Thyatian Senators

(or - “After this I’ll never need to think of a Thyatian NPC for my Campaign again”)

The Empire of Thyatis is a land of intrigue and complex politics. The chaotic structure of the Empire is the result of layers of the cultures, ethnicities and populations that have built its millennial history on the Known World and beyond. The Hattians invented the feudal system that has been exported to Glantri, Karameikos, Heldann, to the Savage Baronies and Eusdria. In ancient Thyatis, before Alphatian conquest, Thyatians evolved their Senate from the Milenian Empire to build the most democratic institution of the Known World since. And the first Thyatian Emperor, Zendrolion I, modelled the figure of the Emperor on the Doulakki tyrannoi and on the Alphatian Emperor. It is small wonder Thyatian politics are so complicated and convoluted, and it also explains why corruption and inefficiency are ever on the rise in Thyatis: if you cannot get what you want from a dominion ruler, you can try with a Senator; if you cannot get to the Throne for a favour, you can turn to some Church or another; and if you cannot get the judgement you like in the trial, you can turn to another Praetor or Tribunus to overturn the result or to prosecute the mayor who fined you. On the other hand, this also means that the level of protection and maneuvering space for the average citizen is higher than in most other human countries of the Known World - and one of the reasons for the Empire’s survival and popularity, even among conquered peoples.

Magistrati

Just like in ancient Republican Rome, most political posts in Thyatis are elective - the Magistrati, in particular, are all members of the Senate. While in ancient Republican Rome, elections were held every year and each post was assigned through individual elections, in the Empire of Thyatis, elections are held between four and six years from each other, and individual positions are assigned by the Senate. The rationale is that the Empire’s elections involve a large territory, whereas the Roman Republic was essentially a city state.

The Senate assigns posts (at the head of the judiciary, military, and administrative machine) in its first sessions after the elections, in order of rank, starting from the Censores (who are thus, at least theoretically, the higher Senators in rank after the Princeps Senatus, i.e. the Emperor). There are 23 Magistrati Imperiales (“Emperor’s Magistrates”) who make up the governmental cabinet (comitatus) and thus respond directly to the Emperor. Since they must be his voice in the Senate, their election can be vetoed by the Emperor, so generally their choice is the most intriguing and important part of the first weeks after the elections.

The remaining 11 Magistrates, called Magistrati Plebei (“People’s Magistrates”), are chosen only by and among the Elective Senators, as they are meant to represent and champion interests of the common people, rather than the Emperor or the aristocracy, and cannot be vetoed.

Furthermore, the rules of the cursus honorum state that a Senator cannot be elected Censor without having been first a Consul, Consul without having been a Praetor, and Praetor without having been a Quaestor. This forces political officials to have some experience and mitigates well-known issues of corruption in the assignment of such posts. Aediles and Tribuni are not subject to this rule.

Censores (2 - all Imperiales)

Censores are responsible for the Census, the registry of citizens and their property; for keeping public morals; and for administering the finances of the state, in particular for what concerns the superintendence of public works (including the Aediles’ activities) and of tax collection. Censores are considered the highest Magistrates of the Empire after the Emperor, and the political heads of the civilian administration.

Consules (2 - all Imperiales)

Consules are the political heads of the Thyatian military machine. These officials have the important task of supervising the distribution of pay to the Thyatian military, as well as its logistical provisioning. Consules are also tasked with inspection of the Imperial Armed forces, ensuring their quality. They work with the Imperial High Command to plan the military organisation, as well as directing research and development of new ships, engines of war, support the study of battle spells, and supervising military academies and training centres.

In war times, one of the two Consuls is expected to go into battle, while the other remains in the capital. Thus, depending on whether the Emperor remains in Thyatis or leads the army, one of the Consuls replaces the Emperor (either as the field commander or as the Princeps Senatus), and the other acts as the Emperor’s chief advisor and second-in-command.

Traditionally, the Senate draws one Consul from the Aristocratic Senators and one from the Elective ones.

Praetores (8 - all Imperiales)

Praetores are the chiefs of the judiciary, and are assigned responsibility over specific regions. Two Praetores are assigned to the City of Thyatis (the Praetor Urbanus) and the Duchy of Thyatis (the Praetor Peregrinus). The others are assigned to: the Duchy of Kerendas, with responsibility over continental Mainland Thyatis; the County of Hattias, with responsibility over the islands of Mainland Thyatis; the Grand Duchy of Westrourke, with responsibility over the northern Isle of Dawn; Fort Redstone, with responsibility over the southern Isle of Dawn; the Grand Duchy of Ochalea; and the Grand Duchy of the Pearl Islands.

Praetores act as a supreme court of the Empire, and as such they are the only ones who can prosecute another Praetor, a Consul, a Censor, or the Emperor. In practice, the primary role of Praetores is that of monitoring the work of the local justice courts.

All foreign citizens wishing to bring to court a Thyatian citizen or another foreigner must get the approval of the Praetor Peregrinus, which makes it all but impossible for foreigners outside the Duchy of Thyatis to actually bring anyone to court, unless they have Thyatian friends to rely on.

Aediles (2 - 1 Imperialis and 1 Plebeus)

Aediles are Magistrates responsible for the repair and preservation of temples, sewers and aqueducts, street cleansing and paving in the City of Thyatis; regulations regarding traffic, dangerous animals and dilapidated buildings; precautions against fire; superintendence of baths and taverns; investigation of black market, profiteering, and similar charges; purchase of grain for disposal at a low price in case of necessity; superintendence and organization of the public games.

Note that the Aediles are not part of the civilian administration per se, so they have neither a staff nor a budget. Like other Magistrates, they are assisted by adjutores, who are in their case drawn from the officia of the civilian administration, but unlike other Magistrates, most of the Aediles’ activities are self-funded. Ambitious Senators often spend enormous sums from their personal wealth in the latter activity to win popular favor and re-election.

Every dominion has similar offices - two men elected during local elections as Duumviri Aedilicii. However, the Aediles, in addition to being directly in charge of Thyatis City, can overrule any decision made by local Duumviri. As is often the case in the Empire, something like this means only that there is more potential for bribery - so Aediles see a lot of money come and go in their position.

Quaestores (10 - all Imperiales)

Quaestores are the chiefs of the Imperial police, which is part of the Thyatian Army. In general, police force responsibility follows similar patterns to the judiciary. However, there are two more Quaestores than there are Praetores, as the border police forces in Tel Akbir and the police forces of the demi-human domains have separate commands from Kerendas.

The Imperial police are sometimes at odds with the local rulers’ dominion guards -- this depends on many factors, especially the relationship between rulers and Quaestores, Quaestores and their own troops, and even Imperial troops stationed in a region and local dominion police. This makes for highly complicated interactions (and a skyrocketing of bribes if you want to be sure nobody bothers you).

Tribuni (10 - all Plebei)

The Tribuni are technically not Magistrates, but rather officials charged with the responsibility of protecting the common Thyatian citizen from abuse by rulers and Senators. This means that, by law, every Thyatian citizen can appeal to a Tribunus to avoid any penalty, fine, punishment or trial, provided the Tribunus agrees - in this case what happens is generally an appeal judgement with the Tribunus as judge, although the Tribunus can simply decide to overrule the judgement and nullify it. The power of the Tribuni is thus great, although it is seldom used. Senators are extremely careful in selecting the Tribuni: wrong choices have often resulted in indiscriminate liberties for the supporters or patrons of a Tribunus, with devastating effects, so Tribuni are often the most honest and righteous politicians in Thyatis.

