Adrestian Empire

The Adrestian Empire is one of three nations on the continent of Fódlan.

Profile
The Adrestian Empire encompasses the southern part of Fódlan, and it is ruled by a dynasty that can be traced back over 1,000 years to its legendary founder, Great Emperor Wilhelm Paul Hresvelg. Its capital city is Enbarr, the largest city in Fódlan, which was chosen for its association with Saint Seiros.

Garreg Mach Monastery in central Fódlan organizes its students into three houses, with each house representing a different nation. Students from the Adrestian Empire are members of the Black Eagles.

History
The Adrestian Empire was founded in Imperial Year 1 by Great Emperor Wilhelm I. Between Imperial Year 32 and 98, Wilhelm and his successor, Lycaon I, fought to unify Fódlan under their rule with the aid of Saint Seiros and her Church in what became known as the War of Heroes. The nobles who opposed this were united under Nemesis, the King of Liberation. In 91, Seiros personally killed Nemesis at the Battle of Tailtean, and the war concluded in 98 with the demise of Lycaon I. At this time, the Empire ruled the whole of Fódlan.

Following the First Mach War of 721, in which Dagda invaded the land of Mach and was repelled by Imperial forces, the Empire conquered the Dagdan ally of Brigid in 728, which has remained a vassal ever since. The Empire attempted a large-scale invasion of Dagda in 731, but were ultimately defeated.

In 747, Loog of House Blaiddyd rallied the nobles of the Faerghus region in rebellion against the Empire. The War of the Eagle and Lion ended in 751 with Loog victorious. The Church of Seiros mediated peace between the two sides, resulting in the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus securing its independence and Loog being crowned its first king.

In 801, the Leicester region also rebelled against the Empire, which found itself unable to reassert control. The Kingdom saw an opportunity to increase its political power and invaded, occupying and annexing Leicester. In 861, the three sons of the late King Klaus I divided the Kingdom between themselves, and in 881, upon the death of their ruling archduke, the nobles of Leicester once again fought for independence. The Crescent Moon War ended in 901 with the founding of the Leicester Alliance.

In 961, the Empire assisted the Alliance in turning back an invasion from Almyra. This prompted the three countries of Fódlan to begin cooperating to defend against foreign invasions. This led to the construction of Fódlan's Locket, a fortress in the mountains of Fódlan's Throat designed to counter Almyra, in 1101.

Emperor Ionius IX was crowned sometime before Imperial year 1162, when his daughter and heir apparent Edelgard was born. In 1171, the Duke of Aegir seized power in an uprising called the Insurrection of the Seven, reducing Ionius IX to a figurehead. A young Princess Edelgard was taken to Faerghus by her uncle, Lord Volkhard Arundel, who was also one of the conspirators; both returned to the Empire in 1174.

In 1175, the nations of Dagda and Brigid invaded the Empire in the territories of Nuvelle and Ochs. The Empire eventually repelled the invasion and triumphed, forcing the defeated Brigid into vassalage. As a token of Brigid's new allegiance, Petra, the granddaughter of the king of Brigid, was sent to live in the Empire.

Possible futures
The Adrestian Empire's history after 1180 differs depending on which student house that Byleth chose to teach at the Officers Academy.

Locations

 * Aegir
 * Airmid River
 * Arundel
 * Bergliez
 * Boramas
 * Brionac Plateau
 * Enbarr (capital)
 * Fódlan's Fangs
 * Fort Merceus
 * Gronder Field
 * Hevring
 * Hrym
 * Morgaine Ravine
 * Nuvelle
 * Ochs
 * Remire Village
 * Rusalka
 * Varley

Royalty

 * Wilhelm Paul Hresvelg - Founder and first Emperor of the Adrestian Empire.
 * Lycaon I - Second Emperor of the Adrestian Empire.
 * Ionius von Hresvelg IX - Ruler of the Adrestian Empire as of 1180.
 * Patricia von Arundel - Ionius IX's former wife.
 * Edelgard von Hresvelg - Princess and heir apparent of the Adrestian Empire whose steadfast ambition is veiled by her elegant, self-confident demeanor. House leader of the Black Eagles.

Nobility

 * Bernadetta von Varley
 * Hubert von Vestra
 * Linhardt von Hevring
 * Ferdinand von Aegir
 * Duke Aegir
 * Randolph von Bergliez
 * Fleche von Bergliez
 * Caspar von Bergliez
 * Jeritza von Hrym
 * Volkhard von Arundel - Edelgard's uncle
 * Mercedes von Martritz (formerly)
 * Hanneman von Essar (formerly)

Commoners

 * Dorothea Arnault
 * Petra Macneary

Etymology
The Adrestian Empire is likely named after one of two characters from Ancient Greek mythology: the nymph Adrasteia, or the goddess Adrastia. Adrasteia was charged by Rhea with nurturing the infant Zeus in secret. Adrasteia was also an epithet for Nemesis as well as Rhea.

Several locations in the Adrestian Empire were named after Norse, Celtic and Slavic mythologies.

Aegir was the Norse god of the sea, Hevring was one of Aegir's daughters, Hraesvelgr was a Norse giant in the form of an eagle, Brionac was Lugh's spear in Irish mythology and Rusalka was a Slavic water spirit. Brionac, however, is not an actual name for any of Lugh's weapons - it was fabricated by a Japanese author in 1990 and it is now heavily associated with Lugh's unnamed spear, particularly in Japan.