Satyr Empires

They are called empires loosely: they did not hold the conquest or expansion of a typical empire, nor were they as centrally governed. The satyr empires of the pre-cataclysm were a vast collection of cities and their outward lands (farmland and smaller settlements), ruled over by a small number of dynastic leaders. The lands that any one leader or group of leaders reigned shifted with time, as such they were often subject to power struggles amongst themselves. These struggles rarely, if ever, presented as armed conflict, rather, the vying regions would diplomatically undermine each other in a series of attempts to be able to steal control of an area as payment for a debt unpaid.

Satyrs were expected to be loyal to their sect, working in the interests of their sect leader(s). Most lower class people did not have even the opportunity, in most cases, to undermine their sect, but the wealthier, closer to the inner circle of the city, and/or experienced and learned someone was, the more this loyalty to their sect was a choice rather than a matter of simply the land they lived on. Because of the diplomatic manner of power transfer (and theft), information was the greatest weapon for and of any given sect leader.

Architecture

Satyr empires at the time were most well-known for the physical build of their cities. Satyr cities were old, perhaps the oldest humanoid-made structure that survived up until that point. Rather than building with static materials- rock, wood, clay, hide, or paper- satyrs formed their cities from the living material of the forest that surrounded them. Over hundreds of years, they cultivated and shaped the trees, grafting them to one another, directing their growth into a pattern that was useful to them. Branches flattened and wound into walkable pathways, braided into railings, shaped into walls. It was as aesthetic as it was utile, and it was cared for very delicately.

Settlements outside of the heart of the city were build from easier material, dead wood instead of living, but this, too, was shaped to appear alive, mimicking the style of the cities.