Aescalapea
Once part of the Great Empire, Aescalapea has long been known as the province of merchants and sea traders. Its ruling class was devastated during the rule of the last Emperor, Lucius "the Heretic" and much of the nation rose in revolt even before the Emperor's death. The subsequent ravages of the Crimson Plague hit Aescalapeans harder than most other regions of the Great Empire, killing more than half its population as the Third Age of Man waned.
At the dawn of the Fourth Age of Man, Aescalapea has reorganized itself as a collection of city-states ruled by the powerful Syndics. While they have a Senate that meets irregularly to adjudicate matters for the region, the Senate is relatively powerless and most Aescalapeans very much prefer to keep it that way.
| Aescalapea |
| The Syndicracy of Aescalapea |
 |
| Geographic Info |
| Continent: Aurea |
| Location: Central Aurea |
| Government |
| Government Type: Syndicracy (Primo Ministro, Ministro, Duxe, Consigliere, Signore, Patrizio) |
| Ruler: Primo Ministro Pietro Adorno |
| Arms: Parted per cross gules; Quarterly: in Dexter Chief, Azure, an anchor Or; in Sinister Chief, Argent, a bull head caboched tenne with horns sanguine; in Dexter Base, Purpure, two mascles Argent ; in Sinister Base, Azure, three cogs proper with sails Argent |
| Coinage: 1 Denarius (1 sp) = 10 Siliquae (cp); 1 Double Denarius (1 ep) = 2 Denarii; 1 Aureus (1 gp) = 25 Denarii, 1 Solidus (1 pp) = 4 Aurei |
| Capital: Dracar (pop 14,459) |
| Alliances: None |
| Hostilities: None |
| Society |
| Population: 3,248,650 (92% human, 5% dwarven, 3% other) |
| Languages: Aurean, Zetian |
| Important Persons: Masters of the Malaroas-Carnec Trading House, Master of the Quintas Aurei Trading House, the members of the Trade League, the Pontifex of Minos, god of Commerce. |
| Religious Info |
| Pantheon: Imperial |
| Patron: Minos |
| Map |
 |
History
Aescalapea claims a long and ancient history, dating back to a pre-Zetian era, but there is little to no evidence to support these claims. Most chronologists recognize only that Aescalapea was a unified nation when a ship arrived in the Zetian port carrying precious goods from the barbarian north in 200 BI. The Zetians quickly formed a trade agreement with the Aescalapeans, but that agreement was shattered when, in 192 BI, an Aescalapean pirate vessel was found attacking Zetian ships. Unfortunately, the captain of the vessel was a well-known Aescalapean noble, and discussions between the two states quickly escalated into war. The War of the Golden Coast began as a naval conflict, but Zeth soon discovered that it was sorely outmatched by Aescalapean galleons, and could not gain control of the Aurean Sea. A blockade was erected around Zeth in 189 BI, but recalled when Zetian infantrymen finally arrived via Ganesia. The Aescalapeans proved to have no stomach for landed warfare, and the nation had surrendered by 187 BI, after only four years of conflict. The royal palace in Dracar was dismantled, and a temple to Galea was constructed out of its materials.
House Gabinius was given oversight of the newly-founded colony, and they quickly began moving their base of operations from Zeth to Dracar. Thereafter began a reign of terror and tyranny the likes of which have not been seen on Imperial soil since. By 140 BI, they had succeeded in goading the Milosians into war, with Cordosia becoming allies of the Empire. The Gabinian War lasted for twenty long years, until the capital city of Milosia, Tasca Obodos, was finally captured. Strangely, the bulk of the Milosian army escaped the conflict, only to invade Cordosia and quickly capture their capital city. House Gabinius and their soldiers continued to march on, finally relieving the Cordosians and defeating the Milosian army. Unfortunately, at the subsequent trial of King Malakiel, the Cordosian court was implicated in assisting him. Malakiel was given an honorable death by execution, and the Cordosian regnant, Yavan, was taken to Zeth to be paraded through the streets in chains. Unfortunately, when Menander of House Gabinius arrived in Zeth, he did not receive the hero's welcome he had hoped for. The real Cordosian King, believed to be dead, had reached Zeth some three months earlier and pledged allegiance to the Senate. Menander was placed on trial for attacking a protected state and subsequently executed. The territory into which he had expanded was divided into its original boundaries, though Milosia was now considered a dependent state of the Republic. Cordosia was permitted to retain their monarchy in lieu of a Zetian governor as recompense for the treachery of House Gabinius.