Imperial Magistri

The civilian administration is supervised by the Censores, who are assisted by many high ranking civil servants. These apical positions in the administration are assigned by the Emperor independently of the Senate (and usually outside of it), and are called the Magistri (“Masters”, or “Ministers”). Each Magister heads an Officium (bureau), which can be in turn subdivided into Scrinia (departments).

Major Magistri

The four most important Magistri, those in charge of the imperial finances, magical and mundane resources, and other critical aspects of the civil administration, are actually as powerful as the Magistrates themselves, and as such they are almost always inducted in the Senate as Meritory Persons as soon as they are nominated to their post. Magistri hold to posts until removed by the Emperor, although the Senate may vote to “encourage” the Emperor to do so.

Magister Arcanum (“Minister of Magic”)

This officer is in charge of maintaining the records of the Senate and other governmental agencies, as well as supervising the Collegium Arcanum. He is usually a man of great learning, and often an experienced Magic User, since he is given responsibility over magical matters as well. The staff of this Magister includes many sages and learned men, and more than a few Clerics and Mages of repute can be found in this officium.

Magister Aerarii

The Aerarium is, in effect, the "Ministry of the Treasury", supervising the Imperial Mint, as well as performing the tasks of a “national bank” -- primarily the control and maintenance of a national monetary reserve, but also the management of credit lines in favour of local rulers for dominion development purposes. Besides a number of civilian clerks (scribae), this officium also supervises the Sacellarii, a small but highly trained unit of guards.

Magister Vestarii

This officium deals with objects other than cash, and supervises the Imperial Arsenal. "Objects other than cash" include magic items, alchemical workshops, research facilities and results, and the like. The Vestarium also has access to potent magic, and the very location of its most important projects is a tightly held secret.

Magister Officiorum

This minister is primarily in charge of maintaining the imperial communication and information network. This includes supervision of legations to foreign lands, collection of reports of explorers, as well as intelligence and counter-intelligence functions. To the Magister Officiorum report the Speculatores (military explorers), the Cursus Imperialis (public postal service), the Viatores (couriers) and the Agentes in Rebus (a group of élite agents, who both act as spies and general adventurers in the service of the Empire). The Agentes are mostly Rangers (most of them belonging to the Foresters corps), Bards and Thieves (many self-styled as Rakes, or ‘non-thieving thieves’, in Thyatis)², although the ranks are open to all character classes. Two Agentes are assigned to each Dominion, although they report directly to the central administration, and not to the local rulers. Other Agentes are sent as part of the staff of legations, legions, or operate independently. While the Agentes are mostly involved in information gathering in urban areas, the Speculatores are more concerned with collection of geographical data, reconnaissance operations, and even monster hunting. They are more heavily drawn from the military, so many Fighters and Clerics are employed in addition to Rangers and Thieves. Speculatores tend to act in small groups, whereas Agentes often operate alone or in pairs.

Besides adventuring personnel, many clerks (scribae) are employed by this Magister for organizational and record keeping duties.

Minor Magistri

There are a number of lesser Magistri, who are in charge of smaller bureaus of the Thyatian administration. The following four are the most notable of them, but other minor Magistri are in charge of tax collection, managing the civilian personnel in service of the emperors, or assisting the major magisters.

Magister Petitionum

This officium has two main roles. The first is to act as a filter between petitioners and the throne, sorting petitions and removing irrelevant ones. The second is to lobby the Senate so that the Emperor’s will, and that of the Magistri, is speedily converted to law.

Magister Rerum Privatarum

This minor magister manages the Imperial estates, palaces and other economic activities directly owned by the crown. This officium may seem relatively minor, but provides a great degree of control on people who are in direct contact with the Emperor, and thus implies a high degree of security.

Magister Largitionum

This official is in charge of the Imperial orphanages and other charitable institutions. He is usually a renowned Cleric, and has a small administrative staff. This officium also controls land grants sufficient to support its charitable works, supplementing direct government largess.

Magister Fabricae

This officium is in charge of the Imperial arsenals in Thyatis city, Lucinius, and Beitung. It controls the assignment of naval constructions, weapon provisioning, and training facilities for artillerists, sappers, and siege engineers. This officium reports both to the Censores and to the Consules.

Local Officers

In addition to the Emperor, dominion rulers, Senatorial Magistrates and Imperial Magistri, there are also local rulers in the Empire. Every village and town with at least 500 adult citizens is entitled to elect a Rector Urbis (mayor), who reports to the dominion ruler and to the Praetor of his or her area. Rectores receive dominion funds from the dominion rulers to perform local errands and employ local officers, including town guards. The Rector is elected every time there is a Senatorial election or every time one Rector dies or steps down. If there are less than six months before a new Senatorial election, the town is put under direct administration of the local dominion ruler.

Cities and bigger towns, in addition to a Rector, might have a council, called Ordo, of elected officers (from four to twenty, depending on population and local laws). The Rector calls the council sessions and is responsible for local administration and relations with the other branches of the Thyatian government.

Dominion guards are employed directly by the dominion rulers, who can add their own personal wealth to enhance the numbers and equipment in addition to those bought with tax money. More often than not, the mayor of a dominion capital, although elected by the citizens, is a member of the local rulers’ entourage.

Justice in Thyatis

City, town and village mayors, dominion rulers and Praetores all act as prosecutors in the Thyatian government - although only Praetores can prosecute all over the Empire, while mayors and dominion rulers can prosecute criminals only on their lands. Only Praetores can prosecute Praetores, Consules, Censores and dominion rulers. Investigations might be carried out by officers of the Imperial Army police (under the orders of their Quaestores), or by the local city guards, or by dominion guards. Praetores have no investigative power and must rely on the Quaestores and their police forces to do the investigations. Mayors must rely on the chief of guards - but it is up to them to select him or her, and in small villages the two often are one and the same person. Dominion rulers, on the other hands, supervise investigators and prosecutors at the same time.

In a trial, the defendant can choose to defend herself, or to employ a lawyer. Lawyers must have a degree in Law from a University, or have registered after a short (and expensive - although by far less than studying for years in Biazzan or in the City of Thyatis) six-week course at an authorized governmental body. Many of these lawyers are second-hand lawyers that are often corrupt or inefficient, but sometimes a few gifted have risen among the best lawyers in the Empire.

The Empire’s judiciary machine is complex, and regulations are far from clear or well-codified. In most simple or unimportant cases, prosecutors act also as judges. However, it is common for the prosecutor to draft a judge or jury for the trial. Mayors who act as prosecutors generally form a jury of twelve citizens to judge citizens, or ask the local dominion ruler or Praetor, or even a Tribunus, if the matter is delicate or ends up involving powerful or dangerous individuals. Praetores and dominion rulers generally ask each other to help out. If the matter is especially delicate, a Praetor or ruler might form a jury of three Senators and/or rulers. There is no codification for this procedure, so any type of jury might be called upon by a prosecutor - and a prosecutor is always on the safe side of the law if he decides to keep the matter entirely in his hands.

Sidebar 1 An Example of Local Rule

As we have seen, politics in Thyatis are quite complicated, with many overlapping functions.

Let us look at what happens in a typical Thyatian town, like Bridleton in Kerendas.

