperial law, such as the prohibition of corporal punishment, and pedagogy is a highly discussed topic in intellectual circles and public forums within most of the empire. Of course, these laws and discussions tend to have a weaker hold on the empire's more isolated and rural areas, but its large road network and rapid magitelecommunication between settlements still gives these ideas and values a vast reach.

Men and women are considered both socially and legally as full equals within the empire: no trade or profession or position of power is barred from either gender. On the contrary, patriarchal and matriarchal societies are considered primitive and widely disliked, which has began to cause diplomatic difficulties with the extremely matriarchal Belsegallia. Identically, all ethnicities and races of intelligent beings are also considered full equals under imperial rule: as such, the practice of slavery is legally prohibited as per the Imperial Constitution, as it fundamentally goes against the precepts of Fracturalism and all other religions. Despite this, small extremist groups within the empire have opposed these notion of equality, perpetrating violence throughout Archothiria: despite the empire's best efforts at suppressing these groups they continue to be a persisting, albeit quite minor, problem.

Cuisine

Thanks to the widespread use of magic in farming and the multiple biomes favourable to different cultivations, imperial cuisine displays an astonishing diversity in ingredients and flavours. Typical dishes vary between each region of each Archothirian State, and tend to be catered towards the main race and peoples of its culture. For example, many reptilian-centric cuisines in Beastfolk cultures are renowned for their soups, sauces and bite-sized soft foods, developed in response to their difficulty with chewing. Elvish dishes are instead known for their very intense spices, so much so that their spices can be challenging for other races, and thus dishes served to non-elves use weaker spices. Both the carnivore Beastfolk and the Orcs utilize a wide variety of fish, meats and different cuts as part of their primarily carnivore diets, although both enjoy large portions of seasoned vegetables and fruits as side dishes. Magical ingredients and preparation techniques are often used in Archothirian cooking and food conservation: an example of this are refrigeration spells, that not only are employed to safely store all kinds of perishable goods, but are also used to create frozen foods such as ice cream, sourbet and granita. Other kinds of spells and ingredients are instead used to infuse flavours or even special potion-like effects in all kinds of food and drinks: the most mundane and common example of this are sparkling water and beverages.

Archothirian houses typically have their own kitchens, although apartment complexes in cities and other smaller settlements often also have large central rooms or an internal garden dedicated to being a "common kitchen" in which tools, cooking utensils and products are located and shared by the community. Prepared food is sold at pubs, bars, inns, and carryout food stalls commonly found throughout most settlements, who often become bustling social spaces for the lower classes. Coffee and teahouses, as well as other similar establishments such as beer and wine gardens, are some of the main meeting places for academics, artists, merchants and wealthier citizens in Archothirian cities, who also frequent sit down restaurants. While also found in many prestigous restaurants, fine dining mostly appears in dinner parties and banquets hosted by noble wealthy homes with their own chef and kitchen staff, or by upper class social clubs.