The Dominion of Avatus

The Dominion of Avatus was a realm in the Upper Istaros and Greater Sembara. Founded by its mysterious ruler Avatus on the Aurbez Plateau and lower foothills of the Sentinels, at its greatest extent it spread east along the Andonne to the edges of the Darkwood, and north to the Enst. Briefly, much of the Duchy of Wisford and the Duchy of Brovna was occupied by the Dominion, until Avatus was defeated by Derik I and his realm collapsed.

History

See more: Serpentine Wars

Although the exact origins of the Dominion are unclear, by the middle of the DR 1200s, the realm was established in the Aurbez Plateau, the Aursen, and parts of the Andonne Plain. For many years, a tense peace seemed to have existed among the Dominion, the Istabor Alliance and Isingue to the south, and the various minor lords and the Duchy of Maseau to the north.

This tentative, watchful peace ended decisively in the DR 1350s. Over the course of the next fifty years or so, a series of wars broke out between the Dominion and its northern neighbors, including the Duchy of Maseau and Addermarch. These wars, later known as the Serpentine Wars, primarily arose from Avatus seeking to control new sources of serpentine. Over the course of fifty years, the Dominion of Avatus subjugated the Duchy of Maseau, and brutally occupied, but then lost, much of western Addermarch.

While an uneasy peace holds for a few decades in the early DR 1400s, a series of conflicts in the early DR 1420s lead to Avatus occupying significant parts of the Enst River valley. Soon after, Derik I unifies Sembara under the House of Sewick and defeats Avatus, destroying the Dominion of Avatus in its entirety.

Culture and Politics

Little is known or remembered about the culture and politics of the Dominion, and what is recorded was, in large part, written by Derik I after his defeat of Avatus. Most notable were the armies of the Dominion. Avatus recruited numerous hobgoblins to his banner, and his armies had a reputation for tactical brilliance and viciousness in battle, enhanced by their use of mind-altering Serpentine weapons that drove their bearers into unstoppable frenzies. Hobgoblin troops, aided at times by werewolves and other monsters, made up the bulk of his armies, but this was not a hobgoblin kingdom and humans and occasionally others did serve in the army. Whether this was out of true loyalty, desperation, coercion, or something else is lost to time.

The Dominion was a deeply closed society: little news traveled in, or out, though at times trade and commerce did pass through parts of the Dominion. The ruler, Avatus, styled himself the Emperor of New Drankor, and the Dominion did call back to Drankorian styles of monumental architecture at times. Rumors and stories of those who survived under the Dominion’s rule suggest a culture of restricted movement, hard work, and strict obedience, where hobgoblins and others who were willing to serve with them in the armies of the Dominion enjoyed great privilege.