The Seanchan Empire

Across the Aryth Ocean is the continent of Seanchan, an large landmass that was, for generations, entirely unknown to the people of the Westlands. At some point during the reign of Artur Paendrag Tanreall, he became aware of the continent and sent his son, Luthair, with armies and ships across the sea. He succeeded in conquering the land, but not before his father's death and the disintegration of Hawkwing's dream of united empire. Luthair declared himself Empreror of Seanchan, setting in motion that would lead to the Return under Empress Radhanan, and the arrival of the Tai'Seanchan in the Westlands. Her untimely death, and the deaths of her possible heirs, aside from the newly proclaimed Empress Fortuona, led to a civil war that ravaged the entirety of Seanchan, ending only in 4FA with the crowning of Emperor Garelwyn Harisch Huan Paendrag. The division between the Seanchan in their homeland and the Tai'Seanchan in the Westlands became permanent in 17FA, when the Tai'Seanchan acknowledged the capacity for sul'dam to channel and allowed certain marath'damane to walk their lands in peace. Accusations of taint and corruption preceded a bloody war between Seanchan and the Westlands that lasted for over a decade. Though the Seanchan lost the war and retreated to their own continent, they have not forgotten the Westlands that are theirs by right, nor the traitorous Tai'Seanchan that joined forces with them.

Geography

Seanchan is an enormous pair of linked landmasses, with the bulk of the population located on the southern landmass. The north extends up toward the Mountains of Dhoom and what is known as the Lesser Blight, which has increased in activity and virulence over the years since Tarmon Gai'don, to the point of strange and deadly new Shadowspawn emerging from beyond the mountains. While the continent is technically united under Imperial rule, various factions hold sway in different regions, resulting in a largely decentralized nation.

Seandar The Imperial capital of Seanchan and the site of both the Crystal Throne, the Court of the Nine Moons, and the Tower of Ravens, it is the central holding of the elderly Empress Gaednan Aurine Namitha Paendrag. A prosperous and dangerous city, all factions of Seanchan, by necessity, congregate there underneath the Empress's watchful gaze. It is the largest city in Seanchan, home to opulent estates of all the most important members of the High Blood, as well as the Imperial family. Even da'covale live lavishly within Seandar's walls.

Imfaral Another large city solely under Imperial sway, Imfaral is a port city known primarily for being home to the Towers of Midnight. During the Consolidation, they served as Luthair's staging ground, and have been left uninhabited since. There are thirteen nearly identical towers, all of unpolished black marble. Seanchan legend holds that the Imperial family will return to "right that which is wrong."

Lesser Blight The Lesser Blight sits on the other side of the Mountains of Dhoom, just as the Blight does in the Westlands. It is a deadly, dangerous, and in many ways much the same as the Blight found in the Westlands. For much of Seanchan's recorded history it was uninhabited, the Shadowpawn eradicated well before Luthair set foot on Seanchan's shores. Following Tarmon Gai'don and the reawakening of the Blight, however, Shadowspawn have returned, and have returned in number. Trollocs and Fades are the least dangerous, with many strange and previously unknown species of Shadowspawn emerging from the north over the years, some of which display a dangerous level of cunning.

Sohima Razed and rebuilt during the end of the Third Age, Sohima is a thriving city that currently serves at the heart of Seanchan's efforts in advancing the study and control of their exotic creatures and damane. The discovery and creation of improved forms of a'dam and exotic beasts that occurred in the beginning of the Fourth Age happened here, and their development was in large part responsible for the victory of Emperor Garelwyn. As a result, Sohima enjoys prestigious status as a relatively neutral territory, and experiences minimal oversight as a result.

Kirendad is a military hub, home to members of the Blood who have distinguished themselves in combat against domestic enemies or the strange creatures of the Blight. Its central location in the Empire and easy access to rivers and the sea proved especially useful in the days before Traveling was rediscovered. In Kirendad, soldiers are trained, marshalled, and deployed, while the Blood scheme to accumulate more power for themselves.

Noren M'Shar is the largest city in southern Seanchan, and a hub of old and powerful families who relocated during the civil war. Rough alliances (and quick betrayls) are common, though the city itself is wealthy and prosperous enough to attract visitors and transplants who can afford to move.

Governance

Seanchan is ruled by the Imperial family, with Empress Gaednan at its head, at least in theory. In practice, the divisions formed by a decade of civil war, another of war with the Westlands, and even longer of war against the forces of the Shadow, have not healed neatly or easily, and Imperial authority can only be employed with care. In practice, the High Blood has splintered into factions that are ever-shifting and treacherous to navigate, with alliances being both essential to survival and fleeting. The Imperial family maintains authority by keeping all such plotters under their eyes in Seandar, and only ever carefully tipping the scales against one faction or another in order to ensure that no one group gains enough power to challenge them directly.

Domestic Affairs

Seanchan's fractious nature and the scheming that accompanies it have not fundamentally changed the nature of the nation, in many ways. At the top sits the Imperial family, beneath them the High Blood, then the Low, and so on down to da'covale. The hierarchy is, if anything, even more set in stone than it was in the past; the Imperial family's ability to strip the Blood of their titles is severely curtailed, and likely only to be used on those who have fallen far or desperately overreached. The constant conflict that has engulfed the continent has enabled many to climb far, and others to fall, but power once accumulated is harder to dislodge.

These are, in fact, the lines most often drawn in the Seanchan Empire's twisted version of Daes Dae'mar. While factions rise and fall, unite and divide, the most often recurring thread is when these families accumulated power. Bloodlines that can trace their status back generations, with prestigious histories of service in the Court of the Nine Moons, often unite in opposition to freshly empowered Blood, and they tend to wield significantly more authority. The newcomers tend to outnumber the old, however; decades of civil war and battle have allowed the foundation of new, prestigious, lineages at all levels of society, all eager to claim more power for their own.

Perhaps the greatest change has been in the nature of sul'dam. The Seanchan Empire rejects the notion that sul'dam are able to channel as a fabrication of the Tai'Seanchan to cover their own corruption, but they acknowledge the cleansing of saidin and the existence of male marath'damane. The arrival of black-coated renegades from across the sea, with the aid of Seanchan researchers, turned what was once an uncontrollable danger into a weapon for the empire. New forms of a'dam have been created, allowing the control of male marath'damane. Despite their 'aid', the renegades were the first marath'damane to be so collared, bringing with them new weaves, including the secrets of Power-wrought weapons and Traveling.

New exotic beasts have arisen from the laboratories of Sohima, though little more is known in the outside world.

International Relations

Seanchan's foreign ties are, in a word, terrible. They maintain no alliances with those outside of their borders, and very little contact at all aside from a small group of spies located in foreign nations. Attempts have been made to reach an accord with the Sea Folk to no avail. They seek to resume open warfare with their kin across the sea, but their internal instability and the widespread damage of years of warfare against the Blight have rendered them unable to mount an offensive thus far.

Flag

Map

Ranks

This is not an exhaustive list, feel free to apply for something not detailed to be considered by the Admins.

You may apply for any of the Adoptable or Restricted ranks, but only superior applications will be considered and must pass through Admins before being accepted.


Empress Gaednan Aurine Namitha Paendrag
Prince of Ravens
Daughter/Son of Nine Moons


High Blood
Low Blood
Commoner
Da'Covale
Der/Sul'dam
Der/Morat
Damane