Historical research

Overview

The Empire has been in existence for nearly four hundred years; human civilization stretches back much further than that. The recent settlements by Dawn and the Highborn were proceeded by centuries of orc barbarian chaos and before that the Bay of Catazar area was home to the sprawling kingdoms that were the ancestors of Navarr, Wintermark, Urizen and Varushka. Any given scholar today knows only a part of the epic history of humankind.

No Imperial Archives

There are no Imperial Archives - no secret libraries maintained by the civil service. Instead, there are libraries, archives, records, and similar across the Empire. There are scores across the Empire - even the Navarr Stridings carry books and scrolls with them in their wagons. Every Wintermark hall keeps a tally of judgement stretching back generations. Every Dawnish house keeps records of its most glorious members. Each Highborn chapter records the deeds of its worthy scions, every Urizen spire maintains libraries both arcane and more mundane in nature. The Marchers have memories written and oral that stretch back to the times before there were any Marchers, while the Varushkan Wise Ones and Cabalists maintain written records and keep the rich tradition of stories and cautionary tales alive from generation to generation. The tribes of the Brass Coast maintain family archives the first scrolls of which were carried with the exiled Founders when they left Highguard. The League cities build white granite libraries dedicated to the history of the city-folk and jealously guard the personal histories of guilds and grudges and debts owed. While the Imperial Orcs are new to the Empire, their cultural drive to education and their reverence of the written word have already begun amassing records, books and scrolls.

There are millions of documents in the Empire. Once upon a time, hundreds of years were spent copying tomes and collecting documents together... and then Nicovar the Mad burnt them down. Recreating these Imperial Archives would cost millions of thrones and take centuries. The closest the Empire has to an Imperial archive at the moment is the great mass of writing that is spread across the entire Empire.

Commissioning Historical Research

Finding specific information in the decentralised Imperial memory is a daunting and expensive task. Teams of people must spread out across the Empire to seek out lore buried in any of the countless personal libraries. The civil service has a team of librarians with great experience of these searches so the most effective way to uncover information about the past is for the Imperial Senate to commission these experts to organise a program of research.

Commissioning historical research costs 5 Thrones, and the civil service has the resources to perform up to two such tasks each season.

Prior to the murderous events of 379YE, the civil service was able to perform more research commissions each season; the loss of so many experienced researchers significantly curtailed their ability to perform scholastic study.

Because of their experience the civil service can usually give an estimate of how likely they are to find some information. On occasion, they will have information easily accessible in which case no additional research is required and no cost is assessed. Sometimes the project will be so massive in scale that the costs will be considerably higher.

Once the research is complete, the civil service provides a report summarizing their findings. This is usually given to a named individual, although it may also be made available to any Imperial scholar who asks through public dissemination.

Recent Historical Research

This table represents official requests to the department of historical research, whether from the Senate or from one of the titles empowered to commission research.

Topic	Date	Comissioned By	Notes
Myfanwy of Hercynia and her travels and relationships with the First Empress	Autumn 381YE	Eleri Bronwen's Rest	Outstanding
Expedition to Terunael ruins in Axos	Autumn 381YE	Siân Eternal	Outstanding
Aneira Dancewalker, thought to be General of the Quiet Step during the fall of Liathaven, and her brother Eurion Dancewalker who forged Aneira's Talon	Summer 381YE	Eleri Bronwen's Rest	Complete
Mage known as Star, compatriot to Navarr and Thorn	Summer 381YE	Siân Eternal	Complete
Rhonwen's Fall	Spring 381YE	Merel Eternal	Complete
Apaayuqiu King, and the pre-Wintermark history in Semersuaq area	Winter 380YE	Ioseph of Pheonix Reach	Complete
Luca Ritter von Holberg, Cardinal of Courage around 125YE	Winter 380YE	Ioseph of Pheonix Reach	Complete
Founders of the Brass Coast	Autumn 380YE	Ioseph of Pheonix Reach	Complete
The noble house of Mazare of Dawn	Summer 380YE	Dredgemaster of Feverwater	Complete
The Charter Stone of the Terunael city of Seren	Spring 380YE	Siân Eternal	Complete
The Heart of Peytaht, its contents and the nature of the entities within it	Winter 379YE	Dredgemaster of Feverwater?	Complete
Cadaver, a sovereign, of the Dark Hearts vale in Varushka	Winter 379YE	Neb	Complete
The Gwerin Marfae, the marshfolk around at the time of Terunael	Autumn 379YE	Corey Brackensong	Complete
Further research into the runeforge in Skarsind	Autumn 379YE	Palladius of Urizen	Complete
The relationship between auras and the paragons/exemplars they are named for	Spring 379YE	Yael of Felix's Watch	Complete
The naval campaign of Emperor Barabbas	unknown	unknown	Complete
Briar graves and land fertility in the Marches	Autumn 378YE	unknown	Completed Winter 378YE
Empress Varkula's burial rites (and their efficacy)	Autumn 378YE	unknown	Completed
Artok Ice Golems	Autumn 378YE	unknown	Completed Winter 378YE
The Incarnadine Satchel	Autumn 378YE	unknown	Completed Winter 378YE
The Mask of the Visionary	Summer 378YE	unknown	Completed Autumn 378YE
Mazen and the missing Golem	Summer 378YE	unknown	Completed Autumn 378YE
The Crown of Three Tears	Summer 378YE	Thane Aedred in Wintermark	Completed Autumn 378YE
The Equine Rod	Summer 378YE	unknown	Completed Autumn 378YE
The Imperial Favour of Empress Britta	Summer 378YE	Ioseph of Phoenix Reach	Results Published
The Campaigns of Emperor Guntherm against the Jotun	Spring 378YE	unknown	Completed
The Banner of the Gryphon's Pride	Spring 378YE	unknown	Completed
The origins of the Volodny Bas Celik		Simargl of the Circle of Zulgan-Tash	Completed
Coven of the Burning Star		Ioseph of Phoenix Reach	Completed

Further Reading

Core Brief

• Senate session
• Senate motion
• Senate powers
• Senator

Additional Information

• Commission
• Senate address
• Senate announcement
• New Imperial titles
• Appointment by the Senate
• Appointments to the Senate
  • The Throne
  • Master of the Imperial Mint
  • Speaker for the Senate
  • Conscience of the Senate
• Imperial treasury
• OOC design