House Gabinius itself was not stripped of Aescalapea, however, and their harsh method of rulership was not blunted by the experience. The early years of the colony, then province are littered with small rebellions, most of which were crushed in a bloody show of force by House Gabinius. In 340 IC, the greatest villain of Imperial history, Ditis Carnifex, was born in the province. A calculating man, he secretly built the Aescalapean fleet to nearly thrice the size of the Zetian Imperial fleet and quietly sailed it to a location just over the horizon from Zeth. He paid then-emperor Semelius Secundus, the last of the elected emperors, a surprise visit. Ditis of House Gabinius waited in the Emperors quarters for night to fall, and once he had received the message that his fleet had sailed into the Zetian harbor, he attacked the Emperor. He forced the Emperor to call an emergency meeting of the Senate and when they arrived, they found Gabinius' men already there. He spent the next day holding the Senate hostage while performing a show trial of Semelius Secundus, with him presiding. Semelius was, of course, found guilty of some trumped-up charge and executed by Ditis himself. He then proclaimed himself emperor for life and dissolved the Senate. With those actions, Ditis Carnifex began the Second Succession War, which far outlasted his life, as he was murdered in his sleep less than three months later.
The reins of command fell to Ditis' son Vitellius, a brilliant naval commander in his own right. He continued to fight in the Succession War for what he considered his rightful place, until he was finally defeated while marching towards Zeth by Octavius Augustus of House Zetar. House Gabinius returned to Aescalapea to lick its wounds, leaving only a small embassy in Zeth to look after its interests. The people of Aescalapea, having enjoyed an unusual amount of freedom during the wars, now had to suffer again under the yoke of House Gabinius. Rebellions again began to spark across the country, but they were more successful than they had been in the past, as House Gabinius had thrown almost all of its resources into fighting the Second Succession War. To compensate for this loss, House Gabinius finally decided to sell nearly all of its naval vessels to private concerns. Several merchants began forming Trading Houses during this time so that they could combine their capital and purchase more and more ships. Eventually, the Aescalapean navy was reduced to almost nothing, but the Trading Houses saw to the protection of the northern shores with their new warships.
When Orestes of House Sergius died without issue (in 1000 IC or 1002 IC, depending on who you ask), Lucius of House Gabinius issued a decree that he was rightful Emperor, and nationalized all of the Trading Houses. The Trading Houses, however, fled to Cordosia, who was still a rival of Aescalapea. House Gabinius found that it did not have the navy to support a protracted war, but they attempted to fight regardless. When Lucius died, his son Gaius was given the reigns of power. Instead of attempting to capture Zeth, Gaius instead proclaimed that Dracar was the new capital of the Empire, with himself Emperor. Most ignored his claim, and his seeming ineffectiveness kept the other Houses from making an effort to go to Aescalapea to defeat him. The other members of House Gabinius, however, were displeased with Gaius' lack of initiative. He was eventually dragged from his bed, along with his two sons, and taken out to one of the few remaining naval vessels in the dead of the night. Gaius and his sons were keel hauled under the supervision of his nephew, Domitius, who did not tell his executioners to cease until the bodies of each of the men were worn through. Domitius gathered what armies he could and stuffed them aboard what few naval vessels he had left, and started for Zeth. He was able to capture several important cities over the next few years, but he was eventually defeated when it was discovered that he worshiped Phlegethon, god of tyranny. His army deserted him, and he was found hanging from a tree, his own sword protruding from his body by the forces of House Zetar in 1028 IC.
Meanwhile, rulership of Aescalapea fell to a man named Phocas, who proved to be a wily and crafty individual. During his century-long rule, he was able to entice the return of the Trading Houses with an agreement that they would see to the naval defense of the nation, as well as being afforded certain liberties. The Trading Houses had found Cordosia to be a place not accustomed to rampant trading, and were suffering under their strict Trade Laws.