The elected Rector of Bridleton has employed 10 guards and one officer to keep the peace and act as local police. If the Mayor needs more help because the town surroundings have been threatened by brigands or by a dangerous monster, he can call upon Duke Maldinius to send his dominion guards, or he can call upon the Quaestor of Kerendas. The Quaestor might go to Bridleton himself, or just send some of his soldiers from the Kerendan Cohort of the Imperial Legions.

If the Mayor does not have enough money to restore a damaged road, he can ask for more from the Duke. If the Duke refuses, the Mayor can call one of the elected Duumvir Aedilicii of Kerendas for help. If the Duumvir asks him for a bribe, the Mayor can travel to the capital and denounce the corrupt officer to the two Senatorial Aediles, who might ask in turn the Quaestor of Kerendas to investigate the matter and, if they think it is necessary, the Praetor of Kerendas to judge the man - or the Aediles might just refuse the Mayor’s accusations and send him back. If the Mayor or the Duumvir is unsatisfied with the outcome, he or she might extend a plea to a Tribunus, hoping that he or she will overrule the judgment and nullify it.

CONSTITUENCY SENATORS

There are 99 Senators representing specific constituencies, divided as follows: 21 ruler representatives, 11 dukes/archdukes, 60 elected representatives from dominions, 7 elected representatives from other Imperial territories.

Each Dominion Ruler of the Empire has the right to choose a representative in the Senate. A Ruler with the status of Baron or Count may even choose to be his own representative, but this is seldom the case, since a ruler can hardly attend regularly the sessions of the Senate. Dukes and Archdukes also have the right to a personal seat to the Senate. This seat cannot be traded nor can they choose replacements for the seat. It is nominal and tied to the dukedom.

Sixty-seven Senators are elected in the dominions and imperial territories. Elections are held every four-to-six years.

ACTIUS

Actius is a small, unproductive island south of Hattias, whose main feature is the lively and prosperous community of Actius (pop. 8,000) and its surrounding farms and fishing villages. Actius is a major shipbuilding concern, a rich fish-market and a provisioning center for some sea-trade around Cape Hattias.

Population: 10,000 (90% humans, 10% sea-elves)

Dominion ruler: Count Geraldan Actavius

Senators:

Count Geraldan Actavius (ruler representative), Gens Sergia.

Terentius Thalassonion (first elected), Populares.

Publios Kelophorios³ (second elected), Populares; Aedilis.

Count Geraldan Actavius (born 947, F15, N) is a descendant of Sir Actius, the founder of the city that bears his name and of its island dominion. He’s an aging warrior who was a fighter in the Thyatian Navy for over 20 years, and resigned his commission a decade ago to rule Actius when his father Rupert was lost at sea. Geraldan is a plump man with greying black hair and beard, brown eyes, a broad, merry face with scars on both cheeks from an early duel, and is too-fond of heavy, rich jewelry, although he prefers to dress in simple clothes. Geraldan is a moderate man who believes in tradition but loves to think of Thyatis as a land of opportunities for citizens and foreigners alike, so he has found it comfortable to fill his father’s old niche among the Sergii.

His wife Antonia⁴ (born 956, T3) is a common-looking woman with a homely face that hides her shrewd eyes. They have two sons and two daughters between five and twenty years old, the oldest one being his heir Heraclius (born 980).

The Actavii also hold a noble family seat (see also below), and Geraldan’s uncle, Rutiliano (born 937, F7, N), is currently the family senatorial representative. Rutiliano is the younger brother of Rupert Actavius, but, unlike his father, brother and nephew, Rutiliano served in the infantry legions of Thyatis. The top position of his career has been the role as Lieutenant General of the Hinterlands during the planning stage and beginning of the invasion (AC 988), before he retired from the Army three years ago.

Actius is a major region of Populares support, with a very liberal view on politics. Senator Terentius Thalassonion (born 954, T16, CG) is a former pirate who harassed Alphatian, Thyatian and Minrothaddan slave ships and military ships in his younger years under the name of ‘Blue Dog’. Although suspected of many pirate activities, last but not least several renegade attacks on troop ships directed to the ‘imperialist’ conquest of the Hinterlands, Terentius was never conclusively linked to to the Blue Dog. His fame won him the respect of his fellow islanders, and he used it, and his riches, to enter the Senate a few years ago at the outrage of most noblemen and moderate-to-conservative politicians of Thyatis. The roguish outlook of this 45-years old pirate, with flamboyant pirate costumes and his mocking, sarcastic speeches at the Senate and in public forums, have made him a controversial and renowned figure even in the City of Thyatis.

His elected colleague is Publios Kelophorios (born 959, F5, NG), a prominent yet surprisingly virtuous senator. A fervent Popularis, Publios is renowned for his virtue and is an outspoken champion of the most progressive Populares. He has gained the love of his friends and supporters and the respect of adversaries, although the most conservative and aristocratic Senators loathe him because of his humble origins - his father was a poor fisherman who didn’t own a boat and died while he was still young, and Publios grew from fisherman to sailor to boat captain before entering politics. He takes his position as Aedilis very seriously, something that puts him often at odds with his colleague Aedilis, Maria Evergetes, whom he neither trusts nor likes, suspecting her of using her position for personal ends.

BIAZZAN

A low, rich valley surrounded by steep hills in the shadow of the looming Altan Tepes mountains, Biazzan is a sheltered, quiet region, whose main feature is the rich city of Biazzan (pop. 12,500), which takes its name from its founder, the Alasiyan Selim ben Hassan. The city is one of the centers of trade between Ylaruam and Thyatis and the seat of one of the main universities of the Known World; about ⅕ of the population consists of students and another fifth of university teachers, researchers and employees. The Baronial population is almost evenly split between Alasiyans and Thyatians. Its northern pass into Ylaruam is guarded by Fort Nicos (pop. 300), whose commander does not answer to the Baron but only to the Consules.

Population: 30,000

Dominion ruler: Baron Babrak Biazzan

Senators:

Baron Babrak Biazzan (ruler representative), Gens Aemilia

Tanja Bendaoud (elected), Populares.

Babrak Biazzan (born 962, F12, LG) has been the ruler of Biazzan since AC 996, and is his own representant at the Senate, continuing to hold the seat that had been his before as the representative of his father. He is a man of Thyatian upbringing with a love of Alasiyan trappings and furnishings.

He is married to Gallia (born 967, T(Rake)5, LG), and they have a son, Himerius (born 993), and a daughter, Maisha (born 995).

Babrak has two younger sisters, Malika (born 981, F3, LG), who is studying to become a military officer, and Aisha (born 985, T1, LG), betrothed to Ahmed El Nicoui (born 983, F1, LG), the son of a wealthy Biazzan nobleman, Omar El Nicoui (born 950, F1, LG).

Senator Tanja Bendaoud (born 969, NW, NG) is the elected representative for the Barony. A sly Populares into her second term, she is especially concerned with educational and trade issues in the Senate, something that plays well with her own countrymen. One of the slogans behind her electoral program is “to show Tel-Akbirans that “we are more advanced than them”. She has playfully played with the stereotypes of Biazzan Alasiyans against Tel-Akbiran Alasiyans, and she is seen as a positive political figure by the enlightened males and most females even in Tel Akbir. She is in very good relationship with Babrak Biazzan and with the Buhrohur senators (Thrain Kalskirt and Dwalur Swarkres, see below). She is married to Ahmed Azad (born 960, NM, N) a professor of History at the University, and they have a son, Kareem (born 995) and a daughter, Maria (born 999).

