Anbennar Ideas

Traditions
-25% Liberty Desire from Subject Development
-10% Morale Damage Received

The Mages' PeaceThe Empire of Anbennar was first established at the Grand Summit of Aranthíl in 1221 AA.\n\nFor a small group of like-minded mages and their supporters among the Cannorian nobility, the time of secrecy had ended. They declared their leader, Delian Whitecloak, the first Emperor of Anbennar. The lands around the Dameshead had known naught but war and chaos for decades, even centuries - some elven warriors hadn't seen a lasting peace since their arrival in Cannor. Delian Whitecloak and his compatriots envisioned an end to the endless conflict, brought about through a force that could cut through any king, any army: magic.\n\nThe Interregnum lasted sixty years. In six months, it was over. From Vertesk to Verne, from Beepeck to Bennon, warlords set aside their differences and their long standing feuds in the name of unity. Many had to be compelled to do so, through domination or destruction, but in the end they all welcomed the new peace.\n\nSince then, mages have held incalculable influence over the Empire's affairs. Only a mage could sit the Dove Throne. Magical ability was a requirement for legitimate succession. Even when the regime of Mage-Emperors came to an end during the Wars of Rule, they were replaced by the Magisterium, which ruled over the institutions of magic throughout much of Cannor, and controlled an Imperial electorate for centuries. While that influence has waxed and waned over the years, the notion that extraordinary abilities wielded by extraordinary people can change the world has remained.\n\nAnbennar, arise! There will be peace once again.
-5% All Power Costs

Silver and SteelAmongst an assembled crowd of dignitaries from all of Cannor, attended by their loyal supporters and victorious generals, the first emperor, the Unifier, delivered a speech in the Grand Ballroom of the Silver Moon, which had been redecorated for the occasion: the proclamation of a truly united Empire. He told them that the future of Anbennar would be decided by silver and steel.\n\nA colorful sea of faces squinted and pursed their lips - the future? The Emperor spoke as if the great task was still ahead, not behind them. What could he mean? It was a simple yet effective rhetorical gambit - the curious audience listened in rapt attention as the Emperor expounded on the meaning of their words.\n\nSilver is the Empire's color, of its banners, of its coinage, of its diplomacy. Silver for the moon, or perhaps for Castellos. The influence of the half-elven Silver Families runs deep, as does, of course, their blood descent. The memory of the heroic Silver Band that expelled the Sorcerer-King lives on in song and story. Silver arms kept evil at bay, and silver tongues brought the imperial princes together.\n\nSteel is simpler. Steel for the spears of Verne, for the muskets of the Vanbury Guild, for the guns of Giberd. Steel from the foundries of Telgeir and the forge of Anvilwright. The lessons of half a hundred different military traditions and industrial practices will power the Empire's march into the future.
+1 Diplomatic Reputation
+5% Discipline

A Communion of PeoplesThe word 'Anbennar' means 'communion' or 'unity' in Elven. At its heart, the founding principle of the empire is an idealistic dream that very different people could come together. Humans, elves, dwarves, halflings, gnomes - together. And yet this dream was bartered for in the blood of thousands with the end of the Interregnum. After thirty years of peace came the Wars of Rule, and thirty years of chaos and civil war. In 1277, the Imperial Parliament and the Electoral College were established to give the multifarious people of the Empire a voice.\n\nIstralore, to represent the nobility of the east.\nPearlsedge, to represent the nobility of the west.\nBeepeck, to represent the halflings, the most numerous minority.\nSilverforge, to represent the dwarves, the great miners and craftsmen of the Havoral mountains.\nMoonhaven, to represent the elves, the most influential minority.\nDamescrown, to represent the merchant class, and, in time, the northern nobility.\nAnd finally, the Magisterium, representing the mages, and the former governing body of the Empire.\n\nYet this too led to conflict, with the Silmuna Grand Dukes of Dameria practically guaranteed the Dove Throne by the support of the electors Istralore and Pearlsedge, their leal vassals - a situation that the powerful lords of Arbaran, Wex, and others would never fully accept. The Lilac Wars (1348-1443) very nearly tore the Empire apart for good. But despite all the odds, the Empire stands united, together, forever.
+4 Max Promoted Cultures

