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Compared to the Empire of Aret, the Dominion of the Blood Tyrant is relatively remote to the concerns of the Crossroads of the World, though not so far removed that its presence and influence isn't felt. It lies across the Center Sea, in the region known as the Wonder Coast. The Dominion claims a few large islands in the Center Sea and a few scattered outposts in southern Kethia. It has the distinction of being the empire's largest rival for dominance, traditional enemy, and most important trading partner. These factors tend to complicate any situation that involves both of them.
Despite its ominious name, the Dominion has never spread itself by conquest, using diplomacy as the first resort to establish a toehold in inhabited lands and then working to make those small fledgling communities indispensable to the region around them. The Dominion is responsible for some of the greatest libraries, hospitals, and academies of learning in Kethia and other lands besides.
Though its leader is traditionally referred to as the Blood Tyrant, the Dominion is in fact a republic with a constitutional monarch who is only a ceremonial leader. The title of "Blood Tyrant" originally simply meant "hereditary ruler". The implications of the individual words have changed over the centuries, but the institution of the Blood Tyranny is seen as being too important to the identity of the Dominion to be abolished or even renamed.
A council of seven sages is officially tasked with advising the Blood Tyrant, though since the Blood Tyrant does not actually make decisions they serve more as envoys between the ruling parliament and the Blood Tyrant. The sages are meant to be chosen for their wisdom. Since supposedly no one in the land is wiser than they are, this means that when a sage dies, the remaining sages select a new one. There is a procedure for challenging a sage for their seat, but since the remaining sages are the judges of any such contest, it's only used when one is wildly unpopular.
Because the sages are self-selecting and difficult to unseat, many citizens of the Dominion look upon them with a degree of suspicion or at least a desire to reform the process. The fact that the sages have no actual power on paper is one of the reasons they've been allowed to persist as they are through the reforms of the Tyranny itself. No power does not mean no influence, though, and in some ages of the republic, the sages have effectively controlled the parliament.
The Dominion's power comes from both its powerful wizards and its great wealth, with some scholars estimating that as much as three quarters of the gold coins minted in Kethia passed from the Dominion in one way or another. A Dominion fable meant to teach the lesson that power must be used responsibly tells of an early Blood Tyrant a thousand years in the past who, having more money than he could possibly spend and desiring to do some good with it, gave away great quantities wherever he went and instructed his envoys to do the same... and in the process, disrupted the economy of every region in contact with the Dominion at the time.
While told for the moral lesson, this fable recounts historical fact. The mass dispersal of gold and jewels across a wide portion of the world followed by the collapse of markets and governments is responsible for a large number of the forgotten treasure caches on all sides of the Center Sea.
Despite its ominious name, the Dominion has never spread itself by conquest, using diplomacy as the first resort to establish a toehold in inhabited lands and then working to make those small fledgling communities indispensable to the region around them. The Dominion is responsible for some of the greatest libraries, hospitals, and academies of learning in Kethia and other lands besides.
Though its leader is traditionally referred to as the Blood Tyrant, the Dominion is in fact a republic with a constitutional monarch who is only a ceremonial leader. The title of "Blood Tyrant" originally simply meant "hereditary ruler". The implications of the individual words have changed over the centuries, but the institution of the Blood Tyranny is seen as being too important to the identity of the Dominion to be abolished or even renamed.
A council of seven sages is officially tasked with advising the Blood Tyrant, though since the Blood Tyrant does not actually make decisions they serve more as envoys between the ruling parliament and the Blood Tyrant. The sages are meant to be chosen for their wisdom. Since supposedly no one in the land is wiser than they are, this means that when a sage dies, the remaining sages select a new one. There is a procedure for challenging a sage for their seat, but since the remaining sages are the judges of any such contest, it's only used when one is wildly unpopular.
Because the sages are self-selecting and difficult to unseat, many citizens of the Dominion look upon them with a degree of suspicion or at least a desire to reform the process. The fact that the sages have no actual power on paper is one of the reasons they've been allowed to persist as they are through the reforms of the Tyranny itself. No power does not mean no influence, though, and in some ages of the republic, the sages have effectively controlled the parliament.
The Dominion's power comes from both its powerful wizards and its great wealth, with some scholars estimating that as much as three quarters of the gold coins minted in Kethia passed from the Dominion in one way or another. A Dominion fable meant to teach the lesson that power must be used responsibly tells of an early Blood Tyrant a thousand years in the past who, having more money than he could possibly spend and desiring to do some good with it, gave away great quantities wherever he went and instructed his envoys to do the same... and in the process, disrupted the economy of every region in contact with the Dominion at the time.
While told for the moral lesson, this fable recounts historical fact. The mass dispersal of gold and jewels across a wide portion of the world followed by the collapse of markets and governments is responsible for a large number of the forgotten treasure caches on all sides of the Center Sea.