BUHROHUR

The main seat of Thyatian dwarves, Buhrohur is a rocky, mountainous territory settled almost only by dwarf colonists from Rockhome. Non-resident dwarves have no right to travel through Buhrohur. Its capital, Makrast (pop. 3,000), lies at the foot of a huge mountain with a sheared-off western face (thus the name for the town, i.e. “broken mountain” in dwarven). Only about 20% of Makrast is above-ground.

Population: 15,000

Dominion ruler: Gilla Blyskarats

Senators:

Thrain Kalskirt (ruler representative). Gens Aemilia.

Dwalur Swarkres (elected), Populares; Quaestor.

Buhrohur is ruled by Gilla Blyskarats, (born 950, C11 of Kagyar, LG) member of a family that belongs to the Farkres Clan of Makrast. The baroness, a cleric of Kagyar, new-come to rule and still unmarried, was well-trained for her role by her father, the old baron. She intends to keep the gold-mining moving, the city safe, the baronial borders secure, and perhaps to do a little adventuring under an assumed name…

This is also why she has chosen Thrain Kalskirt (born 870, F6, LG) an experienced dwarven diplomat, as her representative in the capital: she doesn’t intend to spend her sparse free time discussing senatorial laws. Even though Thrain is (relatively) young for a diplomat, he has spent several years adventuring in Thyatis and Rockhome before turning to politics, acting as a minor diplomat in matters involving dwarves. He has revealed himself to be a good politician, and has succeeded more than once for the benefit of Buhrohur before being chosen for this role immediately after the death of the old baron, who had preferred to be his own representative instead.

His companion in the Senate is Dwalur Swarkres (born 838, F9, LG) a middle-aged, gruff, stubborn and stern dwarf with a grim view on life and on humans. He doesn’t trust humans, as his parents were refugees who moved to Buhrohur after the Year of the Plague in Glantri, and he says that even in Thyatis he has “seen more human politics and betrayals than any dwarf would care to see in a dwarven lifetime”. After many years of adventuring and fighting, Dwalur retired and started a political career first as a representative from his village at clan meetings and then rose up to clan councils and then to the Senate, where he has been elected for the past 30 years (“dwarves don’t like to change an old cogwheel if it works well, we all know it”). When not in Thyatis, Dwalur spends his time in the small village of Klystar, or travelling in the north-west in his position as Quaestor for Vyalia, Biazzan and Buhrohur. Dwalur is unmarried and is a homosexual. His partner died a few years after a long disease, and he has silently mourned him since. All his friends and relatives and most all the dwarves of his village know it, but he prefers to keep this publicly undisclosed. His fellow dwarves are not likely to talk about it.

CAERDWICCA

This barony on the southern part of the Isle of Dawn has been settled for many centuries by pirates and fishermen of Dunael stock. About 750 live in Caerdwick Village, the other 250 live in McRhomaag Castle. The McRhomaags sponsor pirates, sailors and explorers both on sea and into the Great Escarpment.

Population: 1,000

Dominion ruler: Baron Uthgaard McRhomaag

Senators:

Brandan McStewart (ruler representative), Populares.

Gawain McLeod (elected), Populares.

Uthgaard McRhomaag (born 960, F15, CN) is the ruler of Caerdwicca, and is very popular with his subjects. Styling himself a “thane” instead of “baron” (to emphasize the fact that he descends from Dunael and Northmen raiders), this red-haired and red-bearded, stocky fighter is a free-willed pirate with a variable mood and impetuous personality who prefers to wear great tartan kilts and keeps a carefully constructed shaggy, wild-eyed look. Uthgaard is unmarried, but has several offsprings from fishermen’s and pirates’ daughters (and wives!). He is very kind towards his natural children -- many of them have lived with him at one time or another. One of them, Alastair Scott (born 978, F4), is a Navy soldier in Actius; Uthgaard is following him closely to see whether he might make a good heir. Another daughter, Gael Ferguson (born 990, NW, NG) was brought to the Castle a couple of years ago with her mother Fearchara Ferguson (born 972, NW, CG) when Uthgaard’s niece Eleanor came to live with him (see below). Uthgaard is very fond of Fearchara but in no way considers her to be his wife. Fearchara is determined to make the ‘stubborn old fool’ change his ways. Good luck to her!

Uthgaard’s cousin from his mother’s side is Brandan McStewart (born 970, F7, CG), who is also his Senator in Thyatis. He was appointed there after his wife Lysa left him to run away with his roguish younger brother Corum, and both died at sea shortly after… or at least they were never heard since. Brandan’s father, Ian McStewart (born 942, F9, CN), an ageing pirate, has accompanied him to the capital, while his mother Bridget Anderson (born 950, NW, LN) separated from Ian several years ago and lives with her own family in Newkirk. Brandan is the younger brother of Uthgaard’s mother Diulanna (born 940, NW, NG), who despairs of her son’s ‘liberal’ ways with women, loves all her grandchildren even though Uthgaard makes her mad, and is watching closely Fearchara’s attempts to woo him. She has not decided whether to throw her lot in with the woman, but is increasingly warming up to her and her ‘cause’. Diulanna’s husband, Uthgaard’s father Willard (931-989), died about ten years ago during a raid.

Uthgaard’s youngest uncle Colin (born 952, R9, NG) married Shylla (born 866, T4/W9, CG), an Isle of Dawn elf whom he met while adventuring. Uthgaard jokingly mocks Colin since he’s a “wood man” and not a pirate like most of their family. Colin was for some time senator of the McRhomaag aristocratic family seat, but Colin and Uthgaard passed the seat to Colin and Shylla’s daughter Iliana (born 979, F1/T1, NG) a few months ago, as soon as she turned 21. Colin and Shylla travel a lot, but they have a big stone house with a river mill a few miles north of Caerdwicca Village in which they like to spend the mild summers of the region fishing and hunting.

Eleanor (born 989, T1, N), Brandan and Lysa’s daughter, is a beautiful girl of 11, who talks very little but is very intelligent and perceptive. She lived with her father until a couple of years ago, but as she is growing she looks more and more like her mother and Brandan felt it was too hard to keep her with him, so he sent her away to Caerdwicca. She has taken a loving to the land, which she feels is like a fairytale land of magic and mystery and of which her father liked to talk and tell stories about. He also told her of the many feats of her uncle Uthgaard, whom she had seen very seldomly before, and she has grown exceedingly fond of him too. She is almost always seen in the company of her second-cousin and best friend Gael. The two girls are very different, from their looks (blonde haired and blue-eyed Eleanor, red-headed, freckled, green-eyed Gael; thin Eleanor, short Gael) to their personality (Eleanor is dreamy and would like to become an expert forester like her aunt Shylla, while Gael would like to become a pirate like her father) but both are beautiful and promising girls of which Uthgaard is incredibly proud.

The elected Senator of Caerdwicca is Gawain McLeod (born 974, F3, N). A young and naive Caerdwiccan, he had little difficulty in being elected, being the only candidate. Caerdwiccans definitely think it enough to have the McRhomaag Clan representative, and have always trouble finding an elected Senator, who more often than not remains in the dominion for most of his or her term. Gawain saw this opportunity more as the way to reach Thyatis and do some adventuring on the distant Known World, for which he’s had a long fascination for years, having become bored with the pirate’s life along the southern Isle of Dawn. Since he came to Thyatis, he’s been duped by a con-man, robbed by a whore and mistreated by a Storm Soldiers patrol. Finding little help in the amiable but brooding Brandan McStewart, he has become friends with Senator Cosmatos from Terentias, and has turned for help to the more sympathetic Abeeku Dwair and Populares-oriented Dawn Islanders.

