Emperor of the Southlands

The Emperor of the Southlands is a person elected by the Grand Council of Elders, the collective ruling kings of the major nations that make up the Jackal Empire, to govern the day to day running of alliance and act as their representative when dealing with the other Factions of Erdreja. Each Emperor is effectively a figurehead for all the nation's rulers, but with their blessings, the Emperor can be regarded as being the most powerful single person throughout the entire of the Southlands.

The Emperor has no real standing army of his own to command, but rather he is given a section of available troops from each major Southland nation to have at his disposal and use as he sees fit. These forces are reorganised as the Faction's Warleader chooses and each solider enlisted into the service of the Emperor are expected to put aside their national loyalities and serve the interests of the Jackal Empire as a whole.

All the Faction's monetary allowance is also granted by donations of the Council of Elders, to assist in covering the expenses of military campaigns. While the largest percentage of the coinage donations come from the wealthy Arabia states, other nations donate their own form of wealth, like Aegyptus with it's abundant crop harvest to feed the Empire's armies, and Persia with it's rich deposits of metal ore to equipment the troops.

Here follows a list of all the Emperors who have ruled the Jackal Empire:

Princess Neferemtut - The First Empress of the Jackal Empire. Under her guidance, the Jackal Empire was formed with the alliance between the two nations of Aegyptus and Arabia. While the Faction was still gathering support from the other neighbouring nations, the menace of Akhenaten and his priesthood of heretic Aten worshippers arose and tried to snuff out the first sparks of the Southern Empire. As more and more of the Maurabian countries flocked to the Jackal banner for support and protection from Akhenaten, so the losses inflicted on the Atenist became increasingly heavier - and with every victory by the Jackal Empire, the more nations sworn their alliance to the Empress and the newly written Jackal Constitution.

Following the defeat of Akhenaten and his Aten followers, a new threat appeared within the Arabian princedoms in the form of the Council of Vizers. Again, Empress Neferemtut showed her resolve by refusing to allow them to cripple the Empire. On numerous ocassions, the Empress and her advisors drove back the maledications of the Vizers. Alas, her time was to come to an end, but not in the form of the Vizers' daemons.

In 1103AF, the Tarantula Faction launched an assault against the Bears at Death's Gate for their deeds in killing one of the Drow's most beloved members, Helbron. The Jackals, at the time playing hosts to the Bears, bore the brunt of the assault and a fair number of brave and loyal Jackals perished that day. While reports claim seeing the Empress being transported out of the melee, her body was never found and her fate remains a mystery. Even communing with the Aegyptian Ancestor Inpw left more questions than answers, as her soul wasnt found in the Duat.

Emperor Estaban - With the Jackal Empire left in limbo without it's figurehead ruler, the Council of Elders convened and elected a successor - a priest of the Temple of Amon Ra by the name of Estaban. Where Princess Neferemtut was calm and collected, Estaban was brash and aggressive; where she was diplomatic and wise, so he was rude and narrow-sighted - but the Council decided that someone so unlike the previous Empress was what the Jackal Empire needed to pick the Faction up out of the pit of despair it had found itself in. The Vizers had taken advantage of the confusion and had managed to gather their strength while the Faction was without a leader and without direction.

...To Be Continued...

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