When the Emperor Lucius “the Heretic” of House Zetar came to power in 1252 IC and moved the Imperial capital to the Sapphire City in Lun Dorak, the Prefect of Aescalapea, Iokobos of House Gabinius, was found to be a secret worshiper of Phlegethon and executed by Imperial Edict. Instead of accepting his heir, the new Emperor put a Dorakian mage by the name of Rukala in command of the nation. Magister Rukala soon proved to be an even harsher ruler than the Gabinides had been. The punishment for most transgressions became slavery to the Wizards who chose to join Rukala, enforced by a magical torc which maintained the slave’s submission. Even the Aescalapeans, long accustomed to state-supported injustices, began to revolt. Rukala responded by systematically rooting out members of House Gabinius and executing them as leaders of the rebellion. The rebellion seemed crushed until, in the autumn of 1253 IC, the Emperor Lucius died of a mysterious illness. The Magister Rukala disappeared soon thereafter and, without its ruling hierarchy to quell the populous, Aescalapea fell quickly into chaos in the midst of the Fourth Succession War.
Amidst this growing dissolution, the Trade Houses maintained some level of order. During the rule of the Heretic Emperor, they had quietly been supplying various rebel forces and now used those forces to consolidate their power in the nation. In 1254 IC, the Pontifex of Minos moved the Celestial Market, the high temple to Minos, to Dracar from Zeth and in the winter of 1255 IC, the Trading Houses presented the Articles of Syndication, establishing a rule of law similar to the Guild Laws they already operated under. Under these Articles of Syndication, Aescalapea would be ruled by a two-house Senate. The Curia Conlegii (House of Guilds) would be composed of the thirty-two Guildmasters of Dracar as well as a Guildmaster from each of the fifty-six Domains of the nation. It was from this body of eighty-eight men that the Prime Minister was selected, who would handle the day-to-day affairs of rulership for a five-year term of office. The second branch, the Curia Domini (House of Lords), was composed of the three-hundred and sixty five members of the landed nobility, including the surviving members of House Gabinius. Only Patricians could participate in the Curia Domini, though the class of the Guildmaster was irrelevant in the Curia Conlegii. As an unusual side-effect of the brief Dorakian rule, Aescalapea became the first Imperial state to outlaw slavery. The new Aescalapean government declared neutrality in the Fourth Succession War and in 1256 IC, officially declared that it would remain part of the Empire and loyal to whatever Emperor succeeded to the throne at its conclusion.
Economy
Trade with the various factions of the Succession War is one of the most important aspects of the Aescalapean economy, and their chief competitor in this industry is Camaria. Although Aescalapeans have made advances in reducing Camarian influence in the north by offering cheap, oversea transport of goods to Zeth, they have not been able to shake Camaria's hold on over-land trade, particularly from the southern and western reaches of the Empire. Needless to say, this frustrates the Trade Houses to no end.
Religion
The Aescalapeans worship the standard Imperial gamut of deities, though the worshipers of Minos have a stronger contingent than all of the other religions combined. The Episcopus of Majestas, who once held great power after pronouncing that House Gabinius did, indeed, have a claim to the Imperial throne, was executed by Rakala and the Church of Majestas has not really recovered since. Worship of the Dagonian deities is proscribed by law, but few law enforcement officials make the effort to search out and defeat those who worship some of the less offensive deities. House Gabinius has a reputation for worshiping Phlegethon, god of tyranny, but their power was crushed during Dorakian rule and the Aescalapean Senate has proscribed its worship. The Temple to Zelos, god of the state, in Dracar was greatly beleaguered during the Gabinide rule, but has seen a recent upswelling because of its fervent support of the new government.
| This is a thumbnail description and is scheduled for expansion at a later date. |
| This article is part of the Player's Guide to Aurea | |
|
Introduction · Economics and Trade · Legends and History · Religion · Regions and Realms | |
| Regions and Realms on Aurea | |