FURMENGLAIVE

Another Dunael dominion on the southern tip of the Isle of Dawn, Furmenglaive consists mostly of moors and rolling hills, with small ponds dotting the countryside, where sheep and goats are the most common sight. Many unpleasant creatures can be found in Furmenglaive due to the presence of the Thothian Plateau, which is a veritable nest of monsters, kept at bay by the willful Counts and the Castle’s garrison.

Population: 750

Dominion ruler: Count Phileus Furmenglaive

Senators:

Eliana Furmenglaive (ruler representative), Gens Sergia

Peter Dunbar (first elected), Populares

Aynsley Erskine (second elected), Gens Sergia; Quaestor of the Southern Isle of Dawn.

Count Phileus Furmenglaive (born 938, F23, LG) descends from the original builder of the Castle and establisher of the dominion, Magnus Furmenglaive. Phileus and his wife Lyra (born 939, C23 (of Protius), LG) are cursed with a powerful, unknown strain of lycanthropy that, as a side-effect, keeps their age stuck at 30 - the age at which they caught it adventuring. Phileus is his noble family’s appointed Senator (see below), but hasn’t been seen in the Senate for several years. The population of Furmenglaive is well-aware of their beloved rulers’ lot, and go to great lengths in order to protect them.

Their appointed representative at the Senate is their only daughter Eliana (born 969, C9, of Aesculapius/Chardastes, LG), who was born shortly after her mother contracted the illness from her father. However, up to now, it doesn’t seem she suffered any effect from it. She is aware of the curse struck upon her parents and would do anything to lift it, but even though she studied as a priest of the Immortal patron of healing, she has still not been able to do so. She knows her parents sent her away to shelter her from their grief, something that has made her even more worried for them. She spends a lot of time adventuring and researching and is one of the least seen senators in the Senate.

One of Furmenglaive’s main characters is Ion Andriscon (born 964, Bard⁵ 12, NG), an exceptional bard adventurer and a long time friend and counselor of Count Phileus. Ion travelled all over the Isle of Dawn and in the Alphatian regions, and often acts as a spy in Alphatia, given his extraordinary ability with languages and disguises.

For such a small region, there is an incredibly high number of representatives at the Senate, something that a lot of Barons and Counts around the country definitely resent - notably the Count of Hattias and the Gens Zendrolian, since the Furmenglaives and their subjects are notorious moderates and pacifists.

The two elected senators, Peter Dunbar (born 941, F6, NG) and Aynsley Erskine (born 944, F7, LN) are old family friends. Peter Dunbar spends his time in the Senate acting like the de-facto representatives of the Counts. He is heavily involved in diplomatic missions especially in regard to Isle of Dawn/Alphatian matters. Aynsley Erskine is the energetic Quaestor of the southern Isle of Dawn.

HALATHIUS

The easternmost region of hills in mainland Thyatis, Halathius is a rocky territory famed for its productive mines, which yield gold, minerals and other metals in abundance, supplying Thyatis with the majority of its iron ore. The country is dotted with mining villages and bands of brigands, with caravans crossing it to and from.

Its capital Goldleaf⁶ (pop. 4,000) is the center of government and gold-crafts trade. Hundreds of its citizens are goldsmith, weaponsmiths, armorers, or trade in these goods.

Halathius is a Populares steadfast, however Halathians believe in the values of old Thyatis and are wary of the liberals of Biazzan and Buhrohur or the decadent people of the Empire’s capital. Their Popular standing is more the result of distrust of the central government, although the Emperor is liked well enough. Halathians are not like Hattians, however - on the other hand, they see Thyatis as a “land of opportunities” more than most other people in the Empire, since Halathius itself is a land of opportunities to which many of them or their parents or ancestors were drawn to by the mines and riches of the land.

Population: 20,000

Dominion ruler: Countess Sabrina Andreana.

Senators:

Marcianus Andreana (ruler representative), Philosophers.

Wayne Morrison, Populares (first elected)

Ascanio De Leonibus, Gens Zendrolian (second elected); Quaestor of Halathius and Kerendas.

Halathius is ruled by Countess Sabrina Andreana (born 974, F9, N), a beautiful young woman of tanned complexion and hazel eyes, married to Alex (born 974, F9, N), a sharp and taciturn military officer, overshadowed by the strong personality of his wife. After spending most of her youth in the Isle of Dawn legions, Sabrina recently became Countess after the death in sickbed of her father Demetrion (948+999). Demetrion is also survived by his wife Letitia (born 952, NW) and his brother Marcianus (born 950, F4, NG), who remains the Halathius dominion senator after having served many years in service of his older brother. Marcianus is a bald, gaunt man with deep green eyes, a warm smile and a sympathetic voice, and a great friend to the Pearl Islander nobles and senators.

Wayne Morrison (born 947, F18, LN) is the stern Populares Senator from Halathius. An enduring Halathian icon, he epitomizes rugged masculinity and is famous for his demeanor, including his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height. Morrison was born in Westrourke but his family relocated to the Goldleaf area when he was four years old. His impressive physical build and courage made him leave the mining work to become a caravan guard first, and then a bounty hunter and adventurer. He has held the position of mayor in many small towns in Halathius, generally moving from one brigand-harassed town to another. Morrison’s fame reached quickly the ear of Count Demetrius Andreana, who has since been a close friend and employed him as a personal bodyguard during some dangerous trips and missions in the past. After retiring at 50, he has been immediately elected at the Senate. Morrison embodies the Halathian spirit at the fullest in its mix of conservative and progressive values: as long as a person is true to the Empire, they are all alike, men, women, humans, demi-humans, ethnic Thyatians and non-Thyatians... But there is no place in Thyatis for the soft decadence of the liberals like Tanja Bendaoud or the venomous liars like Angelarian Canolocarius. Like the land he grew in, he is not a man of compromise - and this is liked by his countrymen. He has fathered five children out of three marriages, all to women of Alasiyan descent. His last daughter was born in 996.

His colleague in the Senate is Sir Ascanio De Leonibus (born 971, F11, CN) a Knight of Thyatis. Ascanio is a young adult man with little regard for human life and little interests beside women, gold and killing - not necessarily in this order. However, he is clever enough to stay on the good side of the law while doing his business. He saw the Senatorial title as a step to further his goals, although he is not sure himself of what his goals should be. After becoming Quaestor, he has harassed his colleagues (and bought the votes of some of them, especially among the Free Thinkers, Populares and Zendrolian) to get special powers as an Enforcer in a brigand-rigged region of northern Halathius, much to the resentment of local mayors and bounty-hunters. Senator Morrison is a bit too old and rigid to see the flaws of Ascanio’s character, though, and likes him well enough. Ascanio knows he risks stepping on the toes of his fellow countrymen and is trying hard to reconcile brigand-hunting with his own interests and those of the villagers. He’s facing a hard task and risks to lose his senatorial seat at the next elections.

HATTIAS

The County of Hattias is an island dominion, and the largest dominion of Mainland Thyatis. Mostly hill-country with a few productive lowlands, the island is divided in a northern part with greener hills, vineyards and sheep pastures, central hills dedicated to goat-herding, and a southern end consisting of fishing villages (and some pirate coves). Hattias is renowned because of its xenophobic-bordering-to-racist views on non-Thyatians. The capital Hattias (pop. 30,000) is a sprawling city and port in the north, whose defining feature is the lack of walls, torn down centuries ago after a Hattian uprising.

