Qey Empire

Introduction

The Qey Empire is a sprawling nation consisting of relatively few major cities and towns, with numerous nomadic groups. The Qey are descended from the native dwellers who inhabited Linea before the Albasran Landings.

There is hidden or undocumented knowledge to be found

History
The history of the Qey before the Albasran Landings is largely unknown due to the system of oppression that gripped the continent before colonists from the old world discovered it. Shortly following their arrival, settlers from the old world set about toppling these tyrants with the help of the native dwellers in the War of Liberation. Following the war, stories and folklore describing the tyrants were limited but many stories refer to an entity known only as “He Who Stands Above" (translation). A terrifying individual(s) who ruled with a tight fist.

Early growth
Having gained their freedom, some native dwellers chose to remain within the fledgling Kingdom of Albasra, having developed a deep kinship with the settlers from the old world. While some were happy to remain citizens under a ruler, others seemed to distrust the word of a king and began referring to themselves as Qey, meaning “free" in their native tongue. These Qey would decide to travel further inland and form nomadic tribes. Quickly, hundreds of such tribes would form and with them came conflict. While the cause of many of these conflicts remain a mystery, the majority of historians conclude they were over matters of territory and resources, as the land became increasingly difficult to cultivate and desert-like the further tribes ventured inland.

The Prefectures
As the decades passed, the first signs of tribes merging into larger communities began. By the year 73 AL there were still numerous nomadic tribes but also five larger prefectures. These five prefectures claimed a kingdom’s worth of land but were inhabited by relatively few Qey as their ability to patrol and defend their territory on horses and dinosaurs allowed them to control much larger areas. Along with the formation of the prefectures came the formation of the first major Qey cities. At first, the cities were essentially a large collection of tents and temporary structures, centred close to areas of woodland and river banks but they soon grew into hard standing buildings and meeting places.

While there are five documented prefectures, some scholars agree that there was a sixth ‘hidden’ prefecture during this period. This being the hundreds of nomadic tribes that still held true to the traditions of resistance against rulers, laid out by their forebears decades before.

Early Empire
By the beginning of the second century of Linea, many prefectures were in open conflict. In the thirty years since the formation of the regions, many prefecture leaders had their sights set on conquering the land controlled by the Qey as a whole. Typically, the strongest prefectures were those on the western edge of the region, as they were able to better conduct trade with neighbouring nations like Albasra, Melem and Korth. It was the Olis Prefecture based in the southwest near to Korth that would begin to take control of neighbouring prefectures, as they were able to train and gather more dinosaurs with which to fight. The Olis began their conquest by spreading far into the desert to the east, using the impassable Dragonscar Alps to their south as a barrier against counter attacks, claiming land belonging to un-affiliated Qey. These free Qey would either join the Olis, or perish. By the year 107 AL, the Olis had taken a third of the land and had absorbed a neighbouring prefecture under a unified banner. Spurred on by their success and curtailed by the desert further east, the Olis began driving north, absorbing another prefecture in the year 115 AL.

The Qey Land Wars
It was at this time the remaining prefectures, the Gulan and Islar, came to an uneasy alliance. It had become clear if the were to remain separate, they would be conquered by the Olis. They combined their forces and began to resist the Olisian army. The conflict lasted for almost a decade before a truce was finally reached in the year 123 AL. Over the subsequent years, the Gulan and Islar prefectures strengthened their alliance and staunchly defended their joined southern border against the Olis.

The Gulan coup
By the year 137 AL, the Gulan and Islar prefectures had become all but one joined nation. The borders had become so blended they were essentially non-existent and many of the descendants of the Gulanan and Islaran leadership had married. The Gulnan leadership staged a political coup at the end of 137 AL, capitalising on the ill health of the Islaran leader. Quickly the prefectures of Gulan and Islar became united under Gulanan rule.

The Albasran War
In 142 AL, the Gulan prefecture was paid a large sum of money by the Queen Elyn of Albasra to raise a mercenary army to fight in the Albasran War. This nearly bankrupted Albasra but it was the windfall that would allow Gulan to raise the army and train enough forces to continue to secure the southern border against the Olis. The true reason the Gulan raised the mercenary army is disputed among scholars.

The Gulan invasion of Olis
Following the culmination of the war in 153 AL and with the fall of the Albasran Monarchy, Gulnan received a flood of troops returning from the west. This allowed them to re-assign these troops into an invasion force of their own and they quickly began conquering large portions of Olis territory. The Gulan army would drive hard directly into Olis heartland, conquering the capital in 160 AL.

The formation of the Qey Empire
Having taken large portions Olis territory, the Gulan prefecture decided to rename themselves as the Qey Empire, retaking the name of their ancestors. The united Qey Empire is now the largest nation by square mile in Linea. In the following decades, some Olis nationalists still rebel against the Qey Empire, though these conflicts have not yet bore fruit.