Kingdom of Aquila

The kingdom of Aquila was once a mighty empire ruling the entirety of the continent of Nowalde, from the cold northern wastes of Cumbria to the swamps of the Sudenian peninsula, from the eastern coast of the Ocean Sea to the western forests of Sylvania. The empire took its name from its capitol city, the largest city on the continent. The City of Aquila was founded by King Falco I on the ruins of a much older city from a forgotten age. King Falco was the warlord of the largest of many barbaric tribes that inhabited Nowalde in ancient times. Falco built a mighty fortress that expanded as other tribes flocked to his banner, or were conquered by his armies. As his wealth and power grew, so too did the City of Aquila. By the age of fifty, Falco was the emperor of the known human world, and all kings and warlords paid him tribute. Men still count the years starting with the year the City of Aquila was founded, Anno Fatalis in the old tongue, the Year of Destiny. The dynasty Falco began lasted until the year 206, when the Aquilan nobles overthrew the tyrannical Emperor Arean, exterminating Falco’s bloodline and establishing the short-lived Aquilan Republic, ruled by a Parliament of nobles and priests. The Republic lasted until 449, the year one of the nobles garnered enough support from the disenfranchised farmers, craftsmen, and common soldiers to lead a bloody coup that ended with the re-establishment of an imperial monarchy, and the founding of the dynasty of Emperor Memnor. Memnor dissolved Parliament and rewarded the nobles and knights that had supported his coup with large duchies. He allowed the newly-established local Dukes to rule their duchies as they saw fit, so long as they paid the Emperor tribute and taxes, in gold and levees of troops for the ongoing expansion and security of the Empire. Memnor’s dynasty saw the greatest expansion in Aquila’s history. Unfortunately, by the year 713, in the reign of Emperor Tolean, the Dukes revolted one by one, starting with Duke Trebon of Falkenstad. The Empire collapsed, shattering into individual petty kingdoms ruled by the now autonomous dukes. Emperor Tolean was murdered during the ensuing period of war and chaos, and the head of his personal bodyguard, Zyphos, seized power in the City of Aquila, declaring himself king of a sizable portion of the former Empire, and negotiating an end to the war, with each ruler of the individual duchies recognizing the autonomy of the rest. Aquila is still the largest and strongest of the kingdoms and citystates of Nowalde. Aquila is ruled by King Leonis, a youthful and popular ruler. Aquila is divided into many lesser Baronies, made up mostly of farms and ranches, worked by serfs and slaves. All land is technically owned by the King, leased in fiefdom by the individual knights and barons, who pay a tribute of ten percent of the lands’ yield as taxes. The nobles rule their fiefs as they see fit, so long as they pay their taxes. Beneath the nobles are the craftsmen, merchants, and soldiers that serve them. Below them are the serfs, free men and women who work the farms and ranches, who are little more than slaves, but with all the rights and protections of free men. At the bottom of the pyramid are the slaves, who have no rights and are treated as property. The slaves were originally captives of war and could be of any race, but now are almost entirely orcs and goblinoids. No human or dwarf may be kept as a slave in Aquila, but the other races are fair game, including half-breeds. Arete is the most popular deity in Aquila, but most of the gods have some following. The Cathedral of Arete in the City of Aquila is the largest, richest temple in Nowalde.