Baz

The massive empire which has ruled most of the civilized world for over a thousand years, and which suddenly collapsed only three years before this campaign's beginning. The reasons for the collapse are complex and numerous, the collimation of a hundred long held grudges and long put off political or economic problems coming to a head all at once.

The capital of the fallen empire is Thedra. Once believed to be the largest, most populated and most magnificent city in all the world, Thedra is now haunted by strange fiends between ghost and demon.

The Fall of Baz:   On the last few years of the Bazrian Empire, quickly.

The fall begins most clearly with Ignavia's Disgrace, a serious of short civil wars in and around the capital perpetuated by three potential claimants to the title of Emperor and an Arch-Heirophant, whose duty it was to mediate such matters, who instead inflamed them by repeatedly endorsing then condemning claimants almost arbitrarily, effectively destroying the Bazrian Pantheon's religious authority as well as the dignity of the Empire. This affair began about five years before the fall, The Elven Versyl rebellion struck two years before, and the Marshlander's invasion began about a year after that. The fall of the Empire was a surrealistically sudden thing to most, which is a large part of why people have had such a difficult time adjusting.

The three competing emperors were Ignavia "The Sybarite", who should have been the clear rightful Emperor but abdicated his position very early, due to being far more interested in simply living a comfortable life, to Junius "The Child", who as the moniker suggests was far to young to actually do any ruling. The Arch-Heirophant, however, blessed Ignavia's decision until Cnaeus "The Warrior" contested the decision on grounds that he was an eligible and far more prestigious pick for Emperor, if Ignavia was to abdicate, and a necessary one since Junius was a child. The Arch-Heirophant was cowed by Cnaeus, and gave his blessing to him instead. War ensued was declared by Junius who felt Cnaeus had threatened the Arch-Heirophant into this call. The Arch-Heirophant attempts to diffuse the situation by switching his blessing back to Ignavia, deciding that he didn't have the right to abdicate after all, however Ignavia again refused, effectively meaning there was no Emperor.

The details get muddled after this point, as Versyl attacks shortly after and information on the going-ons inside the capital become scarce. Versyl itself was really just another distraction for Baz's armies, they were not intent on destroying the Empire so much as twisting its arm into certain political capitulations. The marshlanders, however, saw the incredibly weak and distracted state of the empire and launched a blitzkreig. Cnaeus "The Warrior" is known to have lead the defense of Baz against the Marshlanders right before its fall, and was slain. Ignavia and Junius' fates are unknown, though they should both have been in the capital during the sack.

The Marshlander invasion was lead primarily by vishkanyas, who actually have a decent society concealed in the marsh's depths, although many other savage races participated in larger brute numbers including largely orcs.