The Archonteans are the dominant imperial people of the World of Archontos, the world of the Ardis Vala gesta (campaign-cycle). Their capital is Archontos, on the island of Mithruin; they were the cradle of the Magical Schism and built most of the Ardis Vala Mega-Dungeon.
| Type | People / empire |
| Capital | Archontos (Mithruin), 125,000 inhabitants |
| Emperor | Drusus IX the Pale |
| Age | About 3,000 years of continuous empire |
| Spanish entry | Archontean |
The empire
Archontos spreads over seven and a half hills on Mithruin, in the center of the Wine-Dark Sea. A burned wing of the imperial palace has never been rebuilt. The emperor lives in the palace at Archontos.
| Land | Places | Peoples |
|---|---|---|
| Mithruin (Archontea) | Archontos | Archonteans, imperial goblins, dwarves |
| Borealios (partly held) | Westholm, Freyr’s Landing, Skallasholm | Wiskinga |
| Irthuin (exarchates) | Narsileon (40,000), Arcturos (30,000), Ritornello, Burdock’s Valley, Castle Burdock, Gosterwick, Azure Keep, Magger, Pristen, Newfort, Red Keep, Storm Point, Terchester, Upford | Thorcinga, Archontean colonies |
| Ostralios | Agoreon (lost) | Jungle tribes, monsters, refugees |
| Grain Islands | Ostentown, Wainscross | Halflings |
| Iron Isles | Bedric’s Landing | Miners |
Other peoples include the Khumus of the western steppes, the elves of Lady Ellagel and Lord Gallador, and the dwarves of Kazildor. Relevant nobles are Lord Burdock (Iskander Basileon) and Alexia Basileon, the Green Lady.
The Magical Schism
The War of the Sortians and Theosophists fragmented Ardis Vala and drove the empire into retreat.
- Theosophists: magic only for initiated priestly nobles; conservative.
- Sortians: “the spark must be trained in anyone who has it”; democratic. They are linked to Priscus Pulcher (Prisco Electe), whose message the Seekers activated in an archive: “Everyone who has the spark must be trained regardless of origin. The Empire will be better for it.”
Chronology: 1775 AEP, Agoreon destroyed in the war; 2639 AEP, the empire returns to Irthuin; 2993 AEP, the present year of the gesta, after the Elías. After the return from the Hiatus, an imperial silver age tried to reoccupy Ritornello and was interrupted by the bomb.
Pantheon
Twelve main deities in a syncretic Egyptian-Greco-Roman pantheon: Thoth (knowledge, writing, magic; ibis); Set (shadow, hostility, arcane sorcery; jackal-creature), whose functions pass in the imperial era to Heschius Ban and Debellaton; Mithra / Jamalio (sun, oath, redemption); Bastet (cat, hearth); Sekhmet (war, solar fire); Lysis – Oborus (cycles); and Maat (justice), Anubis (death) and Ra (cosmic sun).
Architecture
Archontean work dominates the Mega-Dungeon: 10-foot (3 m) ceilings, iron-banded wooden doors, painted frescoes on plaster, monumental statues such as ibis-headed Thoth, forums, temples and halls of worked stone, mortar and iron, in a Greco-Egyptian style. It covers the Halls of Thoth and the Forum of Set (except a few Rudishva and Heqeti chambers) and parts of the Troll Lifts, the Thegn’s Court, the Lower Reaches and the Floor of the Great Abyss.
| Tradition | Age | Main levels |
|---|---|---|
| Heqeti | ~3,400 years | Ziggurat of Kauket; Thegn’s Court |
| Rudishva | ~3,000 years | Obsidian Gates, Troll Lifts, Thegn’s Court, Ziggurat of Kauket |
| Archontean | ~1,000 years | Most of the dungeon |
| Varumani | Modern | Modifications to the Troll Lifts and Thegn’s Court |
Conflicting accounts
- The Gazette of Ardis Vala names the emperor Drusus IX; an earlier mention of Constans XXV is treated as an apocryphal source.