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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Rhineglade" data-source="post: 6777865" data-attributes="member: 6801931">HRATHGAROfficial Name: Holy Empire of HrathgarRuler: His Imperial and August Majesty, Ulrik, by the grace of Berethor, Emperor of Hrathgar, King of the Dwarves, Lord of Wyrms (LN male dwarf, Pal 15)Government: Independent feudal empire with electoral leadership; emperor must be a non-clerical dwarf and is elected by a group of seven electors composed of both religious and secular nobility; the emperor reigns for life but has very little real power; most power held by the Imperial Council of LordsCoat of Arms: Or, a double-headed eagle displayed sableNotable Figures: Aelfrik, Archcleric of Wyrms (LG male dwarf, Clr 18); Gormir, King of the Mountain (LN male dwarf, Ftr 12)Rule of Law: Lawful Good.  Laws tend to be codified and quite rigid but generally tempered with justice.  Society organized in a rigid class hierarchy with each level of society knowing its place and expectations.  Government is well organized and generally acts with honor and mercy.  Rules and traditions are heavily observed.Population: 600,000Capital: Draupnir City (pop. 45,000)Major Cities: Brinebay, Battleheim, Falkensward, Neinendorf, Silverforge, Stroich, WyrmsMajor Religions: Berethor, Nerthys, Solovar, Galdor, Eileania, KronumMajor Resources: Iron, gold, silver, copper, platinum, electrum, granite, livestock, grainMilitary: 30,000 (no permanent standing army exists; military is mustered from the various states within the empire when summoned by the Emperor; army consists primarily of heavy infantry supported by heavy cavalry and light infantry)Allies: Dunwyn, Fairdale, Valoria, Meridia, RunemarkEnemies: Rhuthune, Segovia, Draugmore, Aelinore, Avernia, GolgathorThe powerful Empire of Hrathgar was born from the former Kingdom of Hammerheim and has long been a refuge for the dwarves of Dragonwick.  The country contains a variety of landscapes and can be divided into four areas- the Central Hrathgar Plain, the Western Uplands, the Eastern Woodlands and the Northern Wetlands.  Hrathgar also has coastline along the eastern shores of the Brightwater Sea.  The coast is mainly flat with low chalk cliffs and white sandy beaches.  Traveling farther inland, away from the sea, the land gives rise to the Silver Hills.The central plains region are part of a massive lowland situated between the Silver Hills and the Whitehorn Mountains.  A number of small lakes dot the gentle rolling farmland and wooded hills of the region.  The Empire's northern and southern borders are formed by two great rivers: the Silvertine and the Warnow.  The Silvertine, which originates in the Whitehorns, slowly meanders through the northern wetlands on its journey to the Brightwater.  The river forms a picturesque valley lined with villages and castles.The Holy Empire of Hrathgar is a great patchwork of hundreds of kingdoms, duchies, principalities, landgravates, counties, margravates and baronies.  All of these are united under the symbolic rulership of the Emperor.  The empire itself emerged from the dissolution of the Kingdom of Hammerheim that once flourished in its vast mountain halls beneath the Whitehorn Mountains.   Legends speak of a great and ancient evil that lurked far beneath the surface of the world.  The Hammerheim dwarves uncovered this evil which in turn destroyed most of their kingdom.  The city of Wyrms, once the gateway into the mountain kingdom, was all that survived which helped usher in a new age for the survivors of the tragedy.  The Prelate of Wyrms, a powerful and high ranking cleric of the Mountain god Berethor, petitioned the petty dwarf lords of the Silver Hills to come to the aid of the Hammerheim.  Few of these clans responded to this call seeking to protect themselves and perhaps take advantage of the aftermath.  Prince Balkar of Draupnir was one of the leading lords that came to the aid of his distant kin.  With the assistance of heavily armored dwarven infantry, and magic of the Runecasters, the evil that threatened the land was banished or driven back allowing the survivors to escape into the valley below.  The dwarves wondered the plains of Hrathgar for years competing against one another and the local Aldari human clans who had long farmed this region.  Peaceful co-existence seemed to have been a thing of the past.The Prelate of Wyrms, in his wisdom, came to the realization that only a single leader would possibly unify the disjointed clans.  In recognition of his heroism and valor, Prince Balkar was appointed the first Emperor of Hrathgar in 910.  In a sense, the legendary Kingdom of Hammerheim never truly ended.  The authority of the king was simply transferred by the authority of the leading cleric of the kingdom to a new source.  Using this authority, the Hrathgar emperors unite the local nobles under a single banner.  This concept of translatio imperii is key to the Imperial authority suggesting that the emperor holds supreme power inherited from the Great Kings of Hammerheim.Following dwarf tradition, the Imperial office is largely electoral though it has frequently been held by a single dynastic clan throughout the course of its history.  The dwarf prince-electors, the highest ranking nobles of the empire, elect a secular dwarf from among their peers as 'King of the Mountain,' the heir-designate to the Imperial Office.  Upon the death of the reigning Emperor, the King of the Mountain is crowned and anointed the new Emperor by the Prelate of Wyrms.Hrathgar has never achieved the level of political unification found in the Kingdom of Pelinore to the West.  Instead it has developed into a decentralized state.  The Emperor has constitutional limitations to his power.  The hundreds of nobles, though all vassals to the Imperial authority, also retain a great deal of autonomy within their territories, known as 'Imperial States.'[ATTACH]72417[/ATTACH]</blockquote>

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