Holy Carmel Empire
History
The Holy Carmel Empire once controlled much of the continent thanks to their superior magical strength. According to the legends, the emperor was actually a god in mortal form. When one emperor died, their power would pass to another within the family who would become the next emperor. At least, that's what is claimed by the various murals and obelisks found intact in the ancient temples.
Following the death of the Holy Carmel Empire's leader, Emperor Hresvelg and the purging of the imperial family, the ruling oligarchs were quick to prop up the Hershey family, long considered a branch of the imperial family. Though Augustus Hershey had the backing of the government, it was clear that he lacked the magical might of Hresvelg. Without this magic, the empire slowly crumbled both from within and without. Neighboring territories began to carve into the outskirts of the vast empire, and Hershey lacked the strength to maintain such large borders. Meanwhile, the people suffered a series of poor crop years that the oligarchs could not adequately resolve. Over the course of 50 years, the newly formed Hershey Empire was a shadow of the old Holy Carmel Empire's might. An even deeper blow was when half of the remaining empire seceded to form the Carmel Kingdom, cutting their meager holdings in half. The Hershey Empire dug in and held onto what remained with tenacious zeal, helped along by reducing the role of the emperor to a mere figurehead while oligarchs seized power to enact the much needed changes to keep the empire afloat. The Hershey Empire has limped along ever since.
Following the collapse of the Holy Carmel Empire, two nations rose from the chaos. The Hershey Empire attempted to reinstate the ruling structure of its predecessor with a new Imperial family. They failed to demonstrate the same level of magical prowess, but managed to hold onto power via military might. The second nation was the Kingdom of Carmel. This faction decided to adopt a new ruling structure: a system of nobles governing territories and answerable to a centralized King. The first Carmel King, Antonio, played a shrewd game with the nobles, deftly balancing their standings and keeping them all in check while he consolidated power. Over the centuries, the Kingdom invested heavily into trade and technological advancements, wishing to break free from dependence on magic centralized in the upper echelons of society. They withstood conquest attempts from the Hershey Empire and eventually became wealthy enough to fund stronger defenses. The Empire has since abandoned efforts at military takeover. Today the Kingdom is one of the more prosperous nations on the continent. They trade with a number of smaller nations they share a border with, content to leave them as autonomous states rather than annex them into the kingdom outright. Tensions with the Empire continue to this day, but the arenas are political and economic rather than martial The Kingdom also maintains good relations with the Kingdom of Lemuria, though the Great Desert separating the two halves of the continent make trade relationships difficult.
Carmel Emporer
Based on surviving murals, carved reliefs, and temples, it is believed that the emperor (male or female) of the Holy Carmel Empire was capable of awesome feats of magic. There are numerous depictions of rulers leading their troops into battle and wreaking mass destruction on their enemies, leaving the empire troops to charge and rout the remainder. The emperor was so powerful, it was believed that the emperor was either a god themselves or their bloodline descended from the gods (scholars argue what exactly the people of the time believed, or if there were conflicting sects within the empire). Many theorists think it more likely that the emperor's family carried a sorcerous bloodline of great power, used this power to claim divinity or divine blessing, and in this way maintained control of the empire. Scholars also note that in all of the murals and reliefs of battle, the emperor is always carrying an object of some kind that appears to be important in channeling the magic. The writings on some temples give indications of artifacts that would only function when held or wielded by the divine blood and in mortal hands would stay inert and powerless. No such artifact has ever been found, though one scholar (a certain Carolina Tomes no less) cheekily notes that it is possible that such an artifact has been found, but it appears as a normal object to those that have examined it as their blood is not divine.
Carmel Magic
The Carmel empire was known for their golem magic in ancient times. Carmel tombs are often protected by golems animated with complex runiforms.
The runiforms of the ancient Carmel empire were used to animate the golems, imbuing them with magic so they can stand guard wherever they are placed. The spell itself is quite advanced, and clearly it has withstood the test of time. What's most interesting is the source of power. Most enchanted objects like this require some kind of magical focus to help the spell draw in and use magic from the environment, usually a gemstone of some kind. In this case, the runes are arranged around the symbol of the Holy Carmel Empire, and the runes state something that seems to translate to "By the Eternal Strength of the Imperial Family" as the source of magic.
Librarian Jerimiah