The Anatetian Empire

The Anatetian Empire was a massive union of dwarves, elves, and humans based out of the capital city of Estoran and formed by Cyrus the Conqueror on the continent of Anette. The Empire lasted for hundreds of years and grew to encompass nearly the entire continent before it's sudden end. In recent years another empire bearing it's name has been founded, known as the Second Empire of Anette.

Government
In theory, the Empire was an elective monarchy, with a senate of elected representatives of all the three major races of the Empire. The senate could vote for a successor whenever the reigning monarch died. However the new elected monarch was almost always related to the previous one, whether they be son, daughter or sibling, and nearly all were human.

History
The Anatetian Empire has its roots in the Cyrecian Empire, a human kingdom that consumed much of it's neighboring kingdoms and grew over the entirety of the Southern Crescent of Anette. Meanwhile, much of the north and western portions of Anette were ruled by powerful elven and dwarven kingdoms. Cyrus approached the powerful leaders of these kingdoms with an idea; that they combine their kingdoms to form one large empire. The elves and dwarves did not share the same ambition that the humans did, however it would ensure that their kingdoms could still prosper in harmony with the humans, rather than coming to blows, and so after some deliberation both races accepted the offer.

The capital, Estoran was built in the center of the empire, on an existing elven city using architectural skills from dwarves and humans to create a floating oasis on the many islands of the surrounding inlet. From Estoran, a massive series of roads and trading routes were established. Over the centuries of the empire's existence, it's infrastructure helped to solidify it's power over the region. An infrastructure which still exists today, despite the passing of it's creators.

Wars
Many conflicts arose from within and outside the Empire during it's time with varying degrees of severity.

Many wars were fought internally by snubbed successors believing themselves to be deserving of the throne.

The Empire was known to skirmish with the nomadic orcs at their borders, constantly forcing them off of their traditional lands.These conflicts would traditionally bring about an influx of half-orcs, which were not recognized by the Empire.

Two major wars were fought between the Anatetian Empire and the kingdoms of Shezhou to the west. The first was a war of territorial expansion in which the empire sought to spread to the west but was met with such severe resistance that they were forced to pull away. The second was an invasion from the Forest Kingdom of Shenzhou, who reached all the way to Lythe before their forces were finally repelled and defeated.

Stagnation
Before the Empire fell, it began to stagnate. Relations dulled between the three races, as dwarves and elves felt the humans had expanded too much, and tensions had begun to rise. Both races began to seclude themselves more in the face of less representation.

Fall
The empire fell when the Cataclysm occured. Without warning, the capital city of Estoran was destroyed leaving no survivors or witnesses. All of the royal family and much of the existing government was assumed to have died. Without a real government to keep the separate parts of the Empire together, states drifted away into their own kingdoms, empires, and republics.

Many of the later states claimed to be true descendants of the empire, but all relations were hard to prove.