Cheliax

For over half a millennium, Imperial Cheliax was the dominant power across Avistan. When King Aspex the Even-Tongued broke Cheliax away from Taldor, annexed Andoran, and conquered Isger and Galt, he began a centuries-long era of glory that saw Chelish influence—political, cultural, and military—spread across the continent. Bolstered by the favor of Aroden, patron god of humanity, the empire ascended to become a jewel of human civilization, an honor it held unchallenged for centuries.

Cheliax’s golden age ended with Aroden’s death. In the turmoil that followed, the diabolist House Thrune made an infernal pact with the powers of Hell, the terms of which remain shrouded in deep secrecy. The result of that grand bargain, THE CHITTERWOOD

however, still reverberates across the world. Allied with Asmodeus’s legions of fiends, Queen Abrogail I seized power, beginning a dynasty that has held the Chelish throne for nearly a century.

Today, Cheliax is a proud but diminished empire, renowned for its wine, opera, and glorious architecture, but also for the devils in its streets and the cruelty of its laws. Under Thrune rule, the poor are viciously oppressed, crimes are punished by agonizing public excruciations and executions, and slavery is both commonplace and harshly practiced, with none of the legal protections that existed in Aroden’s day. The church of Asmodeus is the state religion, and other faiths are permitted only by House Thrune’s sufferance.

Yet Cheliax is also a realm of high refinement, stunning and sophisticated art, and undeniable grandeur in both public and private spaces. The polished elegance of Egorian, the bustling naval yards of Ostenso, and the aging magnificence of Westcrown—even with the damage from that city’s recent rebellion only partially repaired—are among the wonders of human civilization. The empire’s opera halls, palaces, and cathedrals are unrivaled in their splendor, even if the Asmodean cathedrals’ resplendence bears a decidedly sinister cast. Cheliax’s citizens tend to be ambitious, educated, and formidably intelligent; they deal with devils as equals or even treat the infernal as their lessers, never approaching the powers of Hell as abject supplicants.

Not all of the empire’s citizens are fond of fiends, though outsiders sometimes assume otherwise. The various orders of Hellknights model themselves after Hell’s ruthless discipline and unyielding law, but they do not venerate devils and, indeed, require recruits (known as armigers) to win knighthood by slaying a devil in single combat. Additionally, Iomedae, the chivalrous goddess of crusaders, was born in Cheliax, and the Inheritor’s righteous faith remains strong there, despite recent events exacerbating the long-standing strain between Iomedae’s church and that of Asmodeus.

Moreover, because Chelish culture values brilliance in nearly any pursuit, and because its nobles are perpetually striving for advancement against one another, it thinks itself more meritocratic than many societies on Golarion. Low-born but Cheliax’s state religion. Galt and Andoran break away from Cheliax in the decades that follow.

4697–

The Goblinblood Wars 4701 ar

devastate Isger. Much of the Chitterwood is burned to the ground.

4715–

Two rebellions erupt 4716 ar

simultaneously in Cheliax. The Silver Ravens rise in Kintargo, eventually forming the nation of Ravounel and forcing Cheliax to acknowledge its sovereignty. The Glorious Reclamation, meanwhile, attempts to purify and reclaim the Chelish heartlands in Iomedae’s name. After a year of heavy fighting, the Glorious Reclamation is crushed and its leaders are executed by public torture. 4717 ar

Lord-Mayor Jilia Bainilus of Kintargo takes office as the first ruler of Ravounel, adopting the pre-Thrune Chelish title of “Domina.”

NOTABLE FIGURES

The following are key public figures in the region.

DOMINA JILIA BAINILUS The ruler of Ravounel is a clever and forthright leader whose perspective has been informed in unusual ways by extraordinary experiences.

THE BLACK TRIUNE Sworn to eternal servitude to Zon- Kuthon, the members of the Black Triune have ruled over Nidal since the days of Earthfall.

QUEEN ABROGAIL THRUNE II A ruthless and effective ruler, Queen Abrogail has proven a strong leader and has maintained the power of Cheliax even in the face of many setbacks.

ARCHCOUNTESS LEVISVIA VASVION This Egorian noble was instrumental in gathering forces to break the Glorious Reclamation. Her role in finding traitors has won her considerable acclaim in Cheliax. talented individuals can always find patrons willing to advance their careers in exchange for profits or reflected glory and can often marry or bribe their way into titles of their own in time. The Hellknights, too, offer ready advancement for those who prove themselves in service. However, Cheliax is also merciless in enforcing the downside of its “meritocracy”: those unlucky enough to lack the qualities it values are treated as completely worthless, undeserving of even basic dignity.

Furthermore, this supposed meritocracy applies only to humans. Halflings, hellspawn, and the winged strix are shut out from opportunity altogether. Chelish halflings are almost all either servants or slaves, and they are treated with peremptory disdain. Hellspawn, who are descendants of humans with fiendish blood, are held in even lower regard, for they are seen as the fruits of an abhorrent lapse in self-control while dealing with fiends. The seldom-seen strix—enigmatic, black-winged humanoids—are commonly considered brutes, barely even capable of language.

These and other contradictions in its nature make Cheliax one of the most complicated of the world’s nations. Those contradictions have only sharpened over the past decade, which has not been kind to the infernal empire. Though still mighty, Cheliax has suffered a number of stinging setbacks. It lost a major armada in the Shackles, a significant blow to Chelish naval power that put an end, at least temporarily, to Cheliax’s hopes of expanding into the Mwangi Expanse. Next, a violent rebellion calling itself the Glorious Reclamation erupted in Westcrown, causing widespread social unrest before Queen Abrogail’s forces were able to crush the rebels and restore order. While Iomedae’s faith has not been outlawed in Cheliax following the Glorious Reclamation’s defeat, it is watched much more closely, and its adherents have learned not to criticize the queen in even the mildest of terms. Simultaneously with the Glorious Reclamation, a second rebellion broke out in the Archduchy of Ravounel, which declared itself an independent nation—a bitter pill that House Thrune was forced to swallow lest it suffer truly unacceptable consequences.

All these blows have pushed Cheliax into a position more precarious than it has occupied since the first days of the Thrune Ascendancy. The empire’s enemies, most notably Andoran, circle eagerly around it, waiting for a chance to pounce. They may find, however, that Cheliax remains a wily and dangerous adversary, and its weakness may be deliberately exaggerated as a ploy to draw in the foolish.

Devil’s Perch

This stark reach of vertiginous red rocks and narrow canyons is home to the strix, who have an outsize reputation in Cheliax for savagery and xenophobia. For centuries, Chelaxians avoided the arid pillars and plateaus of Devil’s Perch, but the recent discovery of silver in the region has sparked new interest—and new hostilities between the native strix and human interlopers, which the Chelish government has only partially contained.

Whisperwood

This vast and ancient forest in the empire’s heartlands has been left largely untouched despite centuries of settlement around it. Desperate outlaws sometimes seek refuge beneath its leaves, only to meet grisly misfortune. Local lore holds that a strange menace grips the Whisperwood, and it is well known that devils hunt its depths. A gate to Hell is rumored to lie in Scar Thicket, near the forest’s heart, but none of those who have ventured in to close this gate have ever returned.