Imperial Era

The "Imperial Era" is the second in Ardeiria, just after the construction era and taken with half of Aderyn the First's reign up until Aderyn the Third's, comprising four total Emperors. However; the following era, the First Crowned Era, is seen by many Ardeirian historians as starting with the abandonment of the Södermark, a term comprising the whole of the southern, freezing territories, and any plans for development therein.

Context
Once the Construction Era ended with Snowhaven, Vaugholde, and Vaughriff being created, the title of "Emperor of Ardeiria" was created, later taken into the Ardeirian language once Aderyn the Second gained the throne. The Imperial Era is mostly looked back on with cultural signifigance, due to the creation of the Ardeirian language, the official creation of the Ardeirian Empire, further constructions of minor areas (Such as the Iron Bastion), and the heavy romantization of Aderyn the First as a God, which thereby created Ancestor Worship in Aderyn the Second's reign.

On the tale-end of the Imperial Era came the Clansmen's destruction as an actual threat, at least for the time. Since their reigns both mostly involved further subjugating clansmen to the point of making them a non-issue, Terith and Aderyn III are commonly looked at as an embodiment of Righteous Hate (A tenant that would later become part of Ferithianism), but neither were truly able to completely exterminate them. Since Aderyn III wiped them out from the Heron and northern border areas of the Stag, leaving the northern Bull to House Kresten, but failed to complete his entire task -- neverethless; his life was sugarcoated for a greater sense of tragedy.

According to Ardeirian historical novels, Aderyn III rode into every Barbarian encampment, slaughtered the soldiers, and enslaved the rest. But when he arrived at a direct descendant of Uedlof Bloodeye's line, they pleaded for mercy and swore themselves to peace on a strategically insignifigant area in the Bull. Aderyn III killed the descendant immediately after, but he soon after agreed to these terms with his wife. Recalling his troops from their area, his wife, Svena Raeford, would die during childbirth and his second son with her; which had been blamed entirely on the former Chieftain's wife's sorcery.

Aderyn III went into a rage over his lost love, burning the village and people down to ashes, before taking the plunge that trademarked his rule a day later.

End
Once Aderyn III's wife and son died, he went from an esteemed, cocky general-esque figure to one of extreme melancholy. He took more to the dulled purple robes that befit his position, rather than the silver armor he'd used against the natives, and was mostly secluded. Even his ambitions seemed heavily dulled, all but halting construction efforts in the Södermark and allowing his family to administer that, something that most of them were heavily unfit for. His depression and overall hopeless demeanour justified sending his son, Oisforth, to his cousin-in-law, meaning that the child only truly knew his father for around four years. Now without a son to raise, Aderyn would wait until Vinterhelg's end to commit himself to suicide, leaving Vaughriff with only his beloved mount and messenger owl. Although he stated it was not intended to be his last night, the Heron's dull beauty proved too close to his deceased spouse's pale skin to bare the mark of Emperor, or even life. With any qualms about ending his existence now vanquished, Aderyn III took his legendary plunge after sending the bird back to Vaughriff.

Extreme mourning followed, which caused Aderyn's son to take the advantage and lower Ardeiria -- for the sole reason of keeping it less likely to be discovered by the larger Kingdoms -- to dub the Ardeirian Empire dead and reborn as the Kingdom of Ardeiria. This lowered all houses in status, including House Vaught, although the sentimental and logical reasons were well-known or well-taken by his more important subjects. The lowering of status would, in the coming months, lead to the decision to abandon the Södermark project -- deeming it too expensive with a demoralized population.