Population: 350,000

Dominion ruler: Count Heinrich Oesterhaus

Senators:

Tobias von Richter (ruler representative), Pure Ones

Mathias Rudat, Pure Ones (first elected)

Hugin Kahlweiß, Free Thinkers (second elected); Tribunus.

The most powerful man in Hattias is Count Heinrich Oesterhaus (apparent age 45, C24 (Avatar of Thanatos), CE), ruler of the dominion and leader of the Storm Soldiers. But the real Heinrich died many years ago at the hand of the Immortal Thanatos, who took his guise and identity. Oesterhaus, a tall and slender man, with black hair and saturnine beard, is raising his son Hansel and his daughter Danielle in his philosophy of hatred.

Oesterhaus/Thanatos has chosen as his representative Tobias von Richter (born 931, C11 (of Thanatos), CE), an old Storm Soldier, secretly a cleric of Thanatos himself. Tobias, an old gaunt man with little hair and a short, grey mustache, lives permanently in Thyatis, pretending that the rigors of travel between Hattias and Thyatis would be too strenuous in his old age. In fact he is 30 years younger than what he feigns, thanks to the use of potions of longevity. His apprentice in the Senate, who is unaware of his ties to Thanatos, is a young lawyer named Alfred Voralberg (born 978, F3, LE).

The Oesterhaus also have a seat reserved as an ancient aristocratic family (see also below). Currently, Horst Oesterhaus (born 956, F11, TN), cousin of Heinrich, is holding the seat, although Danielle will become the family Senator as soon as she turns 21. Horst is worried by the direction Heinrich has given to the Storm Soldiers. Horst has always been a trustworthy and stern Hattian, but his view on Storm Soldiers and Hattian superiority is one built on virtue and honour, while in the last ten years it has become more arrogance, violence, and abuse, something he doesn’t like at all. The change in his cousin’s character has been a slow one, but now, when he looks around himself and Heinrich, he sees mostly young upstarts filled with hate, or ageing racists, and he is worried that this might put Hattians too much in conflict with the rest of the Empire, something that will not benefit his beloved land.

Mathias Rudat (born 963, F9, LE) is one of the leaders of the Storm Soldiers and a vocal and outspoken xenophobe. While Tobias plays inside the rules and tries to rationalize the Hattian viewpoint on things, Rudat, a skilled fighter and military officer who served many years in the Army, is much more antagonistic. Mathias was born a poor man and is blinded by his hatred of foreigners and the hate for the other races of the Empire who have cast down the proud Hattians, by demoting the once powerful region to County status, while the Isle of Dawn dominions have more Senators than inhabitants and upstarts like Triella Tien-Tang become Duke of a family resort. He isn’t totally wrong, and this truth is quite unpalatable to many of his opponents like the Philosophers.

The Free Thinker Hugin Kahlweiß (born 968, C7 (of Odin), NG) is the son of Franz Kahlweiß, a Hattian Priest of Odin, and has recently exploited his popularity as a battle priest to win his seat in the Senate in the last elections; his humanity and righteousness has easily won him a position as Tribunus. Hugin has immediately started working first with his fellow Mathias Rudat, whom he respects as a man-at-arms although he feels he is a bitter man, weighed down by the plight of the Hattians for a more influential role in the Empire. Hugin is trying to build a base in the Senate for promoting Count Heinrich to Dukedom, in the hope that this will make his countrymen relent a little from their attitude. The Count and his representatives are leaving him free rein to do so, and Hugin is trying to find followers in the most unlikely places, for instance among the Philosophers, who think of him as a well-meaning but delusional fellow. Horst Oesterhaus and Hugin have been seen increasingly together in the City, and Heinrich is not happy about that, although he pretends not to have noticed.

HINTERLANDS

The Thyatian Hinterlands are the Empire’s outpost on Davania. It is an Army-ruled protectorate, for the time being, with Commander General Leila ben Nadir, sister of Duke Tarik of Tel Akbir, as its highest ruling officer.

Population: more than 20,000

Protectorate ruler: Commander General Leila ben Nadir

Senator: Gneus Maccius, Gens Zendrolian, Quaestor of Ochalea.

Gneus Maccius (born 966, F5, NE), a military officer, became Senator after rigged elections in the Hinterlands: several local candidates were not allowed to run because of their ties with rebel clans, and the real winner was one of the locals who was allowed to run - but he never knew it. Maccius was asked to run by the military in the Hinterlands, and although general Leila would never have condoned the rigging, other officials in her service arranged for it to happen. Maccius is a fierce imperialist who wants to use the aggressive stance of the Empire to build a career rich in titles and gold. Becoming Senator, and Quaestor of Ochalea, is just a way to further his own goals.

IMPERIAL TERRITORIES

The Imperial Territories are the non-dominion areas of Mainland Thyatis. Local communities rule themselves through Rectores or town councils, and the Praetor of Mainland Thyatis is the highest governmental officer with direct responsibility over the area. Although the Imperial Territories are considered free areas for future dominions to rise, this seldom happens in practice: locals strongly oppose any possibility of having their lands be “eaten up” by upstart nobles or imperial lickspittles. They tend to be fierce in their independence, and mistrust the central government.

Population: between 20,000 and 30,000

Ruler: the highest governmental officer in the area is Duccio Senese, Praetor of Mainland Thyatis, though not technically its ruler

Senators:

Aelius Varro (Eastern Territories elected), Populares, Tribunus.

Tiberius Mancino (Western Territories elected), Populares.

The Imperial Territories elect two Senators, one from the western and one from the eastern areas. The Eastern one is Aelius Varro (born 962, F19, CN). To choose someone like Varro for their senatorial representative just goes to show how stern and ferocious the settlers of these lands are. Varro is rumoured to have, as a youth, singlehandedly killed a Knight of Thyatis who was planning to found a new Barony in the region - and his body guards. He was a miner and bounty-hunter in Halathius, many say to escape an official investigation on the case, before returning home, where he has become the mayor of his town - and been its de-facto overlord for many years. Varro is a mountain of a man, with a short, trimmed beard, a cleanshaven head and small, red-brown eyes. He would like to be promoted to Baronial title, but since he is perceived as a fighter against this possibility, and has been elected with the mandate to prevent something like that to happen, he is in pains as to how to achieve his goal.

His colleague from the Western Territories is Tiberius Mancino (born 969, T10, NE), an amiable man who shares the same goals of Varro and is definitely in awe of his older pal. Behind his shy and polite manners, Mancino hides an egoistic nature. He was a brigand and outlaw for several years, before selling out his posse to the law, covering up for his crimes and ending his roguish career with a lot of money. After that, he’s been a respected farmer, land-owner and family man in town. His last move has been to get elected to the Senatorial post. He is quite happy with how things are going in life and he is not ambitious, but he is moved almost only by personal interest. He’s determined to play his role well and to benefit the most of it for himself and his family - he loves his wife Servia (born 973, NW, NG) and his small daughter Sandra and son Gavius.

KANTRIUM

Kantrium is one of the smallest and oldest duchies in the Empire, consisting of a green and fertile strip of farmland around the sea, which holds 90% of the Duchy’s population and hosts the capital city of Kantridae (pop. 10,000), and a northern countryside which grows arid toward the hills and Ylaruam. Fish and grain are plenty in Kantrium, and Kantridae is a placid (some would say ‘declining’) city of fishermen and farmers, with an interesting political life.