Children of the DamesheadAll roads led to Castonath, but the seas of Halann lead to the Dameshead. Even before the Day of Ashen Skies, the shores of this calm inner sea teemed with vibrant trading cities. The Ruin and the subsequent War of the Falling Stars between the Damerian Republic, Castanor, and the Gnomish Hierarchy laid waste to the region, but not for long. Wealth would continue to flow from the Divenhal to the ever-growing cities lining the Dameshead. The Dragonwake, the White Pestilence - in the course of history, these disasters were no match for geography and economics. The old cities made room, or at least provided construction material, for the new. The gnome-ruled Beepeck was rebuilt into a halfling-ruled Beepeck. The mouth of the Alen suited a city, and so a city arose; it did not matter if Vertesk was ruled from Castonath or Gaweton, or if its citadel tower was white or black. Damenath gave way to Damucen, which became known as Anbenncóst when the seas brought the elven Remnant Fleet to the Damesear.\n\nTruly, these tranquil shores have seen the tides of history crash and rage amongst them. There is the legacy and the destiny of the Empire and its peoples. As the Crownsmen saying goes, a ruler makes history, but wealth makes a ruler. The Empire of Anbennar shall rule the Dameshead, and with it, the wealth of the world. And what else could come next?
+25% Trade Steering

One CrownThe end of the Fourth Lilac War in 1443 saw the Empire in a sorry state, fraying at the edges as Lorent, Gawed, and Ibevar picked at the borders. Soldiers of Emperor Lothane III marched through the capital of Anbenncóst, not in glory, but amidst flames, and carrying away loot. The Rose and Moon Parties licked their wounds and sharpened their daggers, and the Electors all but openly disregarded the emperor's will; Lothane III may have been a terror on the battlefield, but he was an old man, a Wexonard without silver lineage, with only a human's lifespan. Another, stronger and wiser, or maybe one more willing to "forgive" and "compromise", would soon come into the Dove Throne. After all, the success of a great man - or woman - with the will to dominate and restructure the Empire would come at the expense of the Empire's privileged princes. And if worst came to worst, the princes could always call upon Crothán to furnish a 'legal scholar' to defend their rights in the Imperial Court for a couple of decades.\n\nNonetheless, the Empire - with some considerable help from a certain faction - pulled itself together. The smaller states agreed to a new model of centralization that would protect them from the depredations of their larger neighbors. A common tax was levied for the first time in centuries. The Imperial Parliament was consolidated and streamlined into a functional legislature, with a permanent session. The Imperial Estates and the Prince-Electors were brought to heel, and with the revocation of the Privilege Against Appeal, the Emperor was once again the supreme authority of the realm. And who could possibly dissent? It was either the petty strife of individual, independent princes... Or a single nation, with purpose indivisible, capitulating only to the Dove Throne.
+15% Max Effect of Absolutism
+15 Maximum Revolutionary Zeal

Flight of the DoveThe winds of change have come to Halann, and the ultimate unification of Anbennar will be an event forever marked for posterity. But Anbennar is not a gust of wind, ephemeral and passing.\n\nThe Empire's Coat of Arms is marshaled by quartering: in the first and fourth with the elvenized moon of Dameria, the symbol of the Kingdom, then the Grand Duchy of Dameria. In heraldry, this positioning is often reserved for the most prestigious titles. The moon represents the roots of the Empire in the Damerian Republic, ruled from Damesear, with a Parliament hearkening to the old Senate. Informally, and to a degree only formerly, the moon represents the Silver Families, especially the Silmunas. In the second quarter is the silver dragon, Castellos, for Castanor, the ancient empire of humankind and the original rulers of the Dameshead. In the third quarter is the golden phoenix of the Jaherian Empire, whose scion, Jexis, was the last great emperor to rule the lands that now form the Empire; her realm collapsed into the Interregnum with her death in 1161 AA. The inescutcheon features a dove carrying a branch: a symbol of peace.\n\nDameria, Castanor, and the Phoenix Empire - the heritage of Anbennar covers much of Halcann. Even its core territories around the Dameshead have been historically difficult to govern - as the unifier knew well. The reborn Anbennar must reform its administration even further, adopt new techniques and mobile doctrine to respond to any needs, any threats throughout the Empire.
+1 Naval Leader Manoeuvre
+15% Movement Speed

An Eternal DreamAn elf in Moonhaven was teaching his child about the common and elven languages: 'Unity means Anbennar! The elf-child asked, 'Then... so what does Anbennar mean?' His father smiled, and answered: 'Oh, you silly girl! Anbennar means a bunch of pompous aristocrats who can't agree on anything!'\n\nOnce upon a time, the Empire of Anbennar was a joke. Yet another failed political enterprise. Great in theory, but destined for the dustbin of history.\n\nNo longer.\n\nDelian Whitecloak's dream was not a simple fantasy, soon forgotten in the morning. There would be peace on the Dameshead. There would be peace for Cannor. And the world of Halann would know peace.\n\nMost serene and venerable Emperor, Heir to the Damerian Republic, Castanor, and the Phoenix Empire, Chosen Regent of the Divine - yours is the dream of Anbennar!
+1 Possible Policies

Ambition
+15% Governing Capacity Modifier