Introduction

The flame that shines the brightest, burns the quickest. It was a proverb that no one ever thought could be applied to Achysia. From the mists of the Age of Abhorrence, Achysia was the first mortal realm to rise again and to bring back light into the world darkened by the Calamity and the Blight, led by the Mage-Emperor, one of the most powerful mortal beings to have ever existed. For centuries without end, Achysia continued to exist and to prosper under the rule of its master while the other Silver Realms came and went, rose and fall. Achysia was a place of civilization and learning, under the light of the Eternal Flame that it protected. But much like the Eternal Serpent that it also used as its symbol, Achysia was also bound to the eternal cycle of growth, decay, and then collapse. Only that in its case, the decay was hidden, slowly corrupting it from within as one of the holiest realms fell prey to the dark arts, before its Mage-Emperor attempted to conquer all of the Silver Realms, only to be defeated by the Holy Covenant and its Champions of Light.

History

The origins of Achysia lie at the end of the Age of Abhorrence when the Gods sent the Three Emperors to save mortal-kind from its punishment. The Mage-Emperor, believed by many to be a demigod son of Azen, the God of the Sun, received the Crown of Flame and Light. With it, he created the Eternal Flame to protect and guide his new realm. Achysia was the first realm made safe from the horrors of that time. At its peak, right after defeating the last Demon Lord, the Mage-Emperor’s rule spanned over half of today’s Silver Realms, from modern-day Duivene and Calaria in the west and south to Xerena and Zelkoris in the north and east. Many mortals of all races flocked under the Eternal Flame's protection, founding new cities, recovering lost knowledge, and creating new glory. But the Mage-Emperor sought no empire. Xerena peacefully broke away from Arak’thon’s rule, its line of despots no longer wishing to be vassals. Zelkoris was granted independence to protect the remains of the Withered Tree, and when the nobles of the west and some southern cities wished to join new realms, the Mage-Emperor allowed it.

For centuries, as other Silver Realms appeared and disappeared, even as the line of Remigil, the Emperor of Thorns, died off, the Mage-Emperor continued to rule. He was perceived as a wise and great ruler by subjects and foreigners alike, considered almost a divinity, his existence and reign as certain as the sunrise. Achysia’s capital became a center of magic, knowledge, and learning, comparable to the seat of the Haliarchy or even the Silver Throne before the Calamity. Generations came and went, knowing only his rule. Mortals from all over the known world were accepted in his realm, fleeing persecution, wars, and poverty. As time passed, tensions arose. Many believed the Mage-Emperor disapproved of the slave trade in Calaria and Anselm, and the slave crests used by Xerena’s Despotate. The Faith grew concerned as the people of Achysia began to pray more to the Eternal Flame and the Mage-Emperor than to the Gods. What started as asking for protection and intercession grew into something many in the Haliarchy saw as heresy. As the search for magical knowledge continued in Arak’thon’s halls and towers, unburdened by the Faith’s limitations or oversight, stories of forbidden spells and arts—necromancy, demon summoning, the search for eternal life—emerged. But for the longest time, these were just rumors.

Then, the Shade’s Hosts appeared, wreaking havoc and chaos throughout the Silver Realms. Their origins unknown, they defeated many armies and killed many people. The Faith and other realms struggled to contain them, so many turned their hopeful gaze to the Eternal Flame. But in Lonriel’s hour of greatest need, what came from Achysia was not help. Instead, it was the Mage-Emperor’s hosts, followed by mages, necromancers, and Shades, trying to conquer everything in their path. From the continent’s most revered figure, the Mage-Emperor became its most reviled. Countless died in the War of the Deceitful Flame, as the fanaticism of the Achysians and their loyalty to their liege knew no limits. Only with the Faith's help could the Champions of Light lead their armies to the gates of Arak’thon. Even then, during the final battle in the Mage-Emperor’s sacred palace, half of the Champions were swayed by him and joined him, becoming the Seven Traitors. But in the end, the Seven Heroes prevailed. The Mage-Emperor was slain, and Achysia, as it had existed for centuries, was destroyed and occupied by the forces of the Holy Covenant.

Government

From its very creation, Achysia was an absolute monarchy under the rule of the Mage-Emperor himself. His words were absolute, decrees to be immediately respected, and his wisdom had the final word in any dispute. As centuries passed on however, Achysia’s ruler preferred to withdraw more and more from the actual governing of the country, which was left in the hands of an ever increasing government and bureaucracy. At the center of this government was the Imperial Court. Unlike the courts of some of the other kingdoms, the Mage-Emperor’s court wasn’t always one of nobles - instead, the brightest mages and scholars, the bravest warriors and the wisest of the poor were invited to work for him and to advise him on matters of state. In time, what started as an informal group of advisors received official positions in the court, and then slowly but surely, a bureaucratic system developed, taking on matters of governance in their own hands as their liege became ever more engrossed in magical research.

This new system was led the Magisters. A title received only by the wisest and most experienced of mages and advisors, they were led by the Magister of All Offices. Beneath them, each of the magisters had their respective office. The Magister of Rites, the Magister of War, the Magister of Office. Each of the magisters was advised and helped by two further officials, known as the Counts of the Empire. And of course, then further, beyond them, and almost endless machinery of officials, scribes, secretaries and mages, controlling all aspects of the Empire’s existence.