Population: 100,000

Dominion ruler: Duke Leonidas Ruggiero.

Senators:

Duke Leonidas Ruggiero, Populares; Quaestor.

Duchess Livia Ruggiero (ruler representative), Populares.

Seline Valleides, Populares (first elected)

Minucius Stabilis, Populares (second elected), Tribunus.

Tiberius Traianus, Republicans (third elected)

The Duke of Kantrium and Quaestor for Kantrium, Tel Akbir, Lucinius and Retebius is Leonidas Ruggiero (born 966, F14, TN), a skilled fighter who proved his worth as an army commander on the Isle of Dawn before inheriting the seat from his father, killed by a troll while fighting brigands near the borders with Halathius. Leonidas, 25 at the time, went home as soon as he could be released from the Army, and started a ferocious fight against the outlaws of the area; after their defeat, he had all the surviving brigands hang the bodies of their dead comrades on the main road of Kantrium all the way to the capital - then he sold the survivors on the slave market and used the money to fund public work. Leonidas is a strong-willed man with very clear ideas; he is devoted to the Balance, and thinks that Balance is more important even than ideals like justice and truth: possible courses of actions have to be judged according to their ends, not to the letter of the law. In this he is very Thyatian-like, but his personal integrity can not be contested, and his ultimate goal is to contribute to the well-being of Kantrium and the efficiency and integrity of the Empire, something he thinks can only be achieved mainly by Balance - the Balance between Populares and Aristocrats, Senate and Emperor, Thyatis and Alphatia, Law and Chaos. He despises Thincol, who is a self-serving upstart that married to get to the throne; he doesn’t like Eusebius and his religious obsessions; he hates the Storm Soldiers; he is contemptuous of his fellow aristocrats and senators who use their power for themselves; and he is bored to death by the preachy Philosophers and their cowardice. He’s not an easy man to deal with, but he is loved in Kantrium and nobody can deny his personal magnetism and his political skills.

His chosen representative at the Senate is his wife Livia MacGoraidh (born 970, M8, TN), a former adventuress of mixed Thyatian/Dunael descent that Leonidas met on the Isle of Dawn, and that resisted a long courtship. Their marital relationship has not been one of the most calm, as befits the stubborn Duke and the temperamental Duchess. The Duke and Duchess love each other in a passionate and intense way, and have two small sons, 4 and 2 years old respectively. One of their main advisors is Cratetes di Mallo (born 963, F2, NE), a former Army attendant of the Duke. Cratetes is a vengeful and bitter man who is not a positive influence on the rulers.

Leonidas and Livia have a list of priorities to accomplish in the Senate: they want to keep a good balance between the Emperor and Senate, they want to raise Hattias to Duchy hoping to undermine the strength of the Storm Soldiers, and they want to fight the corruption they see in the Thyatian Army especially, and in their leaders. One of their political enemies, in this regard, is Senator Helenites Osteropolous. The Ruggieri like to think of themselves as the Populares’ voice among the landed aristocracy. Kantrium is a Populares steadfast, probably the most left-wing region of Thyatis and the activity center of the Republican Party, which is mildly supported by the fierce Duke.

Among the Populares elected Senators, one of the most important is Seline Valleides (born 966, T1, CG), a Kantridae resident. Born in a small village of the north, Seline has spent several years as the right hand of another brilliant politician, Maria Marconi (born 946, NW, TN), who stepped down from the Senate a few years ago and switched sides with Seline - the younger woman was able to gain her mentor’s seat two elections ago and is now assisted by the older woman in her work for the Populares in Thyatis city. Seline has recently divorced her husband, Paulus de Robertis (born 960, F3, TN), a skilled smith and armorer in Kantridae, and is raising their two children, Marco, aged 10, and Serena, aged 3.

Another elected Senator, and friend of the ducal couple, is Minucius Stabilis (born 958, F3, NE). A friend of Leonidas’s father, Minucius is apparently a Populares Senator, but he is in fact a corrupt man who has spied on the couple on account of Senator Helenites Osteropolous for the last three years at least. Minucius is a nervous man who is always afraid of being caught and is secretly buying a villa on Mositius through an intermediary with the money he gets from Osteropolous. He is also a Tribunus, and Osteropolous expects from him that with his position he can help Osteropolous’s agents that find themselves in legal troubles.

Tiberius Traianus (born 969, F4, CG) is the Secretary of the Kantrium Chapter of the Republican Party and their most important representative in the Senate. An ex-Army fighter, Tiberius read “The Republic of Thyatis” while serving in the Hinterland invasion Legion, and was disgusted by the imperialist excesses he saw there. Since coming back to Kantridae, his hometown, five years ago, he has become a schoolteacher and enrolled in the local chapter of the Republican Party, where he worked hard to increase the membership of the Party and get involved more in pragmatic city politics and less in empty philosophizing. In a city like Kantridae, he had the rare possibility of continuing his work without being harassed by aristocrat-paid thugs or Storm Soldiers. He was chosen as the Republican candidate at the last elections and has been elected as the third and last chosen Senator for Kantrium - the fourth elected Republican in Kantrium, and the third in a row - a major success for the Party. Tiberius is a moderate and a youngish optimist who sees what happens in Kantrium as the first stage of a peaceful revolution, and he is a bit at odds with the more relentless wings of the Party. He has not learnt to cope with the contradictions of his position, as he has found he has a liking for several aristocrats and rulers, like the Ruggieri (who are of a similar age), and the scholarly-minded and egalitarian Nuari senators.

KENDACH

Kendach is a County on the Isle of Dawn. Southeast of Kendach Town and the Fortress is the large Kendach Escarpment, claimed by the County. Thyatians, Dunael and Alphatians are all present in the city, with Thyatian being the main tongue used.

Population: 5,000+

Dominion ruler: Countess Julia Kendasius

Senators:

Countess Julia Kendasius (ruler representative), Gens Aurelia

Andrew Selkirk, (first elected), Populares

Storm Sinclair, (second elected), Gens Zendrolian

Julia Kendasius (born 962, C17, of Halav, N) rules this dominion. An ambitious woman who wants Kendach to become the most powerful region on the Isle of Dawn, she would like to turn the County into a Grand-Duchy by absorbing Redstone and West Portage under her rule. To do so she has invested especially in military expenses and encouraged immigrants to boost the population. She is a blond woman with brown eyes who likes to dress in white and uses symbols and her way of speech to impress upon others her fervent faith in Halav.

Julia also acts as her own appointed Senator in Thyatis City, since she thinks the matter of her ambition is too delicate at this stage to leave in the hands of others, although this is quite time (and money) consuming. The Shadow Hand (and its members in the Senate, Maria Evergetes and Memmus Theophilos) is studying her to see if there could be some room for it to gain something from the situation - although it is wary not to tread on the feet of the powerful Westies (the West Portage thieves’ guild).

If the Shadow Hand is moving, West Portage is not standing still. The thieves’ guild has a representative in Kendach and in the Senate, Andrew Selkirk (born 961, T12, TN). A ethnic Dunael, former acrobat thief who travelled all through the Isle of Dawn in his younger years, he has become one of the Westies Guildmasters and has been the ruler of the Guild’s branch in Kendach. His main role in the Senate is to oppose Julia’s expansion - and his bribes and expenses in Thyatis and Kendach to win away supporters from the Countess have exceeded her own. In the meantime, he has grown fond of the pleasure of opposing prickly aristocrats, priests and senators.

