Northern Pekothas, where a powerful Nation full of intrigue and backstabbing ruled all it could see.
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It had no official name other than “the Empire”. It didn’t need to. Dominating an expanse of land bigger than the two largest Empires ever on Earth at their peaks combined and with thousands of years of tradition, the Empire was just that. It sat on Northern Pekothas and hadn’t taken over the whole continent because of three main factors. First, the geography. Mountains made it difficult and time-expensive to go there. Second, they really didn’t need it. The Empire was the largest nation in the world and was happy in its position. Second, it couldn’t be bothered with conquering land so far away. It had grown so big it was constantly caving at the edges through infighting. And their nobles hated the southern barbarians with a passion.
Some said that was because the Empire was ruled by inbred crazies but that was far from the truth. The main Imperial family didn’t marry their cousins or even distant relatives. Instead, they demanded princesses and noble ladies from their neighbors (who they allowed to exist just because it was also a bother to conquer and gave them something to play with) and even from other continents to marry.
The current [Emperor], in his fourth century of life, had thirty-seven [Concubine-Queens] and one main [Empress]. He also had thirty-four male [Princes], three from the [Empress], and thirty-three from his concubines, one each. Several [Concubine-Queens] were only recently married and had yet to conceive as the [Emperor] had no time to visit all of them, going for years without seeing some [Concubine-Queens]. And even longer after as He usually didn’t seek sex from them after they conceive. It sometimes happened but the [Concubine-Queens] were mostly left alone in their lavish palace-prisons after they conceived and His sons were born. Yes, sons.
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The miscarriage and stillborn rates among these [Concubine-Queens] were enormous. Some say they committed abortion or outright murdered their children at birth.
He also had seventy-three dead spouses and an uncountable amount of dead sons and an even greater number of daughters. Dead daughters. How many living daughters he had? Zero. The Empire harbored no [Princesses].
It was all due to the Last Prophecies of the Mad Empress. A fairy curse, some whispered. Upon her deathbed, the Empress that once enslaved fairies and almost caused the destruction of the Empire said that she would return one day. Whether she was speaking about herself or someone else was up to anyone’s guess. She also said that a [Princess] born of the [Emperor]’s loins would destroy the Empire as they knew it, leaving no stone unturned.
During the thousands of years since that, a few [Emperors] allowed daughters to live. That didn’t go on for long as both [Emperor] and [Princess] were brutally murdered soon enough. That happened regardless of protection, benevolence, or anything. Why that happened was a mystery nobody wished to solve.
Eventually, people decided that it was because of the prophecies. And the superstition was only reinforced when [Emperors] who allowed his daughters to be killed along with their mothers ruled for centuries.
The [Empire] survived for thousands of years, including the five centuries of the Age of Eclipse. At the beginning of the Age of Strife and the Gods’ Silence, it had no plans to go anywhere.
Or to suffer a living [Princess].