Avenan Empire

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Government
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Military
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Culture
The Avenan Empire is a Lawful Neutral society, with slight tendencies towards (currently) Lawful Evil (militaristic, expansionist, xenophobic, repressive). Lawful Neutral is sort of the historical baseline of the Empire.

History
During its period of initial expansion, when it conquered or colonized the half of the northern continent south and west of the mountains, the Empire was consistently Lawful Neutral. As its expansion slowed, it went through a Lawful Evil period, during which it conquered and enslaved the Elven city-states of the southern continent. During most of this period, Heironeous and then Hextor were the primary religions of the state, though Boccob was also extremely important (he has been marginalized since the beginning of the Scourge).

It was only during the last 150-200 years before the Scourge that the Empire entered what many might term its Golden Age. The Emperors were benevolent, effective and efficient rulers. During this time, Pelor became the state religion, expansion slowed, and slavery became less and less common (the exception being elves, who never became fully integrated into Imperial civilization, and therefore were difficult to free). During this period, the Empire was Lawful Good. The second-to-last Emperor - Piet - is widely considered to have been the greatest of all the Emperors. Most people believe his son Memnon would have surpassed him, had he not died along with the rest of the Imperial Family in the destruction of Aksum.

There's a lot of romantic talk about the legacy of the Emperors, but the differences between the Empire under the Emperors and the Empire under the Council of Regents cannot be understated. The Council of Regents is widely recognized to be a corrupt body; not evil, just greedy and self-serving. There is a strong movement within the Empire (not an insurrection, though should a figurehead arise it could become one) to restore the throne by electing someone from the noble houses. If the Lost Houses (those noble families "accidentally" locked out of the caers - some accidents were less accidental than others depending on a House's relationship with the Council of Regents) survived, and if they reconnect with the Empire, the movement to restore a hereditary throne will almost certainly become stronger.