The retired Army officer Storm Sinclair (born 948, F10, LN) seems to be the only Senator from Kendach that is sincerely interested in the city’s administration. A former fighter and a Knight of Thyatis, Storm is stubborn but unimaginative. Undecided about the Countess’s idea of turning Kendach into a Grand-Duchy, Sinclair tends to keep a low profile in the Senate and relies much on the help of his talkative, Alphatian-descended wife Sarmella (born 951, W4, CG). Sarmella, with the pen name of Mistress Rose, is the most popular romance novel author in Thyatis, something that makes Sinclair clearly uncomfortable. Luckily for him, the connection is not known. Storm and Sarmella have three children - Mark (born 975, F2, TN), an Army officer; Ethylianna (born 978, W1, NG), an apprentice wizard; and Paul (born 982, NM, NG), who plans to enroll at the University of Biazzan at the start of the fall semester to study ancient history.

KERENDAS

Kerendas is one of the most prominent dominions of Thyatis, the center for cavalry training and the source of the best horses in Mainland Thyatis. The Kerendans are horse-crazy - horse races, jousts, fairs and stock shows are wildly popular. Kerendas (100,000) is the second-largest city in Thyatis, with a good seaport, the famous West Reach school for officers of the Thyatian Cavalry.

Population: 600,000

Dominion ruler: Duke Maldinius Kerendas.

Senators:

Duke Maldinius Kerendas, Gens Aemilia; Consul.

Marco Faralli (ruler representative), Gens Aemilia.

Duccio Senese, (first elected), Gens Aemilia; Praetor of Mainland Thyatis.

Cornelios Albireus, (second elected), Gens Aemilia

Valerianus Acrocuzritos, (third elected), Populares

Duke Maldinius Kerendas (born 966, F18, CE), since 997 Consul of the Empire for the first time, has the reputation of being a great adventurer and warrior - which is true if victory is the only thing that qualifies you for those roles. His elder brothers all died mysterious deaths, until Maldinius was the sole ducal heir. On his adventures, many of his companions died heroically - usually in sinking ships or burning buildings, shortly after the enemy was beaten and the treasure recovered. He’s a backstabber, gossiper, and villain with a voice and manner as smooth as silk - and no coward (it’s next to impossible to become an 18-th level fighter when you’re a coward). Tall, handsome, with blond hair and beard and blue eyes, Maldinius is not married, but he is known to have fathered several bastards, none of whom has been nominated as his heir. His youngest (and only surviving) brother Malderius Kerendas (born 976, F9, TN) currently holds the aristocratic seat belonging to the Kerendas family (see below), and is his heir to the ducal seat. Duke Maldinius is one of the most important senators of Gens Aemilia, and he is utterly committed to his role as an Aemilii ‘top player’.

Maldinius’s representative in the Senate is Marco Faralli (born 958, NM, TN). Since Maldinius has little trust in others - and few friends -, he has taken to the habit of raising one of the previously elected senators to the seat shortly before the new elections. His choice is based on popular opinion - something that he discovers by calling for a public acclamation of his potential candidate in the central plaza of Kerendas. Marco, coming from a wealthy merchant family that owns one of the most appreciated running horse stables of the Empire, and a loyal Aemilii man, received the strongest applause in the plaza and thus received the seat, to his great personal satisfaction. He is a disciplined, dutiful but otherwise unremarkable Senator - exactly the type of man Maldinius likes to have at his side.

The popularity of the Kerendas family as excellent rulers and senatorial champions have always made the Duchy a stronghold of Gens Aemilia and of the moderate senatorial right. Other important Senators of the Gens, like Tiberius Paulus, were born and raised in Kerendas. Maldinius and Tiberius, with their personal magnetism and skills, have further increased the reputation of the Aemilii in the eyes of their fellow countrymen. However, Maldinius is a lone wolf who prefers to act through his power and prestige as a Duke and through ducal officials, and leaves to Tiberius the role of dealing and finding trustworthy candidates for the Senate, whom then Maldinius discreetly (and, if need may be, with illegal pressures and means) supports. Two of the three Senators elected in 997 belong to the Aemilii faction and are Tiberius’ men.

The first of them is Duccio Senese (born 955, NM, LN), a three-times Quaestor and famed judge coming from a minor branch of the Aemilius family, who has held a Senatorial seat on and off for the past twenty years. Kerendas was far from the Spike Assault and Senator Senese is one of the most vocal in minimizing the positive role of Emperor Thincol in the defense of the city, something that the imperial family finds infuriating. Senese is the new Praetor of Mainland Thyatis.

Cornelios Albireus (born 957, T10/Wererat10, NE) is a merchant who left Thyatis about twenty years ago to inherit his uncle’s stake in a Kerendan housestable. He has since greatly increased the family riches, and is a renowned, wealthy and popular citizen, and a minor Senator of Gens Aemilia, content to sit through his second term. However, truth is that Cornelios is a wererat from the sewers of Thyatis City, who killed the true Cornelios and his uncle and is posing as his heir.

Valerianus Acrocuzritos (born 948, NM, CN) is the adopted son of a childless, middle class Kerendan family. Valerianus started his political career about ten years ago, by denouncing that not everything went well in the optimistic, rich Kerendas. He was close to the plight of outcasts and poor people, and managed to get into the Senate two elections ago. Alas, immediately after that, Maldinius Kerendas and the Aemilii decided to buy him up. If he had not complied, they would probably have killed him. Acrocuzritos’s denounces became more vague and populistic - in a single word, empty. He became popular as a denouncer of corruption as a moral problem of the Empire, but has not really done anything practical to eradicate it in the Senate, much less in Kerendas. Valerianus has two sons from his wife Amatrice, the older, serious Vanadios (born 971, T(Rake) 3, TN), who works as a dock officer at the port of Kerendas; and the younger, reckless Valentine (born 974, T(Rake) 7, NE), who moved to Thyatis to study but turned low-life in his early twenties, became estranged from his parents, and was saved from financial ruin by Helenites Osteropolous. His hollow rants have managed to get him the seat in 997 too, but this time he was very close to lose the seat to Gracula Matteotti (born 973, T3, NG), a syndicalist of Populares sympathies from the Guild of Craftsmen of Southern Kerendas (based in Badivillae).

References

Giulio Caroletti and James Ruhland. “A History of Thyatian Literature”, in Tome of Mystara, Issue 3, http://www.pandius.com/thy_lit.html

James Ruhland. “Thyatian Variant Government”, http://pandius.com/thygovn.html

Giampaolo Agosta. “Gazetteer of Ochalea”, http://www.pandius.com/Ochalea-rev.pdf

1 This article provides statistics for NPCs in Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, 2nd Edition format. The Rake kit is identical to the Swashbuckler kit from the Savage Coast Campaign Book. When using the content in a Classic D&D game, replace Rangers with Foresters and Thieves with the “Rake” kit with the Classic D&D Rake class.

2 In Classic D&D, the Agentes are mostly Foresters, Rakes and Thieves.

3 This character was first introduced in DDA1 Arena of Thyatis.

4 In the Almanacs, his wife is given as Dalia Salieri. Although not directly specified in canon, it can be assumed that Dalia and Geraldan marry sometimes during the Wrath of the Immortals War (1004-1009 AC).

5 The Bard character class for Classic D&D is found in Dragon Magazine, Issue 177.

6 Bractea in Classic Thyatian.